Jan. 15 Power Rankings
15 January, 2007Of all the ways to describe the even playing field of the Patriot League this year, this sentence may be the best: In the last nine days, Navy beat Lafayette, who beat Colgate, who beat Army, who beat Lehigh, who beat Navy. Last season, you would have been very hard-pressed to find any such circle of wins. There was a clear top team, two clear second and third teams, a clear fourth team, a clear fifth team, and the last three squads fighting for table scraps. That era of the Patriot League seems to be over.
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| 1. | Holy Cross (12-6, 2-0 Patriot) | 1 | The Crusaders passed their first big conference test, thanks in large part to great performances by their senior leaders Keith Simmons and Torey Thomas. The two of them look able to score with any league team; throw in Holy Cross’s ever-stifling defense and it’s going to be hard for anyone to knock them off. A potential x-factor could be court time: Both Simmons and Thomas are playing more than they have in the past, which may slow them down late in the season. |
| 2. | Bucknell (8-8, 2-1 Patriot) | 2 | You can’t bump the Bison down too far for losing in Worcester. From the Pleasant Surprise Department: Sophomore backup Justin Castleberry, who scored 16 points at Holy Cross, has been a huge offensive boost for Bucknell. He’s shooting 44.6 percent from the floor, 46.9 percent on threes, and his 15.1 points per 40 minutes is a team-high. His minutes will continue to increase if Abe Badmus does not start giving the Bison more scoring. |
| 3. | Lehigh (7-12, 2-1 Patriot) | 3 | For a brief moment last week, everything looked like last season with Lehigh, Bucknell and Holy Cross all standing head-and-shoulders above the rest of the Patriot League. The Mountain Hawks’ loss to Army dispelled that. The one Lehigh constant should be Jose Olivero’s scoring, but in the last five games he’s averaging under 10 points per game, and he’s a combined 4-of-21 from the arc in those five games. |
| 4. | American (9-8, 1-2 Patriot) | 4 | After two very close road losses in central PA, Eagles came home and steamrolled Colgate, bringing American to 6-0 in home games, with none of them really being that close. It will be tough to stay undefeated at home with Holy Cross coming to town Saturday. American is potentially giving away a car at the game if a student can hit a halfcourt shot, as a way to try to pack Bender Arena. |
| 5. | Army (11-7, 1-2 Patriot) | 6 | After Basketball U. mentioned last week that Army hasn’t been getting enough offense from the supporting cast, the Black Knights got a bit of an offensive outburst Saturday, with four players in double figures. The biggest reason was that Army forced 22 turnovers and pushed the ball in transition, scoring 25 points off turnovers. |
| 6. | Navy (11-7, 1-2 Patriot) | 5 | The Mids ran away from Lafayette fast using great shooting. As Navy heads on a three-game road trip (to Holy Cross, Army and American) they need to continue making fast starts and taking the crowd out of the game early if possible. The Midshipmen are 49.6 percent on two-pointers but 36.3 percent on threes, and they shoot from the arc just about half the time. Maybe it’s time to try some more dribble penetration. |
| 7. | Lafayette (7-11, 1-2 Patriot) | 8 | This past week was likely a microcosm of how the season will be for the Leopards. When their shots were falling, they outpaced Colgate, and when they were missing, they lost big to Navy. Matt Betley’s been a godsend with 11.5 points per game, but it’s tough to put him on the court with Andrew Brown and have two players under 6 feet tall at the same time. |
| 8. | Colgate (6-10, 1-2 Patriot) | 7 | At American Saturday, Kendall Chones scored 7 quick points to start the second half and pull the Raiders within 15. Then, for whatever reason, he was sat down, and watched from the bench as the Eagles reeled off 8 unanswered points. By the time Chones returned, the game was no longer within reach. Colgate has two tough road games this week, at Lehigh and Bucknell. |
