Those victories were about as different as could be. In Toledo, the Rockets welcomed the Valparaiso Crusaders. Valpo went to Ohio with a 6-3 record and a diverse resume that included two blowout wins over sub-Division I teams, two blowout losses to ranked teams, and a 3-1 mark against middle-of-the-road competition. The one loss came on November 23, on the road, against Ohio.
The visitors led by eight at the half, but Toledo stepped it up after the break, outscoring Valpo 35-27 to force overtime, then outscoring them 12-9 in the extra period to win the game, 75-72. The Rockets featured a balanced attack: five players reached double-digits in scoring, and Hayden Humes and Reese Holliday pulled down 14 and 10 rebounds, respectively.
Some 530 miles away, Southeast Missouri State faced a much easier opponent: Hannibal-Lagrange, an in-state rival that plays at the NAIA level. As might have been expected, it wasn't close: the Redhawks led by thirty at halftime and continued on to a 101-52 win over the Trojans.
If ever there was any doubt that wins over sub-Division I should count in the Reverse Survivor standings, let these post-game quotes from the Southeast Missouri State side settle the matter:
"Some of the swelling went down from all the beatings and bruisings we've had," senior guard Anthony Allison said with a laugh.
"We knew this was a game we were supposed to win, but it doesn't matter. Winning is precious," Southeast coach Dickey Nutt said. "It was good to see guys with smiles on their faces. "Our guys needed a boost of confidence. We're glad to win. It takes a weight off our shoulders."
Regardless of the level of the competition, these wins matter.
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UMBC Retrievers (0-9, America East)
Pomeroy: 333 (-12)
RPI: 336
Chance of winless record: 0.88%
After four consecutive double-digit losses, three of them by more than thirty points, UMBC played Towson State tough on Saturday, leading by five at the half before fading in the second and losing, 86-77. The bright spot was junior Chris De La Rosa, who continued his solid season with his third double-double (23 points, 10 assists).
Holy Cross Crusaders (0-8, Patriot League)
Pomeroy: 209 (-7)
RPI: 282
Chance of winless record: 0.00% (no change from last week)
Holy Cross has lost four games by nine points or less this season. The most heartbreaking might have been last Tuesday's 54-53 defeat at the hands of Stony Brook. The Crusaders led 28-20 at the half and 53-48 with under four minutes to play, but missed some big free throws down the stretch, allowing the Seawolves to win it on a layup with 1.2 seconds left.
Colgate Raiders (0-8, Patriot League)
Pomeroy: 322 (-5)
RPI: 319
Chance of winless record: 0.19%
The Raiders played a Top Ten team for the second time in three weeks yesterday, and the result was similar: a 110-58 loss to Duke on November 19 was followed by a 100-43 loss to Syracuse, the 45th consecutive time the Orange has beaten the Raiders (dating back to 1962).
Two interesting quotes from the game story. First, Jim Boeheim: "It's been a tough year. We haven't had a game like this. I'm happy to get one of them."
And now, Colgate's Emmett Davis: "We competed much better in the Duke game...It's not about Syracuse or Duke, it's about us. We went in there (Duke), it was 9-8 at the first media (timeout), they had a big run in the second half and pulled away a little bit, but we battled the whole game. That wasn't the case tonight."
Makes you wonder, for a second, which position you'd rather be in: the one where you're working as hard as possible to prepare but just can't compete on the floor, or the one where you're so good that the only place to go is down.
North Carolina Greensboro Spartans (0-8, Southern North)
Pomeroy: 320
RPI: 305
Chance of winless record: 2.36%
As noted last week, the Spartans have a difficult schedule this month: four games in a three week period against ACC teams Maryland, Wake Forest, Clemson, and Duke, with the first three on the road. The first game in that stretch, at Maryland last Wednesday, resulted in a 99-56 loss, though it's worth noting that the score was 27-21 at one point in the first half.
Alcorn State Braves (0-8, Southwestern Athletic)
Pomeroy: 343 (-1)
RPI: 244
Chance of winless record: 0.00%
Alcorn State's loss to Kansas State last Monday was similar to Colgate's loss to Duke three weeks ago: the winless visitors played hard, but were ultimately no match for a faster, stronger, deeper opponent. Amusingly, though, Wildcats coach Frank Martin didn't see it that way.
"I'm sick to my stomach," Martin said bluntly. "We can't sustain energy. We can't sustain focus."
I just can't fathom feeling that way about a 34 point win, but I suppose that's why guys like Martin and Boeheim are top-level college coaches and I'm, you know, me.
Arkansas Pine Bluff Golden Lions (0-7, Southwestern Athletic)
Pomeroy: 342 (+1)
RPI: 207
Chance of winless record: 0.00%
When last we saw Arkansas Pine Bluff, they were beating Auburn for about 37 minutes before running out of gas, finding themselves on the wrong side of a couple foul calls, and losing, 76-72. They haven't played since. Tonight's game against Texas-El Paso kicks off a stretch of five games, all on the road, in seventeen days to finish off the non-conference schedule. And when that's over? Three straight home games, baby.
Centenary Gentlemen (0-11, Summit)
Pomeroy: 344 (--)
RPI: 334
Chance of winless record: 46.87%
Like Southeast Missouri State, the Gentlemen had a golden opportunity at a win this week, with a game against Division II program Arkansas-Monticello last Tuesday. Alas, it was not to be, as the Boll Weevils got 21 from Jerrell Boswell and a triple-double from Ricardo Hall (both of whom played all forty minutes) in a 71-62 win. Centenary does still boast a guard from Dallas, Texas, by the name of Maxx Nakwaasah, which is one of the great names in Reverse Survivor this season.
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I've updated the December schedules for the remaining teams and put them in order by date, rather than team. The action is a little light until next Saturday, but then kicks into a stretch of thirteen games in five days leading up to Christmas.
Sunday, December 12 - Arkansas-Pine Bluff @ UTEP
Monday, December 13 - Arkansas-Pine Bluff @ New Mexico St.
Tuesday, December 14 - UMBC vs. American
Wednesday, December 15 - NC Greensboro @ Wake Forest
Saturday, December 18 - UMBC @ Morgan St.
Saturday, December 18 - Arkansas-Pine Bluff @ Air Force
Saturday, December 18 - Centenary @ Marquette
Sunday, December 19 - Holy Cross @ Marist
Sunday, December 19 - Colgate @ Maine
Sunday, December 19 - NC Greensboro @ Clemson
Monday, December 20 - Centenary @ Wyoming
Tuesday, December 21 - Alcorn State @ South Alabama
Tuesday, December 21 - Arkansas-Pine Bluff @ Denver
Wednesday, December 22 - UMBC @ Notre Dame
Wednesday, December 22 - Holy Cross @ Hofstra
Wednesday, December 22 - Colgate vs. Albany
Wednesday, December 22 - NC Greensboro vs. Richmond
Tuesday, December 28 - Holy Cross vs. St. Joseph's
Tuesday, December 28 - Centenary vs. Oakland
Wednesday, December 29 - Colgate @ Stony Brook
Wednesday, December 29 - NC Greensboro vs. Duke
Wednesday, December 29 - Arkansas-Pine Bluff @ Akron
Thursday, December 30 - UMBC vs. Niagara
Thursday, December 30 - Alcorn State @ Mississippi
Thursday, December 30 - Centenary vs. IPFW
Friday, December 31 - Holy Cross @ George Washington
Original Story:
http://www.stormingthefloor.net/2010/...
