Since we finally have a few days between games, I thought I would take a look around at some happenings in College Basketball that pertain to the Pokes.
OOC Opponents
1. Detroit (Net - 227) - 9-11 overall, 7-4 in Horizon Play. Detroit has stabilized after a poor OOC and has been competitive in Horizon League Play. The win over Detroit doesn't help much, but the margin of victory assists in the predictive rankings.
2. UAPB (Net - 354) - 3-19. One of the worst teams in the country, if not the worst. Even a 40 point beatdown doesn't help much in this one.
3. Washington (Net - 128) - 12-9 overall, 7-4 PAC-12. Washington has been stronger than expected in conference play, and is just barely hanging on as a Q2 win for the Pokes (road games need to be Top 135 for Q2). Washington staying as a Q2 is pretty important for our resume. Not sure they can stay there to be honest, but hoping.
4. Grand Canyon (Net -99) - 14-5, 6-3 WAC. The WAC is suprisingly strong this year and GCU has lost a few games I didn't think they would. Still, a Q2 win for the Pokes.
5. Hastings - Doesn't matter
6. Cal-State Fullerton (Net 152) - 12-7, 8-2. Second place in the Big West. They missed a huge opportunity to take over first place with a road loss at LBSU the other night. Before that they were close to becoming a Q2 win for us (probably would have been if they won). They probably have to just about run the table in the BW to jump up to a Q2 for us, but it's not out of the question. Solid team.
7. Denver (Net 294) - 8-16, 5-8. The Pioneers have been more competitive than might have been expected at the beginning of the season and definitely better than last year, but they still aren't very good and the relatively low margin of victory in this game is a drag on our predictive metrics.
8. McNeese (Net 303) - 5-15, 4-6 Southland. They suck, we kicked their ass but probably should have done so by more.
9. Arizona (Net 2) - 20-2, 10-1 PAC-12. National Title contender. A 15-20 point loss would have not hurt us at all. The scope of the beatdown hurts metrics a little bit and anyone who watched it knew it could have been even worse so that can hurt perception.
10. Utah Valley (Net 117) - 13-7, 6-4. Like GCU, they have taken some losses in a surprisingly tough WAC. Not a particularly helpful win since it is at home, but not a negative either. Did what we needed to do in that one.
11. Stanford (Net 88) - 14-9, 7-6 PAC-12. Not a bad loss. Q2 for now as they are Top 100. I think they will stay there as I expect them to remain competitive through the end of conference play.
12. Northern Iowa (Net 105) - 13-9, 10-3 MVC. In the mix for MVC regular season title and very close to becoming a Q2 win for us (needs to be Top 100). Hopefully they get there as I expect Washington to fall out of Q2.
13. South Florida (Net 238) - 7-15, 2-8 AAC. One of the worst mid to high major teams in the country.
Former Pokes
1. Marcus Williams - 9 ppg, 4 apg on poor shooting for a slumping 15-9 Texas A&M team.
2. TJ Taylor - 8.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg for a bad Cal Poly team. Leads them in rebounding.
3. Tyler Morman - barely plays for a bad Southern Miss team.
4. Trace Young - 12 ppg, 5 rpg. Leads team in scoring and rebounding average at Alabama State. Decent in SWAC play, but like most SWAC teams not competitive OOC.
5. Kwane Marble - 5 ppg, 3 rpg on poor shooting for a surprisingly dreadful LMU team (9-12 overall, 9th in the WCC).
Others are D2, NAIA, etc.
Poke Recruiting
1. Commit - Caden Powell - Having a very strong senior season. Just had another nice game the other night with 17/13 and 6 blocks in a win over Waco HS. McDonald's All-American Nominee. Really excited for his future. His team plays in a really tough division/league down here in Texas with a lot of good players and coaches.
2. Offers
- PG Jefferson Monegro - The most recent player to receive an offer from Linder's staff. 6'4" 185 PG out of Canada, playing at Orangeville Prep (lots of D-1 players).
- PG Tavionte Jackson - 6'0" PG out of Las Vegas. Current offers from Pacific and Siena in addition to Wyoming.
It's pretty clear the Pokes are going to bring in at least one PG in this class (which makes sense).
OOC Opponents
1. Detroit (Net - 227) - 9-11 overall, 7-4 in Horizon Play. Detroit has stabilized after a poor OOC and has been competitive in Horizon League Play. The win over Detroit doesn't help much, but the margin of victory assists in the predictive rankings.
2. UAPB (Net - 354) - 3-19. One of the worst teams in the country, if not the worst. Even a 40 point beatdown doesn't help much in this one.
3. Washington (Net - 128) - 12-9 overall, 7-4 PAC-12. Washington has been stronger than expected in conference play, and is just barely hanging on as a Q2 win for the Pokes (road games need to be Top 135 for Q2). Washington staying as a Q2 is pretty important for our resume. Not sure they can stay there to be honest, but hoping.
4. Grand Canyon (Net -99) - 14-5, 6-3 WAC. The WAC is suprisingly strong this year and GCU has lost a few games I didn't think they would. Still, a Q2 win for the Pokes.
5. Hastings - Doesn't matter
6. Cal-State Fullerton (Net 152) - 12-7, 8-2. Second place in the Big West. They missed a huge opportunity to take over first place with a road loss at LBSU the other night. Before that they were close to becoming a Q2 win for us (probably would have been if they won). They probably have to just about run the table in the BW to jump up to a Q2 for us, but it's not out of the question. Solid team.
7. Denver (Net 294) - 8-16, 5-8. The Pioneers have been more competitive than might have been expected at the beginning of the season and definitely better than last year, but they still aren't very good and the relatively low margin of victory in this game is a drag on our predictive metrics.
8. McNeese (Net 303) - 5-15, 4-6 Southland. They suck, we kicked their ass but probably should have done so by more.
9. Arizona (Net 2) - 20-2, 10-1 PAC-12. National Title contender. A 15-20 point loss would have not hurt us at all. The scope of the beatdown hurts metrics a little bit and anyone who watched it knew it could have been even worse so that can hurt perception.
10. Utah Valley (Net 117) - 13-7, 6-4. Like GCU, they have taken some losses in a surprisingly tough WAC. Not a particularly helpful win since it is at home, but not a negative either. Did what we needed to do in that one.
11. Stanford (Net 88) - 14-9, 7-6 PAC-12. Not a bad loss. Q2 for now as they are Top 100. I think they will stay there as I expect them to remain competitive through the end of conference play.
12. Northern Iowa (Net 105) - 13-9, 10-3 MVC. In the mix for MVC regular season title and very close to becoming a Q2 win for us (needs to be Top 100). Hopefully they get there as I expect Washington to fall out of Q2.
13. South Florida (Net 238) - 7-15, 2-8 AAC. One of the worst mid to high major teams in the country.
Former Pokes
1. Marcus Williams - 9 ppg, 4 apg on poor shooting for a slumping 15-9 Texas A&M team.
2. TJ Taylor - 8.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg for a bad Cal Poly team. Leads them in rebounding.
3. Tyler Morman - barely plays for a bad Southern Miss team.
4. Trace Young - 12 ppg, 5 rpg. Leads team in scoring and rebounding average at Alabama State. Decent in SWAC play, but like most SWAC teams not competitive OOC.
5. Kwane Marble - 5 ppg, 3 rpg on poor shooting for a surprisingly dreadful LMU team (9-12 overall, 9th in the WCC).
Others are D2, NAIA, etc.
Poke Recruiting
1. Commit - Caden Powell - Having a very strong senior season. Just had another nice game the other night with 17/13 and 6 blocks in a win over Waco HS. McDonald's All-American Nominee. Really excited for his future. His team plays in a really tough division/league down here in Texas with a lot of good players and coaches.
2. Offers
- PG Jefferson Monegro - The most recent player to receive an offer from Linder's staff. 6'4" 185 PG out of Canada, playing at Orangeville Prep (lots of D-1 players).
- PG Tavionte Jackson - 6'0" PG out of Las Vegas. Current offers from Pacific and Siena in addition to Wyoming.
It's pretty clear the Pokes are going to bring in at least one PG in this class (which makes sense).
