Somebody had to get it started. The Heartland (five of top 25, including #1 Valdosta) and the Peach (four of top 13) are looking pretty tough this year. 

I don't know how Bentley is ranked 19th, they look very very tough. The most athletic team in D2 (by 6 pts!) and the best defending team in D2 (by 1 pt). CSU Chico should be pretty tough a swell, representing the west coast (they play D2 ball over there? lol).

Who you got?

We like to try and stay under the radar. 

we will suck this season. the NT will be very unlikely for Longwood with 6 freshmen and a walk-on.  A lot of the CVAC teams are freshman heavy this season

The Great Lakes Valley has 3 ranked teams...... #12 Mercyhurst; #14 Parkside, and #18 Mo-St. Louis.   Bellarmine is #32.

Parkside,which added 7 new players (5 internationals) is likely overrated.  Mercyhurst and St. Louis, with 2 freshmen each, are better than their rankings

When you sign internationals, it's always so fun to go to teh office page once they've shown up and see what their potentials are (if you didn't find out all of them). It's like Christmas Day. I had my eyes on a couple Parkside internationals, they looked pretty good. Will be fun to watch them develop. 

We should be tough this year. We only have one senior, but we should be much improved on last year. Will still struggle to shoot the ball, but should play some tough D. 

Incarnate Word, although ranked #9, will struggle to make the NT. I think maybe they meant 9th best team in the Heartland.

We have 3 upperclassmen. To quote bbunch, "we will suck this season".

no love for the defending champs???

Now that conference play is a few games in, what teams are standing out?

I'm just happy Longwood is in the mix for a NT bid. With 6 freshmen, we're doing OK. 

The Great Lakes Valley, as a whole, is in rebuilding mode this season. #13 Bellarmine (14-1) is the class of the conference this season but was blown out by #4 Kennesaw, 77-57.   

The GLV could place 4 teams in the NT this season. Currently, on the Projection Report, Bellarmine is #15;  Mercyhurst #35; Mo.-St. Louis is #49 and Wisconsin-Parkside is #55.  
 
 Parkside added 7 new players this season, plus a translating service. They signed players that speak French, Spanish, Italian and Floridian. 

The Peach is looking pretty tough. Probably no championship favorites, but a lot of teams with a fighting chance. Currently 6 ranked teams, and some feisty teams that aren't ranked (Clayton St, USC Upstate). Hopefully Upstate makes the NT, they missed last year despite a low RPI because they didn't finish .500. They look in danger of that again as the South has #3 Kennesaw, #13 Lander and #21 North Florida.

I think the Peach will end up with the second most NT bids this year.

My conference has two of the best guards in the country. Ouachita has the nation's leading scorer and I have the nation's 2nd leading scorer. They should be conference co-players of the year, but HD doesn't have that.

But when I was looking at the nation's leading scorers, I came across UofDC has not one, not two, but THREE players averaging > 20 PPG. Holy crap. Gameplan against that!

Incarnate Word won 5 of our last 7 to qualify for the NT at 14-14. Making the NT out of the Heartland with 9 freshmen & sophs I consider a success.

On to the NT, where our lack of experience will show, likely in a 1st round exit, maybe a 2nd round if we are lucky.

We lose 1 player off this team. We should be formidable next season if we play enough DEF.

Bentley is untested for the most part and hopefully still flying under the radar. I do have to say these kids get after it on D though. My kind of team. Let the real games begin!

Also Merrimack has progressed into a NT type team this season as well.

Can't forget about Le Moyne who is likely still stinging from having the South division title in hand and having it slip away. I play them tonight and hope they don't take it out on us.


 

nation's leading scorers facing each other for the final time unless they meet in NT. #8 Ouachita Baptists (26-2) -7 vs Harding (21-7) in Gulf South Final. R Gochenour OBU 27.1 PPG. H Myers Hdg 23.7 PPG. H Myers Hdg currently 16th on D2 Career Scoring list. R Gochenour OBU 18th. 

Thought I had #22 Pittsburgh-Johnstown. Up 10 with just under 5 to go but couldn't hold on. Dang. :(