The defending #1 RPI conference looks to defend that crown with another group of teams that should battle for Final Four berths. 

Pre-season Predictions

	This Season		Last Season
North Standings	W	L	W	L
D & E *	14	2	11	5
Concord *	13	3	11	5
Bluefield *	10	6	8	8
Alderson-Broaddus	5	11	2	14
Fairmont	4	12	11	5
Glenville	1	15	4	12
	47	49	47	49
	This Season		Last Season
South Standings	W	L	W	L
Ohio Valley *	13	3	13	3
Charleston *	11	5	10	6
Shepherd *	11	5	7	9
W. Va St. *	9	7	13	3
Salem	5	11	6	10
W. Liberty	0	16	0	16
	49	47	49	47
* = NT berth projected

D&E and Concord will most likely split their home and home series.  The question will be which one falls to up and coming Bluefield,  Ohio valley, or Charleston.   Similar to last season there are 4-6 teams that should be able to make NT runs.   The other 6 teams better have scheduled a light non-con because wins will be tough.  

I want to manage expectations, but I do expect D&EC to have one of the top defenses in the country this year. 

Great thread!!  Thanks for starting it.

"Official" Recruiting Rankings
7. West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference: 37 recruits, 365 points

4. Fairmont St.: 5 recruits, 505 points, West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
18. W. Virginia St.: 5 recruits, 468 points, West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

Non-Conference Games  and players of the Day
5/26 :  Salem International 77 - Bowie St. 74
Down by four at half, Salem came back to take a four point lead with under 30 seconds to go when poor FT shooting almost cost them the game.  But the defense stepped up and stopped Bowie on two late posessions to seal the win.

5/27 :  #1 Lewis 83 - #15 Shepherd 76
Lewis owned the 1st half holding Shepherd to 28% shooting and led by 14 points going into intermission.  Shephed came out storming and took the lead back mid-way through the 2nd half.  But after a three pointer pulled them to within 2 points, they went scoreless the final 2:13 of the game.

5/28 :  Salem International 97 - Chaminade 91 (OT)
Once again Salem dug themselves into a hole with a 13 point halftime deficit and once again they came storming back to make it a game.   A clutch jumper with 1 second left enabled them to push the game into OT.   The offense came alive in OT and clutch FT shooting down the stretch game them a big comeback win.

5/29 :  Charleston 81 - Bentley 76 (OT)
In yet another game with wild swings, Charleston fought for a 13 point lead at half-time and then saw it all disappear just five minutes into the 2nd half.   The rest of the half was back and forth and Charleston though they bad it won but George Hamilton missed an easy layup as time expired and the game went into OT.   Fortunately for George,  the rest of the team came through and Charleston prevailed in OT.

5/30 :  Concord 67 - St. Edward's 65
This was a nail biter the whole game until St. E took an 8 point lead with only 8 minutes in the game.   But Vergara took over late in the game scoring Concord's last 6 points to lead them to another victory against a tough opponent.

5/31 :  W.  Virginia St. 67 - Goldey-Beacom 59
In an evening devoid of great games we turn to a game that was close all the way until the final 2 minutes of the game.  Clutch FT shooting by WVA provided cushion for an otherwise close game.

6/01 :  Salem International 108 - Fort Lewis 101
For a non-OT game : 69 fouls, 71 free throws ; 99 free throw attempts ; 139 shots attempted ; 6 players fouled out ; RED stamina bars all over the place!!  

6/02 :  #1 Adelphi 90 - #9 Ohio Valley 89 (4 OT)
An ESPN instant classic.   It wasn't a pretty game,   but it was a hard-nosed slugfest.  The defenses dominated forcing a combined 35 turnovers and limiting the teams to 40% shooting and 26% from the arc.  The fact that OV could push the pussified 6-6-0-0 class team to 4 OTs speaks well for their post season hopes.   Regulation ended with Adelphi missing an easy layup for the win,  the 1st OT ended with Adelphi nailing a short jumper to tie the game,  the 2nd OT ended with Adelphi hitting ANOTHER clutch shot from the FT line to go another session,  the 3rd OT ended with OV missing 3 of their last 4 FTs and allowing Adelphi to hit yet ANOTHER jumper from the lane to send it to the final OT.     In the last OT the SIM played it smart and had Adelphi foul OV with a 3 point lead and one second on the clock, denying them a chance for a 3 pointer and 5 OTs!

6/03 :  #15 Concord 77 - #14 California, San Diego 72 (OT)
Concord isn't shy about who they want to shoot as three players combined for 69 of their 77 points.   CSD had a 4 point lead with a minute to play when Vergara scored 5 straight points, including a 3 pointer with 2 seconds left to send the game to OT.   Vergara continued his dominance in OT and led Concord to their 7th non-conference win.   Which is ALWAYS the main goal for WVIAC teams!!

6/04 :  #18 W. Virginia St. 74 - Lock Haven 71
A close game became a comfortable 11 point lead with 5 minutes left when Lock Haven turned it up a notch.   Anthony Whatley (Lock Haven) turned into LeBron James and personally pulled Lock Haven to within one point with 12 seconds remaining before WVA was able to sink two huge FTs and survive LeBron's last two three point attempts.


Players of the Night:
5/26 : Stephen Vergara 27 points (pg - Concord) :  8-12 ; 5-7 from the arc ; 6-7 from the line ; 3 assists
5/27 : Warren Sherry 29 points (pf - Bluefield) :  12-19 ; 0-0 from the arc ; 5-6 from the line ; 5 rebounds
5/28 : Anderson Dutcher 21 points (sg - Fairmont) : 7-13 ; 5-11 from the arc ; 2-2 from the line ; 2 rebounds
5/29 : Michael Dunfee 22 points (pf - Charleston) : 8-16 ; 0-0 from the arc ; 6-10 from the line ; 7 rebounds
5/30 : Eugene Maclean 19 points (pf - Glenville) : 6-13 ; 1-3 from the arc ; 6-6 from the line ; 11 rebounds
5/31 : Sonny Tyndall 24 points (sf - Ohio Valley) : 8-13 ; 3-5 from the arc ; 5-5 from the line ; 4 rebounds 
6/01 : Ted Montgomery 23 points (sg - Shepherd) : 8-11 ; 1-1 from the arc ; 6-7 from the line ; 5 rebounds
6/02 : Mark Moody 27 points (pg - Bluefield) : 9-20 ; 6-15 from the arc ; 3-3 from the line ; 4 TOs
6/03 : Stephen Vergara 34 points (pg - Concord) :  10-21 ; 8-17 from the arc ; 6-7 from the line ; 5 assists 
6/04 : Dikembe Aoki 31 points (sg - Charleston) :  9-18 ; 8-16 from the arc ; 5-8 from the line ; 5 TOs

Good opening night for everyone. Vergara is a beast, as we all knew he would be this year.

great work on the non-conference game and player of the night mully!

That 4OT game with Adelphi was crazy. I think that in each of the first three OT periods, we could have closed the game out by hitting our free throws.

#2 Conference after Non-con play.   Conference looks strong once again

	Coach	Conf.	Overall	Home	Road	Top 25	Last 10	STRK	RPI	SOS
		W-L	W-L	W-L	W-L	W-L
#13 Davis and Elkins	pkoopman	0-0	10-1	4-1	6-1	0-0	10-1	W10	50	204
#25 Bluefield St.	haasdr	0-0	9-1	1-1	8-1	0-0	9-1	W1	20	95
#17 Concord	tarvolon	0-0	8-2	2-1	6-1	2-2	8-2	W6	3	12
Glenville St.	franklynne	0-0	8-2	3-2	5-1	0-1	8-2	W2	127	236
Fairmont St.	dirtbag13	0-0	7-3	1-1	6-3	0-1	7-3	L1	45	119
Alderson-Broaddus	tanner255	0-0	7-3	2-2	5-1	0-0	7-3	W1	182	266
South Standings
School	Coach	Conf.	Overall	Home	Road	Top 25	Last 10	STRK	RPI	SOS
		W-L	W-L	W-L	W-L	W-L
#18 W. Virginia St.	mullycj	0-0	10-1	4-1	6-1	0-0	10-1	W10	23	123
#14 Ohio Valley	dabighonu	0-0	9-1	4-1	5-1	0-1	9-1	W2	51	146
Salem International	rupp	0-0	8-2	8-1	0-1	0-1	8-2	W4	40	55
#6 Shepherd	favre3xmvp	0-0	8-2	4-1	4-1	0-1	8-2	W1	6	16
Charleston	jtt8355	0-0	3-7	1-3	2-4	0-4	3-7	L6	43	2
W. Liberty St.	Sim AI	0-0	0-10	0-5	0-5	0-1	0-10	L10	239	88

Conference Games and Players of the Day 
6/06 :  Fairmont 56 - Bluefield 54 (OT)
Defensive battle with neither team shooting >40%.   Bluefield couldn't hold onto a 5 point half-time lead and if you know anything about Bluefield, its that a game that comes down to the last few possessions will likely end up with a loss.

6/07 :  #13 Concord 72 - #16 Davis and Elkins 62
D&E took their undefeated record into Athens, WV to face their 1st ranked opponent of the season.   Odinan Ahmad led Concord to a 5 point half-time lead.    D&E kept it close till the 6:00 mark when Concord's steady play took over and they opened up  a double digit lead.

6/08 :  #7 Shepherd 80 - #10 Ohio Valley 77
Despite committing 31 fouls and 21 turnovers,  Shepherd was able to squeak past OV and assume 1st place in the division.    The game came down to the final possession and OV had two good looks at three pointers to send the game into OT but couldn't find magic.   Barrow scored 21 points for OV but was held to 8-21 shooting.

6/09 :  Salem 72 - Charleston 80
Charleston won their 2nd game in a row coming back from a three point deficit with five minutes left in the game.    The game was still in question until the 1:30 mark when they expanded their lead to seven with a three point play by George Hamilton.   Dikembe Aoki (aka the Mongrel from Congo) had a rough day missing 9-11 shots and committing 7 turnovers.

6/10 :  Charleston 68 - W. Virginia St. 65 (OT)
Up by 17 points in the 2nd half and 14 points with 7 minutes left to play,  WVA St.  pulled the biggest chock job I've ever seen.    Team stats over the last 7 minutes are ; 2 for 5 ; 0-1 from the arc ; 6-14 from the line ; 2 TOs.  As bad as that was,  Charleston still had to nail 2 three pointers in the last 20 seconds against a +5 defense to send the game to OT.   Of course......they did.....of course........

6/11 :  #3 Shepherd 78 - #14 Davis and Elkins 74
Another chance to prove South superiority and Shepherd didn't let us down.   D&E had a 1 point lead with less than 2 minutes left in the game when Mullyietis struck and they closed out the game going 2-6 from the FT line.   Rat bastages!

6/12 :  Bluefield St. 43 - Charleston 39
It's a sad night in the WVIAC when the game of the night involves two teams that scored 82 points...combined.  Poor shooting,   multiple turnovers, and missed FTs were the story here.   The only true excitement occurred when Charleston got the ball back late with a chance to send the game into OT.   They missed.

6/13 :  #12 Ohio Valley 53 - #17 Davis and Elkins 46
A big crowd showed up to see D&E jump out to a 4 point half-time lead in a defensive struggle.     The lead grew to 7 before OV turned it up a notch and eventually took their 1st lead of the half with only 2:40 left in the game.    D&E turned to Willie Cline to bail them out.   Unfortunately Willie finished 0-2 with a turnover and OV snuck out with a win.    Maybe next time Willie!!

6/14 :   #16 Ohio Valley 62 - #3 Shepherd 65
Different venue, sane result.   Although very competitive,  these games are as ugly as the NBA Finals.   This one had 36 turnovers and only 42 made baskets.  Down by 13 points mid-way the half,  OV took advantage of the patented auto correction and tied the game at 62 with 1 minute left in the game before Shepherd closed with the final three points for the win..   


Players of the Day: 
6/06 :  Stephen Vergara 29 points  (pg - Concord) : 8-18 ; 6-13 from the arc ; 7-8 from the line ; 3 rebounds
6/07 :  Darryl Woods 17 points  (c - West Virginia) : 6-11 ; 0-0 from the arc ; 5-9 from the line ; 16 rebounds
6/08 :  Michael Dunfee 21 points (pf - Charleston) : 8-13 ; 0-0 from the arc ; 5-7 from the line ; 10 rebounds
6/09 :  Chad Truex 24 points  (pg - West Virginia) : 9-17 ; 4-9 from the arc ; 2-2 from the line ; 4 TOs
6/10 :  Stephen Vergara 25 points  (pg - Concord) : 8-14 ; 5-9 from the arc ; 4-6 from the line ; 5 assists
6/11 :  John Holiday 24 points  (pg - Glenville) : 8-14 ; 2-2 from the arc ; 6-7 from the line ; 4 rebounds
6/12 :  Stephen Vergara 26 points  (pg - Concord) : 10-17 ; 5-10 from the arc ; 1-1 from the line ; 2 rebounds
6/13 :  Stephen Vergara 20 points  (pg - Concord) : 6-10 ; 4-8 from the arc ; 4-5 from the line ; 6 assists
6/14 :  Darryl Woods 24 points  (c - West Virginia) : 9-15 ; 0-0 from the arc ; 6-8 from the line ; 6 rebounds

At the midway point of conference play.

School	Coach	Conf.	Overall	Home	Road	Top 25	Last 10	STRK	RPI	SOS
		W-L	W-L	W-L	W-L	W-L
#9 Concord	tarvolon	7-1	15-3	6-1	9-2	4-3	9-1	L1	3	3
#13 Davis and Elkins	pkoopman	6-3	16-3	7-2	9-1	1-3	7-3	W1	10	13
Fairmont St.	dirtbag13	5-3	12-6	5-1	7-6	1-3	6-4	L1	30	46
Bluefield St.	haasdr	4-5	13-6	2-4	11-2	0-4	5-5	W1	21	10
Alderson-Broaddus	tanner255	3-5	10-8	3-5	7-3	0-2	4-6	L1	126	161
Glenville St.	franklynne	2-6	10-8	4-4	6-4	0-4	4-6	W1	107	116
South Standings
School	Coach	Conf.	Overall	Home	Road	Top 25	Last 10	STRK	RPI	SOS
		W-L	W-L	W-L	W-L	W-L
#3 Shepherd	favre3xmvp	7-1	15-3	8-2	7-1	4-2	8-2	W7	1	1
#16 Ohio Valley	dabighonu	6-3	15-4	7-2	8-2	2-3	7-3	L1	19	27
Charleston	jtt8355	5-3	8-10	3-5	5-5	2-6	5-5	W1	26	2
W. Virginia St.	mullycj	4-5	14-5	7-2	7-3	0-3	5-5	W1	36	48
Salem International	rupp	2-7	10-9	9-5	1-4	0-4	3-7	L1	94	28
W. Liberty St.	Sim AI	0-9	0-19	0-8	0-11	0-3	0-10	L19	211	31

Conference Games and Players of the Day  (2nd half of season)
6/15 :  #11 Davis and Elkins 63 - W. Virginia St. 60
Down by 11 points at the half, some of the D&E fans were worried....the  others remembered who they were playing and rejoiced.  Down by 16 points with 16 mins left, some of the D&E fans were worried....the  others remembered who they were playing and rejoiced.   Sure enough..... D&E did just enough to win and WVA St. did just enough to lose.     A common theme repeated this season.

6/16 :  W. Virginia St. 49 - Bluefield St. 48
I am not quite sure if the WVIAC has defensive titans in the conference this season or if we are all just offensively challenged.   But here is yet another game of the night where neither team broke the 50 point barrier.   The last three minutes included 7 missed shots, 3 missed FTs,  and 1 turnover and was decided with a winning basket with just 0.01 on the clock.

6/17 :  #8 Concord 55 - #18 Ohio Valley 52
The WVIAC trend of stifling defense and amazing comebacks (collapses?) continued last night.   Tonight was the battle of Barrow vs. Vergara and at half-time we had an 11-11 draw.   With 8 minutes left in the game, the Barrow boys (OV) had an 11 point lead when the Vergara Viagras got stiff.   Starting at the 3:27 mark, Vergara scored 9 straight points and led Concord from a 44-50 deficit to a 53-52 lead and eventual win.   That's just sick!!!!

6/18 :  Alderson-Broaddus 55 - W. Virginia St. 59 (OT)
A quick look at the shooting percentages and you wonder how this game was even close (ABC 40% ; WVA 54%).   But inept FT shooting by WVA (6-13) and ABC's relentless pounding of the offensive boards (12 off rebounds) made this a close game.   Tied with one minute left in the game ABC had three shots to win in regulation but came up empty.   WVA survived the scare and won in OT.

6/19 :  Fairmont St. 66 - Glenville St. 58
Glenville, the heavy underdog,  was inspired by all the Rudy talk on the coaches corner and fought the entire game.     They managed to pull within 2 points with 5 mins left in the game before Fairmont turned it up a notch to seal the win.  

6/20 :  #25 Ohio Valley 46 - Glenville St. 50
Although probably not really the game of the night,  this was definitely the upset of the season.   Glenville, with only 2 conference wins,  was able to beat spiraling Ohio Valley with a total team effort.   Miles Barrow was the only player to show up for OV as he scored half of their 46 points.    OV had several chances to tie the game in the last minute but their offensive woes led to one clank after another.     This team is dropping faster than a dress on prom night and dabig better figure it out.

6/21 :  Fairmont St. 56 - #24 Ohio Valley 68
The Barrow / Mauro combination inside was too much to handle.  The combo scored 36 points and had 16 rebounds.   Fairmont kept it close until the 7:00 mark until the offense went into the tank.   OV had lost 3 out of their last 4 coming into this game and needed a big win to restore some confidence.

6/22 :   Bluefield St. 60 - #8 Concord 58
Big upset in the North as Bluefield was able to solve Concord's defense and shoot the highest % in conference play.   Holding Vergara to 20 points was an added bonus.   By the way,  that will be $3 for the Rudy rental Haas.

6/23 :   #8 Concord 66 - Alderson-Broaddus 59
What would the end of the regular season be like without a game of the night where the teams both shot 42% from the field?  ABC kept the game close in the 2nd half but you never got the feeling Concord was in danger of losing he game.   Vergara had a stomach bug and was a pathetic 7-24 shooting.   On this night, the defense carried the team.



Players of the Day: 
6/15 :  Michael Dunfee 25 points  (pf - Charleston) : 8-14 ; 0-0 from the arc ; 9-9 from the line ; 6 rebounds
6/16 :  Paul Cody 21 points (sg - Shepherd) : 8-14 ; 5-10 from the arc ; 0-1 from the line ; 4 rebounds ; 6 assists
6/17 :  Stephen Vergara 31 points  (pg - Concord) : 10-23 ; 5-13 from the arc ; 6-8 from the line ; 3 assists
6/18 :  Edward Walton 22 points  (c - D&E) : 9-16 ; 0-0 from the arc ; 4-5 from the line ; 10 rebounds ; 4 blocks
6/19 :  Stephen Vergara 26 points  (pg - Concord) : 9-22 ; 5-12 from the arc ; 3-3 from the line ; 6 assists
6/20 :  Miles Barrow 23 points  (c - Ohio Valley) : 8-15 ; 0-0 from the arc ; 7-10 from the line ; 7 rebounds
6/21 :  Edward Walton 19 points  (c - D&E) : 8-13 ; 0-0 from the arc ; 3-5 from the line ; 10 rebounds
6/22 :  Cory Johnson 19 points  (pg - Shepherd) : 6-10 ; 2-2 from the arc ; 5-5 from the line
6/23 :  Chad Truex 24 points  (pg - W. Virginia) : 9-13 ; 4-6 from the arc ; 2-2 from the line ; 4 TOs

With only a few games to go

This Season   Prediction North Standings W L   W L Concord * 11 1   13 3 D & E * 8 4   14 2 Bluefield * 7 6   10 6 Fairmont 6 5   4 12 Alderson-Broaddus 3 9   5 11 Glenville 2 9   1 15   37 34   47 49                           This Season   Prediction South Standings W L   W L Shepherd * 10 1   11 5 Ohio Valley * 9 4   13 3 W. Va St. * 7 6   9 7 Charleston 6 5   11 5 Salem 3 9   5 11 W. Liberty 0 13   0 16   35 38   49 47             * = NT berth projected

Biggest positive surprises

• In the South Shepherd is dominating and is the 2nd best team in the conference
• Fairmont is finding ways to beat opponents despite a roster lacking in top talent
• I forgot how much Tarv can get out of his rosters (should have reread his WIS interview)

Biggest negative surprises

• D&E already losing 4 games with the same roster that lost only 5 last season.
• Charleston's up and down non-conf play has carried over in conference
• Bluefield continues to lose close games they should be winning

End of Conference play :

	This Season			Prediction
North Standings	W	L		W	L	Win var.
Concord *	14	2		13	3	1
D & E *	12	4		14	2	-2
Bluefield *	10	6		10	6	0
Fairmont	7	9		4	12	3
Alderson-Broaddus	3	13		5	11	-2
Glenville	3	13		1	15	2
	49	47		47	49	2
	This Season			Prediction
South Standings	W	L		W	L	Win var.
Shepherd *	14	2		11	5	3
Ohio Valley *	10	6		13	3	-3
W. Va St. *	9	7		9	7	0
Charleston	9	7		11	5	-2
Salem	5	11		5	11	0
W. Liberty	0	16		0	16	0
	47	49		49	47	-2
* = NT berth projected