November 28 Power Rankings
28 November, 2006This week saw Bucknell become the last Patriot League squad to get a win (at Yale) and Holy Cross become the last to take a loss (at Syracuse). The league has finally fallen a game under .500. On the docket this week: Nine home games for league teams and just six road games (plus a neutral-site Bucknell/George Mason clash).
| Last | Comments | ||
| 1. | Holy Cross (5-1) | 1 | The Crusaders fought back impressively at Syracuse, falling behind 30-12 early before pulling within 4 points late. Holy Cross will need to keep that fighting spirit the next few weeks, with trips to Yale, Dayton, Duke and Providence ahead. It’s very early, but Holy Cross has to be considered the clear favorite in the league. |
| 2. | American (4-2) | 3 | The Xavier loss was American’s worst game of the year, but they bounced back two days later with a dominating win at Mount St. Mary’s. Paulius Joneliunas is struggling on offense so far, but the Eagle bench is picking up the slack, particularly Brian Gilmore and Cornelio Guibunda. American faces a light schedule before exams, culminating in a trip to Yale Dec. 9. |
| 3. | Bucknell (1-4) | 4 | After dropping four close games to big-name opponents, Bucknell took out its frustration on Yale. The Bison have a big weekend lined up, with games against fellow NCAA Tournament darlings Northern Iowa and George Mason. As well as Bucknell has played in their losses, they need to finally beat a highly-regarded team to ease the tension in Lewisburg. |
| 4. | Navy (4-2) | 6 | The Mids played respectably at Villanova, pulling themselves back into the game several times before finally falling. Freshmen Trey Stanton and Chris Harris have been godsends for Billy Lange, but Kaleo Kina’s scoring is down from last year, and that bears watching. Navy has a pair of winnable games this week against William & Mary and at Longwood. |
| 5. | Army (4-1) | 2 | Army split a pair of Ivy League games last week, winning at Brown but losing to Cornell at home. Chris Walker and Corban Bates have played well, but have not relieved Jarell Brown and Matt Bell of the scoring load. The Black Knights need a third scorer to develop. |
| 6. | Colgate (2-2) | 7 | The Raiders continue to shuffle their starting lineup, and one must think they will continue to do so until a few players step up and establish themselves. This week, the Raiders host Quinnipiac, who beat Lehigh, and Harvard, who lost to Holy Cross and beat Lehigh. These two games will be a helpful judge of how Colgate stacks up against league teams. |
| 7. | Lehigh (2-6) | 5 | Lehigh hosts Swarthmore and Central Connecticut this week, and the Mountain Hawks are praying for a few easy wins after their rough start. Frosh Zahir Carrington got the start over Bryan White at Notre Dame Monday, and Carrington should continue to earn more minutes with his tough physical play. |
| 8. | Lafayette (1-5) | 8 | Getting crushed by Miami is acceptable, but losing to UMBC by 35 is a huge problem for Fran O’Hanlon’s squad. The Leopards are the only team in the league to have not found a go-to scorer; Matt Betley is posting double digits but it’s a lot to ask for his shots to keep falling. |
