November 13 Power Rankings
13 November, 2006After an up (4-2 on Friday) and down (0-4 on Saturday) weekend, the entire Patriot League has begun play. Anyone can have a good or bad game, so don’t read too much into results so far, but here is where the teams stand as of now.
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| 1. | American (1-0) | – | The Eagles went 1-7 in non-conference road games last season. It was only one game, but a double-overtime win on the road to open the season shows a toughness that American didn’t often display last year. If Andre Ingram is back to his old form, the league won’t know what hit it. |
| 2. | Holy Cross (1-0) | – | The Crusaders followed in American’s footsteps, beating Fairfield in overtime. Tim Clifford was underwhelming, but Torey Thomas had a huge game and Keith Simmons shook off a bad first half to contribute to the win. Holy Cross’s game with Siena this week will be a tougher test. |
| 3. | Bucknell (0-1) | – | It seems strange to put an 0-1 team ahead of a 1-0 team, but Bucknell hung with one of the toughest mid-majors in the nation on the road. Credit is due for coming close. The Bison non-conference schedule from hell continues with a home opener against Wake Forest on Tuesday night. |
| 4. | Army (2-1) | – | In one weekend, Army matched its total number of Division I wins from last year. Wins against Stetson and North Carolina A&T aren’t worth much from an RPI standpoint, but they bring confidence to the team. Coming back from a 20-point deficit at Missouri to tie the game will bring respect to West Point, even if it couldn’t win the game. |
| 5. | Lafayette (1-0) | – | Fran O’Hanlon’s squad showed great poise, losing a big lead on the road at Wagner but holding on to win the game. The Leopards can bring attention to the Patriot League with a good showing Monday night at Indiana on ESPN2. |
| 6. | Navy (1-1) | – | The Midshipmen looked good in beating a strong Loyola College squad, but Saturday’s game at St. John’s showed that Navy will have a lot of trouble scoring when Greg Sprink has a bad shooting night. |
| 7. | Lehigh (0-3) | – | To be sure, the trip to Oregon for the Basketball Travelers Classic went badly for Lehigh. But on a cross-country trip, with no days off, a freshman point guard, and after getting stomped by a power-conference team in the first game, Lehigh played tough and gritty basketball against Portland State and Cal State-Northridge. No wins for the Mountain Hawks, but a learning experience that will make the team tougher down the road. |
| 8. | Colgate (0-1) | – | The Raiders showed grit in drawing close with Stony Brook at the end of the game, but Colgate should be able to beat teams like Stony Brook at home. The Raiders can bounce back Saturday in a game at shorthanded and struggling Dartmouth. |
