Here’s our updated power rankings based on games played as of December 15, 2013.
Note: Division ranking in parenthesis. National rankings are courtesy of KenPom.com. Arrows denote movement in overall Power Rankings. since previous power rankings.
1. (1st North) Radford 6-2 #226 no change
The Highlanders were off this week, and will return to this court this week when they face Santa Clara tonight. Radford has turned it up offensively this season, the Highlanders are scoring over 80 points per game and doing it efficiently as they are shooting nearly 49% from the field.
2. (1st South) Winthrop 6-2 #203 1
The Eagles improve to 6-2 overall and 5-0 at home with an 80-72 victory over Appalachian State. Winthrop’s only 2 losses have come against VCU and Virginia Tech. The Eagles are being led in scoring by Keon Johnson and Joab Jerome at 13.6 points per game each and Adre Smith’s 12.8 points per game.
3. (2nd S) Charleston Southern 3-5 #156 1
The Buccaneers have played a very tough nonconference schedule thus far. Charleston Southern has faced 3 teams rated in the top 50 by KenPom and #79 Delaware twice. Granted CSU is 1-4 in those games, but they are better than their 3-5 record would suggest.
4. (3rd S) Coastal Carolina 5-5 #218 no change
The Chanticleers have won 3 consecutive games, granted the last 2 have come against sub-DI competition. Coastal beat Reinhardt 118-82 in their only game this week.
5. (2nd N) VMI 6-4 #263 no change
VMI improves to 6-0 at home with a 110-78 win over VU of Lynchburg in their only game of the week. The Keydets got a career high 33 points from Rodney Glasgow who made 7 of his 15 3-point attempts. Freshman QJ Peterson continued his hot play with 23 points and D.J. Covington added 20. The Keydets have a nice road contest with East Carolina on the 19th as they look to get over their road woes.
6. (4th S) Gardner-Webb 6-5 #251 1
The Runnin’ Bulldogs beat Clearwater Christian 106-54 in their only game of the week. Gardner-Webb has a big week this week with matchups against Duke Monday night and Georgia Thursday.
7. (3rd N) Liberty 4-6 #241 1
The Flames fell to Austin Peay 77-71 in their lone game of the week. Liberty had to deal with missing reserve guard Joe Retic who was suspended prior to the game due to an “internal matter” as reported by Chris Lang. No word yet as to when Retic will return.
8. (5th S) UNC-Asheville 3-7 #234 2
The Bulldogs have won 2 consecutive matchups with wins over Bluefield and USC Upstate this week. D.J. Cunningham returned to the court, and averaged 12 points, 6 boards, and 1.5 blocks in his 2 games. Cunningham had missed the 3 prior games due to a knee injury.
9. (4th N) High Point 3-5 #244 1
The Panthers continue to struggle in life post-Allan Chaney. High Point has now lost 3 consecutive games including this week’s home loss to James Madison 84-69. The good thing for the Panthers is they still have 5 more games before the real season, conference play, begins to figure things out.
10. (5th N) Longwood 4-7 #323 1
Longwood got a win over Bluefield State 99-73 in their only game of the week. The Lancers were led by Tristan Carey’s 22 points and Karl Ziegler’s 21 points. Ziegler was a perfect 8/8 from the field.
11. (6th N) Campbell 4-6 #301 2
Not a good week for Campbell who lost to Division II opponent Chowan in overtime and then lost to Loyola (IL) by 12. The Camels have now lost 3 consecutive games.
12. (6th S) Presbyterian 3-8 #345 no change
If you’re last and you don’t play any games, at least you can’t drop in the rankings. The Blue Hose return to action tonight against Tennessee-Martin.
