Before we get started, I thought I'd throw this out there: Ken Pomeroy's current rank for each team and the chances that each will actually go winless. Pomeroy is referenced here and there below, but this works better as a separate list. In order, from least to most likely:
Holy Cross (202) - 0.00%
Alcorn State (342) - 0.00%
Arkansas Pine Bluff (343) - 0.01%
UMBC (321) - 1.02%
UNC-Greensboro - 1.33%
Colgate (317) - 1.44%
Southeast Missouri State (329) - 4.37%
Toledo (331) - 6.36%
Centenary (344) - 46.64%
Centenary's ranking is somewhat deceiving, as he gives the Gentlemen a W over Arkansas-Monticello. That doesn't appear to count as a win in his rankings, while it would count in Reverse Survivor. So that could make things interesting. Stay tuned.
UMBC Retrievers (0-7, America East)
The team from Catonsville, Maryland (Home of David Hasselhoff and Ric Ocasek) very nearly pulled off a win two weeks ago, blowing an eight point halftime lead before falling to Coppin State in overtime, 71-69. Junior guard Chris de la Rosa, the team's second leading scorer, nearly posted a triple-double in that game, finishing with 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 9 assists.
I'm openly and selfishly rooting against the Retrievers at this point, if only because they represent my best chance in recent memory to see a Reverse Survivor competitor up close and personal: UMBC travels to New Hampshire on Sunday, January 23, and you can bet your bottom dollar that if they are 0-18 at that point, I'll be dragging my butt up to Durham to see them with mine own eyes.
Wed, Dec 8 at Rider 7:30 pm
Sat, Dec 11 Towson 7:00 pm
Tue, Dec 14 American 7:00 pm
Sat, Dec 18 at Morgan St. 7:00 pm
Wed, Dec 22 at Notre Dame 7:30 pm
Thu, Dec 30 Niagara 7:00 pm
Toledo Rockets (0-8, Mid-American West)
Toledo held a two-point lead with nine seconds to play at Illinois-Chicago last weekend. Then senior guard Robo Kreps, one of the favorites for this year's prestigious God Shammgod Award, knocked down a three to give the Flames the win narrow.
Keep an eye on that December 21 game against Indiana University Northwest. The Redhawks, who I think compete at the NAIA level, are 1-12 on the year, including losses to Division I schools Valparaiso (111-64) and IUPUI (83-62). You'd have to give the Rockets a sizeable edge in that matchup, unless the guys from IU-NW have learned from their previous big school experience and come ready to compete.
Wed, Dec 8 at IPFW 6:00 pm
Sat, Dec 11 Valparaiso 7:00 pm
Sat, Dec 18 Fla Gulf Coast 7:00 pm
Tue, Dec 21 Ind. Northwest 7:00 pm
Thu, Dec 30 at N.C. Wilmington 7:00 pm
Southeast Missouri State Redhawks (0-8, Ohio Valley)
I love finding fun little facts while writing these stories. Here's a little chain of interesting stuff I discovered about Southeast Missouri State's roster: Freshman Lucas Nutt and senior Logan Nutt are brothers...Logan is on his third school after playing for Arkansas State as a freshman and Mississippi as a junior...their father is Dickey Nutt, SEMO's head coach...and their uncle is Houston Nutt, and Houston Nutt - well hell, you know who he is.
Mon, Dec 6 at Iowa St. 8:00 pm
Wed, Dec 8 at Southern Ill. 8:05 pm
Sat, Dec 11 Hannibal-LaGrange 5:00 pm
Sun, Dec 19 at Jacksonville St. 5:30 pm
Tue, Dec 21 at Tennessee Tech 8:30 pm
Wed, Dec 29 at SMU 8:00 pm
Holy Cross Crusaders (0-6, Patriot League)
The early season struggles in Worcester make me wonder how long it would take Bill Simmons to comment on a winless season by his alma mater. I'd like to think he could come up with something by late January at the latest, assuming they go winless that long.
Actually, late January could be another great moment in Reverse Survivor history: Holy Cross and Colgate, both currently winless, play one another on the 27th. Nothing, I mean NOTHING, would please me more than a matchup of two RS competitors at that stage of the season. Alas, Pomeroy's numbers suggest it is not to be.
Like UMBC, Holy Cross makes me feel bad because I am openly rooting against them. Worcester is less than an hour from my house, which means a long winless run would grant me NUMEROUS opportunities to see Reverse Survivorness in action.
Tue, Dec 7 Stony Brook 7:00 pm
Sun, Dec 12 Fairfield 4:00 pm
Sun, Dec 19 at Marist 4:00 pm
Wed, Dec 22 at Hofstra 7:00 pm
Tue, Dec 28 St. Joseph's 7:05 pm
Fri, Dec 31 at Geo. Washington 3:00 pm
Colgate Raiders (0-6, Patriot League)
Two weeks ago, Colgate played #1 Duke, losing 110-58. Next Saturday, they get #8 Syracuse. I tend to think a schedule like that can work in a team's favor; if they don't get discouraged by losing big to national powerhouses, they can take something away from those games and be better for it in the end. That's kind of how it worked for Arkansas-Pine Bluff last year - they started something like 0-14 thanks to a brutal non-conference schedule, but played well in the conference, winning the SWAC and the play-in game for the NCAA Tournament.
Tue, Dec 7 at St. Francis (NY) 7:00 pm
Sat, Dec 11 at (9) Syracuse 7:00 pm
Sun, Dec 19 at Maine 2:00 pm
Wed, Dec 22 Albany 7:00 pm
Wed, Dec 29 at Stony Brook 7:00 pm
North Carolina Greensboro Spartans (0-6, Southern North)
Speaking of tough early schedules, somebody should tell the Spartans that they're not in the ACC - they've played Florida State and Virginia Tech already and have Maryland, Wake Forest, Clemson, and Duke on the agenda this month.
Mon, Dec 6 Furman 7:00 pm
Wed, Dec 8 at Maryland 7:30 pm
Wed, Dec 15 at Wake Forest 7:00 pm
Sun, Dec 19 at Clemson 5:00 pm
Wed, Dec 22 Richmond 12:00 pm
Wed, Dec 29 (1) Duke 7:00 pm
Alcorn State Braves (0-6, Southwestern Athletic)
The trouble with life in the SWAC: Alcorn State plays its first ten games of the season on the road. They've already lost the first six in that stretch by an average of 32 points, and Ken Pomeroy's numbers don't expect it to get a whole lot better soon.
In a sense, teams like Alcorn State and Arkansas Pine Bluff are what Reverse Survivor is all about: they know before the season even starts that they're going to be on the road a lot and they're going to be physically overmatched almost every time they step on the court, but they keep plugging away and doing the best they can. I respect the hell out of teams like that.
Mon, Dec 6 at (4) Kansas St. 8:00 pm
Wed, Dec 8 at Nebraska 8:00 pm
Tue, Dec 21 at South Alabama 8:05 pm
Thu, Dec 30 at Mississippi 8:00 pm
Arkansas Pine Bluff Golden Lions (0-7, Southwestern Athletic)
So, so close. The Golden Lions went into Auburn on Sunday afternoon, shot 54% from the field, 45% from downtown, 77% from the line, and led 72-67 with 3:05 to play.
And of course, the Tigers scored the final nine points to win, 76-72.
Pine Bluff has been blown out several times early, including a week ago at #11 Missouri, as they round the bend of a twelve-game road stretch to start the season. But you know what? They'll be alright. I don't care if Pomeroy has them finishing 7-23. They'll be alright.
Sun, Dec 12 at UTEP 9:05 pm
Mon, Dec 13 at New Mexico St. 9:00 pm
Sat, Dec 18 at Air Force 9:00 pm
Tue, Dec 21 at Denver 9:00 pm
Wed, Dec 29 at Akron 7:00 pm
Centenary Gentlemen (0-9, Summit)
It's been a tough first month, with three losses by 40+ points, but there is hope for the Gentlemen: two single-digit losses last week (77-69 at IUPUI and 57-51 at Western Illinois) and a revenge game coming up on Tuesday against Division II Arkansas-Monticello; the Boll Weevils (that is an outstanding nickname, by the way) visited Shreveport on November 17 and left with an 82-70 win.
Tue, Dec 7 at Arkansas-Monticello 8:00 pm
Sat, Dec 11 at LA Monroe 7:00 pm
Sat, Dec 18 at Marquette 2:00 pm
Mon, Dec 20 at Wyoming 9:00 pm
Tue, Dec 28 Oakland 8:00 pm
Thu, Dec 30 IPFW 8:00 pm
Original Story:
http://www.stormingthefloor.net/2010/...
16
3
