Unfortunately, we here at AUHoops weren't able to make it up to the Lehigh Valley for Patriot League Media Day this year (last year it was conveniently held in Baltimore). That doesn't mean we didn't have our eye on what was going on, of course! Without a doubt the most important thing to come out of the day was the preseason voting on the League's top teams by the coaches and sports information directors (SIDs). Now, exactly how important this ranking is is debatable. For example, in 2008 a preseason 5th-ranked AU went to the NCAA Tournament, and two seasons later a 1st-ranked Holy Cross squad finished 8th. OK, so in reality it's not all that useful, but we'll take a number one ranking when we can get it!
So what brought us to this coveted #1 spot for the second time in three years (in 2008-09, if you recall, we were [correctly] the overwhelming favorite)? We received 7 first-place votes and 79 points from the coaches and SIDs, that's how. Let's break this down a little. To my understanding (and someone please correct me if I'm wrong), a first place vote is awarded 7 points, second place 6 points, and it goes down from there. It is possible to receive up to 14 votes, as coaches and SIDs cannot vote for their own team. So the maximum number of points is 98, and the minimum 14. So since Army received 15 points, it means that 13 voters thought they'd finish dead last, with one voter disagreeing and putting them in 7th place. Make sense?
Now, that means that 49 of our 79 points came from first-place votes. That leaves 7 more votes to equal 30 points. We'll never know exactly how that's broken down, but I imagine it's something like 2 3rd-place votes (10 points) and 5 4th-place votes (20 points), or some permutation thereof. So when you break it down, you realize that exactly half the voters thought we'd come in first, with the other half thinking we'd come in somewhere near the middle of the pack. Odd, don't you think? Now, as stated in the press release, the top 5 teams are all within 10 points of each other and it's the closest it's ever been in League history. So why the dichotomy with our voters? I can only see one clear question mark that might sway one side and not the other: the transfers. Clearly when Vlad became eligible last year he completely changed the team - we went 1-7 without him, and 10-13 with him. That's the definition of "impact player" if I've ever seen it. Can Troy and Charles work that same magic? That question will be answered with time. Whether it was the coaches, SIDs, or a mix of both that think they can/can't, we'll never know.
What we do know is that Bucknell is right on our tail with 76 points (only 21 of which came from first-place votes). That means that a lot more voters put them in second or third place, likely based on the fact that they lose almost no one from a very, very solid team from last year. If sophomore big man Mike Muscala lives up to expectations that Troy and Charles can't, I can see us futilely licking at the Bison's heels as they dance their way into March. With any luck, that scenario won't pan out.
Regardless of who voted which way, our #1 ranking is undoubtedly fun. Who doesn't like being first? The only downside I can see is that it eliminates any element of surprise we might have going into League play - as the preseason #1 everyone else will be gunning for us. Of course, that's assuming that they really pay attention to preseason rankings, which I somewhat doubt. These things exist primarily to please fans, like us, who love crunching numbers. When it comes down to it, anything can happen on the court, and if the rankings are any indication, it will be neck-and-neck right from the start. I'm looking forward to bringing you a seemingly endless list of potential tie-breaker scenarios starting in late January.
Now, let's see what else is going on in Eagles Nation:
- The official 2010-2011 team picture has been released! The first thing that sticks out to me is that there's now a whopping 17 people in this picture:
- Each player also received an updated headshot on the AUeagles.com roster - the first time we get to see Charles, Wayne, Tony, and Warren in Eagles uniforms in a still picture.
- The other big thing that sticks out is the slight uniform change this year. As we can see from this headshot of Mike Bersch, the word "AMERICAN" is slightly smaller, and a small AU logo now appears above it:
- Finally, back to the topic of rankings, the Associated Press Pre-Season Top 25 Poll was released today as well. Coming in first, unsurprisingly, is Duke. Similarly, almost all of the last year's Final Four teams make an appearance, except for West Virginia, who we'll be facing this year. San Diego State makes its first-ever appearance in the Top 25, as they return all five starters from a team that won 25 games last year. Could that be us next year? We can certainly dream.
That's all for today, folks. It's only one week until Sweet, Sweet Revenge Day vs. Randolph-Macon, so I'm looking forward to seeing many of you in Bender Arena!
Pro Deo Et Patria,
Josh
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