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America East Power Rankings, v14

Tuesday, February 26th, 2013

As a reminder, all records omit games against non-Division-I opponents.

1. Stony Brook Seawolves (20-6, 12-2 AE, W4)
Previous Ranking: 1st
Results: W 83-39 vs. UMBC, W 69-53 at Maine
Next week: Thursday at BU, Sunday at Albany
Stony Brook still has to win one of its remaining games in order to lock up the NIT autobid as a fall-back, but with a full week to go in the regular season, the Seawolves have locked up their third No. 1 seed in four years. The first two No. 1 seeds ended with disappointment for America East’s Long Island representatives, but something about this year feels different – and admittedly looks different. Ten of Stony Brook’s 12 conference victories have been by double-digits. If Stony Brook runs the table they will be the first AE champion with six losses or fewer since ’05 Vermont. And advanced stats love – I mean LOVE – the Seawolves. KenPom has SBU at No. 58 nationally as of Monday, which seemed a bit high until I saw Kyle Whelliston’s BBState ranking: No. 39. To be clear, if selection committees agreed to use a single ranking, the 58th-best team in the country would get into the NIT without an autobid, and the 39th-best team would be an NCAA at-large selection. We find that overly optimistic, to say the least, but on-balance it’s hard to argue that Stony Brook’s regular season performance shouldn’t be ranked among the very best AE regular season resume’s of recent years. (more…)

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America East Power Rankings, v13

Monday, February 18th, 2013

As a reminder, all records omit games against non-Division-I opponents.

1. Stony Brook Seawolves (18-6, 10-2 AE, W2)
Previous Ranking: 1st
Results: W 73-47 vs. Binghamton, W 65-48 vs. Vermont
Next week: Tuesday vs. UMBC, Sunday at Maine
The race for the regular-season title isn’t technically over, but the Seawolves are absolutely in the driver’s seat. Stony Brook can lose both its games this week and still control its destiny – not that we’d advise doing so. Nor would we expect that scenario to happen. At a minimum, UMBC profiles as an extremely likely win for Steve Pikiell & Co. Stony Brook lost its Division-I home opener to Sacred Heart, but since then the Seawolves have won eight straight at home. When hosting conference opponents, Stony Brook’s average margin of victory is more than 18 points. Meanwhile, Tuesday’s opponent has only one road win this season: at Binghamton, by three. (more…)

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America East Power Rankings, v12

Tuesday, February 12th, 2013

As a reminder, all records omit games against non-Division-I opponents.

1. Stony Brook Seawolves (8-2, 16-6, L1)
Previous Ranking: 1st
Results: L 60-55 at Hartford
Next week: Tuesday vs. Binghamton, Friday vs. Vermont
First, the bad news: Losing at Hartford is easily the Seawolves’ second-worst result of the season. Combine that with an uninspiring result at New Hampshire and a relatively sparse schedule, and it’s been fully two weeks since Pikiell & Co. have managed to impress anyone. That being said, there’s still plenty of good news. A home game against Binghamton should boost Stony Brook’s offense back over a point per possession, a mark the Seawolves cleared in eight straight games to start conference play before dipping below it in their last two. Even in a loss, Jameel Warney was still a beast (21 and nine on 9-of-11 shooting). And despite falling into second place in the standings, Stony Brook is tied with first-place Vermont in the loss column and hosts the hotly anticipated rematch this Friday. Avenging last month’s loss will cure a lot of ills on Long Island. (more…)

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America East Power Rankings, v11

Tuesday, February 5th, 2013

As a reminder, all records omit games against non-Division-I opponents.

1. Stony Brook Seawolves (8-1, 16-5, W4)
Previous Ranking: 1st
Results: W 65-49 at Albany, W 56-54 at New Hampshire
Next week: Saturday at Hartford
On one hand, a four-game winning streak that includes three road games is meaningful. On the other hand, we’ve been generally very positive about Stony Brook’s overall performance this season, so I’m in a nit-picking mood, and any one-possession victory over New Hampshire is going to raise some concerns in my book. It’s hard to find anything truly troubling when the Seawolves maintain nearly a 20-point gap between their offensive and defensive efficiencies. Specifically, it’s hard to find meaningful fault with Stony Brook’s lack of a true go-to scorer on offense when last year’s tournament champion had as egalitarian of an offense as you’re likely to find. But if we’re going to be critical, isn’t that the piece Stony Brook was missing last year and may still be missing this year? Late in the game or late in the shot clock, when an opponent turns the screws on defense there is value in a player who can win one-on-one if you’re not winning five-on-five. It’s possible to win without that insurance policy, but you never know when you might need it. (more…)

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America East Power Rankings, v9

Monday, January 21st, 2013

As a reminder, all records omit games against non-Division-I opponents.

1. Stony Brook Seawolves (4-1, 12-5, L1)
Previous Ranking: 1st
Results: W 75-48 vs. Boston University, L 81-73 at Vermont
Next week: Wednesday at UMBC, Saturday vs. Maine
(more…)

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America East Power Rankings, v8

Tuesday, January 15th, 2013

As a reminder, all records omit games against non-Division-I opponents.

1. Stony Brook Seawolves (3-0, 11-4, W4)
Previous Ranking: 1st
Results: W 62-37 at Binghamton, W 73-59 vs. Hartford
Next week: Tuesday vs. Boston University, Friday at Vermont
It takes more space than I’m willing to allot here to sufficiently detail how unbelievably good Stony Brook’s defense has been so far, so for starters let’s just say that, barring a total collapse, Stony Brook should finish with the most efficient defense the AE has seen since at least the 2005-06 season, inclusive. If things keep going the way they’re going, we’ll be able to make even stronger statements, but as it is this is an awesome defense by AE standards, and one not overly reliant on any one attribute. I’ll leave further analysis for later in the week. In other news, Jameel Warney is still really, really good at basketball. This will pose some very real problems for BU on Tuesday, because while the Terriers have a couple of players who are also really, really good at basketball, none of those players are anywhere near as big or as strong as Warney. You do the math. (more…)

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America East Power Rankings, v7

Monday, January 7th, 2013

Editor’s Note: Our Power Rankings were compiled on Sunday but were not published until today due to technical issues. They cover the first week of America East play and exclude Monday’s lone game
As a reminder, all records omit games against non-Division-I opponents.

1. Stony Brook Seawolves (1-0, 9-4, W2)
Previous Ranking: 1st
Results: W 65-49 vs New Hampshire
Next week: Wednesday at Binghamton, Saturday vs Hartofrd
The Seawolves only had one game during the opening week of conference play and didn’t tell us much that we didn’t already know — but they also did absolutely NOTHING to dissuade us from our belief that they are the America East team to beat. Stony Brook handled visiting New Hampshire with ease, winning by 16 in a game that was no where near as close as the final score. Jameel Warney continues to run away with the AE Rookie of the Year awards while playing like a potential First Team All-Conference selection and the best AE Rookie bigman Since Taylor Coppenrath.Nick Billings/Rashad Bell more than a decade ago. Tommy Brenton single-handedly massacred UNH on the glass. The Seawolves also showed some depth with their starting back court in foul trouble, getting nice first half contributions from senior reserves Marcus Rouse, Lenny Hayes and freshman point guard Carson Puriefoy. The Seawolves continue to win playing bully ball on both ends of the floor, blanketing opposing shooters, and generally imposing their will on everyone else. And, unlike last season, they seem to be running a competent offense with enough outside shooting and ball movement to keep defenses honest, while pounding the ball in to Warney on the low blocks.
(more…)

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America East Power Rankings, v6

Wednesday, January 2nd, 2013

Our final non-conference Power Rankings cover the short, post-Christmas weekend and the Albany and Stony Brook’s games on New Year’s Eve day and New Year’s Day into one “week.”

As a reminder, all records omit games against non-Division-I opponents.

1. Stony Brook Seawolves (8-4, w1)
Previous Ranking: 1st
Results: L 60-59 at Seton Hall, W 50-44 at Manhattan.
Next week: Saturday vs New Hampshire.
The Seawolves were within one possession of recording the signature win over a name BCS conference foe that has thus far eluded their program against Seton Hall. The Seawolves came up short — and questions remain about their ability to close out games and win the big one — but for nearly forty minutes, Stony Brook looked to be the far superior team. If the Seawolves simply converted their free-throws, or freshman sensation Jameel Warney had played an average game (by the lofty standards he has set thus far), Stony Brook would have walked out with a “W”. The Seawolves ended the America East non-conference season with a win in a sloppy, ugly affair on the road at Manhattan on New Years day. They don’t always play pretty or fluid basketball — frankly, at times it can be downright offensive to the senses — be they look every bit the part of the America East’s best team. Despite graduating four seniors, three starters, and the core of the 2008 freshman class that transformed Stony Brook basketball, this season’s Seawolves squad appears significantly better than last seasons squad: The Seawolves still pulverize teams defensively and dominate the glass, but now they run an efficient and effective offense; with do-everything point-forward Tommy Brenton running the show, the Seawolves run the offense through Warney in the low post, and also knock down shots from both mid-range and long-range. As sacrilegious as it is to say, junior point guard Anthony Jackson (who ranks eight in the nation in free-throw shooting) looks to be an even better version of point guard Bryan Dougher, who graduated last season as the program’s All-Time leader in Division I scoring. Jackson can snipe it from deep like Dougher, but is more capable of taking his man off the dribble and attacking the hoop.
(more…)

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America East Power Rankings, V5

Friday, December 28th, 2012

As a reminder, all records omit games against non-Division-I opponents.

1. Stony Brook Seawolves (7-3, L1)
Previous Ranking: 2nd
Results: W 64-59 at Sacred Heart, L 76-69 at Maryland
Next week: Friday at Seton Hall
The Seawolves won ugly at Sacred Heart — a staple of Steve Pikiell-coached teams — before losing valiantly — all guts, heart and hustle — in a near-upset at Maryland. Very little separates our Top-3 in this weeks rankings, but the Seawolves stand atop the rest of the pack — in our eyes — as the most complete team in the league. Entering the season, we knew the Seawolves would crash the glass with reckless abandon and demolish teams by play bully-ball defense (signatures of Pikiell’s program). What we didn’t know was if the Seawolves would be able to score consistently against grade-school level intramural defenses, let alone DI D. As expected, the Seawolves have owned the glass and locked down opposing offenses, they’ve also been a huge surprise as one of the America East’s best offenses, pounding the ball into the post, turning offensive rebounds into second chance buckets, and hitting enough of their 3′s to keep defenses honest. Tommy Brenton continues to be a one man-wrecking ball in every facet of the game other than scoring – the league’s best defender, the AE leader in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio, and a dominant rebounder – as well as the emotional center of the team. Unlike last season, the Seawolves appear to have a close-to-complete team around Brenton to compliment the senior captain. Freshman Jameel Warney may be the best low-post player in the league, and has emerged as a dominant scorer and rebounder who is shooting a jaw-dropping 64.7 percent from the floor despite a high-usage rate. Unlike previous seasons, where the Seawolves offense usually de-volved into back and forth passes around the perimeter before a forced three at the end of the shot clock, Stony Brook is pounding the ball in to Warney, who is as close to unstoppable as the AE has seen around the hoop in some time. Point guard-in-name-only Anthony Jackson has been the third head of the Seawolves scoring offense, knocking down 3′s and mid-range jumpers. If junior Dave Coley, who has sputtered to start the season, can get his deadly mid-range jumper going and harness his ability to attack the hoop off the bounce, watch out! (more…)

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America East Power Rankings, v4

Monday, December 17th, 2012

As a reminder, all records omit games against non-Division-I opponents.

1. Albany Great Danes (9-2, W6)
Previous Ranking: 1st
Results: W 70-61 vs. South Carolina State
Next week: Friday vs. Quinnipiac
The Danes have won six straight, and despite not looking particularly impressive in any of their last three victories, it’s hard to find much to complain about when a team is 9-2. And we’ve gone too long in this space without talking about Jacob Iati. Marksmen who play a lot of minutes and shoot almost exclusively from beyond the arc will rack up plenty of treys, but as of this writing Iati leads the nation in made 3-pointers. If you’re going to specialize in one facet of the game, it helps to be really, really good at that one specific thing, and if you’re going to pick one area at which to excel, you could do a lot worse than choosing the 3-ball. In a season that’s had its fair share of notable AE marksmen, Iati sits atop the list. (more…)

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