Post by Commissioner on Dec 27, 2016 0:56:11 GMT -5
Here are what I would consider the 10 best wins by Horizon teams in the non-conference season. This list will give you a pretty bad sense of how bad a season it's been for the HL:
1. Valparaiso 65, Rhode Island 62. Rhode Island has a #45 RPI, and was ranked at the time of this game.
2. Oakland 86, Georgia 79. Oakland looked good in beating an SEC team, #56 RPI.
3. Valparaiso 68, Alabama 60.
4. Valparaiso 92, BYU 89. Unfortunately for Valpo, neither 'Bama nor BYU are all that great this year, so these wins at a tournament in Vegas aren't as impressive as they might first appear. 'Bama is 6-5 with a #131 RPI; BYU is 9-4 with a #141 RPI.
5. Youngstown State 90, Akron 82. The Zips are 10-3 with a #85 RPI. YSU ambushed them on opening day.
6. Northern Kentucky 70, Eastern Washington 48. Eastern Washington? Well, yeah. The Eagles have a #68 RPI, and that 22 point margin is impressive.
7. UIC 80, DePaul 75. No, DePaul's not very good. Probably not as tough an opponent as some further down this list. But it was on the road, and there is still a bit of cache to beating DePaul, especially when its the higher profile program in town.
8. Wright State 85, Southern Illinois 81. An MVC team on the road--good win. SIU has a 7-6 record and #134 RPI.
9. Green Bay 78, Toledo 77. An OT win at Toledo was good. Toledo is 6-6 with a #123 RPI.
10. Valparaiso 89, Indiana State 71. Indiana State is 6-6 with a #127 RPI. The road wins in games 7 through 9 are more impressive than this win at home over an MVC team, but Indiana State did beat Butler.
And the worst losses--and actually, just as the win list isn't too impressive, this list isn't too bad:
1. Western Illinois 75, Milwaukee 59. WIU has a #340 RPI and no other D-I wins. And the game was in Milwaukee. Easily the worst loss of the non-conference season.
2. Santa Clara 87, Valparaiso 80. Hard to believe Valpo lost at home to #273 Santa Clara.
3. American 77, Youngstown State 62. It was on the road, but American is #308 and lost to Howard by 17 points.
4. South Dakota State 81, Milwaukee 58. It's not just the neutral court loss to 5-8, #260 SD State, but the margin of defeat.
5. Bowling Green 74, Detroit 61. Bowling Green is 5-7 with a #315 RPI. At least this loss was at Bowling Green.
6. Eastern Illinois 90, UIC 76. You should not lose at home by double digits to an OVC team with a #210 RPI. At least EIU has a winning record.
7. Austin Peay 77, Northern Kentucky 69. On a neutral court, you should not lose to an OVC team with a #245 RPI.
8. Jacksonville 79, Youngstown State 54. Youngstown got blown out by #254 Jacksonville at a tournament in Mobile. Jacksonville does at least sport an 8-5 record.
9. Murray State 93, Green Bay 77. Murray State is usually pretty good, but not this year--they're 5-8, with a #276 RPI. This game was played at a tournament at Bowling Green.
10. Kent State 79, Cleveland State 74. Cleveland State lost on opening night in a game played at Youngstown State. Hard to think of losing to Kent State as a really bad loss, but the Golden Flash, despite a 7-5 record, have a #284 RPI, and the teams they've beaten are 15-53 against D-I competition.
1. Valparaiso 65, Rhode Island 62. Rhode Island has a #45 RPI, and was ranked at the time of this game.
2. Oakland 86, Georgia 79. Oakland looked good in beating an SEC team, #56 RPI.
3. Valparaiso 68, Alabama 60.
4. Valparaiso 92, BYU 89. Unfortunately for Valpo, neither 'Bama nor BYU are all that great this year, so these wins at a tournament in Vegas aren't as impressive as they might first appear. 'Bama is 6-5 with a #131 RPI; BYU is 9-4 with a #141 RPI.
5. Youngstown State 90, Akron 82. The Zips are 10-3 with a #85 RPI. YSU ambushed them on opening day.
6. Northern Kentucky 70, Eastern Washington 48. Eastern Washington? Well, yeah. The Eagles have a #68 RPI, and that 22 point margin is impressive.
7. UIC 80, DePaul 75. No, DePaul's not very good. Probably not as tough an opponent as some further down this list. But it was on the road, and there is still a bit of cache to beating DePaul, especially when its the higher profile program in town.
8. Wright State 85, Southern Illinois 81. An MVC team on the road--good win. SIU has a 7-6 record and #134 RPI.
9. Green Bay 78, Toledo 77. An OT win at Toledo was good. Toledo is 6-6 with a #123 RPI.
10. Valparaiso 89, Indiana State 71. Indiana State is 6-6 with a #127 RPI. The road wins in games 7 through 9 are more impressive than this win at home over an MVC team, but Indiana State did beat Butler.
And the worst losses--and actually, just as the win list isn't too impressive, this list isn't too bad:
1. Western Illinois 75, Milwaukee 59. WIU has a #340 RPI and no other D-I wins. And the game was in Milwaukee. Easily the worst loss of the non-conference season.
2. Santa Clara 87, Valparaiso 80. Hard to believe Valpo lost at home to #273 Santa Clara.
3. American 77, Youngstown State 62. It was on the road, but American is #308 and lost to Howard by 17 points.
4. South Dakota State 81, Milwaukee 58. It's not just the neutral court loss to 5-8, #260 SD State, but the margin of defeat.
5. Bowling Green 74, Detroit 61. Bowling Green is 5-7 with a #315 RPI. At least this loss was at Bowling Green.
6. Eastern Illinois 90, UIC 76. You should not lose at home by double digits to an OVC team with a #210 RPI. At least EIU has a winning record.
7. Austin Peay 77, Northern Kentucky 69. On a neutral court, you should not lose to an OVC team with a #245 RPI.
8. Jacksonville 79, Youngstown State 54. Youngstown got blown out by #254 Jacksonville at a tournament in Mobile. Jacksonville does at least sport an 8-5 record.
9. Murray State 93, Green Bay 77. Murray State is usually pretty good, but not this year--they're 5-8, with a #276 RPI. This game was played at a tournament at Bowling Green.
10. Kent State 79, Cleveland State 74. Cleveland State lost on opening night in a game played at Youngstown State. Hard to think of losing to Kent State as a really bad loss, but the Golden Flash, despite a 7-5 record, have a #284 RPI, and the teams they've beaten are 15-53 against D-I competition.