#HLMBB Power Rankings – Week 10

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Photo courtesy of Cleveland State Athletics
RankTeamLast WeekChange
1.Cleveland State1
2. Youngstown State2
3. Purdue Fort Wayne5+2
4. Milwaukee4
5.Northern Kentucky3-2
6. Robert Morris6
7.Wright State7
8. Oakland8
9.IU Indy10+1
10.Detroit Mercy9-1
11.Green Bay11

Eight games in a row. That’s what keeps Cleveland State at No. 1. Well, that’s not the only reason. It’s the defense. The road trip against Robert Morris and Youngstown State was supposed to be tough, and even a split would have been considered a good week for the Vikings. CSU, however, had other plans, using its vaunted defense to run away from both the Colonials and Penguins, then re-applying it to hold both teams at arm’s length when they went on their runs to get back in the game. Offensively, while Tevin Smith has been the team leader in scoring, any one player is capable of going off, as Tahj Staveskie and Dylan Arnett did this week.

Saturday’s game against the Vikings was, in essence, a battle for the top of the Power Rankings heap. Because CSU won, Youngstown State stays in the second spot this week. It wasn’t for lack of trying, though. The Penguins took care of business against Northern Kentucky prior to their tilt against the Vikings. Moreover, YSU, went this week without the services of EJ Farmer, who is out with an injury. That hasn’t stopped the Penguins from stepping up, and a one-man, 11-point run by Cris Carroll cut a Cleveland State lead to one, before the Vikings reset and pulled away. There’s still plenty to be optimistic about in Youngstown, although the big test comes up with the looming Wisconsin trip.

This is absolutely the week that Purdue Fort Wayne to move up the rankings. The Mastodons bested fellow preseason co-favorite Milwaukee, then held a Detroit Mercy squad full of ambitious freshmen eager to prove something at bay until they pulled away for good. Rasheed Bello and Jalen Jackson continue taking turns being the best player on their team game by game, but most significantly, coach Jon Coffman has gotten some key contributions from Deangelo Elisee and Chandler Cuthrell up front in the absence of Eric Mulder.

Milwaukee shouldn’t be in a state of flux at this point in the season. But this week was really shaky for the Panthers. A loss against Purdue Fort Wayne was one thing, but it was Milwaukee’s performance against rival Green Bay that should raised some red flags. From a talent standpoint, the Panthers are, on paper, miles ahead of the Phoenix. But Green Bay hung around the entire game, while Milwaukee flailed about. How the Panthers still won by 11, even though they didn’t score a field goal in the last 5:51 of the game, is a mystery. And despite having the home court advantage against Youngstown State coming up, Milwaukee has some serious soul-searching to do, especially if Jamichael Stillwell remains out.

This was really not a good week for Northern Kentucky. Losing on the road to Youngstown State was one thing, given that the Penguins are generally always tough to beat at home. But the Norse’s performance against Oakland was quite another. NKU never really got into the game, and the Golden Grizzlies took advantage, handing the Norse a pretty critical loss. Things don’t get any easier, either, with a Wednesday road contest against Cleveland State on the docket.

Robert Morris is back in the mix in the middle of the Horizon League pack, something the Colonials haven’t experienced all that much during their time in the league. And RMU continues to improve, setback against Cleveland State aside. Wright State gave the Colonials a fight, and it looked as its Robert Morris would be headed to OT once again. But an Amarion Dickerson alley oop dunk, taking advantage of a Raider miscue, and surviving a three-pointer from Brandon Noel that didn’t count all factored into the Colonial win.

One tenth of a second. That’s the difference between Wright State heading into an extra frame with Robert Morris and a loss to the Colonials. It’s also the reason that the Raiders and RMU are situated where they are in the Power Rankings. Otherwise, it would have been a different situation. Wright State, however, did earn a hard-fought win over Oakland, in which the Raiders clawed their way back from a double-digit deficit to prevail 66-62. Alex Huigbretse is out, through, but Keaton Norris is back in a big way. At some point, both will be on the floor at the same time again, and Wright State will be better off for it.

Greg Kampe has been incensed over Oakland’s inability to close out games as of late. The aforementioned loss to Wright State certainly rankled him, and the first half of the Northern Kentucky game really got his goat. Not helping matters is that Malcolm Christie hurt his hand and it out, forcing Kampe to take the redshirt off of Jack Hoth. Whatever Kampe said at halftime in the Grizz locker room clearly resonated, though, and they withstood the Norse charge and granted their coach’s wish of closing out the game. One big key? Once again, the frontcourt duo of Allen Mukeba and Buru Naivalurua, who locked down the glass on NKU.

Finally, IU Indy got of the schnide this week. Even missing Paul Zilinskas, the Jaguars played of their best games this season by demolishing Detroit Mercy. Not only did the usual lineup excel in the romp, coach Paul Corsaro took the opportunity to utilizing players he doesn’t usually have in the rotation. Any little bit will help IU Indy, as a trip to Oakland and a return match-up against Cleveland State are in the offing.

If it wasn’t for bad luck, Detroit Mercy wouldn’t have any luck at all. Orlando Lovejoy’s injury took him out of the picture this week, and Legend Geeter soon joined him on the sidelines. This leaves the Titans with a lineup that, aside from Emmanuel Kuac, is comprised of all freshmen. As a result, IU Indy obliterated them, exploiting the young team’s inexperience and lack of depth. Then, Purdue Fort Wayne wore Detroit Mercy down until the Titans ran out of gas. Without Geeter and Lovejoy, this will be the blueprint that opponents will use against short-handed UDM, and things could easily get out of hand.

Let’s face it. Green Bay will probably be at the Power Rankings for a while, unless Detroit Mercy’s lineup issues make things significantly worse for them. The Phoenix had a shot on Saturday, though, with multiple opportunities to upset a Milwaukee team that put in a subpar performance. But Green Bay still can’t get over the hump, and with Robert Morris coming up and playing some pretty good ball as of late, not to mention Youngstown State, it’s hard to see a path to winning this week.

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