Division II Recruiting Class Rankings By Conference

1. East Coast Conference: 46 recruits, 396 points
2. Lone Star Conference: 53 recruits, 392 points
3. Great Lakes Valley Conference: 34 recruits, 388 points
4. Gulf South Conference: 48 recruits, 382 points
5. Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association: 43 recruits, 381 points
6. Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference: 39 recruits, 373 points
7. California Collegiate Athletic Association: 31 recruits, 372 points
8. Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference: 46 recruits, 370 points
9. West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference: 38 recruits, 364 points
10. Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference: 37 recruits, 358 points

Division II Top 32 Recruiting Classes

5. Salem International: 8 recruits, 489 points, West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

Non-Conference Games and players of the Night
12/11 :   Davis and Elkins 76 - Alaska Fairbanks 73 (OT) 
D&E started the second half down by 5 thanks to horrid shooting.  They were down by 12 with 16 mins left before the offense woke up.   D&E crawled back and FINALLY tied the game with only 9 seconds left.   After scoring the 1st bucket in OT you could tell that Alaska was mentally done.  Francis led the team in scoring with 23 points on 9-18 shooting.

12/12 :  Glenville St. 66 - ESUP 65 (2 OT) 
Glenville St.  got off to a slow start with only 18 points in the 1st half.   They doubled that amount just 8 minutes into the 2nd half.  Glenville missed opportunities to win the game in both regulation and OT,  but missed crucial FTs.   The 1st OT ended with ESUP nailing a 3 pointer with only 2 seconds left.    In the 2nd OT Glenville was fouled with 1 second on the clock and nailed 2 FTs to finally get the win.

12/13 :  CSU, Bakersfield 69 - Glenville St. 58 (2 OT)
Don't know if I am ever seen a team have back to back double OT games before.   I think this is Frank's secret plan to build up ratings by playing 250 minutes a  night. In this epic,  Glenville came back from a 10 point 2nd half deficit to tie the game with 9 seconds left and watched in amazement as CSU missed 2 FTs with 5 seconds left that would have won it.   The 1st OT ended with CSU blowing another opportunity to win it on a floater with 3 seconds left.   By the 2nd OT,  CSU was done screwing around and went for the jugular.

12/14 :  #8 Charleston 62 - Pittsburgh, Johnstown 59
A defensive duel with the winning team shooting only 40% from the floor.   The player of the game shot a whopping 4-12.   This game was tighter than a virgin's *&^% with neither team able to open up more than a 4 pt. lead until under 3 minutes left in the game.   Charleston was able to stretch the lead to 6 when a 3 pointer by UPJ brought them back to within 3.   A missed free throw allowed a game tying 3 to be launched from the corner,  but it barely skimmed the rim.

12/15 :  U. of the Sciences 79 - Glenville St.  77 (OT)
After a day to rest,  Glenville went back to playing >200 minutes of basketball.   Once again with the game on the line Glenville couldn't pull out the win.   Down by 1 with two seconds left,  Charles Geiger went to the line for the 1 and 1.   After nailing the 1st, the 2nd caught nothing but air.   And once again,  Glenville failed in their attempt to win back to back games.

12/16 :  S. New Hampshire 77 - Davis and Elkins 75 (2 OT)
It's tough when you old your opponent to 39% shooting and still lose the ball game.  It's tough when your opponent goes 15-15 from the FT line. What is especially tough is blowing a 12 point lead with 4 minutes left in the game.    You might want to look at your end of game settings before you get fired!

12/17 :  #6 Charleston 73 - N. Colorado 70
This was a game jtt hoped would NOT be game of the night as Charleston was a heavy favorite coming in.    They were shocked/p!$$ed off to find themselves down by 5 points at half-time.    Although they came back,  this one wasn't safe until they grabbed a 6 point lead with 15 seconds left.  Poor FT shooting kept this a close game as Charlesmully converted only 18-33 from the line.

12/18 :  E. Stroudsburg U. (PA) 55 - #24 Bluefield St. 58
Another blow out on paper became a struggle for haas.    After going up by 10 points with 16 mins left in the game, Bluefield went 7 1/2 minutes before scoring their next point.    In the meantime, their 10 point lead turned into a 4 point deficit.  Fortunately, for them,   they closed out strong and hung onto a 3 point win.   Shooting 17-50 from the FT line did not help the Bluemullys.

12/19 :  #5 Charleston 46 - California, San Diego 44
This was the closest game of the day but also the fugliest.    Charleston shot only 43% from the field while UCSD only converted 6-15 from the FT line.   It was almost fitting that Charleston won due to a UCSD turnover with 16 seconds left in the game.

12/20 :  Fairmont St. 71 - Wisconsin, Parkside 68
Big WVIAC/GLV matchup with Fairmont grabbing a 13 point lead with 17:48 left in the game.    But UWP fought back and took their 1st 2nd half lead with 4:22 left and led by 5 with 2:19 to go.    Fairmont responded with a 8-0 run to close out the game and win one for the good guys!



Players of the Night: 
12/11 : William Locke 25 points (pf - Charleston) :  9-16 ; 0-0 from the arc ; 7-10 from the line ; 11 rebounds,  4 blocks 
12/12 : Kirk Minter 23 points (sg - Shepherd) :  9-13 ; 0-0 from the arc ; 5-7 from the line ; 3 assists
12/13 : Richard Lucas 26 points (pg - Concord) :  7-11 ; 1-1 from the arc ; 11-14 from the line ; 3 assists
12/14 : Kirk Minter 21 points (sg - Shepherd) :  7-13 ; 0-0 from the arc ; 7-14 from the line ; 5 assists
12/15 : Saul Hernandez 27 points (pg - Charleston) :  9-15 ; 2-4 from the arc ; 7-8 from the line ; 4 rebounds
12/16 : George Cavanaugh 21 points (pg - Shepherd) :  8-12 ; 5-9 from the arc ; 0-0 from the line ; 7 assists
12/17 : Andrew Mouser 26 points (sg - W. Virginia St.) :  9-16 ; 2-3 from the arc ; 6-8 from the line ; 2 steals
12/18 : Tony Smith 25 points (sg - Ohio Valley) :  8-14 ; 0-0 from the arc ; 9-11 from the line ; 3 assists 
12/19 : William Quinn 30 points (pg - Davis & Elkins) :  8-15 ; 7-13 from the arc ; 7-9 from the line ; 1 assist
12/20 : Mason Manske 22 points (pg - Fairmont St.) :  7-15 ; 1-3 from the arc ; 7-8 from the line ; 3 steals  
 

I don't see predictions and the second post (about the post-tarv era) is clearly and old one. Am I missing something?

Season #85 Fearless Predictions

		Prediction			Last Season
North Standings		W	L		W	L
Bluefield *		13	3		13	3
Alderson-Broaddus *		9	7		8	8
D & E		8	8		5	11
Fairmont		6	10		7	9
Concord		4	12		5	11
Glenville		3	13		4	12
		43	53		42	54
		Prediction			Last Season
South Standings		W	L		W	L
Charleston *		13	3		11	5
Shepherd *		12	4		9	7
Ohio Valley *		12	4		12	4
W. Va St. *		9	7		15	1
Salem International		5	11		7	9
W. Liberty		2	14		0	16
		53	43		54	42
* = NT berth projected

After Non-Conference Play

Rank	Conference	Prestige	Record	Strength of Schedule	RPI
1.	Great Lakes Valley Conference	B	89-31	.5158	.5809
2.	West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	B+	85-35	.5270	.5805
3.	South Atlantic Conference	C+	69-51	.5005	.5228
4.	California Collegiate Athletic Association	C+	68-52	.4906	.5151
5.	Great Northwest Athletic Conference	C+	67-53	.4969	.5139
6.	Northeast-10 Conference	C+	69-51	.4809	.5074
7.	Sunshine State Conference	C+	51-69	.5291	.5043
8.	Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference	C+	56-64	.5088	.5001
9.	North American Athletic Association	C+	63-57	.4882	.4967
10.	Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference	C+	68-52	.4799	.4957

Conference Games and players of the Night
12/22 :   #19 Bluefield St. 70 - Davis and Elkins 66 (OT) 
This was a tightly contested game that looked like an upset when D&E built an 8 point lead with 10:33 left in the game.   But Bluefield came back and looked like they had it won until William Quinn sank a 3 pointer as time expired to send the game to OT.  In OT,  D&E missed several chances to win the game including a missed layup with 10 seconds left and a missed offensive rebound 3 seconds later.

12/23 :   Shepherd 73 - #5 Charleston 77
The former #2 team in the nation is now looking at 0-2 in the conference after a tough loss to #5 Charleston.    Another slow start carried into the 2nd half when Charleston opened up a 16 point lead with 12:16 left to play.  Shepherd made a nice late run and pulled to within one with 15 seconds left,  but Charleston hit their FTs late to seal it.   Shepherd's offense is still a no-show this season after a 36% shooting effort tonight.

12/24 :    Davis and Elkins 73 - Shepherd 83
D&E kept this one close until about 7:00 minutes left in the game when Shep opened up a double digit lead.    They fought back to within 3 points with 1 minute left when the thought of opening conference play 0-3 scared them into the win.     The press created 24 turnovers and 26 fouls by D&E.    Enough to keep farvre from early retirement.

12/25 :    #15 Bluefield St. 57 - W. Virginia St. 56
Bluefield won thanks to a missed FT.   Yes..a missed FT.  You read that correctly.   That's about all I want to say about this one!!!

12/26 :   Fairmont St. 60 - Davis and Elkins 57
D&E had a big crowd on hand to see them try and knock off 1st place Fairmont.   The joint was shaking went they went up by 7 early in the 2nd half.   But the offense went cold and Fairmont was able to assume control of the game.  Steven Friese got the game MVP with a strong performance off the bench.

12/27 :   #8 Ohio Valley 66 - Fairmont St. 65
A great game between two teams that are on top of their divisions. Ohio Valley had a small lead throughout the 2nd half but Fairmont would not go away.   Down by 4 with one minute to play, Fairmont scored 5 straight points to take the lead with only 6 seconds left.   But Clifford Young hit a layup against a double team for his only basket of the game as time expired to pull it out for OV.

12/28 :   Davis and Elkins 55 - Alderson-Broaddus 54
Two teams from the North struggling to stay above .500 in conference play.   ABC led this by 5 at the half thanks to domination on the boards.   Pesky D&E would not go away and took the lead with under 6 minutes left in the game.   ABC thought they had the game won with a tip in with only 7 seconds left in the game but William Quinn drained a 3 as time expired for the come from behind victory.

12/29 :   Davis and Elkins 60 - Bluefield St. 58
Every evening in the WVIAC is a dogfight.  After edging ABC in the final seconds, D&E found themselves in another toss up.   The winning basket in this one?   A finger roll by Jude Lacasse with 1 second left in the game.   A 13-5 edge on the offensive boards is the only thing that kept this game close as D&E shot 56% from the floor vs. 42% for Bluefield.

12/30 :   #14 Charleston 97 - Shepherd 103 (OT)
The only point I want to make here is Charleston (the previous #1 team on the PR) lost to a team that was swept by a team that lost to W. Liberty St.  Just saying...
The game featured 200 points,  73 FTs,  68 baskets,  57 fouls,  43 TOs,  2 turtle doves,  etc  etc
Charleston had an 8 point lead with 2 minutes left in regulation and needed a basket with 2 seconds left just to get in OT.  Welcome to my world.

12/31 :  Concord 53 - Davis and Elkins 64
Concord doesn't attempt a single 3 point shot.

01/01 :  Concord 101 - Shepherd 95 (OT)
Sheperd loses despite collecting 24 offensive rebounds!

01/02 :  Bluefield St. 70 - Alderson-Broaddus 68 (OT)
Bluefield St. blows a 4 point lead with 30 seconds left in regulation but comes back to win it in OT.

01/03 :  Charleston 59 - W. Virginia St. 57
West Virginia St. keeps it close despite shooting 36% from the floor.

01/04 :  #25 Bluefield St. 67 - Concord 66
Taylor Barahona (what a name!) tips it in with 1 second left.

01/05 :  Fairmont St. 66 - Bluefield St. 65
Fairmont dominates offensive boards by a 15 to 10 margin.

01/06 :  W. Virginia St. 54 - Alderson-Broaddus 52
W. Virginia St. scores final basket with no time left on the clock.

01/07 :  #17 Charleston 67 - Bluefield St. 61
Teams combine to make 41 out of 47 FTs.

01/08 :  Fairmont St. 68 - Alderson-Broaddus 63 (OT)
Alderson comes back from a 6 point deficit with under a minute left to force overtime......and lose.


Players of the Night: 
12/22 : Steven Friese 21 points (pf - Fairmont St.) :  6-10 ; 0-0 from the arc ; 9-10 from the line ; 4 rebounds
12/23 : Tony Smith 25 points (sg - Ohio Valley) :  8-11 ; 0-0 from the arc ; 9-12 from the line ; 4 assists
12/24 : Mason Manske 23 points (pg - Fairmont St.) :  8-13 ; 2-2 from the arc ; 5-7 from the line ; 5 assists 
12/25 : Fred Laborde 24 points (c - Salem International) :  9-17 ; 0-0 from the arc ; 6-8 from the line ; 4 rebounds
12/26 : George Cavanaugh 28 points (pg - Shepherd) :  8-14 ; 5-10 from the arc ; 7-8 from the line ; 4 steals
12/27 : John Goslin 26 points (c - Ohio Valley) :  9-16 ; 0-0 from the arc ; 8-10 from the line ; 10 rebounds
  

Mid-way through Conference Play

	This Season			Prediction			Last Season
North Standings	W	L		W	L		W	L
Fairmont	6	2		6	10		7	9
Bluefield *	5	2		13	3		13	3
D & E	4	3		8	8		5	11
Alderson-Broaddus *	3	4		9	7		8	8
Concord	2	6		4	12		5	11
Glenville	0	7		3	13		4	12
	20	24		43	53		42	54
	This Season			Prediction			Last Season
South Standings	W	L		W	L		W	L
Charleston *	6	2		13	3		11	5
Ohio Valley *	6	1		12	4		12	4
Shepherd *	4	4		12	4		9	7
W. Va St. *	4	4		9	7		15	1
Salem International	3	5		5	11		7	9
W. Liberty	2	5		2	14		0	16
	25	21		53	43		54	42
* = NT berth projected

As long as Shepherd doesnt lose another game and Fairmont doesnt win another game I won't look like a COMPLETE f-ing idiot.....

Regular Season Standings

	This Season			Prediction			Last Season
North Standings	W	L		W	L		W	L
D & E	13	3		8	8		5	11
Fairmont	11	5		6	10		7	9
Bluefield *	11	5		13	3		13	3
Alderson-Broaddus *	6	10		9	7		8	8
Concord	5	11		4	12		5	11
Glenville	1	15		3	13		4	12
	47	49		43	53		42	54
	This Season			Prediction			Last Season
South Standings	W	L		W	L		W	L
Ohio Valley *	12	4		12	4		12	4
Charleston *	11	5		13	3		11	5
Shepherd *	11	5		12	4		9	7
W. Va St. *	7	9		9	7		15	1
Salem International	5	11		5	11		7	9
W. Liberty	3	13		2	14		0	16
	49	47		53	43		54	42
* = NT berth projected

Am I getting smarter or dumber?

Im a genious!
Concord ; Ohio Valley ; Shepherd ; Salem ; W Liberty

Still some work to do :
Bluefield ; Glenville ; Charleston ; W Virginia


Was I on drugs?
Davis and Elkins (+5)  - I saw the cream puff non-con schedule and didn't give this roster enough credit
Fairmont (+5) - yes...... I was on drugs
Alderson-Broaddus (-3) - going 0-4 vs. the two teams above had a lot to do with ABC missing my prediction

Overall,  I think I nailed it    

After Regular Season

Rank	Conference	Prestige	Record	Strength of Schedule	RPI
1.	West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	B+	182-131	.5767	.5822
2.	Great Lakes Valley Conference	B	185-127	.5640	.5760
3.	South Atlantic Conference	C+	165-147	.5254	.5275
4.	California Collegiate Athletic Association	C+	164-148	.5130	.5185
5.	Great Northwest Athletic Conference	C+	163-149	.5145	.5179
6.	Northeast-10 Conference	C+	165-147	.5013	.5101
7.	Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference	C+	164-148	.4981	.5021
8.	North American Athletic Association	C+	159-153	.4958	.4983
9.	Peach Belt Conference	C	159-153	.4954	.4982
10.	Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association	C	155-157	.4986	.4965

Final Conference Rankings

Rank	Conference	Prestige	Record	Strength of Schedule	RPI
1.	West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	B+	212-150	.5958	.5934
2.	Great Lakes Valley Conference	B	211-146	.5823	.5855
3.	South Atlantic Conference	C+	178-163	.5301	.5270
4.	Great Northwest Athletic Conference	C+	179-166	.5243	.5214
5.	California Collegiate Athletic Association	C+	179-165	.5204	.5202
6.	Northeast-10 Conference	C+	182-162	.5166	.5166
7.	Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference	C+	176-163	.5012	.5016
8.	Peach Belt Conference	C+	172-166	.5022	.5011
9.	North American Athletic Association	C+	172-169	.5021	.4998
10.	Lone Star Conference	C+	174-173	.5040	.4986

Great season guys!

Congratulations to the following :
Charleston : Championship game (back to back bridesmaids for the WVIAC)
Ohio Valley : Final Four
Shepherd : Final Four
W. Virginia St. : 2nd round
Davis and Elkins : 2nd Round
Bluefield St. : 2nd Round
Faimont St. : 2nd round
Alderson-Broaddus : PIT 3rd round

Mully, thanks for all the work as conference chronicler!