There’s been a lot of head-scratching about Averett, which lost three games this week after coming in at No. 11.

Here’s the scoop: Cory McDaniel broke his hand back in December and didn’t play in the game against Guilford. He played with a soft cast against Richard Stockton and shot 3-for-11. He was Averett’s leading scorer when he went down. Jonathan Rumley, who had played all 10 games and was the team’s leading rebounder, did not play, and neither did Tyler Eubanks, who had started five of Averett’s 10 games.

Just figured we should get that out front and center. Feel free to use this space to talk more about Friday’s and Saturday’s games.

After trying to describe the maelstrom that is the men’s poll this week, analyzing the women’s poll is like slipping into a relaxing, warm bath. The top 8 teams all held their positions over the holidays, and all but one actually gained votes (the exception, Scranton, lost just a single vote.) For several weeks I have been tracking the consolidation at the top of the poll, and this week the consolidation may have reached a maximum: the top 10 teams collectively received 5,068 of a maximum 5,125 points, an “efficiency ratio” of 98.9%. In other words, the 25 voters are virtually unanimous about who the nation’s top 10 teams are.

Bowdoin held on to the top spot for the fifth consecutive week and 21st time overall, second only to all-time poll champions Washington U. (53). At the other end of the upper echelon, Howard Payne took advantage of a loss by then-#9 McMurry (to #15 UW-Stout) to slip into the top ten for the first time in school history.

As noted above, congratulations to Howard Payne University for becoming the newest member of the top 10 club!

Aside from the Yellow Jackets, the only high-water mark in this week’s “Poll of Stability” was reached by the #17 Chicago Maroons, tying the all-time high set just last week.

>#1 Bowdoin is a member of the top 10 for the 80th consecutive week, extending their record in this category;
>#18 Mary Washington is ranked for the 20th consecutive week; for #10 Howard Payne, this streak has reached 10 weeks;
>#10 Howard Payne, #15 UW-Stout, and #22 Medaille received votes for the 10th straight week; and
>#4 Scranton, #16 Hardin-Simmons, and unranked Washington U. each received votes in the 115th straight poll, extending their perfect records.

>#1 Bowdoin and #4 Scranton are each in the top 10 for the 80th time;
>#7 Brandeis is a top 25 team for the 40th time, and #18 Mary Washington is ranked for the 20th time;
>#4 Scranton is in the top 25 for the 112th time, extending their record in this category; and
>Unranked St. Benedict received votes in this poll, marking their 110th time as a vote-getter.

Congratulations to these outstanding programs, and Happy New Year to all! 🙂

David Collinge has become the D3hoops.com Top 25’s unofficial historian and has produced weekly notes that he’s been posting on the message board. We’ve invited him to bring his milestones and observations to the Daily Dose.

The voters in the men’s poll took a week off to celebrate the holidays, and returned to find that 14 of the previous top 25 lost at least one game (a 15th lost an exhibition game, and two other teams were idle), including two losses by the #1 team and losses by five of the top 6 in the Dec. 19th poll. The new poll, the 114th poll in D3hoops.com’s history, reflects this turmoil. The gap between the new #1 (UW-Stevens Point) and #3 (Amherst) is just 5 points, the closest the top 3 have ever been to one another. The #1 votes are nearly evely split between the top three teams, with #1 Stevens Point receiving just nine #1 votes; only Wittenberg (8 in week 6 last year) and Carthage (8 in 2000-01 week 3) reached the top with fewer #1 votes.

Two-time champion Stevens Point is the #1 team for the 14th time, a mark exceeded only by Carthage (22.) The #1 team in the 113th poll, the College of Wooster, slipped to #4 but added another week to their many poll records: most poll appearances (114, a perfect mark), most top 25 appearances (106), and most top 10 appearances in total (84) and consecutively (44). #3 Amherst was denied the top spot in the poll, despite gaining 6 first place votes, but did extend their record streak of top 25 appearances to 69 consecutive weeks.

The University of Texas at Dallas, the first D3 team this season to upset a D1 team, made its poll deut this week at #22. Texas-Dallas becomes just the 7th team in poll history to make its poll debut as a top 25 team, and recorded the fourth-highest vote total for a first-time vote-getter. #23 Brandeis also appeared in the top 25 for the first time this week. Congratulations to the Comets and Judges!

> #12 Augustana, #14 Hope, and #21 Lawrence are each members of the top 25 for the 20th consecutive week.
> #21 Lawrence received votes for the 50th consecutive week. #3 Amherst has received votes in 70 straight polls; Lincoln has been mentioned 20 straight times; and #5 St. Thomas and #6 Whitworth are vote-getters for the 10th consecutive week.
> UW-Whitewater had received votes in 82 consecutive polls before falling short this week. Calvin had a 30-week voting string snapped as well.

High-Water Marks:

#11 Averett reached an all-time high ranking for the fourth straight week, a streak likely to end after their loss to Guilford last night. #2 Ohio Northern, #6 Whitworth, #15 Bates, and #20 NYU also attained their highest-ever rankings this week, as did #22 UT-Dallas and #23 Brandeis, our top 25 debutantes.

Milestones:

> #1 UW-Stevens Point is in the top 10 for the 60th time;
> #14 Hope and #16 Wheaton (IL) are each ranked for the 50th time;
> #9 William Paterson is in the top 25 for the 40th time;
> #6 Whitworth is ranked for the 20th time;
> CCIW rivals #16 Wheaton (IL) and #17 Carthage are vote-getters for the 75th time each; and
> #5 St. Thomas received votes for the 70th time in this poll, and Worcester Polytech attracted votes for the 30th time.

Congratulations to all of these outstanding programs!

One of the best surprises I’ve ever had is sitting right under my finger tips.

It was a couple years ago and my parents slid an innocuous box toward me on Christmas morning. “We wanted you to open this one last,” they said with a decent enough poker face.

As a single guy with two very young siblings who rightfully get most of the big, exciting gifts, I hadn’t asked for – or expected – much. I was several years removed from holidays where I bolted to the tree to see if “Santa” had left me that Atari 2600 or the denizens of Castle Greyskull I coveted. So when I unwrapped a new lap top computer, I didn’t really know what to say.

I think “wow” was the first word. “Awesome” probably was in there, too. Flash forward to this evening and that pleasant surprise has enabled me to do a lot of things I love for a couple years now, like contributing to this site.

There are a handful of teams who will start the New Year with a pleasant surprise of their own – a great record that may enable them to do something they love, namely play basketball past the end of February.

Here are ten teams, one from each region with two bonuses, who have made their fans say things like “wow” and “awesome” so far.

* * *

Northeast – Anchors Away: “I’m kind of a big deal” – Ron Burgundy, Anchorman.

In his short tenure at Rhode Island College, Head Coach Bob Walsh has also been kind of a big deal. His Anchormen opened the season with three wins against 2005-06 tournament teams beating Division I Iona in the preseason (MAAC Champs) and then Endicott (CCC Champs) and Tufts on opening weekend. RIC is 8-1 going into the New Year with their lone loss to Keene State (another good candidate for the region’s pleasant surprise).

Walsh played under 700-game winner Tom Murphy at Hamilton and then joined the staff of Tim Welsh at Iona. Welsh’s father, Jerry, coached Potsdam State to two national championships in the 1980s. Bob Walsh then coached under Tim Welsh at Providence before taking over RIC last season.

Atlantic – Un-B-ten: That’s what Rutgers-Newark is nine games into the season, thanks in part to super sophomore Chadd Barnes (pictured). Barnes has followed up his 2006 NJAC Co-Rookie of the Year award by averaging 17.8 ppg thus far. Barnes is also an aspiring rapper known as Chad “B” according to the Scarlet Raiders’ website. He’s also our second favorite Chad on the internet.

There is a very long road ahead of Rutgers-Newark playing in the fast-paced, physical meat grinder that is the NJAC. But the Raiders may have their best basketball in front of them. All-conference forward Jermont Horton returned to the lineup yesterday after sitting out the fall under the NCAA’s 10 semester rule. Horton has scored over 1200 points in his career and will be a big boost to the Raiders’ playoff hopes.

East – SLU to clinch bid: St. Lawrence is 9-0 and on the verge of clinching an NCAA playoff spot.

Okay, maybe that’s a little hasty.

But then again, SLU is 8-0 in region. Let’s assume they can sweep the bottom three teams in the Liberty League, none of whom they’ve played yet. That’s 14 wins. Then consider that the trip to St. Lawrence is brutal, particularly in the winter. Isn’t that home court advantage good enough for a few more wins? Last year’s Pool C threshold was about 20-6 (Utica’s record). Suddenly putting the Saints in Pool C isn’t so far-fetched.

Mid-Atlantic – Special Delivery: When the DeSales offense is working, it’s a thing of beauty. Crisp passes along the perimeter, players driving into the lane to collapse the defense, then more passes to wide open three point shooters. It’s the kind of offense where a great ball distributor can thrive.

And that’s what Eddie Ohlson is. The junior guard is only 5-foot-8 and has attempted just 34 shots in 10 starts. But the point guard has great court vision and, in that offense, that equals a lot of assists. He’s got 65 so far, which seems like a high number. We’ll know how that compares to other leaders once the Division III stats are posted after January 3.

As for the Bulldogs, they have to overcome the ghosts of near misses past. In 2003 DeSales lost to Scranton in the Freedom tournament final and missed the NCAA playoffs. In 2004 DSU had 22 wins but lost to Wilkes in the Freedom semis and missed the big show again. In 2005 the Bulldogs had a furious second half rally fall just short against King’s in the Freedom Tournament final. Will 2007 finally be the Bulldogs’ year?

Great Lakes – Storm Watch: Most of the surprises in this region haven’t been pleasant ones. Preseason Top 10 picks Baldwin-Wallace and Calvin have had slow starts, particularly the Knights who are just 5-5.

So let’s go a little off the beaten path to the town of Painesville, Ohio (population 17,789), home of Lake Erie College (8-1, 4-0 AMCC). The Storm got pounded by Findlay (99-67) but Findlay is ranked in the Top 10 of Division II. On the positive side Lake Erie beat Rochester by 11 at the Yellow Jackets’ place.

The Storm won the AMCC last year and then got squashed by Wittenberg (76-40) in the tournament. Maybe that Rochester result shows the Storm is ready to be more than rain drops on the windshield of someone’s tournament run come February.

Back with more later this week…Happy New Year everyone!