Last Night
#5 North Carolina Wesleyan 51 #12 South Vermont 64
The GotN #1 team jinx claims a second straight victim! South Vermont opened up a big lead in the first half with the margin at the break standing at 12 points. NCWes were able to finally cut the lead to 4 with just over six minutes left in the game but South Vermont ran away again, scoring 9 unanswered to put the game out of reach. South Vermont and funngun had two starters with 20+ points, led by Richard Majors with 26. With the upset win, they stay undefeated and move up to #12 in the rankings. NCWes and nastynick are dealt their first loss of the season and slip down four spots in the rankings. Meanwhile, the GotN jinx sits in the corner, chuckling and happily thinking about its next victim.
Also considered: #19 Johnson and Wales knocked #10 Texas Lutheran down to the bottom of the top ten with a 93-86 victory, #8 Louisiana handled #17 Newbury 63-50, #2 Wisconsin Superior rebounded with a 87-77 win over Austin, #6 Hamline got by Buena Vista 84-76, and #20 Emory stayed undefeated with a 62-52 home win over Piedmont.
Sim blowout watch: Wisconsin Lutheran easily covered against #22 Occidental 56-72 as did SUNY Potsdam in a 59-72 road loss at #16 St. Mary's.
GotN
#14 Calvin (6-0)(prc56) at #7 Hardin-Simmons (5-1)(sublightd)
The GotN #1 team jinx monster gets a night off since we have four very good battles between ranked teams to choose from tonight. It was close, but I'm going with this tasty matchup with Calvin going on the road to defend their undefeated record at the higher ranked Hardin-Simmons. Calvin is looking for their first win over a ranked team while Hardin-Simmons' only loss was to a solid Piedmont squad. sublightd holds a big advantage in games between these two coaches at 7-1 but the oddsmakers have this game listed as a pick, should be a great game.
Also considered: #2 Wisconsin Superior at #23 Susquehanna, #4 Trinity at #5 North Carolina Wesleyan, #24 Southwestern at #13 Shenandoah, and new #1 Ursinus at E. Oregon
Sim blowout watch: Pittsburgh Bradford is a 42 point home dog against #16 St. Mary's while Bridgewater is getting 31 points as they host #6 Hamline.