Men's Basketball: Top 10 weekend results

Each weekend, we’ll do a brief check-in for how the league’s best teams fared in their weekend (or earlier mid-week) games. For more in-depth coverage of this week’s results, stay tuned for our conference posts and Tuesday top-10 tracker.

Here are the RPI numbers and other relevant statistics.


1. Carleton Ravens: (4-0 OUA, No. 2 RPI, +26.6 SRS)

Clobbered Western 96-43 and took out Windsor 95-66. I’m running out of verbs to describe the Ravens’ beatdowns of lesser foes. By week 5, it’s going to be “Carleton hastily drubbed York.”

I know Western is in a rebuilding year and has some injury issues, but I can’t remember the last time they were included in the "OUA teams that lose by 50+ to Carleton" category. The fact that Carleton shot 62.3 per cent from the field in this one makes me think they were shooting into a hula hoop for one half.

Next Saturday’s duel with Lakehead in Thunder Bay should be a good litmus test of this team’s quality in the early going.

2. St. FX X-Men: (3-0 AUS, No. 1 RPI, +15.3 SRS)

Shane Coupland’s big performance in overtime saved St. FX from an early season upset at the hands of Acadia. After trailing for most of the game, the X-Men led the Axemen (yes, I just wanted to type that) until Acadia’s Justin Boutilier forced OT at the buzzer. But Coupland’s three triples in the extra frame kept X out of the loss column (like the Carletons, they are 10-0 overall).

In related news, Terry Thomas continues to be a stud, going for 26 points and 10 rebounds.

3. Lakehead Thunderwolves: (4-0 OUA, No. 7 RPI, +13.5 SRS)

Survived shooting 35.4 per cent to beat Toronto 68-63 and responded with a 95-54 win over Ryerson. These wins must have a lot to do with Scott Morrison’s handlebar ‘stache.

Could No. 1 be in sight with a victory over Carleton next weekend? Maybe, but that’s a tall order to begin with. Needless to say this Wilson Cup rematch is going to have some interested observers.

4. UBC Thunderbirds: (4-0 CWUAA, No. 9 RPI, +14.2 SRS)

A measure of revenge from last year’s CIS semi-final? Maybe so, as the Thunderbirds crushed Trinity Western 104-75 and 103-70. I know it took them until the fourth quarter to pull away, but it’s a little concerning that in the first win, UBC is still going with an 8-deep bench. They showed off a little more depth in the second win.

5. Alberta Golden Bears: (4-2 CWUAA, No. 4 RPI, +10.1 SRS)

Oh, Alberta. One week after I make a case for you to be a top-3 team, you go and lose to Winnipeg 71-70. Jordan Baker and Daniel Ferguson going 12-for-31 combined will do that.

A 28-point win (including a 30-13 game from Baker) was a nice bit of revenge, but probably won’t be enough to keep them as high as No. 5.

6. Windsor Lancers: (2-2 OUA, No. 21 RPI, +3.4 SRS)

Fell 69-65 to Ottawa and 95-66 to Carleton in the dreaded Ottawa weekend, a commonly-feared trip by OUA West teams. When Tyson Hinz makes five threes, you know it’s going to be a long night.

7. Saskatchewan Huskies: (3-2 CWUAA, No. 10 RPI, +14.0 SRS)

With Jamelle Barrett out of the lineup, the Huskies got by Lethbridge twice, including a 74-65 win thanks to a career performance of 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting from Duncan Jones.

It’s a good thing the local papers reported on why Barrett was out — or not.

8. Victoria Vikes: (6-0 CWUAA, No. 3 RPI, +5.8 SRS)

Managed to sneak by a resurgent Thompson Rivers team 77-75 and 84-76 to stay undefeated on the season. Ryan MacKinnon (20 points per game over the weekend) continues to be a steady option on offence.

9. UFV Cascades: (5-1 CWUAA, No. 14 RPI, +9.7 SRS)

Jasper Moedt led the Cascades to a 74-52 win over UBC Okanagan on Friday night with 24 points and 12 rebounds, then a balanced performance (six players in double figures) led to a 108-63 win the following night.

10. Laurier Golden Hawks: (4-0 OUA, No. 12 RPI, +6.0 SRS)

A CIS season-high 130 points against RMC (OK, well, it’s still 130 points) highlighted a two-win weekend as the Golden Hawks beat the two teams from Kingston. Laurier’s depth was on display in both games, with six players notching double figures in points in each contest.

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4 comments:

  1. If Carleton wins the game in Thunder Bay they will run the table on OUA competition this season. The Thunderwolves at home are dangerous and the only team with an outside chance of knocking off the Ravens in the regular season. Having written that, I'll still take the Ravens in their closest game of the season; 5-6 points.

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  2. Speaking of the RPI is it fair to ask if the formula needs to be rethought when #1 goes 2-0, including a 50 point drubbing and a 30 point beat down of #14 and yet falls behind the #2 team that squeaks out an OT win against the #21 team? Just asking.

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  3. RPI doesn't consider margin of victory, so it's irrelevant that Carleton won by 50 instead of 5. You can argue otherwise, in which case you may prefer to use something other than RPI. SRS has Carleton 11 points ahead of the second-best team, a huge advantage.

    But the difference between X and Carleton is only seven points of RPI, which is nothing. It's also early, with only ten games for each team.

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  4. Yes, RPI is a more valuable stat closer to the end of the season, and a less valuable one in November. Also, RPI doesn't consider that Carleton has Dave Smart.

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