I hate to start out a post by praising a team with one foot already out of the conference, but for the sake of the league’s RPI…hey, you gotta give it up to the Charlotte 49ers.
Team of the week:
Charlotte – The Niners have played the second weakest schedule (251st) in non-conference play this season, but unlike Fordham who ranks 314th in the SOS and sit at 1-6 on the season, have won all seven of their matchups, their best start in the history of Charlotte basketball. The difference? Charlotte ranks 54th in the RPI after winning the games they should win, while Fordham sits near the bottom of all D1 teams at 330th. The 49ers will get into the meat of their schedule this Tuesday with a tough matchup at Davidson, then add December games at Miami and against Florida State.
Team that disappointed:
UMass – The Minutemen came into the season with some hype, but so far have yet to impress. Derek Kellogg and company have had a relatively tough schedule to start the season, with four of their six games thus far coming against BCS conference teams, the other two against respectable mids in Harvard and Sienna. So far their wins (Harvard, Providence and Sienna) have come by a total of six points, their losses (NC State, Tennessee and Miami), an average of 15 points per game. It’s early, but that’s a bad sign for a team that returned so much talent including arguably the best point guard in the league in Chaz Williams (15.3 ppg, 7.5 asts). If UMass is to be a true contender in the A-10, they’ll need to start winning some of the tough ones.
Saturdays Results:
Fordham (1-6) 64
Harvard (3-3) 73
Miami (FL) (5-1) 75
UMass (3-3) 62
Wagner (2-4) 62
Temple (5-0) 70
Vermont (4-2) 66
Rhode Island (2-6) 76
Ball St (2-4) 53
Butler (5-2) 67
Maine (2-5) 73
Duquesne (4-3) 87
Xavier (6-1) 63
Purdue (3-4) 57
St. Joseoph’s (4-2) 51
#11 Creighton (7-1) 80
Wake Forest (3-4) 60
Richmond (6-2) 62
Buffalo (2-7) 79
St. Bonaventure (4-2) 82
East Carolina (5-1) 64
Charlotte (7-0) 76
Belmont (5-2) 65
VCU (5-3) 75
N Illinois (1-5) 43
Dayton (5-2) 60
Saturday’s Top Performers:
Xavier Munford (Rhode Island) – 25 points (7-11), 5 assists against Vermont.
Semaj Christians (Xavier) – 25 points (8-12), 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals at Purdue.
Derrick Williams (Richmond) – 26 points (6-8, 13-15 free throws), 10 rebounds versus Wake Forest.
Kendall Anthony (Richmond) – With the game tied at 54 and just 1:11 left to play, Anthony scored 7 of his 11 points on the night, including a three-pointer to give the Spiders a three-point cushion and hitting every free throw he took down the stretch.
Treveon Graham (VCU) – 19 points (7-11), 8 rebounds (6 on offense), 4 assists and 3 steals against Belmont.
