rushthecourt.net ranks the teams

Collegiate Sports
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Here we go for the ride…

#345 Alcorn State - Trying to extend their one game win streak after finishing 2-29 last season. Like team, website is under construction.

#344 Southern - Losing top three scorers not a good way to start; 6 new freshman need to contribute right away. Still better than Alcorn.

#343 North Dakota - Fighting Sioux being courted by the Summit, but will struggle to match last yr’s 6 wins against D1 competition.

[size=12pt]#342 Gardner-Webb - New coach Chris Holtmann’s first season boasts strong incoming class which should help rebuild.[/size]

#341 Mississippi Valley State - Losing Gs Julius Cheeks (13/4/3) and Tashan Newsome (9/4/2) without any incoming frosh makes for a tough road.

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#340 Dartmouth - Even returning 4 starters, new coach Paul Cormier has his work cut out for him to get the Big Green out of Ivy cellar.

#339 Prairie View A&M - Jr G M. Griffin (9/3/3) will be expected to make up for losing D. Hugee. Panthers will slip to bottom half of SWAC.

#338 SIU-Edwardsville - Leading scorer F Mark Yelovich (14/5) is back for soph campaign; uniforms still horrendous. http://tiny.cc/rtcSIUE

#337 Bryant - It took 27 games for Bryant to notch a win last yr, and that was the only one. Five should be a reasonable goal for this yr.

#336 Centenary - Cent’s last D1 season won’t be pretty with only one of top five scorers back and an affinity for giving up lots of pts.

#335 Florida A&M - FAMU going in the wrong direction under Eugene Harris, going from 21 Ws in '07 to 9 last yr and no sign of improvement.

#334 Chicago State - New coach Tracy Dildy brings in SF Sean Montgomery, an all-stater who is considered a steal - http://bit.ly/dytnB7

#333 Toledo - When your head coach describes the season as “about laying a solid foundation for our future success,” you’re rebuilding.

#332 Grambling - With Gs Donald Qualls (15/2/2) and Lance Fuertado (13/6) returning, the Tigers should improve marginally.

#331 Howard - New coach Kevin Nickelberry has his work cut out in getting the nation’s worst shooting team (37.5%) to make more shots.

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#330 North Carolina A&T - A&T loses 3 double-figure starters and will struggle to replace their offense. 6’9 T. Coleman (9/9/2 bpg) won’t be enough.

#329 New Jersey Institute of Technology - Jim Engles returns top three players (Wilson, Flores, Wilkerson) to 10-win team that is no longer a national laughingstock.

#328 Utah Valley - Dick Hunsaker has his work cut out to replace several key seniors, but his teams always seem to overachieve anyway.

#327 Albany - The loss of their starting frontcourt doesn’t help bounce back from finishing last in AE conference play.

#326 Tennessee-Martin - The Skyhawks only logged one conference W last season. Without leading scorer M. Weddle, will rely heavily on 8 newcomers.

#325 Monmouth - Losses of T. Taylor and J. Sofman will hurt, so guard W. Campbell will need to have an all-NEC year to compete in top half.

[size=12pt]#324 SC Upstate - Upstate’s '10 defense was solid, anchored by 7’3 N. Schneiders, but he is now gone. 10 newcomers will have to produce.[/size]

#323 Alabama A&M - Bulldogs return top three scorers after finishing middle of pack. Top level of SWAC requires 7 new frosh to step up.

#322 Savannah State - Losing leading scorer Tracey Rankins (13/3) hurts, but Tigers return All-Independent F Rashad Hassan. Tough schedule.

#321 Maryland-Baltimore County - The Retrievers lose much of last season’s production and will rely on A. Satchell and C. De La Rosa to pick up the slack.

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#320 Sacred Heart - The loss of three 1,000-pt scorers in one yr is almost unimaginable, leaving behind a green team that doesn’t play D.

#319 Florida Gulf Coast - FGCU has potential star in soph fwd A. Burks (12/6) but who’ll step up to help carry his team out of the A-Sun cellar?

#318 Texas-Pan American - UTPA brings back most everyone from a 6-win team, but the Broncs showed promise w/ a defense better than most in GWC.

#317 Houston Baptist - Sr fwd Andrew Gonzalez (19/6) is the best player in the GWC, which is sorta like dating the prettiest ugly girl.

#316 Fairleigh Dickinson - Interim no-more coach Greg Vetrone had his team playing well in NEC play last yr (10-8) and should carry over w/ guard M. Scott.

#315 Hartford - Barring breakout years from returners M. Sabia and M. Burton, the Hawks look to be middle of the pack in conference play.

#314 Army - Complete rebuild expected in West Point, as seven seniors (4 starters) are gone from the last place team in the PL in 2010.

#313 Stetson - Derek Waugh has reason for optimism with a strong soph class led by R. Graham (12/6) and top recruiting class in A-Sun.

#312 Wagner - Get on the Hurley train (Danny & Bobby) early b/c name recognition in this area is huge and Wagner will improve quickly.

#311 Saint Francis (NY) - 4 starters return to a team some think ready to move to the top. A 2-8 finish gives us cause for concern though.

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I really hope we don’t have to play USC Upstate in the Charleston tournament. Two terrible teams will kill the RPI.

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#310 Coppin State - 8 players gone from CSU’s team, which could be a good thing given Eagles lost 22 games last yr. Expect a better 10-11.

#309 Marist - Should be better than a 1-win team with academic issues of key cogs M. Watson and RJ Hall cleared up. Long way to go though.

#308 Southern Utah - Roger Reid appears to be on the right track with his team, returning 6 of his top 7 players, but must reduce TOs (27%).

[size=12pt]#307 Fordham - Tom Pecora takes over after a dreadful 2-26 season; ROY C. Gaston (18/11) is a great building block inside but need more.[/size]

#306 Longwood - The Lancers lose leading scorer, Dana Smith, but C Antwan Carter (15/9) returns for his junior season. Opens at Kansas.

#305 Sacramento State - Year 3 of Brian Katz’s re-build/build of Sac St shows promise if his redshirt juco big men pan out as hoped.

#304 Louisiana-Monroe - New coach Keith Richard has only 2 exp. players returning, but addition of K-State’s F. Brown could be a surprise.

#303 St Francis (PA) - Bottom-feeder no more, SFPA has a strong group of sophs led by F W. Felder to make a move into top half of NEC.

#302 Central Arkansas - New coach Corliss Williamson has his hands full getting the Bears competitive again, but he returns seven lettermen.

#301 Maryland-Eastern Shore - UMES poised to make a jump in the MEAC standings behind H. Haley (12/3), T. Burns (11/3) and transfer guard D. Bradshaw.

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make it stop.

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games come from relationships

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u watch and take it like a man!

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It could have been 2 games vs Fordham.

We’ve gotten the bottom 45, one #307 must be played, one (#342) shouldn’t be played and the possibility of #324 looms. I hope there are no teams on the schedule popping up over the next 100.

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#300 Columbia - Lions leading scorer N. Agho (16/4/2) returns alongside B Grimes (8/6) on a team that lost three key contributors.

#299 Northwestern State - Losing two starters will make much improvement tough; Seniors D Baker, D Knight and W Pratt will need to step up.

#298 Elon - Elon appears to be going nowhere fast and with loss of A. Constantine (12/8), there are big shoes to fill inside the lane.

#297 Liberty - Returning three starters from a team that finished 6th in conf with frosh PG JC Sanders and PF S Baird to help.

#296 North Carolina Central - With KSU transfer Dominique Sutton joining Ind. Newcomer of the Year CJ Wilkerson (16/4/3) the Eagles should be better.

#295 Presbyterian - Should only improve in 3rd year of D1. Frosh PF Josh Clyburn is instant impact player in the Big South.

#294 Alabama State - Losing top two scorers hurts, but they bounced back from more losses last season. Jr Tremaine Butler will be key.

#293 Charleston Southern - J. Warren (16/3/3) and J. Sexton (13/2/2) should be an exciting backcourt duo on a team returning four starters.

#292 Central Connecticut State - Fwd K. Horton returns from injury and 4 starters are back. Darkhorse team to win the league if they stay healthy.

#291 California State-Bakersfield - The Roadrunners are a young team that returns two of four leading scorers as they make googoo eyes at Big West.

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#290 Jacksonville State - The loss of T Marshall (18/5/2) hurts, but an undersized (and shallow) frontcourt may hurt the Gamecocks more.

#289 Southeast Missouri State - With top three scorers returning, the Redhawks could climb back into conference relevancy this season.

#288 UNC Asheville - Bulldogs should sustain balanced attack from last season, lead by JP Primm (12/5/6) and M Dickey (12/4/4).

#287 High Point - Lot of newcomers joining the Panthers this year to help stem loss of Eugene Harris, but still looking middle of the pack.

#286 McNeese State - With top 3 players returning, coach D Simmons hopes JuCo transfer M Konate adds the spark Cowboys need to compete.

#285 Virginia Military Institute - Returning all five starters from team that lost in finals of Big South tourney. Sleeper in conference championship race.

#284 California-Irvine - Jr Eric Wise (16/7/3) will be expected to singlehandedly lead the Anteaters this season, but don’t expect too much.

#283 Navy - Greg Paulus joins staff, but can he improve Midd-efense? Loss of PL scoring champ C. Harris hurts a lot, but 4 others return.

#282 Colgate - Loses all-PL guard K. Roemer and is seemingly always a year away. Y. Gyawu (14/5) needs to fill the void with steady play.

#281 Idaho State - PG B. Gilchrest (16/3/3) is an all-Big Sky returnee, but a bunch of incoming size in a guard’s league is questionable.

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#280 Missouri-Kansas City - Kangaroos finally move on-campus for home games and return fwd J. Couisnard (14/5) so expect a slight rise up SL standings.

#279 Bethune-Cookman - BC returns 3 top scorers to a team to surprise in the MEAC. Star CJ Reed (16/4/4) moves to SG to find open looks.

#278 Yale - Sr M. Sands (11/6/1) will be expected to carry Yale this season, but Yale seems to be fighting for a distant third or fourth.

#277 Delaware State - Last year’s #2 team will drop off with loss of top two scorers, but sticky defense will keep Hornets in most games.

#276 South Dakota - K. Cutler & J. Thomas will provide great guard play for the Coyotes as they will dominate the GWC for one final yr.

#275 Western Illinois - Summit DPOY and WIU stud Ceola Clark (14/5/3) returns but not much else. Jr Emeka Okafor, Jr’s 3 ppg isn’t enough.

#274 Eastern Washington - FrOY G. Dean and the backcourt are bright spot for Kirk Earylwine’s team, who hasn’t been to BS Tourney in his 3 yrs.

#273 San Diego - The Toreros lose almost everyone from last year. Fifth leading scorer Sr M Dorr (6/2/2) is going to have his hands full.

#272 Texas Southern - Incomers Keithrick Denson and Will Clark join senior Travele Jones to make TSU a possible SWAC contender this year.

[size=12pt]#271 Radford - Lose their top three scorers, including NCAA rebound leader A. Parakhouski (13.4) after finishing 2nd in conference play.[/size]

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u watch and take it like a man![/quote]

rofl

So many RPI hits…

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#270 Texas-Arlington - The Mavericks will be rebuilding after losing conference POY M. Haynes. Deep recruiting class will help a little.

#269 Georgia Southern - Loss to injury of W. Powers hurts but top recruiting class led by future star fwd E. Ferguson will build for future.

#268 Jackson State - Should finish top two in SWAC again behind seniors Dixon, Hanson, and Maxey. Just have to win that conference tournament.

#267 Holy Cross - Sean Kearney let go after one 9-22 yr - new coach Milan Brown inherits 4 starters and expectations, but D must improve.

#266 North Florida - Despite a glaring lack of size, UNF defends well enough to win games and returns 4 starters. Need to find more scoring.

#265 Tulane - The Green Wave may be looking at the bottom spot in CUSA after losing 2 starters and not getting much help from newcomers.

#264 Air Force - A single reg season MWC win in two seasons is cause for concern; oddly, AF has won 2 conf tourney games in that span.

#263 Pepperdine - Pepperdine should really improve: just ask K Bell (http://bit.ly/9l3PBG) and their 100% returning offensive production.

#262 Brown - The Bears lost M. Mullery (15/6/3) to graduation but return other four starters. Sr P. Sullivan looks ready to step up though.

[size=12pt]#261 South Carolina State - SCSU was only team to beat Morgan last yr and played the Bears tough in the MEAC title game. 4 starters return.[/size]

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#260 Tennessee State - Frontcourt mid-major frosh sensation R Covington (12/7/1) is back for sophomore campaign with the Tigers.

#259 Norfolk State - NSU returns 4 starters from a team that came on strong in 09-10. C Kyle O’Quinn (12/9/2 bpg) anchors the low post.

#258 Florida International - Isiah unimpressive in his 1st yr at helm, but if he gets recruits A. Legion, D. Ferguson & P. Taylor eligible, FIU may compete.

#257 Binghamton - Somehow avoided eminent all major NCAA infractions so should be on the rise on the shoulders of Greer Wright.

#256 Illinois-Chicago - Flames bring back R Kreps (15/4/2) and Z Neely (12/2/2), but don’t expect too much too quickly out of new coach H Moore.

#255 California State-Fullerton - Only returning one starter is no recipe for success. The Titans look to be headed for a major fall this year.

#254 Youngstown State - The Penguins should see a slight dropoff after losing 3 of 4 leading scorers; pressure is on sr V. Sulskis to produce.

#253 San Francisco - Coach Rex Walters should have his hands full after losing leading scorers D. Lowhorn (18/7/1) and K. Vaughn (13/4/2).

#252 Wyoming - The Cowboys return all 5 starters, but they are still picked 2nd to last in MWC? Soph D. Jackson should have breakout season.

#251 Mount Saint Mary’s - The Mt. faces a transition yr after 3 yrs near the top of the NEC. J. Cajou will need a great year in the backcourt.

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#250 Tennessee Tech - After losing 3 starters, coach Mike Sutton adds interesting transfers in L. McMorrow (Marquette) and Z. Swansey (Georgia).

#249 California Poly - All-Big West 1st team guard L. Keeler (16/3/3) is gone, so look to J. Johnson and S. Lewis (12/5/2) to pick up the slack.

#248 Samford - Princeton-style offense keeps the Bulldogs in games, but Jimmy Tillette has questions to answer about the frontcourt.

#247 Hawaii - Hard to know what to expect with a new coach (Gib Arnold) and a massive housecleaning that includes many juco players.

#246 Nicholls State - A Bose (21/6/2) and F Hunter (14/5) return to a team that almost beat Sam Houston St to go to Big Dance.

#245 Long Island - LIU ready to make a run at the NEC title with 5 of top 6 scorers returning. Improving the defense should be a priority.

#244 UNC-Greensboro - Loss of five seniors results in some backsliding, esp. with seven ACC teams on the schedule this year (3 at home).

#243 Lamar - Backcourt trio A Miles, K Harris and C Harper and top-10 recruiting class should make the Cardinals dangerous this season.

#242 California-Riverside - All of the Highlanders hopes lie on the shoulders of Jr K. Austin (18/7), who should be 1st team All Big West again.

#241 Norhtern Illinois - With leading scorer X Silas (20/5/2) returning and heralded PG recruit K Jones should make the Huskies better this year

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#240 American - AmU should be back in a big way this yr with F V. Moldoveanu returning and transfer T. Brewer incoming. PL should be wary.

#239 California State-Northridge - The Matadors sustained major losses, graduating 3 of 4 top scorers. Their recruiting class may be enough to rebound.

#238 Arkansas-Little Rock - Steve Shields’ teams are trad. solid on D so don’t expect another 4-14 SB record. 3 sr guards return to lead the way.

[size=12pt]#237 Winthrop - The Eagles have to replace 2x Big South DPOY, Mantoris Robinson. But most of their balanced offensive attack returns.[/size]

#236 Towson - Maryland transfer Braxton Dupree will have instant impact on strong front line with R. Nwankwo (10/9). What about defense?

#235 Santa Clara - Bad news is they only won 3 conference games last year; good news is everybody + K. Foster is back, so should improve.

#234 Kennesaw State - KSU is a rising program, led by L. Green (7/8/2) and M. Cummings (17/6), two of the better forwards in the A-Sun.

#233 UNC Wilmington - Itinerant coach Buzz Peterson takes over a tough situation at UNCW, but he’s had success everywhere at this level of D1.

#232 Rice - The Owls bring back their top 4 scorers and stud incoming center O. Oraby should be fun to watch. Still got a long way to go.

[size=12pt]#231 East Carolina - Good news: The Pirates bring everyone back. Bad news: that same crew only won 4 conference games last year.[/size]

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#230 Arkansas-Pine Bluff - Returning pretty much everyone from NCAA bid, the Golden Lions’ balanced attack should be SWAC favorite.

#229 Texas-San Antonio - With only 1 starter returning and 11 newcomers the Roadrunners will be a very inexperienced team behind sr D Gibson.

#228 Bowling Green - 3 starters are back, including leading scorers S. Thomas (13/6/3) and D. Brown (11/3/2), but is it enough to make move?

#227 Ball State - Sharpshooter R. Davis (10/4/3), MAC all-frosh J. Scaife (10/3/2), and leading scorer J. Jones (12/7) all return this year.

#226 Southeast Louisiana - The Lions need srs T. Hutchin (11/1) and G. Dixon (8/1) to replace P. Sullivan (16/9/2) and D.
Forest (11/2).

#225 New Hampshire - Bill Herrion should move up in the America East standings this season behind srs A. Abreu, T. Conley and D. DiLiegro.

#224 Bucknell - Bison return all 5 starters incl. M. Muscala, best post defender in PL, from team that closed 8-2 in conf play last yr.

#223 South Dakota State - C. Sargent (13/3) and N. Wolters (10/3/3) will have to recover from a late spiral and loss of several key guys.

#222 Manhattan - Loss of six seniors + Rico Pickett to Europe means major rebuild for Barry Rohrssen and his Jasper program.

#221 Georgia State - GSU looking to rebuild after 12-win season. Rod Barnes could be on thin ice with another loser (33-61 in 3 yrs).

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#220 Portland State - No postseason carrot b/c of APR violations means this is a throwaway season for Tyler Geving’s Vikings.

#219 Troy - Troy returns only 20% of its minutes played and zero starters from a 20-win team. Time to rebuild for Don Maestri.

[size=12pt]#218 Mercer - Loss of all-time leading scorer J. Florence and 2 other starters hurts, but hey, the A-Sun Tourney is still in Macon.[/size]

#217 North Dakota State - Injuries ravaged last yr’s team, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t tweet about M. Tveidt (16/6), an all-SL forward.

#216 Louisiana-Lafayette - Sam Houston’s Bob Marlin takes over the helm for a program that needs an infusion. Gradnigo & Daigle lead the way.

#215 Hampton - HU must replace its top 2 scorers, but many other contributors return and there’s reason to expect improvement this yr.

#214 Campbell - Loss of most accomplished player in Camel history (J. Rodriguez) hurts, so expect a drop to mid-pack in A-Sun race.

#213 Furman - Furman is looking to make a move to the top half of the SoCon with its top ten scorers back from an improved team.

#212 IPFW - Dane Fife has his program moving in right direction - strong backcourt of B. Botts (11 ppg; 46% 3fg) and Z. Plackemeier helps.

#211 Texas State - Transfers AJ Stewart (Kentucky) and E. Ross (Miami) will have instant impact as a part of Texas St’s overhaul this season.