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basketball"},{"term":"interviews"},{"term":"journalism"},{"term":"mud fights"},{"term":"playoff formats"},{"term":"schedules"},{"term":"technical difficulties"},{"term":"ted goveia"},{"term":"tiering"},{"term":"tragedy"},{"term":"trinity western"},{"term":"trivia"},{"term":"university sport"},{"term":"Étienne Légaré"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"The CIS Blog"},"subtitle":{"type":"html","$t":"News and notes on Canadian Interuniversity Sport"},"link":[{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/posts\/default"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/-\/RPI?alt=json-in-script"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/search\/label\/RPI"},{"rel":"hub","href":"http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/"},{"rel":"next","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/-\/RPI\/-\/RPI?alt=json-in-script\u0026start-index=26\u0026max-results=25"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Scott Hastie"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/08081415078301065374"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"generator":{"version":"7.00","uri":"http://www.blogger.com","$t":"Blogger"},"openSearch$totalResults":{"$t":"39"},"openSearch$startIndex":{"$t":"1"},"openSearch$itemsPerPage":{"$t":"25"},"entry":[{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-377457070264516301"},"published":{"$t":"2017-03-13T13:52:00.003-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2017-03-13T13:52:36.443-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"OUA"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"RPI"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Basketball: OUA reverting to two-division format — reports"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Ontario University Athletics is throwing out the RPI baby with the bathwater.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt's unofficial, of course, but an informed source has corroborated the CUSN reports from the Final 8 about another realignment being in store for basketball. What was old three years ago is new again. The conference is going back to East and West divisions with cross-over semifinals\u0026nbsp;— but no single-site Final Four.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOn the one hand, admitting there were unintended consequences to the 'RPI-offs' and going back to the tried-and-true is understandable. At the same time, it's not hard to read some OUA politics into a decision that would put Carleton, Ottawa and Ryerson in the same division with no mechanism for all three to be in the final four with a chance to go to nationals (as long as there's only one at-large berth, the seeding committee is probably not going to have the stones to pick a Top 5 team which was a quarter-finalist; just ask UBC. But more on that in a bit).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"\u003E\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"\u003EAlso, OUA basketball will be returning to two divisions instead of four, as it was in 2013-14 and prev.. Not all coaches support the change\u003C\/div\u003E— Adam Jenkins (@adamkjenkins) \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/adamkjenkins\/status\/841075203782270976\"\u003EMarch 12, 2017\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cscript async=\"\" charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\"\u003E\u003C\/script\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"\u003E\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"\u003E1. I've spoken to two coaches in the OUA to clarify the division restructuring. Pending official confirmation, they appear to be: (1\/2) \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/R0tZ7BmY38\"\u003Epic.twitter.com\/R0tZ7BmY38\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E— Adam Jenkins (@adamkjenkins) \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/adamkjenkins\/status\/841119209069277184\"\u003EMarch 13, 2017\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cscript async=\"\" charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\"\u003E\u003C\/script\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003EThe switch to RPI-offs, regardless of the execution, was supposed to address that imbalance. It was also flexible since it allowed for the possibility, however theoretical, that four schools in Toronto and westward could be the class of the conference. Reverting to two divisions exhumes the inequity that occurred in both 2013 and '14, when Ryerson's men's team was a tournament-worthy team but was left out after losing to Ottawa in the East semifinal.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca name='more'\u003E\u003C\/a\u003EIt's easy to get that there would be frustration among coaches that the RPI eliminated late-season scoreboard-watching. The RPI basically rewards a team for showing up.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis season also ended with only easterly teams going to each Final 8 (both Carleton teams, the Ryerson men and Queen's women).\u0026nbsp;Four of the five teams that missed the men's playoffs also come under the OUA West umbrella. Three of the five left-outs from the women's playoffs are also westerly teams.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFrom that, one can divine which end of the conference was pushing for a change. The mantra is probably something like, \u003Ci\u003Ethis means it will be decided on the floor; no more computers deciding things, Nerd\u003C\/i\u003E. Except it will be made more difficult for some teams to do, depending on geography, which puts the lie to that premise. Plus uneven divisions means a 75 per cent chance of a playoff appearance in one division and 66.7% in the other, as opposed to everyone getting the same 70.6.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt seems like an easy way out to just double down on the simpler but also flawed system. It is expedient to go with what one knows; indeed, most of us will do that when presented with any decision. The aim of any scheduling \/ playoff framework ought to be to give the conference the best chance of having its \u003Ci\u003Ecrème de la crème\u003C\/i\u003E, provided they don't get knocked out of the playoffs early (just ask UBC again), go to the national tournament.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: \u0026quot;times new roman\u0026quot;;\"\u003EAnother change is the the Wilson Cup and Critelli Cup would be stand-alone games. Those cross-over semifinals would all be held in the gym of the higher-seeded team. If that's a cost-effectiveness thing, so be it, especially since the OUA had a media partner for the men's event when it was created in 2010-11 and no longer does.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIndulge a bit of self-aggrandizing; adopting \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/blog\/2015\/03\/srs-calculation-details\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ESimple Rating System\u003C\/a\u003E would solve a lot of the OUA's ills, so-called. A format that factors for strength of schedule and point spread would do a lot more to keep teams engaged and motivated during the blowout games where the ultimate won-lost outcome is a foregone conclusion, That would serve the greater good.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAlso see: \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2017\/02\/basketball-oua-standings-with-srs-not.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EOUA standings with SRS, not RPI\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/377457070264516301\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2017\/03\/basketball-oua-reverting-to-two.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/377457070264516301"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/377457070264516301"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2017\/03\/basketball-oua-reverting-to-two.html","title":"Basketball: OUA reverting to two-division format — reports"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"sager"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/08757652892056684490"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-HoppI3_eGQc\/VrWGl9xFY2I\/AAAAAAAADEA\/ucwvqUnIa7M\/s220\/Neate1379-4x4M.JPG"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-8193680122509464753"},"published":{"$t":"2017-02-21T13:47:00.003-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2017-02-21T13:47:44.327-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"RPI"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Basketball: OUA standings with SRS, not RPI"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Analogously, Ontario University Athletics men's basketball has been like an Olympic event where it is \u003Ci\u003Ea priori \u003C\/i\u003Ethat one nation will always get the gold, two others will vie \u0026nbsp;for silver and bronze and everyone else is just hopeful of a personal best.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECarleton crushed it; Ryerson and Ottawa are 2-A and 2-B. It is not the best jumping-off point for showing the limitations of the RPI-offs and advocating for another computation, Simple Ranking System, which layers a team's margin of victory over its strength of its schedule.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E(\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/blog\/index9e6d.html?p=37\u0026amp;cpage=1\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EThe best primer on SRS was furnished more than a decade ago on pro-football-reference.com\u003C\/a\u003E.)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"tr_bq\"\u003E... every team's rating is their average point margin, adjusted up or down depending on the strength of their opponents. Thus an average team would have a rating of zero. Suppose a team plays a schedule that is, overall, exactly average. Then the sum of the terms in parentheses would be zero and the team's rating would be its average point margin. If a team played a tougher-than-average schedule, the sum of the terms in parentheses would be positive and so a team's rating would be bigger than its average point margin. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"tr_bq\"\u003EIt would be easy to find the Colts' rating if we knew all their opponents' ratings. But we can't figure those out until we've figured out their opponents' ratings, and we can't figure those out until. . ., you get the idea. Everyone's rating essentially depends on everyone else's rating.\u003C\/blockquote\u003EThis is pertinent to university hoops for a couple of off-the-top-of-one's-head reasons. The SRS uses point differential rather just the W's and L's. That makes sense in a conference with so much disparity in student populations and resources dedicated to basketball. Plus it can create incentive for a team to \"compete like the game is tied,\" which is probably better for personal and physical development. Putting that another way: SRS addresses the imbalance mentioned off the top; if you play Carleton or another power toe-to-toe for three quarters; there's actually a tangible reward and not just a moral victory. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOn Saturday night, Carleton defeated Toronto 100-36. Since RPI does not use margin of victory and uses strength of schedule, adding Carleton to their schedule \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/oua.ca\/sports\/mbkb\/2015-16\/releases\/20151130fl1yaa\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Elifted the Varsity Blues (11-8) into fifth place in the final standings\u003C\/a\u003E. The only box to check off for U of T on Saturday was to taking the court, essentially.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOn the other side of the nation's capital, Ryerson defeated Ottawa to finish ahead them in victories, but it had no effect on the standings. The Rams winning on the Gee-Gees' floor is \u003Ci\u003Esymbolically\u003C\/i\u003E huge since they have had issues winning in the nation's capital over the years. Those are glitches to fix.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHere is the playoff field for the men's standings, by RPI:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Col\u003E\u003Cli\u003ECarleton .638\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EOttawa .600\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ERyerson .594\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EBrock .563\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EToronto .519\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ENipissing .515\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ELaurentian .512\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EWindsor .481\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EMcMaster .479\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ELaurier .470\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EQueen's .469\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ELakehead .452\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ol\u003EIn contrast, Simple Ranking System -- admittedly one without a cap on margin of victory to cut down on the impact of blowouts -- evaluates the performance a bit differently. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Col\u003E\u003Cli\u003ECarleton 32.5\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ERyerson 19.3\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EOttawa 15.8\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EBrock 4.9\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ELaurentian 0.7\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EMcMaster -0.7\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EToronto -1.4\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ENipissing -2.5\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u0026nbsp;Windsor -4.6\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EQueen's -5.4\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ELakehead -5.4\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EWestern -5.9\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ol\u003EYou see what happened here, besides Julie taking credit for the Big Salad?\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003ERyerson \u003C\/b\u003Eand\u003Cb\u003E Ottawa \u003C\/b\u003Etrade places in second and third. The reality is that it might not matter since their play-in game for nationals, the OUA semifinal, is on a neutral floor. Theoretically, though, there's an influence on their first playoff opponent which could make a big difference.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003ELaurentian \u003C\/b\u003E(seventh seed) and \u003Cb\u003EToronto\u003C\/b\u003E (fifth seed) trade places. One cherry-picked compare-and-contrast is that while Toronto's score against Carleton resembled the blood-pressure count of a very unhealthy person. The Voyageurs were at least competitive the first time they played the Ravens, \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/oua.ca\/sports\/mbkb\/2016-17\/boxscores\/20161126_1d0d.xml\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Elosing 88-71 at home on Nov. 26 and even 'winning' a quarter\u003C\/a\u003E. The margin went from 17 points to 47 in the rematch, which was clearly all the doing of \u003Cb\u003EJoe Rocca\u003C\/b\u003E. All of it, all Rocca. \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/oua.ca\/sports\/mbkb\/2016-17\/players\/joeroccaoq3v?view=gamelog\u0026amp;pos=sh\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ELook at his stat lines\u003C\/a\u003E. Please?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EMcMaster \u003C\/b\u003Egoes from ninth place to sixth, which would earn a home playoff game.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003ELaurier\u003C\/b\u003E, which had a 9-11 record in the conference but lost by 20 or more points five times, finished with a minus-8.2 SRS, in 15th place.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003EThe women's league, which is more balanced at the top end, would seem to have got the upper crust more or less right, apart from the fact that 18-1 Queen's is the No. 1 seed ahead of also 18-1 Carleton, which won the teams' head-to-head matchup. \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/oua.ca\/sports\/wbkb\/2015-16\/releases\/20151130g3ijjw\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EThe top nine teams by win percentage are also the top nine in RPI\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Col\u003E\u003Cli\u003EQueen's .612\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ECarleton .601\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EMcMaster .592\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EWindsor .568\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ERyerson .550\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EOttawa .540\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ELaurier .532\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EBrock .482\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ELakehead .481\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EToronto .477\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EWestern .472\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EYork .450\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ol\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHow do they rank by SRS?\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Col\u003E\u003Cli\u003EMcMaster 19.3\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EWindsor 16.0\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EQueen's 15.7\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ECarleton 14.6\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ERyerson 9.7\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ELaurier 4.9\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EOttawa 4.5\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ELakehead 2.8\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EBrock -2.9\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EToronto -3.8\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EWestern -4.6\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EWaterloo -7.7\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ol\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWow. So three and four swap with one and two, respectively. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EMcMaster, which had the best raw point differential, finishes first. Their blowout road loss against Carleton and last-second loss to Queen's only slightly detracted from the overall body of work, so the coaches are right after all to rank them No. 2.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EYes, Virginia, Queen's is freaky clutch against tough competition. Their raw point differential (17.0 points) was lower than that of Carleton (17.2), but they had higher-quality opponents.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ELakehead goes from a down-and-back flight to play Brock to getting the game at home and saving a ton of cash.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EWaterloo makes the playoffs. Whether they would stand a chance against Ryerson is immaterial; they still got deprived status that could help with recruiting.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003EFor all the impugning of RPI, it gets teams into the right range, but doesn't sort them neatly.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETo borrow a \u003Cb\u003EBill James\u003C\/b\u003E analogy, it is akin to how it would be impossible to tell the difference between a batter with a coveted .300 average and one with a decent .275 average -- a difference of one hit every 40 at-bats -- if there were no statistics kept.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe larger point is that as a sport conference, the task is to send the best representative(s) to the national tournament. There is no perfect system and the best team is not always going to win in a \"best of one\" format. Adding machinations that could trigger a conference's two best teams being seeded first and fourth (talking about Canada West) defeats that purpose, though.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EA two-division format also works against sending the best teams. That's a step back; it probably hurt the exposure of the OUA when Ryerson got roadblocked by Ottawa in 2013 and '14, which led to there being a final four without the host school.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESwitching to SRS would be more of a way to go.\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/8193680122509464753\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2017\/02\/basketball-oua-standings-with-srs-not.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/8193680122509464753"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/8193680122509464753"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2017\/02\/basketball-oua-standings-with-srs-not.html","title":"Basketball: OUA standings with SRS, not RPI"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"sager"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/08757652892056684490"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-HoppI3_eGQc\/VrWGl9xFY2I\/AAAAAAAADEA\/ucwvqUnIa7M\/s220\/Neate1379-4x4M.JPG"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-8738795868934878292"},"published":{"$t":"2017-02-15T12:13:00.001-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2017-02-15T13:08:02.851-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Bisons"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Bracketology"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Final 8"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gee-Gees"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"RPI"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Tigers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"U of S Huskies"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"UBC Thunderbirds"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"The Road To Halifax Stops At Carleton: Men's Basketball Bracketology, 3 Weeks Out"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ci\u003E(Live it, learn it, love it: following university hoops means \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/static.psbin.com\/q\/5\/wcloe5wq5t4d4z\/160810_PlayingRegs_Basketball_-M-_FINAL.pdf\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Eknowing the seeding criteria for the Final 8\u003C\/a\u003E. Warning: there is more RPI talk and no one will be put off if you just scroll to the bottom for the bracket.)\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe brass tacks of Canada West's RPI-based seeding is that its two best teams have a harder road toward the auto-bids, the more advantageous seeding and the greater chance of distinguishing the conference on national TV.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe top four of Calgary, Alberta, Saskatchewan and UBC means that if the form holds, UBC and Calgary will meet in a play-in game at the Canada West Final Four on the Dinos' floor. A loss there would not kill UBC's Final 8 chances, but it would likely take the currently No. 6-ranked Dinos out of the at-large conversation and deprive the Sportsnet audience of seeing Thomas Cooper. For shame!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis was a more interesting one than anticipated. Ryerson is woke since walking into the (River) Lions' den down in St. Catharines when it lost to Brock. This weekend's Ottawa\/Carleton double-dip might not alter the RPI, but it will be a good simulation of what\u003Cb\u003E Roy Rana\u003C\/b\u003E's charges could expect in an OUA Final Four.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWith that in mind, there's been some shuffling. How does Dalhousie and Ottawa meeting in a rematch grab everyone?\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca name='more'\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Col\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003ECarleton (OUA champion).\u003C\/b\u003E Their average margin of victory in conference is 33.2 points, following by Ryerson at 23.5 and Ottawa at 15.9. The OUA might have to change the name to the Big Three and Little 14.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EUBC (Canada West champion).\u003C\/b\u003E Not \u003Ci\u003Enot\u003C\/i\u003E making an upset prediction; fifth-placed Manitoba is scrappy with A.J. Basi at point guard. They played the T-Birds tough in November at the War Memorial.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003ERyerson (OUA finalist).\u003C\/b\u003E More seasoned handles in the backcourt than Ottawa, whom they face this weekend.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EOttawa (at large).\u003C\/b\u003E Not as statistically dominant as the 2012-13 through '15-16 Gees, but that doesn't foretell them falling short. Whatever stopped Ottawa from a fourth consecutive Final 8 medal last March wasn't a lack of hunger.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EDalhousie (AUS champion).\u003C\/b\u003E Scheduling-wise, Dal and Carleton playing the night draw on March 9 seems like a likely scenario.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EMcGill (RSEQ champion).\u003C\/b\u003E Very very gritty team. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESaint Mary's (AUS runner-up\/host).\u003C\/b\u003E There is a codicil in the criteria that the fifth through eight seeds could be flipped to avoid a same-conference matchup, so I'm applying that to separate UBC and the second team from Canada West. Doing so also puts the AUS teams on opposite sides of the bracket.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESaskatchewan (Canada West runner-up).\u003C\/b\u003E\u0026nbsp;The third-placed Huskies and second-placed Alberta Golden Bears are on course to meet in a Canada West semifinal. Coin flip comes up U of S, plus they did win the most recent matchup.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDon't read too much into it. Canada West has four teams, at least, who would not be out of place in the tournament.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ol\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/8738795868934878292\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2017\/02\/the-road-to-halifax-stops-at-carleton.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/8738795868934878292"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/8738795868934878292"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2017\/02\/the-road-to-halifax-stops-at-carleton.html","title":"The Road To Halifax Stops At Carleton: Men's Basketball Bracketology, 3 Weeks Out"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"sager"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/08757652892056684490"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-HoppI3_eGQc\/VrWGl9xFY2I\/AAAAAAAADEA\/ucwvqUnIa7M\/s220\/Neate1379-4x4M.JPG"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-1110905672042633280"},"published":{"$t":"2017-02-08T15:16:00.001-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2017-02-15T13:08:13.102-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Bracketology"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"RPI"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"U of S Huskies"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"UBC Thunderbirds"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"How the Saskatchewan Huskies gamed the Canada West RPI: Men's Basketball Bracketology 2017, 4 weeks out"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ci\u003E(Live it, learn it, love it: following university hoops means \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/static.psbin.com\/q\/5\/wcloe5wq5t4d4z\/160810_PlayingRegs_Basketball_-M-_FINAL.pdf\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Eknowing the seeding criteria for the Final 8\u003C\/a\u003E. Warning: there is more RPI talk and no one will be put off if you just scroll to the bottom for the bracket.)\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EA dozen years ago the Saskatchewan Huskies football team had a beastly back named \u003Cb\u003EDavid Stevens\u003C\/b\u003E and now, judging from their record, the men's hoop concern has a phantom sixth man named \u003Cb\u003EEven Stevens\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETwo thoughts popped up the What-If tool for Canada West, which shows 19-1 UBC finishing third in RPI: \u003Ci\u003Ethank goodness no one out at UBC begrudges Canada West letting in a bunch of CCAA schools. \u003C\/i\u003EThe sober second thought was that perhaps Saskatchewan being rewarded for holding their own against a tough schedule is a proof of the system's efficacy. (If they get blown out in the playoffs, though, that sentence never happened.)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIf everything breaks as it should, UBC could end up with the costliest first-game-of-the-new-year loss in convenient, selective memory. On Jan. 6, Saskatchewan's\u003Cb\u003E Alex Unruh \u003C\/b\u003Eand \u003Cb\u003EJaylan Morgan\u003C\/b\u003E combined to shoot 9-of-13 on three-pointers, combining for 39 points (and an eFG% of 86.1 per cent!) to pace the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.canadawest.org\/sports\/mbkb\/2016-17\/boxscores\/20170106_racf.xml\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EHuskies to a 95-78 win\u003C\/a\u003E. If the form holds, 14-6 Saskatchewan will be seeded ahead of 19-1 UBC (conference records only).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-GwQnFCjT0Uo\/WJttV6SEs4I\/AAAAAAAADOM\/s54JH1O1dNEC6VGRurxMx8KZeCeSW7ScgCLcB\/s1600\/canadawest.rpi.proj.mbb.feb8.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" height=\"364\" src=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-GwQnFCjT0Uo\/WJttV6SEs4I\/AAAAAAAADOM\/s54JH1O1dNEC6VGRurxMx8KZeCeSW7ScgCLcB\/s640\/canadawest.rpi.proj.mbb.feb8.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe reality here is that a budget league in a country where travel costs can border on the usurious \u003Ci\u003Eshould\u003C\/i\u003E use a mathematical formula to seed the playoffs, especially when the teams have a \"sampler\" package of 10 opponents per season. That is what is right and good about the forward thinking that led to the decision and all the due diligence in computing it each week. There's also a health and wellness benefit to student-athletes that they stay in the same city for two days. One also has to be sensitive for the amount of work the awesome \u003Cb\u003EMartin Timmerman\u003C\/b\u003E puts in on this, since there would be no rant fodder without him!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt seems like Saskatchewan might end up ahead of UBC by virtue of winning their first of their two games in Bridge City on the first full weekend of the year. Is that really fair? It could be argued, \u003Ci\u003E\"Well, Saskatchewan proved it can play with the best in the country.\" \u003C\/i\u003EBy that same convenience sampling, Regina proved it can play with the best in the country when it defeated Saskatchewan.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhat happened was the Huskies got a tough draw and have gone a solid, right in the meat party of curve 7-5 against the top half of the Canada West class. They broke even against all of the teams they played in the top six. It's doubtful there was some conscious \"we only gotta get one here boys\" mindset afoot, but seems like quite an anomaly that Saskatchewan was able to beat everybody and also lose to everybody. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBarring a major disaster against 13th-ranked UNBC, Saskatchewan will hop over UBC, who's playing 16th-ranked Trinity Western.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIf you go down the line, though, showing all of Saskatchewan and UBC's opponents and wins against them in order of RPI ranking, you'll see all of the common opponents turn up higher in the UBC columns.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstyle type=\"text\/css\"\u003E table.tableizer-table { font-size: 12px; border: 1px solid #CCC; font-family: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif; } .tableizer-table td { padding: 4px; margin: 3px; border: 1px solid #CCC; } .tableizer-table th { background-color: #104E8B; color: #FFF; font-weight: bold; } \u003C\/style\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ctable class=\"tableizer-table\"\u003E\u003Cthead\u003E\u003Ctr class=\"tableizer-firstrow\"\u003E\u003Cth\u003EHuskies (currently 2nd)\u003C\/th\u003E\u003Cth\u003E\u003C\/th\u003E\u003Cth\u003E\u003C\/th\u003E\u003Cth\u003EThunderbirds (currently 3rd)\u003C\/th\u003E\u003Cth\u003E\u003C\/th\u003E\u003Cth\u003E\u003C\/th\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/thead\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003Cb\u003EOpp't\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003Cb\u003ERPI\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003Cb\u003EWins\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003Cb\u003EOpp't\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003Cb\u003ERPI\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003Cb\u003EWins\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EUBC\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E1st\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E1\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003ESask.\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2nd\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E1\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EAlberta\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2nd\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E1\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EAlberta\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E3rd\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003ECalgary\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E4th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E1\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EManitoba\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E5th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EWinnipeg\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E6th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E1\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003ETRU\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E8th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003ELethbridge\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E7th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EBrandon \u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E9th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EBrandon\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E9th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EMount Royal\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E11th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EUFV\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E10th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E1\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EVictoria\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E12th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EMount Royal\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E11th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EUNBC\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E13th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EUNBC\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E13th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003Ci\u003En\/a\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003ETWU\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E16th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003En\/a\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003ERegina\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E14th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E1\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EUBC-O\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E17th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003Cb\u003ETOTAL\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003Cb\u003E12\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003Cb\u003E17\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETo reiterate, be glad no one at UBC still begrudes Canada West for waving former B.C. premier \u003Cb\u003EGordon Campbell\u003C\/b\u003E's legacy projects into the conference.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThere is a better formula-based system out there, and we'll get it eventually. On to the fake bracket:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Col\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003ECarleton (OUA representative):\u003C\/b\u003E Easy pick, again.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EUBC (Canada West champion):\u003C\/b\u003E Despite it all, UBC's body of work suggests they are capable of winning a play-in game on a neutral floor.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EOttawa (OUA rep):\u003C\/b\u003E\u0026nbsp;Only plausible scenario where they are not the No. 2 seed in OUA would involve Ryerson winning on Carleton's floor on Feb. 17.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EDalhousie (AUS champion): \u003C\/b\u003EThe Tigers are a combined 1-4 against Saint Mary's and UNB and 18-3 against the rest of U Sports. The team with the best pace-setting point guard has a huge edge in single-elimination tournaments and well, Dal has \u003Cb\u003ERitchie Kanza Mata\u003C\/b\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EAlberta (Canada West rep):\u003C\/b\u003E\u0026nbsp;The top seed for the playoffs has the most opportunity of making the tournament.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EMcGill (RSEQ champion):\u003C\/b\u003E\u0026nbsp;Play out the regular-season string with single games against the rest of the RSEQ. They have a plus-52 point differential in three head-to-head games against Concordia, so losing top spot on a tiebreaker is not too much of a worry. \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003ERyerson (at large):\u003C\/b\u003E\u0026nbsp;The imagined scenario is they revenge hard on Brock in the OUA third-place game.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBrock has kept seven consecutive opponents to fewer than 70 points. The Badgers aren't deep or overly efficient on offense, but like Dalhousie down east, they somehow hang around.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESaint Mary's (host):\u003C\/b\u003E The race for second in AUS, with the Huskies and UNB Varsity Reds even at 10-6 (tiebreaker held by SMU), is very tight. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESaint Mary's still has one game left with Dalhousie. Three of UNB's last four are against very competitive St. FX.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ol\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EPlease feel free to disagree. There will be several more tries to get this right. Here's the seeding criteria:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-YdUviLYxjBI\/WI_LUpR2RhI\/AAAAAAAADNg\/xTp62UdnTcwTuWE2iEmxaXlCoIb5juQewCLcB\/s1600\/usports.mbb.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" height=\"334\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-YdUviLYxjBI\/WI_LUpR2RhI\/AAAAAAAADNg\/xTp62UdnTcwTuWE2iEmxaXlCoIb5juQewCLcB\/s640\/usports.mbb.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/1110905672042633280\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2017\/02\/how-saskatchewan-huskies-gamed-canada.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/1110905672042633280"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/1110905672042633280"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2017\/02\/how-saskatchewan-huskies-gamed-canada.html","title":"How the Saskatchewan Huskies gamed the Canada West RPI: Men's Basketball Bracketology 2017, 4 weeks out"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"sager"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/08757652892056684490"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-HoppI3_eGQc\/VrWGl9xFY2I\/AAAAAAAADEA\/ucwvqUnIa7M\/s220\/Neate1379-4x4M.JPG"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-GwQnFCjT0Uo\/WJttV6SEs4I\/AAAAAAAADOM\/s54JH1O1dNEC6VGRurxMx8KZeCeSW7ScgCLcB\/s72-c\/canadawest.rpi.proj.mbb.feb8.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-6746952493176153511"},"published":{"$t":"2017-01-27T14:32:00.003-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2017-01-28T12:45:46.873-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Laurentian Voyageurs"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"McMaster Marauders"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Nipissing Lakers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"RPI"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Basketball: OUA #RPIProblems return; is McMaster really the meat in the Nipissing-Laurentian sandwich?"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Tethering can create its own set of problems. For instance, I recently moved to Toronto, which entails sharing a place where to put it diplomatically, the shared wi-fi connection is not strong. That means tethering to the phone to watch a video and consequently, my cell phone bill will be about $50 higher this month.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOntario University Athletics, of course, tweaked the basketball\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/oua.ca\/sports\/mbkb\/2015-16\/releases\/20151130fl1yaa\"\u003ERPI-offs\u003C\/a\u003E, so- called, to make all games count in the standings. That could be read as a response to what happened on the men's side last season. The RPI only included games among playoff teams, remember. Ryerson grabbed first place since its loss to Guelph did not count because those Gryphons, with nine wins in the conference, were on the sideline\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/usportshoops.ca\/mbb2015\/ouarpi.php?Gender=MBB\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ewhilst Laurentian (6-13, third in the North behind Ottawa and Carleton) and Toronto (5-14, third in the East led by Ryerson) participated\u003C\/a\u003E. Unintended consequences come in threes: the bracket had to be revised York, which had initially qualified, forfeited games for using an ineligible player.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe logic of the change sounds like,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003Emake all games matter again\u003C\/i\u003E. Another complaint that was addressed was that coaches wanted a better idea about potential playoff opponents, so the one-through-17 table became a season-long reference point. It is admirable that this is a level of sport that sees the playoff format as a living document that can be updated quickly and promptly.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhile it's an at-large playoff format (rather than divisional), using RPI tethers to the lodestar(s) in its division. Who knows, perhaps Nipissing and Laurentian should get a few bonus percentage points as a trade-off for being tag-teamed twice a year by Carleton and Ottawa.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca name='more'\u003E\u003C\/a\u003EHere's how the \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/oua.ca\/sports\/mbkb\/2015-16\/releases\/20151130fl1yaa\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Emen's RPI\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;and \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/oua.ca\/sports\/wbkb\/2015-16\/releases\/20151130g3ijjw\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ewomen's RPI\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;standings were distributed division by division, prior to Friday's action:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstyle type=\"text\/css\"\u003E table.tableizer-table { font-size: 12px; border: 1px solid #CCC; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; } .tableizer-table td { padding: 4px; margin: 3px; border: 1px solid #CCC; } .tableizer-table th { background-color: #104E8B; color: #FFF; font-weight: bold; } \u003C\/style\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ctable class=\"tableizer-table\"\u003E\u003Cthead\u003E\u003Ctr class=\"tableizer-firstrow\"\u003E\u003Cth\u003EMen's\u003C\/th\u003E\u003Cth\u003E\u003C\/th\u003E\u003Cth\u003E\u003C\/th\u003E\u003Cth\u003E\u003C\/th\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/thead\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003Cb\u003ENorth\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003Cb\u003EEast\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003Cb\u003ECentral\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003Cb\u003EWest\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E1st\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E3rd\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E4th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E13th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2nd\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E8th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E6th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E9th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E5th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E10th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E11th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E14th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E7th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E16th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E12th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E15th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E17th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003Cb\u003EWomen's\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003Cb\u003ENorth\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003Cb\u003EEast\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003Cb\u003ECentral\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003Cb\u003EWest\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E3rd\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E1st\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2nd\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E5th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E7th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E4th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E13th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E6th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E10th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E14th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E8th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E9th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E16th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E15th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E12th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E11th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E17th\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWithout making direct comment on the quality of teams, it looks like the men's standings are skewed since the two best teams, or at least two of the best three, are Carleton and Ottawa, both in the North. One tries not to hung up on reputations, but Nipissing and Laurentian are fifth and seventh, sandwiched around McMaster.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt must seem confusing that McMaster is immediately below the team they defeated rather soundly on Jan. 6 and immediately above one who defeated them on Jan. 7, but that always happens.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEach of those northern teams, who are travel partners, has signalled they are headed in a positive direction. The larger contributing factor to the Lakers' and Voyageurs' places in the RPI is having had eight of 13 games already against the rest of the top eight in OUA RPI: Carleton and Ottawa twice apiece, plus Brock, McMaster, Ryerson and Toronto. That strength-of-schedule factor will be diluted over these next three weeks, but Laurentian and Nipissing are always going to get a little extra credit from who is in their division.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EA few percentage points in either direction can move a team up or down two spots in the standings.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe \"tethering\" is further illustrated by the lack of a strong team in the West. Windsor (13th in RPI with an 8-6 conference record) is retooling and Laurier (9th at 7-8) is going through a culture change under first-year coach \u003Cb\u003EJustin Serresse\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhat prompted this post idea was last weekend's results. Algoma picked up\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.sootoday.com\/local-sports\/algoma-men-pick-up-tight-victory-516816\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ea fairly landmark victory by defeating Windsor 79-78\u003C\/a\u003E, with their undersized guard\u0026nbsp;\u003Cb\u003ESean Clendinning\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003Ehooping 24 points. It was quite a bounce-back after losing by 42 points to the same Lancers on Friday. The alright-Algoma automatic response quickly faded, through. Windsor has run the OUA West for a few years, but isn't strong statistically this season. The net result of Algoma's big win was dropping from 13th to 14th, illustrating I do better math in my gut than on paper.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003EThe women's side represents more of an ideal, but only since each division has a team which has won at least 75 per cent of its games. The division with two powerhouses also doesn't have them 1-2, with Queen's in first and Ryerson in fourth.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe effects from the extra division games will be lessened by the end of the regular season, but it seems reasonable to think the home-and-away series have too much effect on the standings.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ERPI was created to rank 300-plus teams in NCAA Division I, not leagues, where everybody plays everyone once and plays a handful of teams twice. The main critique is that it can often reward a team as much for \u003Ci\u003Ewho\u003C\/i\u003E it played as\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003Ehow well \u003C\/i\u003Eit played. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt is understandable why it has been embraced in OUA and Canada West. It's part of the lexicon of college basketball, which is product many people in university sports consume enthusiastically. But to strain another tortured tech analogy, RPI is like the app that ranks every restaurant in a large city, when what you really want is one that will help you order food without waiting in line.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt is best to keep this open-ended and express hope the format gets discussed more after the season and gets farther than the inert \"we can't change the format again so soon\" response. What is in place may be an improvement, but it's not yet close to perfect.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhat one would like to see happen:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EAt the end of the season, determine how the RPI standings would have been affected if divisional games were half-weighted. In essence, make each opponent 1\/16th of the grade.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EAlso run the results through \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/blog\/2015\/03\/srs-calculation-details\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ESimple Ranking System, which takes both margin of victory (not factored into RPI) and strength of schedule into account\u003C\/a\u003E. See if it turns out differently.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ESince using winning margins often makes administrators paranoid about coaching running up scores, calculate it with margin of victory capped. Try it with a 25-point cap, or 30, or 35. Also try only capping margin of victory against lesser teams, arguably defined as those which win fewer than 30 per cent of their games. It's one thing to shelter the fledgling teams, but the Ottawa Gee-Gees should accept consequences for losing to Carleton by 41 points.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ESemi-related, all of those ideas allow for getting back to a 20-game schedule. It is really odd that Carleton and Ottawa only come to Ryerson every second season. It would be great to see an \u003Ci\u003Eà la carte\u003C\/i\u003E approach where the other 12 schools could line up an extra game.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWho knows, maybe there is a case for the status quo. It would not be bad if Nipissing got a home playoff date out of this deal. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECollectively, OUA has been very good at keeping the league fresh: single-site final fours, divisional re-alignment, RPI. Being progressive means owning the missteps, too.\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/6746952493176153511\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2017\/01\/basketball-oua-rpiproblems-return-is.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/6746952493176153511"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/6746952493176153511"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2017\/01\/basketball-oua-rpiproblems-return-is.html","title":"Basketball: OUA #RPIProblems return; is McMaster really the meat in the Nipissing-Laurentian sandwich?"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"sager"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/08757652892056684490"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-HoppI3_eGQc\/VrWGl9xFY2I\/AAAAAAAADEA\/ucwvqUnIa7M\/s220\/Neate1379-4x4M.JPG"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-4908937121374243128"},"published":{"$t":"2016-06-13T19:02:00.001-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2016-06-13T19:14:28.397-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"OUA"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"RPI"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"OUA basketball RPI-offs will now make Every Game Count! "},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Two out of three is not bad, as a shooting percentage or regarding changes to Ontario University Athletics' RPI-offs.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp;The end of last season pointed up three issues with the format. The Ryerson Rams ended up with the No. 1 seed for the Wilson Cup men's playoffs since a loss to the Guelph Gryphons did not factor into the RPI. The Gryphons, at 9-10, did not make the playoffs since they were fourth in the OUA Central whilst Laurier (9-11), Laurentian (6-13) and Toronto (5-14) got inside the velvet rope. That was not right.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETo its credit, OUA is rectifying that for 2016-17, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/canhoopsca.wordpress.com\/2016\/06\/13\/oua-tweaks-playoff-seeding-announces-16-17-schedule\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Eas CANhoops related\u003C\/a\u003E:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EAll games count in crunching the RPI;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EThe top 12 teams in RPI, regardless of division, make the playoffs.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003EThat is at it should be. Critics of RPI, of course, hold that the reliance on strength of schedule means it rewards teams more for losses to strong opponents than it does for winning.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt's a good idea to have it in OUA when the West division plays 20 games and everyone else plays 19. However, it can favour the teams that are in a division with one or two of the usual suspects (Carleton, Ottawa and the Rams). It can also affect an team from the West that has one-fifth of its schedule against expansion Algoma and rebuilding Waterloo. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EA third tweak would have been to half-weight divisional games. Maybe next year, eh. Two changes is a good start.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/oua.ca\/sports\/mbkb\/2016-17\/schedule\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Emen's\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/oua.ca\/sports\/wbkb\/2016-17\/schedule\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ewomen's\u003C\/a\u003E schedules are online. Of note, Final 8 host Dalhousie will be in the GTA on the first weekend of October for some non-conf. action.\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/4908937121374243128\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2016\/06\/oua-basketball-rpi-offs-will-now-make.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/4908937121374243128"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/4908937121374243128"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2016\/06\/oua-basketball-rpi-offs-will-now-make.html","title":"OUA basketball RPI-offs will now make Every Game Count! "}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"sager"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/08757652892056684490"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-HoppI3_eGQc\/VrWGl9xFY2I\/AAAAAAAADEA\/ucwvqUnIa7M\/s220\/Neate1379-4x4M.JPG"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-2677801174095343939"},"published":{"$t":"2016-02-29T12:54:00.001-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2016-02-29T15:52:24.864-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lancers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lions"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"RPI"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Varsity Blues"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Wilson Cup"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"York Lions booted from OUA Wilson Cup playoffs over ineligibility snafu — report"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"While March might come in like a lamb, it is out with the Lions.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMonday morning, 60 hours before the start of the OUA Wilson Cup playoffs, with teams and athletic departments arranging travel and for Wednesday playoff games, the report from \u003Cb\u003EMark Wacyk \u003C\/b\u003Edropped that the York Lions have been bounced due to using an ineligible player for nine games.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn other words, two August exhibition games, the ones that Windsor used \u003Cb\u003ERaheem Isaac\u003C\/b\u003E in before he enrolled at York, are affecting the playoffs in March. Over to the oracle:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"tr_bq\"\u003E... the Lions used 6’1″ Raheem Isaac for 9 games earlier this season before he was released from the team. Isaac had also played in two games for Windsor in August during Lancers NCAA\/CIS series vs. Indianapolis at the St. Denis Center. By allowing Isaac to play for them after suiting up for a different OUA team in the same season, apparently by ruling, York forfeits at least the 9 games Isaac played in and as such U of T finishes third in the OUA Central. Still no word on why Toronto will go to Queen’s: clearly with U of T in the playoffs instead of York, RPI- calculated seedings are very likely change, throwing the entire bracket into uncertainty. With it being Monday morning and games on Wednesday and the other 6 playoff teams already preparing for their initial opponents, OUA likely was trying to think practically in the adjusted bracket. (\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/canhoopsca.wordpress.com\/2016\/02\/29\/eligibility-issue-reverses-oua-playoff-seedings\/\"\u003ECANhoops.ca\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Ci\u003EQuelle clusterfudge! \u003C\/i\u003EIt goes without saying OUA is following the manual, adhering to protocol, and trying to do as little harm as possible to teams' prep for playoff opponents. Not to be Mr. Negativity, since it is always better to be prescriptive ... but if it was not determined until 2-3 days prior to the playoffs that York was in the wrong by using Raheem Isaac, then, well, it's too late to do anything about it that affects the outcome of the 2015-16 season.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca name='more'\u003E\u003C\/a\u003EThis presumes using Isaac was all that was wrong. It might not be prudent to bring this up now, but York guard \u003Cb\u003EShane Reader \u003C\/b\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/oua.ca\/sports\/mbkb\/2015-16\/players\/shanereaderhug2?view=gamelog\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Edid not play any games\u003C\/a\u003E after Feb. 6. He played 30 minutes in his last game, and that typically means someone was healthy.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESanctioning York and levying a fine would have been much more of a direct punishment to the alleged offender, which is the men's basketball program\u003C\/b\u003E. Isaac has already been punished with his release. The Lions players have done nothing wrong. Moreover, coaches and players on seven to 11 other playoff teams shouldn't have the distraction of wondering if they are playing or going somewhere else. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EUpdated: The big takeaway from the OUA release is that, fortunately, the recalculated RPI after York vacated the three wins that Isaac played in, didn't affect any other teams. Toronto went into the No. 10 seed:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"tr_bq\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe University of Toronto Varsity Blues, who previously finished tied for third with York, finish in third place in the OUA East Division and qualify for postseason play.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"tr_bq\"\u003EWith the updated division standings, the Varsity Blues were included in a recalculation of the Rating Percentage Index (RPI) resulting in amended playoff matchups. Toronto will enter the playoffs as the tenth seed, a position that was previously held by York. (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.oua.ca\/sports\/mbkb\/2015-16\/releases\/20160229l1g94l\"\u003EOUA\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/blockquote\u003EWell, then, everything has been wrapped up a in neat little package. Sorry if it came out sarcastically.\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnyone want to take bets on whether we see some tweaks to RPI come OUA AGM time?\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/2677801174095343939\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2016\/02\/york-lions-booted-from-oua-wilson-cup.html#comment-form","title":"1 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/2677801174095343939"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/2677801174095343939"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2016\/02\/york-lions-booted-from-oua-wilson-cup.html","title":"York Lions booted from OUA Wilson Cup playoffs over ineligibility snafu — report"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"sager"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/08757652892056684490"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-HoppI3_eGQc\/VrWGl9xFY2I\/AAAAAAAADEA\/ucwvqUnIa7M\/s220\/Neate1379-4x4M.JPG"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"1"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-1393772720855805554"},"published":{"$t":"2016-02-27T22:45:00.000-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2016-02-28T11:45:29.872-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Badgers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Gaels"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Hawks"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gryphons"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lancers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lions"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Marauders"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ottawa Gee-Gees"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ravens"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"RPI"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ryerson Rams"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Thunderwolves"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Voyageurs"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Wilson Cup"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"#RPIProblems: Ryerson nabs OUA No. 1 seed due to Brock beating Guelph; tanking appears to have been avoided"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Updated ... since the OUA doesn't go to the fourth digit, Brock (.5128 RPI) and Queen's (.5130 RPI) are technically tied for the sixth seed. The Badgers move up due to having 13 regular-season wins to Queen's 11. Far be it to argue that instead of using a Tie Breaking Policy, the sixth seed could actually go to the team with the better RPI, even if it is by two-ten thousandths of a point.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAlso, far be it to wonder whether any team contemplated the reality that if you're not a Top 4 bye team, it's really immaterial where you finish. There is a 'shifting deck chairs' aspect to sweating out whether you're fifth, sixth or seventh when you have one more hurdle to get to the OUA Final Four or CIS Final 8 than Ryerson, Ottawa, Carleton and McMaster, which probably also have deeper benches.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBrock Badgers coach \u003Cb\u003ECharles Kissi \u003C\/b\u003Ehad\u003Cb\u003E Dani Elgadi \u003C\/b\u003Eplay 35 minutes and three other starters play at least 30 (\u003Cb\u003ETyler Brown \u003C\/b\u003Ehad only 22 before fouling out) in their 65-62 win at Guelph, which became RPI-irrelevant since it eliminated the Gryphons.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnd as it turned out, Brock would have got sixth if it had lost on Saturday. Their outcome \u0026nbsp;mainly flipped Ryerson above Ottawa for the No. 1 seed, and caused Windsor and Queen's to trade places in the 5 and 7 seeds.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca name='more'\u003E\u003C\/a\u003EHere is the official RPI:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-aBK0gNKr2Qw\/VtMREm8yF6I\/AAAAAAAADGQ\/LHt8H-GsRJk\/s1600\/OUAMBBRPI-official.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-aBK0gNKr2Qw\/VtMREm8yF6I\/AAAAAAAADGQ\/LHt8H-GsRJk\/s640\/OUAMBBRPI-official.jpg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESo rather than 'pick your poison,' it's more like Kissi was choosing one for \u003Cb\u003ESteph Barrie\u003C\/b\u003E and the Queen's Gaels.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe upshot is no one tanked. So there is that. For comparison's sake, here is how it would have shook out with a Guelph win on Saturday:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-_kHvHZA-Mag\/VtJpLJlo1MI\/AAAAAAAADGA\/65h40WLWmZE\/s1600\/OUAwhatifGuelphbeatsBrock.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-_kHvHZA-Mag\/VtJpLJlo1MI\/AAAAAAAADGA\/65h40WLWmZE\/s640\/OUAwhatifGuelphbeatsBrock.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EConvoluted, much? One could put forth an argument that if it is between this and knowing the playoff matchups weeks ahead, then let's create the chaos apace.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe next level from that is that since it's not unheard of for teams in other university sports to rest key players before the playoffs, well, it's not that underhanded to tank in the last week of the regular season to try to exert control over potential matchups. There is a moral difference between tanking when the system rewards it and actual game-fixing.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThat said, Ontario University Athletics owes it to all concerned to make one simple change: \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003Einclude all 19 teams in the RPI. \u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003EThis issue would not come up again. It must be noted, though, that in Year 1 of the RPI playoffs, it protected the top four teams, Ottawa, Carleton, Ryerson and Windsor. It didn't this time, since the OUA is more balanced among its top strata of teams and its pretty good teams.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESo, mea culpa for not remembering at 11 p.m. Saturday night that the the official RPI didn't go to the fourth digit. Here is what it looked like at CIS Hoops:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-5TFfeHIdbMs\/VtMZ2tW4oBI\/AAAAAAAADGg\/tr0HGBxinIw\/s1600\/OUAMBBRPI-unofficial.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" height=\"408\" src=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-5TFfeHIdbMs\/VtMZ2tW4oBI\/AAAAAAAADGg\/tr0HGBxinIw\/s640\/OUAMBBRPI-unofficial.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhile we're here, here's what would be nice to see as a future format for the power conference.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EGo to a 20-game schedule for all concerned, with the Central, East and North teams having an extra home-and-home against a non-divisional team. It could rotate through over a number of years.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ECap winning margins in the 90th percentile to control for the mismatches that are a fact of life throughout regular-season play in CIS, and use Simple Ranking System (SRS) to determine a 12-team playoff field. Whether that continues to involve an even three per division or something more akin to the NHL's divisional format with at-large\/wild-card teams is irrelevant.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003EAnyway, hopefully the playoffs are half this frenetic. Put the calculators down and get the popcorn ready.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt is a modified bracket. The winner of the 12 vs. 5 game will play the 4 seed on Quarter-Final Weekend; winner of 11 vs. 6 visits the 3 seed, and so on. The OUA re-seeds for the Final Four, which Ryerson is in the driver's seat to host if it defeats either Lakehead or Western.\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/1393772720855805554\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2016\/02\/rpiproblems-ryerson-nabs-oua-no-1-seed.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/1393772720855805554"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/1393772720855805554"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2016\/02\/rpiproblems-ryerson-nabs-oua-no-1-seed.html","title":"#RPIProblems: Ryerson nabs OUA No. 1 seed due to Brock beating Guelph; tanking appears to have been avoided"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"sager"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/08757652892056684490"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-HoppI3_eGQc\/VrWGl9xFY2I\/AAAAAAAADEA\/ucwvqUnIa7M\/s220\/Neate1379-4x4M.JPG"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-aBK0gNKr2Qw\/VtMREm8yF6I\/AAAAAAAADGQ\/LHt8H-GsRJk\/s72-c\/OUAMBBRPI-official.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-6157713659689655389"},"published":{"$t":"2016-02-21T13:05:00.001-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2016-02-21T13:07:10.524-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Badgers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Final 8"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gee-Gees"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gryphons"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Marauders"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"OUA"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ravens"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"RPI"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ryerson Rams"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Thunderwolves"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"#RPIProblems: What Ottawa needs to wrest top seed, OUA Final Four hosting"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Focus up: whether it is Guelph or Lakehead as the OUA Central's third playoff team is \u003Ci\u003Eyugggge.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFor fun, time to go to cishoops' \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/cishoops.ca\/mbb2015\/ouarpi-scenario.php?Gender=MBB\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EScenario Consideration page\u003C\/a\u003E, playing with drop-down tabs\u0026nbsp;— \u003Ci\u003ELaurentian over Ottawa? Why not? \u003C\/i\u003E— to see how it would affect the RPI used for playoff seeding.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFor a refresher, here is what we are looking at in the event the pre-filled selections all come through during the final week of the regular season:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-jZDAqW-BMN4\/Vsnk4D2nM_I\/AAAAAAAADE0\/54kU7wUAt8s\/s1600\/OUARPI.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" height=\"424\" src=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-jZDAqW-BMN4\/Vsnk4D2nM_I\/AAAAAAAADE0\/54kU7wUAt8s\/s640\/OUARPI.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThere should be some discord if, indeed, it comes to pass that 6-13 Toronto and 5-14 Laurentian get in over 9-10 Guelph. The point of an analytics-based playoff seeding was to strip out some of the geographical biases that came up under the old East\/West structure. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis is the business we have chosen, though, so here's a handy bullet-pointed listed of games that could turn the table. The RPI-ifications of each game are being considered in a vacuum (i.e., the higher-percentage teams win all of the other games).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ci\u003EMac at Brock, 7:30 Wednesday, Meridian Centre\u0026nbsp;— \u003C\/i\u003ESt. Kitt's is getting its big-venue game on, and the Badgers will have benefit of a raucous student section. McMaster could vault to fourth in RPI with a win, with the Badgers and Windsor Lancers sliding a slot. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThat takes that Mac-Carleton quarter-final out of play.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ci\u003ERyerson at Queen's, 8 p.m. Friday\u0026nbsp;—\u003C\/i\u003E Worth noting since \u003Cb\u003ESukhpreet Singh \u003C\/b\u003Eand the Gaels are one of the more intriguing mid-table teams, fomenting a certain alumnus' delusions that Queen's is the sleeping giant of OUA men's basketball. If Queen's somehow, some way turned around a 16-point losing margin from their January game at Mattamy, Ottawa would vault to first with Ryerson second, Carleton third.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003ELakehead at Western, 8 p.m. Friday\u0026nbsp;— \u003C\/i\u003EThe Mustangs probably did the math; a home-floor win potentially creates a playoff rematch with the Thunderwolves in the 9 vs. 8 prelim game. Toronto goes to Queen's in the 10 vs. 7 in that scenario.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ci\u003EMac at Guelph, 8 p.m. Friday; Brock at Guelph, 8 p.m. Saturday\u0026nbsp;— \u003C\/i\u003EWhither the Gryphons after administering comeuppance to \u003Cb\u003EJuwon Grannum\u003C\/b\u003E-less Ryerson?\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGuelph owns the tiebreaker against Lakehead, so that playoff spot flips with one Guelph win and Thunderwolves' losses at Western and on Windsor on Saturday. (Prove me wrong, Great Group of Dudes 8.0; prove me wrong.)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMac handled Guelph 99-77 at home in January, shooting an effective 56.3 per cent with all five starters hooping at least nine points while \u003Cb\u003ERohan Boney \u003C\/b\u003Escored 18 in as many minutes. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIf Guelph pulled if off on Friday with Lakehead having a winless weekend:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-dSmCBGIOPFg\/Vsn6XuOpzPI\/AAAAAAAADFE\/sMkhr2xecf8\/s1600\/OUA2.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" height=\"408\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-dSmCBGIOPFg\/Vsn6XuOpzPI\/AAAAAAAADFE\/sMkhr2xecf8\/s640\/OUA2.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ENow, in the possibly more plausible scenario that the Gryphons got that all-important tiebreaker-inducing win at the 11th hour against the Badgers, who will have had two full nights off? Ottawa again goes to No. 1.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-JjZwjoFPh88\/Vsn752UN8tI\/AAAAAAAADFQ\/WR40genVroA\/s1600\/OUA3.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" height=\"422\" src=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-JjZwjoFPh88\/Vsn752UN8tI\/AAAAAAAADFQ\/WR40genVroA\/s640\/OUA3.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt pretty much plays out that way in any scenario where Guelph goes to the playoffs and Lakehead is eliminated.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003EHappy hoops-following! \u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/6157713659689655389\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2016\/02\/rpiproblems-what-ottawa-needs-to-wrest.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/6157713659689655389"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/6157713659689655389"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2016\/02\/rpiproblems-what-ottawa-needs-to-wrest.html","title":"#RPIProblems: What Ottawa needs to wrest top seed, OUA Final Four hosting"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"sager"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/08757652892056684490"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-HoppI3_eGQc\/VrWGl9xFY2I\/AAAAAAAADEA\/ucwvqUnIa7M\/s220\/Neate1379-4x4M.JPG"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-jZDAqW-BMN4\/Vsnk4D2nM_I\/AAAAAAAADE0\/54kU7wUAt8s\/s72-c\/OUARPI.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-4809958137512906627"},"published":{"$t":"2016-02-17T22:39:00.003-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2016-02-17T22:41:54.271-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gee-Gees"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gryphons"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Marauders"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"OUA men's basketball recap"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"RPI"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ryerson Rams"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Thunderwolves"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"#RPIProblems: Guelph's upset against Ryerson might not affect OUA seeding"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Long story short, \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/oua.ca\/sports\/mbkb\/2015-16\/boxscores\/20160217_epy3.xml\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EGuelph's 96-92 upset against No. 1 Ryerson\u003C\/a\u003E might have ramifications for the CIS Final 8, but not for the OUA Wilson Cup playoffs, because RPI.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommit 24 turnovers against a desperate and dialed-in team, and the law of unintended consequences can kick in for an entire conference. The Gryphons, with\u003Cb\u003E Jonathan Wallace \u003C\/b\u003Escoring 27 on 85.7 per cent effective shooting while \u003Cb\u003EDaniel Dooley \u003C\/b\u003Ehad 19 points and nine assists with 70% eFG and \u003Cb\u003EAhmed Haroon\u003C\/b\u003E had the \u0026nbsp;20-point, 12-rebound double-double with 61.5% eFG, stunned the nation's top-ranked team. Ryerson's starting five gave the ball away with 19 times; only \u003Cb\u003EAdika Peter-McNeilly\u003C\/b\u003E, who scored 37 to lead a comeback attempt, \u0026nbsp;was immune for the slippery-fingeritis.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe upshot, though, is that this will only hurt the Rams' place in the 'RPI playoffs' if the Gryphons surmount Lakehead (9-6) for the third playoff spot out of the OUA Central. Only games against playoff teams count, after all.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Gryphons likely have to win at least 2-of-3 to invoke their tiebreaker advantage against Lakehead and get that playoff berth. Meantime, McMaster's loss to Lakehead will count in the seeding, but this Ryerson loss likely will not.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGuelph's remaining games are all at home against Toronto and two top 10 teams, Brock and McMaster.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELakehead hosts Ryerson and Toronto on Friday on Saturday, then finishes up with a Western\/Windsor road trip. One has to have a little empathy for whichever team finishes fourth in the Central. They will surely have a better overall record than either the third team out of the East, whilst playing in a division with two Top 6 teams.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAs the oracle of the orange ball says:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"tr_bq\"\u003E\"\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/canhoopsca.wordpress.com\/2016\/02\/17\/gryphs-shock-1-ryerson\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EPlenty to think about given the unique format of using a ranking tool designed for 300+ teams that count each and every game and applying it to 12 teams with only games among those 12 teams counting in the ranking\u003C\/a\u003E.\"\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhat Mr. \u003Cb\u003EWacyk \u003C\/b\u003Esaid. Using an analytics-based format was a bold and welcome idea, but the application clearly has bugs in it that come up when a top team gets caught in a trap game.\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/4809958137512906627\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2016\/02\/rpiproblems-guelphs-upset-against.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/4809958137512906627"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/4809958137512906627"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2016\/02\/rpiproblems-guelphs-upset-against.html","title":"#RPIProblems: Guelph's upset against Ryerson might not affect OUA seeding"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"sager"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/08757652892056684490"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-HoppI3_eGQc\/VrWGl9xFY2I\/AAAAAAAADEA\/ucwvqUnIa7M\/s220\/Neate1379-4x4M.JPG"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-3387968538751108233"},"published":{"$t":"2011-10-02T22:00:00.002-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2011-10-02T22:00:01.165-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Capers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Bears"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lions"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Martlets"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Patriotes"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"RPI"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Soccer"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Tigers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Top 10"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"U of S Huskies"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Women's soccer: RPI risers and fallers"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ci\u003EThis weekly update brought to you by a dead computer in Halifax...\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFour teams moved up by 10 spots or more this week in \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheet\/ccc?key=0Ar0xEkmR7QNKdEhPdjJ4VV9BdW81OVR0LXVlREVuTGc\u0026hl=en_US\"\u003Eour women's soccer RPI\u003C\/a\u003E, one of whom even makes the top 10.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E(Given the weird results you're about to see in our football RPI, I won't blame you for being skeptical of this, but keep in mind that there are many more games in soccer than football, and that we have some interconference exhibition games to work with as well.)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ERISERS\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003ECape Breton, +11\u003C\/b\u003E (Last week: 16, This week: 5): Nowhere to be found in the official top 10, the Capers are nonetheless showing \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/09\/womens-soccer-goals-in-east-recovery-in.html\"\u003Esome of that powerhouse potential\u003C\/a\u003E in knocking off Dal. The road loss to UPEI is not going to hurt them that much, since nobody has beaten the Panthers (who are 14-1 in goal differential). With Moncton and UNB on the docket next week, a 4-3-0 record may become 6-3-0.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESaskatchewan, +11\u003C\/b\u003E (Last week: 22, This week: 11): Another team whose record may belie their true performance. They're 4-3-1 in league play but with losses to Calgary, TWU, and Alberta who together have been 13-5-2 against everyone else. Split a pair in Edmonton this week, then back in the province next week for games against Calgary and hapless Lethbridge. With games in B.C. the week after that, they will go more than a month between home games. \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/huskies.usask.ca\/news\/2011\/October\/2011-10-02-wsoc\/index.php\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EElizabeth Hudon\u003C\/b\u003E scored twice in their win\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EUQTR, +11\u003C\/b\u003E (Last week: 28, This week: 17): A win over McGill is always nice. Their only losses are to Montreal and Sherbrooke, two teams who have not lost except to each other. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EFALLERS\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EYork, -14\u003C\/b\u003E (Last week: 12, This week: 26): Lost to Waterloo at home. Need I say more?\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E(Nobody else really fell in a notable way. TWU and UBC, kind of. Maybe Windsor.)\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ETOP 10 LOSSES\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EAlberta: L 3-2 vs. Saskatchewan\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EMcGill: L 3-0 at UQTR\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EDalhousie: L 2-1 at Cape Breton\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ENot surprisingly, a top 10 team losing a game corresponds with their opponent's rise in the RPI. It's almost like it's designed that way!\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/3387968538751108233\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/10\/womens-soccer-rpi-risers-and-fallers.html#comment-form","title":"2 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/3387968538751108233"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/3387968538751108233"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/10\/womens-soccer-rpi-risers-and-fallers.html","title":"Women's soccer: RPI risers and fallers"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Rob Pettapiece"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"2"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-1424266216918376733"},"published":{"$t":"2011-09-22T07:00:00.000-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2011-09-22T07:00:08.296-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Calculated Reactions"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Football"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gee-Gees"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Marauders"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Mustangs"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ravens"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Rouge et Or"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"RPI"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"statistics"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Stingers"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Calculated Reactions: The effect of interconference play on team rankings"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Earlier this week, \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/09\/football-power-rankings-sep-19.html\"\u003Ewe introduced football power rankings\u003C\/a\u003E, based on (in part) \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ratings_Percentage_Index\"\u003ERPI\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/blog\/?p=37\"\u003ESRS\u003C\/a\u003E, two widely-used measures of team performance. (Okay, RPI is a little more widely-used.)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe problem is all these OUA teams are at the top: Western, McMaster, \u003Ci\u003Eand\u003C\/i\u003E Ottawa all in the non-Laval top 3? Windsor at 8? \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis isn't right. It's also based on just two or three games per team, and you're bound to get weird results. But we're not about to expand CIS football to 82 games, so we have to deal with it. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHow can we do that?\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003EOne way is to introduce interconference results. If one conference consistently beats the other, then the teams in that loser conference won't be so high in the rankings anymore. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBut we don't have a lot of preseason games to work with, and some of them are of questionable quality (fourth-stringers playing, quarterbacks not \"live\") so I am loathe to include any of them.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EStill, it's worth knowing what happens when a game is played that crosses the previously-uncrossed interconference chasm.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EFootball\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIf you count just the regular-season and (intra-)conference playoffs, the best teams last year, by RPI, were Western (.673), Ottawa (.637), Laval (.620), and McMaster (.617). Looks kind of like this year, eh? By SRS, the best were Laval (+25.1), Western (+14.5), Saskatchewan (+10.0), and Ottawa (+9.8). \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhen you add one interconference result \u0026mdash; namely, Laval's 13-11 Uteck Bowl win over Western \u0026mdash; here's what happens to the RPI:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003ELaval goes up 19 points, Western goes down 1. Makes sense. But neither team moves enough to change its overall ranking.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EEvery other OUA team loses 5-8 points, since they all played Western and the Mustangs now have a worse record.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ENote that Western didn't lose as many because their decline in win-loss percentage was offset by the fact that they played a very good team. Losing to McGill would be worse.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis is all very sensible. The marginal effect of one game on the RPI is basically as we expect.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBut SRS does not handle things the same way:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003ELaval loses 4.2 points, falling to +20.9, even though they won. Western goes up 4.4 to +18.9, even though they lost.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EIn fact, every team that played Laval, or had an opponent who played Laval, dropped 4.2, and every one of Western's opponents saw that same 4.4 increase.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis kind of makes sense when you look at it more closely. Before the Uteck, Laval's rating, +25.1, was about 10 or 11 points \"better\" than Western's, +14.5. So at that time, our best estimate was that Laval was 10 points better. But after the game, SRS looks at the two-point margin and says, \"Aha! Laval was not in fact 10 points better, or else they would have won by 10!\" And thus the Laval and Western ratings are adjusted to reflect that result (20.9 minus 18.9 is, after all, two points).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe problem is, that result is \u003Ci\u003Eall\u003C\/i\u003E SRS has to judge the relative quality of those conferences. So the adjustment is applied to all teams in those conferences, including the AUS. This wouldn't happen if we had more than one game, or more than three games \u0026mdash; even after including the Mitchell Bowl and Vanier Cup, the OUA teams benefit the most.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThankfully, there are other sports with more extensive interconference play...\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EBasketball\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAgain we'll do the same thing: a before and after comparison of the ranking systems. Our \"before\" is once again all regular-season games and conference playoffs.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEntering the Final 8, Carleton was the No. 1 team in SRS, and No. 2 in RPI behind Cape Breton. Concordia was 3rd in RPI but 15th in SRS. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWe'll just include the Carleton-Concordia game at first, 73-66 Ravens win, to confirm the same thing happens:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003ERPI gives more credit to Carleton and some OUA teams, and takes points away from the Q teams. Concordia, like the football Mustangs, don't get penalized that much for losing to the best.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ESRS gives 8.3 points to every Q team and takes 2.0 away from every OUA team. Again, this is the over-correction: before the game, Carleton (+20.5) was considered to be 17 points better than Concordia (+3.2). But they only beat them by six. So 11 points, or so, had to be reallocated: 8 and change to Concordia and 2 from Carleton.\u003C\/ul\u003EThe Final 8 is only, well, a few games (seven that matter), so SRS still can't estimate properly, but RPI can: Carleton, TWU, and Saskatchewan each gain quite a bit. Reasonable. if we include all 144 exhibition games, along with the Final 8, things are much more believable. Winnipeg and Saint Mary's, who had respectable nonconference performances, gained more than two points in SRS; UQAM, Bishop's, and Queen's, who did not, each lost more than four. This is good news: it means that SRS can \"settle down\" once the list of interconference games is large enough. Here, we have 144 games per 42 teams, or three or four games per team. \u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EWrapping it up\u003C\/b\u003E \u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003EThis is all a very long-winded way of saying that SRS is too volatile to handle interconference games until it has a large number of them. Which is why it might be a bad idea to use it in football, where we don't have nearly any of them ... after all, do you really want to move every OUA team down 25 points and every Q and AUS team up 25? Because that's what would happen based on McGill's 37-14 \"win\" over Ottawa. \u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003ESo, until every CIS football team plays three games against teams not in its conference, SRS will consider all conferences of equal quality until the bowl games. At that point, one game can throw everything into disarray.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/1424266216918376733\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/09\/calculated-reactions-effect-of.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/1424266216918376733"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/1424266216918376733"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/09\/calculated-reactions-effect-of.html","title":"Calculated Reactions: The effect of interconference play on team rankings"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Rob Pettapiece"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-3877239764315931290"},"published":{"$t":"2010-08-03T19:34:00.006-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2010-12-21T18:38:22.073-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Hockey"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"RPI"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"statistics"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Volleyball"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"A quick note on team rankings"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"If you hadn't already noticed, there are now links on the right-hand sidebar to men's and women's volleyball team rankings (RPI and SRS) for the 2009-10 season. Women's basketball has also been added; previously, we had only published men's basketball and men's and women's hockey on the site, so in some ways we're doubling our offering. (In other, more accurate ways, we're telling you, in August, who the top teams were in a season that ended five months ago in March. Hooray for timeliness.) \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESomewhat surprisingly, the new rankings--well, months-old new rankings--have already been discovered by some sharp readers, without any guidance or suggestive gesturing on my behalf, and thanks are due to those who care enough about what we do here to notice unannounced changes.\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/3877239764315931290\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2010\/08\/quick-note-on-team-rankings.html#comment-form","title":"1 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/3877239764315931290"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/3877239764315931290"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2010\/08\/quick-note-on-team-rankings.html","title":"A quick note on team rankings"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Rob Pettapiece"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"1"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-2796341679017157289"},"published":{"$t":"2009-11-10T23:00:00.013-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2010-09-09T23:08:48.487-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"awards"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Carabins"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"CFL"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gee-Gees"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Gaels"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Hawks"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lakers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Linking the country"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ravens"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Rouge et Or"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"RPI"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Soccer"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"U of S Huskies"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"X-Men"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Linking the country ..."},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EFootball\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003ESt. FX D-lineman \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EDave Skillen\u003C\/span\u003E is going to try to suit up for Saturday's Loney Bowl with a torn ACL. (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/thechronicleherald.ca\/print_article.html?story=1152149\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EHalifax Chronicle-Herald\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EAll-star Laurier linemen \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EAdam Bestard\u003C\/span\u003E (he long snaps, too!) is looking forward to trying to make the CFL's Winnipeg Blue Bombers next spring. (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/news.therecord.com\/printArticle\/627430\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EWaterloo Region Record\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ELooking ahead to Saturday's Yates Cup, London columnist \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ERyan Pyette \u003C\/span\u003Epoints to Western coach\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003E Greg Marshall\u003C\/span\u003E's 19-0 OUA playoff record since 2000 and says, \"The biggest thing for Queen’s coach \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EPat Sheahan\u003C\/span\u003E is to convince his players they can win the big one against the guy who never loses it.\" (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.lfpress.com\/sports\/mustangs\/2009\/11\/11\/11706086-sun.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ELondon Free Press\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E14-year Saskatchewan Roughriders veteran \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EGene Makowsky\u003C\/span\u003E (U of S Huskies) was just three years old the last time the franchise had a first-place finish, so you know it's been a while. (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.calgaryherald.com\/story_print.html?id=2204057\u0026amp;sponsor=\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ERegina Leader-Post\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ESpeedy Laval linebacker \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EFrédéric Plesius\u003C\/span\u003E is now known as \"Fredo\" to Carabins fans. Nice touch. (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.allezlesbleus.ca\/2009\/11\/ramassis-de-notes-scouting-de-la-finale.html\"\u003EAllez Les Bleus\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EParaphrasing the late \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ELloyd Bridges\u003C\/span\u003E' character in \u003Cspan style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003EAirplane\u003C\/span\u003E, \"Looks like I picked the wrong week to go vegetarian.\" Which CFL stadium does the best job serving a hamburger? (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.canoe.ca\/cflbuzz\/2009\/11\/10\/who_has_the_best_burger_in_the_cfl_1\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ECFL Buzz\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/skhuskies.wordpress.com\/2009\/11\/10\/theres-no-justice-or-is-there\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003EHuskies Football Outsider\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E is making its peace with some of the Canada West all-star selections. The fact some snubbed Saskatchewan Huskies and their teammates have at least one game to play is more than enough consolation.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/capitalregionfootball.info\/blog\/?p=1313\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003ECapital Region Football\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E thinks it's telling only one of Ottawa's six OUA all-stars (receiver \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ESteven Hughes\u003C\/span\u003E) is a hometown player. It might be 2-of-6, since if memory serves \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ECyril Adjeity\u003C\/span\u003E, a native of Ghana whose parents are diplomats, played his amateur ball in the city.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFor point of comparison, though, four of the nine Queen's players selected are from either Kingston or nearby Belleville. That's not saying either way is better; just the facts.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E(Personal opinion: People get too pent-up over the all-star selections. Fix the process, then we'll kvetch.)\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EBasketball\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/spreadsheets.google.com\/ccc?key=0Ar0xEkmR7QNKdFBTeExuYjhxQmI2Q1lrV0c2ZUVNWWc\u0026amp;hl=en\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EMen's basketball RPI\u003C\/a\u003E is once again available!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EHockey\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003ENow-unranked Nipissing is finding out about leadership. Lakers coach \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EMike McParland \u003C\/span\u003Esees it in spades in Carleton centre \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EAndrew Self\u003C\/span\u003E:\u003Cblockquote\u003E\"I thought he was the best player on the ice and we could definitely use a player of that calibre ... That's been one of the things we've said all year, that we maybe are missing that No. 1 horse as a centre, although Ryan Maunu has really stepped up ... If we had another left-handed horse at centre, that would definitely help us.\"\u003C\/blockquote\u003E (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.nugget.ca\/PrintArticle.aspx?e=2169405\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ENorth Bay Nugget\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ENice retrospective on early-1970s Waterloo goalie \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EJake Dupuis\u003C\/span\u003E, who made his own goalie masks. (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.midlandfreepress.com\/PrintArticle.aspx?e=2170030\"\u003EMidland Free Press\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ESoccer\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003ENot CIS (again), but it would remiss to not link to a \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EGraham Hays\u003C\/span\u003E column about \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EElizabeth Lambert\u003C\/span\u003E, that ponytail-pulling New Mexico soccer player, since the clip was posted here last week:\u003Cblockquote\u003E\"This is how it so often goes for women's sports ... Roll tape, ignore the context and let the criticism and mocking commence ... from the casual references to 'catfights' circulating with the clip to the place of prominence it occupied on Web sites and sports talks shows -- attention far more lavish than anything the national championship game will receive a month from now -- it was also a reminder that some segment of the population still finds comfort in mocking the very idea of women's competing with a level of intensity at which such excesses become potential problems.\"\u003C\/blockquote\u003EIt's off-topic, but it's only fair to give that other side (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/sports.espn.go.com\/espn\/print?id=4637460\u0026amp;type=story\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EESPN.com\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/2796341679017157289\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2009\/11\/linking-country_10.html#comment-form","title":"7 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/2796341679017157289"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/2796341679017157289"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2009\/11\/linking-country_10.html","title":"Linking the country ..."}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"sager"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/08757652892056684490"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-HoppI3_eGQc\/VrWGl9xFY2I\/AAAAAAAADEA\/ucwvqUnIa7M\/s220\/Neate1379-4x4M.JPG"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"7"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-7669413848721008529"},"published":{"$t":"2009-11-06T15:00:00.002-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-11-06T15:00:03.105-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Opening Tip '09-10"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"previews"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ravens"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"RPI"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"'09-10 opening tip: No. 1 Carleton Ravens"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ETop 100 returnees\u003C\/span\u003E: C-F Kevin McCleery (5th), G Mike Kenny (22nd)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EOther key returnees:\u003C\/span\u003E G Elliot Thompson, F-G Cole Hobin, G Luke Chapman, F Kyle Smendziuk\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ENewcomers: \u003C\/span\u003EF Tyson Hinz, G Willy Manigat (last played at Ottawa in 2006-07), G Greg Faulkner\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ECoach: \u003C\/span\u003EDave Smart (10th season)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EOffence and defence:\u003C\/span\u003E 118, 85 (+33)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ELast year's results: \u003C\/span\u003E36-1 overall, won national championship, 1st in RPI\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ELooking ahead: \u003C\/span\u003ESmart has said from the outset this is a \"talented dangerous team, the kind which scares both coaches.\" In a testament to their share-the-ball ways, the Ravens return 57% of scoring, a high figure for a team which graduated two all-Canadians who were capable of scoring 30 points when needed.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe big X factors could be how quickly Hobin and Thompson adjust to expanded roles and how well Carleton executes offensively and defensively without the Kingston Trio. Although it can only be answered internally, leadership comes into question with Messrs. Doornekamp, Saunders and Turnbull's chemistry having graduated.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOne possible trouble spot for Carleton is that their opponents tended to get a lot of free-throw shots, a product of playing the percentages on defence and making teams earn their points. It's forgotten now, but when \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EStu Turnbull \u003C\/span\u003Ehit The Shot to beat Western in the national semifinal, \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EAaron Doornekamp\u003C\/span\u003E had fouled out; foul trouble also contributed to the double-OT loss to Acadia in the '08 semi.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThat being said, this is still a very good team which has an entire season to build up to hosting the CIS Final 8 in March. They have the luxury of learning from mistakes and should be ready when the bell tolls. Six national titles buys some benefit of the doubt!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003ERob's explanation of Top 100 players by Player Efficiency Ratings (PER) and Net Efficiency may be found in the \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2009\/10\/womens-basketball-top-20-capsule.html\"\u003Ewomen's preview\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/7669413848721008529\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2009\/11\/09-10-opening-tip-no-1-carleton-ravens.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/7669413848721008529"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/7669413848721008529"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2009\/11\/09-10-opening-tip-no-1-carleton-ravens.html","title":"'09-10 opening tip: No. 1 Carleton Ravens"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"outofleftfield"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-8783174521604023503"},"published":{"$t":"2009-11-06T14:50:00.002-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-11-07T00:00:06.870-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Capers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Opening Tip '09-10"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"previews"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"RPI"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Opening tip '09-10: No. 2 Cape Breton Capers"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ETop 100 returnees\u003C\/span\u003E: G Scott Jaspers-Fayer (11th), F Phil Nkrumah (20th)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EOther key returnees:\u003C\/span\u003E G Tremaine Fraser, G Ryan Roper, G Chris Noddle, F Lasario Burrows, G Mark McGarrigle\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ENewcomers:\u003C\/span\u003E G Paris Carter, G Jimmy Dorsey (juco transfer), F Cameron-John Procter (juco transfer)\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003E \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ECoach: \u003C\/span\u003E Jim Charters (eighth season)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EOffence and defence:\u003C\/span\u003E 99, 86 (+13)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ELast year's results: \u003C\/span\u003E18-8 overall, lost one-pointer to Dalhousie in AUS Final 6 semi-final, 11th in RPI\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ELooking ahead: \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ECBU was probably one of the most intriguing teams of last season, as in how did it \u003Cspan style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003Enot\u003C\/span\u003E get to the Final 8? They \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.atlanticuniversitysport.com\/mens\/basketball\/stats\/2008\/CONFLDRS.HTM\"\u003Eled\u003C\/a\u003E the AUS in FG% defence and rebounding margin. On the offensive end, they're returning almost everyone (93% of scoring), so the potential is there for Charters to finally take a team to nationals. Carter, although he's currently waiting for a broken hand to heal, could also be a game-changer, especially if Fraser becomes a running mate in the backcourt. Their Achilles heel last season was free-throw shooting (61.7%). If that can improve marginally, they might be sittin' prettier than Chief Wiggum after a breakfast of engine-block eggs.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003EIn other words, Cape Breton should ride that rebounding, defence and athleticism deep into the post-season. Its big court leader is Nkrumah, who's listed at only 6-foot-4 but makes everyone else on his team seem two inches taller. The Capers are probably a legit 10-deep team (which seems to be fast becoming a prerequisite with the FIBA rules; it makes iron-man types who can play 38-40 minutes a game all the more impressive).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003ERob's explanation of Top 100 players by Player Efficiency Ratings (see last year's \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/spreadsheets.google.com\/ccc?key=0Ar0xEkmR7QNKdGJicWt0V3V5OWh1YjZ3MGtYQWVvcEE\u0026amp;hl=en\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EPER\u003C\/a\u003E) and Net Efficiency may be found in the \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2009\/10\/womens-basketball-top-20-capsule.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ewomen's preview\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/8783174521604023503\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2009\/11\/opening-tip-09-10-no-2-cape-breton.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/8783174521604023503"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/8783174521604023503"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2009\/11\/opening-tip-09-10-no-2-cape-breton.html","title":"Opening tip '09-10: No. 2 Cape Breton Capers"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"outofleftfield"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-6476698045013515144"},"published":{"$t":"2009-11-06T14:43:00.000-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2012-08-12T23:30:12.723-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Opening Tip '09-10"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"previews"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"RPI"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"UBC Thunderbirds"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Opening tip '09-10: No. 3 UBC Thunderbirds"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ETop 100 returnees\u003C\/span\u003E: G Josh Whyte (9th), F Blain Labranche (45th), F Brent Malish (53rd)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EOther key returnees:\u003C\/span\u003E G Alex Murphy, F Kyle Watson, G Nathan Yu\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ENewcomers:\u003C\/span\u003E C Chad Posthumus, F-G Kamar Burke (transfer, Thompson Rivers)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ECoach:\u003C\/span\u003E Kevin Hanson (10th season)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EOffence and defence:\u003C\/span\u003E 103, 80 (+23)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ELast year's results: \u003C\/span\u003E31-4 overall, lost national championship game to Carleton, 2nd in RPI (occasionally 1st during the year)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ELooking ahead: \u003C\/span\u003EThree Top-50 players (give or take) returning, including Whyte, makes UBC an on-paper favourite to be playing basketball on March 21, the day of the national championship game. Granted, it might be tough enough just to win the division.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EUBC has the rep as a flashy shooting team, but as the numbers show, they were devastating defensively last season, which contributed to their long-sought breakthrough at the Final 8. The graduated \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EBryson Kool \u003C\/span\u003Eseemed to be a big part of that defensive intensity, along with Chris Dyck, but the 'Birds have a great base at the end of the floor.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOffensively, Hanson has added Burke (15 points per game at TRU two seasons ago) to a mix that includes 64% of last season's scoring. Point being, the 'Birds are a very deep team, with role players such as second-team point guard Murphy who would be among the leading scorers on weaker teams. Labranche and Malish also bring a veteran savvy to the forward spots. Hanson has the fun job of managing the minutes.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003EUBC has some options in the post. Six-foot-9 third-year centre \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EBalraj Bains \u003C\/span\u003Ealters a lot of shots and 6-10, 265-lb. Posthumus is waiting in the wings.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECanada West's crossover playoffs mean two teams from the same division could qualify for the Final 8. That will add an interesting wrinkle come February.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003ERob's explanation of Top 100 players by Player Efficiency Ratings (see last year's \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/spreadsheets.google.com\/ccc?key=0Ar0xEkmR7QNKdGJicWt0V3V5OWh1YjZ3MGtYQWVvcEE\u0026amp;hl=en\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EPER\u003C\/a\u003E) and Net Efficiency may be found in the \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2009\/10\/womens-basketball-top-20-capsule.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ewomen's preview\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/6476698045013515144\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2009\/10\/opening-tip-09-10-no-3-ubc-thunderbirds.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/6476698045013515144"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/6476698045013515144"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2009\/10\/opening-tip-09-10-no-3-ubc-thunderbirds.html","title":"Opening tip '09-10: No. 3 UBC Thunderbirds"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"outofleftfield"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-3688792451706235772"},"published":{"$t":"2009-11-06T13:01:00.001-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-11-06T13:06:18.734-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Dave DeAveiro"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gee-Gees"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Opening Tip '09-10"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"previews"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"RPI"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Opening tip '09-10: No. 9 Ottawa Gee-Gees"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ETop 100 returnees\u003C\/span\u003E: G Josh Gibson-Bascombe (6th), G-F Warren Ward (80th)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EOther key returnees:\u003C\/span\u003E G Donnie Gibson, F Nemanja Baletic, F Louis Gauthier, PG Max Clarkson, C Matt Michaud\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ENewcomers:\u003C\/span\u003E G Ryan Malcolm-Campbell, G Kemeish Edwards\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ECoach: \u003C\/span\u003EDavid DeAveiro (10th season)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EOffence and defence:\u003C\/span\u003E 103, 83 (+20)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ELast year's results: \u003C\/span\u003E32-7 overall, 3rd in RPI, won CIS Final 8 consolation championship\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ELooking ahead: \u003C\/span\u003EOttawa comes into this season facing a scenario similar to 2007-08, having lost three key players off a tournament team. They came out of that pretty well, ultimately falling one game short of nationals despite Gibson-Bascombe being limited by a knee injury during the stretch drive. This time, they have the two-years-older-and-wiser JGB entering his fifth season, but the supporting cast might need time to come around, especially on the defensive end. Offensively, only 53% of scoring has returned.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt's only a matter of when Ward will emerge as a dangerous swingman. Donnie Gibson cannot be left alone on the wing. Max Clarkson should also pick up more minutes at the point (his dad, 1970s-vintage Ottawa Rough Riders receiver \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ERoss Clarkson\u003C\/span\u003E, has taught at Ottawa, by the way). Without graduated stalwarts \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EDax Dessureault\u003C\/span\u003E and \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EDavid Labentowicz\u003C\/span\u003E, though, Ottawa will have questions about how well it can cut off access to the rim. One pre-season press release ID'd Ryan Malcolm-Campbell as their best defender. That might well be, but when a rookie is projected as a team's best defender, people will wonder about the team as a whole, no slight on Malcolm-Campbell. Ultimately, Ottawa's still a solid team and DeAveiro will not let them go quietly into the night.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003ERob's explanation of Top 100 players by Player Efficiency Ratings (PER) and Net Efficiency may be found in the \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2009\/10\/womens-basketball-top-20-capsule.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ewomen's preview\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/3688792451706235772\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2009\/11\/opening-tip-09-10-no-9-ottawa-gee-gees.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/3688792451706235772"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/3688792451706235772"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2009\/11\/opening-tip-09-10-no-9-ottawa-gee-gees.html","title":"Opening tip '09-10: No. 9 Ottawa Gee-Gees"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"outofleftfield"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-4656862015459319086"},"published":{"$t":"2009-11-06T11:58:00.001-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-11-06T12:52:00.538-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Opening Tip '09-10"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"previews"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"RPI"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"SMU Huskies"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Opening tip '09-10: No. 10 Saint Mary's Huskies"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ETop 100 returnees\u003C\/span\u003E: G Joey \"King Handles\" Haywood (14th), G Mark McLaughlin (50th), F Ikeobi Uchegbu (73rd)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EOther key returnees:\u003C\/span\u003E G Jack Gallinaugh, F Simon Marr\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ENewcomers: \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EF Demitri Harris, F Ryan DeWinter (transfer, Dal), G Jonathon MacLanders (transfer, Dalhousie), \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ECoach: \u003C\/span\u003E Ross Quackenbush (21st season)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EOffence and defence:\u003C\/span\u003E 99, 95 (+4)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ELast year's results: \u003C\/span\u003E16-14 overall, 12-8 AUS, lost 79-70 to UPEI Panthers in AUS Final 6 quarter-final, 24th in RPI\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ELooking ahead: \u003C\/span\u003EHaywood, McLaughlin and Uchegbu combined to average almost 54 points last season. It's hard to think of any team which has three prolific scorers all returning and all projected to fill the same roles (all told, Saint Mary's returns 93% of last season's scoring). McLaughlin will basically never leave the floor unless he's fouled out or has a bone sticking out.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Big 3 will keep SMU in the mix in a conference where it's tough for any team to avoid losing more than two games, let alone go undefeated. Their rebounding (-2.0 margin per game last season, seventh in eight-team AUS) could use some work; Uchegbu cannot be expected to do it all every night on the glass, especially against a team capable of using their bigs to tag-team under the glass (think Cape Breton). It also wouldn't hurt to have someone else who's capable of picking up the slack and popping for 20 points here and there.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESaint Mary's has a rep for rising to the occasion in the playoffs under Quackenbush (see 2007 and '08, when they won the conference. Don't take your eye off them for a second!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003ERob's explanations of Top 100 players by Player Efficiency Ratings (see last year's \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/spreadsheets.google.com\/ccc?key=0Ar0xEkmR7QNKdGJicWt0V3V5OWh1YjZ3MGtYQWVvcEE\u0026amp;hl=en\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EPER\u003C\/a\u003E) and Net Efficiency may be found in the \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2009\/10\/womens-basketball-top-20-capsule.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ewomen's preview\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/4656862015459319086\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2009\/11\/opening-tip-09-10-no-10-saint-marys.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/4656862015459319086"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/4656862015459319086"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2009\/11\/opening-tip-09-10-no-10-saint-marys.html","title":"Opening tip '09-10: No. 10 Saint Mary's Huskies"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"outofleftfield"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-424060280858209932"},"published":{"$t":"2009-11-05T18:44:00.001-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-11-06T11:41:40.065-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Opening Tip '09-10"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"previews"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"RPI"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"SFU Clan"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Opening tip '09-10: No. 12 Simon Fraser Clan"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ETop 100 returnees\u003C\/span\u003E: G Matt Kuzminski (75th), G Sean Burke (84th)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EOther key returnees:\u003C\/span\u003E G Kevin Shaw, F Tallon Milne, F Eric Burrell, F Greg Gillies\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ENewcomers:\u003C\/span\u003E F Tristan Gruenthaler\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ECoach: \u003C\/span\u003EScott Clark (15th season)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EOffence and defence:\u003C\/span\u003E 95, 92 (+3)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ELast year's results: \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E15-11 overall, 13th in RPI\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ELooking ahead: \u003C\/span\u003EAgain, this is a bit of a flier. \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EWayne Thomas\u003C\/span\u003E picked SFU for \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/wasssports.blogspot.com\/2009\/10\/canada-west-west-division-preview-by.html\"\u003Efifth in the Pac-D\u003C\/a\u003E, behind UBC, Trinity Western and Fraser Valley (and don't forget UVic). That might be a sound call, since the Clan have a huge hole in the middle with the graduation of backboard-breaking \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EGreg Wallis\u003C\/span\u003E.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBy the same token, Burke is a proven leader at point guard and Kuzminski is very efficient at the two-guard spot. The Clan also returns 65% of its scoring (which might skew their ranking upward, admittedly), which is where Burrell, Gillies and Shaw among others have a chance to stand up and be counted. The bottom line is the Clan are capable, but that's a damn tough division.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003ERob's explanation of Top 100 players by Player Efficiency Ratings (see last year's \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/spreadsheets.google.com\/ccc?key=0Ar0xEkmR7QNKdGJicWt0V3V5OWh1YjZ3MGtYQWVvcEE\u0026amp;hl=en\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EPER\u003C\/a\u003E) and Net Efficiency may be found in the \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2009\/10\/womens-basketball-top-20-capsule.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ewomen's preview\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/424060280858209932\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2009\/11\/opening-tip-09-10-no-12-simon-fraser.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/424060280858209932"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/424060280858209932"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2009\/11\/opening-tip-09-10-no-12-simon-fraser.html","title":"Opening tip '09-10: No. 12 Simon Fraser Clan"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"outofleftfield"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-5926174095112441172"},"published":{"$t":"2009-11-02T13:39:00.002-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-11-02T21:27:28.796-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Opening Tip '09-10"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"previews"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"RPI"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"X-Men"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Opening tip '09-10: No. 15 St. Francis Xavier X-Men"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ETop 100 returnees\u003C\/span\u003E: G Christian \"T-Bear\" Upshaw (10th), G William Silver (65th), F-C Alberto Rodriguez (82nd)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EOther key returnees:\u003C\/span\u003E G Dwayne Johnson, G-F Jeremy Dunn, F Terrence Taylor\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ENewcomers:\u003C\/span\u003E G Jordan Clarke, C Riiny Ngot, G Charlie Spurr (transfer, Algonquin, OCAA)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ECoach: \u003C\/span\u003E Steve Konchalski (35th season)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EOffence and defence:\u003C\/span\u003E 106, 90 (+16)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ELast year's results: \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E27-9 overall, CIS Final 8 wild card, lost to Carleton in quarter-final; 9th in RPI\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ELooking ahead: \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EFor the past couple seasons, St. FX has been an up-tempo team (see that offensive efficiency) which sometimes doesn't coordinate all of those moving parts as well as it could. That is a concern heading into a season where just \u003C\/span\u003E52% of their scoring returns after the graduation of \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ETyler Richards\u003C\/span\u003E. X beat UQAM in pre-season and has had some other impressive showings, but also got blown by 36 points by McMaster.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EUpshaw is X's unquestioned floor leader and can create in the open floor. Konchalski, \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/thechronicleherald.ca\/Sports\/1150731.html\"\u003Eabout to become the winningest coach is CIS history\u003C\/a\u003E, should be able to mix and match at the 2 and 3 spots with the 5-foot-9 Silver (who has point guard skills), the freshman Clarke, Taylor and Dunn. This is an exciting team when it's at full speed. Seven-foot-2 Riiny Ngot is a curiosity, although \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2009\/09\/one-wonders-if-st.html\"\u003Esome suggest he lacks game\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003ERob's explanation of Top 100 players by Player Efficiency Ratings (see last year's \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/spreadsheets.google.com\/ccc?key=0Ar0xEkmR7QNKdGJicWt0V3V5OWh1YjZ3MGtYQWVvcEE\u0026amp;hl=en\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EPER\u003C\/a\u003E) and Net Efficiency may be found in the \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2009\/10\/womens-basketball-top-20-capsule.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ewomen's preview\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/5926174095112441172\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2009\/11\/opening-tip-09-10-no-15-st-francis.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/5926174095112441172"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/5926174095112441172"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2009\/11\/opening-tip-09-10-no-15-st-francis.html","title":"Opening tip '09-10: No. 15 St. Francis Xavier X-Men"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"outofleftfield"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-6146392951379172278"},"published":{"$t":"2009-10-30T14:37:00.001-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-10-30T14:37:00.814-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Opening Tip '09-10"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"previews"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"RPI"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Wesmen"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Opening tip '09-10: No. 18 Winnipeg Wesmen"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ETop 100 returnees\u003C\/span\u003E: PG Nick Lother (94th)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EOther key returnees:\u003C\/span\u003E G Mike James, F Peter Lomuro, F Ben Kingdon, F \u003Cspan class=\"bodytext\"\u003EJames Horaska \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ENewcomers:\u003C\/span\u003E C \u003Cspan class=\"bodytext\"\u003EAdam Dobriansky (transfer, Monmouth, NCAA D-1)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ECoach: \u003C\/span\u003EDave Crook (ninth season)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EOffence and defence:\u003C\/span\u003E 87, 98 (-11)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ELast year's results: \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E7-23, 38th in RPI\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ELooking ahead: \u003C\/span\u003EThis might seem like it's coming out of left field (or is due to the fact sister site \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/neatesager.blogspot.com\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003EOut of Left Field\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E has a UW grad writing for it) but hear us out. Winnipeg returns 92% of its scoring and as Rob notes, has lots of room for improvement after the offensive performance was across-the-board below average. Part of that was also due to injuries. A team may only play with the hand it's dealt by times and if Winnipeg has everyone available, they could surprise. The 6-foot-10 Dobriansky is also expected to help Winnipeg cut the path to the rim better than it has in past years. Lother is a steady hand at point guard, which counts for a lot, especially in the nitty-gritty of conference play after Jan. 1.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003ERob's explanation of Top 100 players by Player Efficiency Ratings (see last year's \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/spreadsheets.google.com\/ccc?key=0Ar0xEkmR7QNKdGJicWt0V3V5OWh1YjZ3MGtYQWVvcEE\u0026amp;hl=en\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EPER\u003C\/a\u003E) and Net Efficiency may be found in the \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2009\/10\/womens-basketball-top-20-capsule.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ewomen's preview\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/6146392951379172278\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2009\/10\/opening-tip-09-10-no-18-winnipeg-wesmen.html#comment-form","title":"5 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/6146392951379172278"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/6146392951379172278"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2009\/10\/opening-tip-09-10-no-18-winnipeg-wesmen.html","title":"Opening tip '09-10: No. 18 Winnipeg Wesmen"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"outofleftfield"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"5"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-1857870759029357205"},"published":{"$t":"2009-10-30T14:35:00.001-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2011-01-16T21:50:38.110-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"cishoops.ca"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Opening Tip '09-10"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"previews"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"RPI"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Tigers"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Opening tip '09-10: No. 19 Dalhousie Tigers"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ETop 100 returnees\u003C\/span\u003E: PG Simon Farine (16th)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EOther key returnees:\u003C\/span\u003E F Sandy Viet, G Andrew Sullivan\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ENewcomers:\u003C\/span\u003E F Joe Schow (transfer, Calgary), G-F William Yengue, G Marcus Wong\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ECoach: \u003C\/span\u003EJohn Campbell (eighth season)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EOffence and defence:\u003C\/span\u003E 97, 88 (+9)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ELast year's results: \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E25-12 overall, won AUS Final 6, lost in CIS Final 8 quarter-final, 15th in RPI\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ELooking ahead: \u003C\/span\u003EOnly 51% of scoring returns, which accounts for the No. 19 ranking. That concern is tempered by the fact Dalhousie has an all-Canadian candidate at point guard in Farine and, almost to a man, plays find-out-what-gum-he's-chewing defence in the half court. \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EMark Wacyk\u003C\/span\u003E has Dal \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/wasssports.blogspot.com\/2009\/10\/cis-hoopsca-top-10-as-of-26-october.html\"\u003Eranked No. 5 in Canada\u003C\/a\u003E and his word is as gold as the trim on the Tigers uniforms on these matters. They should be around all season and their next CIS berth won't be another 13 years in the waiting, like last March's.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDal is going to have to replace two Top 100 players, three-point ace \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EJosh Beattie\u003C\/span\u003E (41st) and forward \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EGermain Bendegue\u003C\/span\u003E (85th). \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EStephen Lopez\u003C\/span\u003E, one of the few 6-foot-2 guys who could play the 4-spot, is not listed on \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.athletics.dal.ca\/team_mbball.cfm?sport=Basketball\u0026amp;gender=m\"\u003EDal's roster\u003C\/a\u003E after having knee surgery, which is a major loss.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDal has held a pair of tournament teams, Calgary (64) and Western (58, but with a much different team from last year) below 65 points already. The 6-foot-9 Schow and 6-7 Viet should provide the inside muscle and Sullivan might be the shooter. This is a team that's easy to like, with reason.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003ERob's explanation of Top 100 players by Player Efficiency Ratings (see last year's \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/spreadsheets.google.com\/ccc?key=0Ar0xEkmR7QNKdGJicWt0V3V5OWh1YjZ3MGtYQWVvcEE\u0026amp;hl=en\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EPER\u003C\/a\u003E) and Net Efficiency may be found in the \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2009\/10\/womens-basketball-top-20-capsule.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ewomen's preview\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/1857870759029357205\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2009\/10\/opening-tip-09-10-no-19-dalhousie.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/1857870759029357205"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/1857870759029357205"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2009\/10\/opening-tip-09-10-no-19-dalhousie.html","title":"Opening tip '09-10: No. 19 Dalhousie Tigers"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"outofleftfield"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-4141968157964138998"},"published":{"$t":"2009-10-30T13:45:00.001-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-10-30T14:57:38.467-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Opening Tip '09-10"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"previews"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"RPI"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Vikes"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Opening tip '09-10: No. 20 Victoria Vikes"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ETop 100 returnees\u003C\/span\u003E: None\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EOther key returnees:\u003C\/span\u003E G Cyril Indome, G Ryan McKinnon, F Mike Berg (sat out last season to play rugby), F Wendell Thomas\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ENewcomers:\u003C\/span\u003E PG Zac Andrus, G Dan Evans, G Omid Pourmomen, F Nick Adair\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ECoach:\u003C\/span\u003E Craig Beaucamp (7th season)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EOffence and defence:\u003C\/span\u003E 98, 87 (+11)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ELast year's results: \u003C\/span\u003E20-9 overall, 7th in RPI\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ELooking ahead:\u003C\/span\u003E The Vikes have consistently had a top 10 RPI across the past couple seasons, but are replacing a troika of Top 100 players in \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EMitch Gudgeon\u003C\/span\u003E (36th), \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ETyler Hass\u003C\/span\u003E (54th) and \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EBrandon Dunlop\u003C\/span\u003E (77th), plus their division includes a traditional power, UBC, and ascendant Trinity Western.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EUVic has led Canada West in scoring defence five years running, which attests to Beaucamp's (who has been \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/web.uvic.ca\/torch\/torch2004f\/feature_1.htm\"\u003Edescribed\u003C\/a\u003E as \"obsessive\") attention to detail. That will help tide them over until they find a go-to scorer. Indome averaged 9.7 points off the bench last season and McKinnon can stretch defences, so they might be able to carry the Vikes in the early going. There could be some surprises, but the Pac-D's three guaranteed playoff berths are likely coming from UBC, UVic and Trinity Western.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003ERob's explanation of Top 100 players by Player Efficiency Ratings (see last year's \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/spreadsheets.google.com\/ccc?key=0Ar0xEkmR7QNKdGJicWt0V3V5OWh1YjZ3MGtYQWVvcEE\u0026amp;hl=en\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EPER\u003C\/a\u003E) and Net Efficiency may be found in the \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2009\/10\/womens-basketball-top-20-capsule.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ewomen's preview\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/4141968157964138998\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2009\/10\/opening-tip-09-10-no-20-victoria-vikes.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/4141968157964138998"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/4141968157964138998"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2009\/10\/opening-tip-09-10-no-20-victoria-vikes.html","title":"Opening tip '09-10: No. 20 Victoria Vikes"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"outofleftfield"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-8758617508389647535"},"published":{"$t":"2009-10-29T17:00:00.006-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2011-01-16T21:51:57.630-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Badgers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Opening Tip '09-10"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"previews"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ravens"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"RPI"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Spartans"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"U of S Huskies"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Basketball: Opening tip '09-10 ... The Road to Kanata"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Canada West tips off conference play this weekend, so it's time to step to it and offer capsules on some of the prospective top teams in men's basketball.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe whole exercise, as \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ERob Pettapiece\u003C\/span\u003E says, is more of a framework for discussion than predictions on which seven teams join host Carleton at the CIS Final 8 in Ottawa in March.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Pettapiecian calculations are based on each team's final RPI from last season and how much (how little is more accurate) scoring and minutes played it has to replace from 2008-09. It's a mix of Moneyball and the widely held belief there is intangible value in how much a team's players have played together. Most of Carleton's national championship teams have had core players whose time together playing for \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EDave Smart\u003C\/span\u003E predated their arrival in university, plus they were efficient players. Brock's 2008 national championship team, with six fifth-year seniors, was another classic example of chemistry perhaps trumping the math (they had a negative rebounding margin going into the Final 8).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThere is limited marginal benefit to doing a Top 25 instead of a Top 20, but there are a few \"wild cards\" who should be tossed into the mix. Trinity Western has all those transfers, such as \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ETyrell Mara\u003C\/span\u003E, who go back a long way with Spartans coach \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EScott Allen\u003C\/span\u003E. The Saskatchewan Huskies, with a Moser Award shortlister in shooting guard \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003EShowron Glover\u003C\/span\u003E, merit watching. In the OUA, Western turned over almost its whole starting five from last season's team which came \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=jyHYvck3gbQ\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ewithin four seconds and change\u003C\/a\u003E of playing in the national final.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnyway, we salaam to \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cishoops.ca\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003Ecishoops.ca\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E when it comes to basketball, but please keep checking for capsules over the next 24, 48, 72 hours or beyond.\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/8758617508389647535\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2009\/10\/basketball-opening-tip-09-10-road-to.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/8758617508389647535"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/8758617508389647535"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2009\/10\/basketball-opening-tip-09-10-road-to.html","title":"Basketball: Opening tip '09-10 ... The Road to Kanata"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"outofleftfield"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}}]}});