SB Nation - Anthony Heygood

Welcome to the Fold: Tracking Edition week 3

BoilerTMill — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 13:57:50 -0000

It is a Labor Day edition of this newest feature. We do have sad news on the other end of the spectrum, as cutdown day in the NFL was very hard on former Boilers. Some, like Charles Davis, Greg Orton, and Eugene Bright were longshots to make their respective rosters. Others were surprises. Stu Schweigert and John Standeford were both cut by the Lions. Kory Sheets was shockingly cut from the 49ers after having a fantastic preseason. Anthony Heygood suffered a similar fate as an undrafted free agent with Carolina. The most shocking of all was that Bernard Pollard was cut by the Chiefs. I'll keep an eye out for them, as many of these guys could land elsewhere as the season goes on.

In the mean time, here is what our current high school commits did last week, as a few more finally got their seasons underway.

Sean Robinson - QB - Rochester, IL (Rochester) - Rochester moved to 2-0 behind Robinson with a 57-35 victory over Rantoul. Statistics have not been fully posted for this game yet, but judging from the crude box score Robinson had five touchdown passes on the night. Three of these touchdown passes were 40 yards are more, so it sounds like a very good night for the young quarterback.

Joe Gilliam - LB - Southport, IN (Southport) - Southport began Conference Indiana play against a pretty good Pike team in Lucas Oil Stadium Saturday night. Unfortunately, the Cardinals already find themselves playing catch-up after winning the league undefeated last year. Pike won 33-7. The Indianapolis Star, in their crack coverage, covered two of the four games at Lucas Oil on Saturday, but provided nothing on Pike-Southport. Any in person reports on Gilliam's play would be greatly appreciated.

Charles Torwudzo - WR - Brownsburg, IN (Brownsburg) - Brownsburg suffered its first loss of the season as it traveled to Hamilton Southeastern. The Royals won easily 41-20, and Chuck T was held to just 2 catches for 15 yards. That link also has some video, but it is Hamilton Southeastern-centric.

Jeremy Cornelius - WR - Harrisburg, PA (Bishop McDevitt) - The 4^th ranked Crusaders began the season with an impressive 41-16 win over Harrisburg this past week. Cornelius did not find the end zone, but he had one catch for 15 yards.

De'Ron Flood - TE - O'Fallon, IL (O'Fallon) - O'Fallon got into the win column for the first time this year with a 38-7 win over Mt. Vernon. Flood had four catches for 44 yards and a touchdown, while also adding a two point conversion catch. His performance was the best receiving performance for his team.

Josh Davis - DT - Plain City, OH (Jonathan Alder) - Alder fell to 0-2 on the season with a 49-14 loss at home against Canal Winchester. Once again, stats were hard to come by, but we'll see if Jsoh's dad e-mails me againt his week, so stay tuned.

Mike Lee - LB - Pittsburgh, PA (Woodland Hills) - Woodland Hills began its season with a 13-0 loss to Steubenvill Friday night. I found no stats for Mr. Lee, but this was a defensive struggle for most of the game. I am sure he was prominently involved as a linebacker.

Ryan Isaac - DE - Michigan City, IN (Michigan City) - Michigan City moved to 3-0 for the first time since 2005 with a 31-21 win over Chesterton Friday night. While there have not been any stats posted for this game, Isaac has been impressive in his first two games. I also did find some photos of MC's very nice new home field.

Some new turf and commit Ryan Isaac are helping to turn around Michigan City's historically moribund program.

E.J. Johnson - DB - Cocoa, FL (Cocoa) - Cocoa has a very late start, not getting underway until September 11^th with a home game against American Heritage. Cocoa carries a #1 ranking into the season in Florida's class 2A. That is to be expected though, as they are the defending state champion in that class.

Will Lucas - LB - Lakeland, FL (Lakeland) - Lakeland also does not start until September 11, playing at Winter Haven. Lakeland, last year's state runner-up to mythical National Champion St. Thomas Aquinas, begins the season as the #2 team in Florida's class 5A.

Jess Schmitt - LS - Louisville, KY (Trinity) - After getting upset by Lawrence north in the opener, Trinity rebounded with a 27-0 win over DuPont Manual.

Projected Panthers 2009 Depth Chart: Linebackers

MichaelProcton — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:56:50 -0000

Recently, the Panthers have had one of the deepest LB corps in the league, full of guys with speed and ability. It's clear that the team values the position, as they've not only had up to eight roster spots used on the position (nine if LS Jason Kyle is counted), but also have shown they're willing to pick up talent there even if the depth chart has them blocked initially. Both Jon Beason and Dan Connor were drafted early with no regard for the fact that neither seemed to have a starting spot available to them. Beason, however, took the reins early in his 2007 rookie season after a Dan Morgan injury, and Connor showed he could be a valuable contributor on special teams even if he wasn't getting defensive playing time, leading the team in ST tackles prior to a torn ACL while covering a kickoff in the third game of the season against the Vikings. After the jump, we'll take a look at how this year's LB depth chart is shaping up.

LOLB	MLB	ROLB
Na'il Diggs	Jon Beason	Thomas Davis
Landon Johnson	Dan Connor	James Anderson

Last season, the Panthers carried seven linebackers on their 53-man roster (not including Jason Kyle, who was listed at the position, but was exclusively a long-snapper). All six of the players listed above were members of the opening day roster, but the Panthers also saw a couple players who were on the active roster leave in the offseason. Adam Seward, a backup MLB who played exclusively on special teams in an injury-riddled '08 season, signed a one-year deal with the Colts and is currently listed as their top backup at MLB. Donte' Curry, a special teams ace who found a roster spot after Dan Connor's season-ending knee injury, was second on the team in special teams tackles in just 13 games, but was not resigned by the Panthers and is currently a free agent.

Now, a look at the players on the current 80-man roster.

Jon Beason (3rd year, University of Miami) - 6'0", 237: Beason has been a sensation since he entered the league. He set a Panthers record for tackles in his rookie season and engaged in a very close Defensive Rookie of the Year race with Patrick Willis of the 49ers. In his second year, he showed an even more diverse range of skills, increasing his interceptions from 1 to 3, including two important picks that helped close out wins against Arizona and Green Bay. He also had an interception in the playoff loss and total of 9 PDs on the year, showing he is primed to be a force in coverage under Ron Meeks, who has shown a willingness to let his linebackers get involved in the passing game in the past. Perhaps most impressively, though, he played most of the season with a torn labrum suffered in the week 8 win against the Cardinals, an injury that occurred just two plays before the aforementioned INT. As Beason put it,

I was basically playing with no strength. When I tackled someone it was almost like throwing a pillow at them. I had no grip in that arm, no way to stop someone. I played like that the rest of the season, just fighting to get the job done. It took away my range of motion. But I know my teammates would do the same for me.

Impressive willpower and drive on his part. He's only 24, and should only continue to get better as Carolina's rock-solid MLB for years to come.

Thomas Davis (5th year, Georgia) - 6'0", 240: Davis was moved to the third position of his NFL career last year, and he may have finally found a home at weakside linebacker. He was able to establish new career highs in tackles, sacks, and PDs as the coaching staff found a way to take advantage of Davis' speed and reaction instincts while finding a way to minimize his occasional struggles in coverage which were more apparent at safety and LOLB. This coming year will be an important one for Davis, as the Panthers have allowed him to reach the final year of his rookie deal. With a young gun in Dan Connor likely ready to take over next year, Davis will be playing for a job one way or another.

Na'il Diggs (10th year, Ohio St.) - 6'4", 240: Diggs arrived in Carolina before the 2006 season as an affordable veteran who could add depth to the position and perhaps compete for a starting spot, but Diggs had other ideas. He's started 35 of the last 45 games at OLB for the Panthers, and is currently the starter at strong-side LB. Last season, he fought off a challenge by Landon Johnson, a free agent with a much bigger contract than Diggs, and he will likely have to fight for this job against both Johnson and Dan Connor, but at this point, his steady play likely makes him a clear favorite to win the position. Diggs is a solid player and a good special teams contributor, if not a flashy, big-impact player (involved in just two turnovers in his three years here.) I'd say he'll probably win this job unless Johnson or Connor very clearly outplay him during the preseason or camp, but even if he doesn't, he'll likely be kept around, as he's under contract for a very cap-friendly average of $1.25 million over the next two years.

Landon Johnson (6th year, Purdue) - 6'2", 232: Johnson was the Panthers' biggest free agent signing of the '08 offseason, but was largely a disappointment in his first year as a Panther following a successful start to his career in Cincinnati (average of 13 GS and 100 tackles.) He had shown the ability to start at all LB positions, but struggled to pick up the defense here, and made most of his contributions on special teams, including a forced fumble on KR Skyler Green of New Orleans which was recovered and returned for a TD by Dante Wesley, points that proved crucial in a 33-31 victory that secured the division crown. Johnson was considered a candidate to be released this offseason, but restructured his deal in a way that allowed the team to keep him and save the same amount. He will continue to be a special teams stalwart and will compete with Diggs and Connor to start at LOLB.

Dan Connor (2nd year, Penn St.) - 6'2", 231: Connor was a surprising third-round draft pick by the Panthers in 2008, who already seemed to be set at the linebacker position. As a projected first round pick by some, though, his value was simply too high to pass up when the Panthers pick came at #74 and Connor was still on the board. Connor rewarded their diligence, too, leading the team in special teams tackles as a standout on both kick and punt coverage through the first two-plus games. However, during the third game against the Vikings, Connor tore his ACL while covering on a kickoff and required season-ending surgery, although he actually covered one more kickoff after the injury. Connor was profiled as a solid, instinctive player with the ability to play any of the LB spots, and there was actually some talk early last summer that he could take over the MLB spot and the team would move Jon Beason to the outside, where he began his career before a Dan Morgan injury moved him to the inside. Connor should continue to be a presence on special teams and will compete to start at LOLB.

James Anderson (4th year, Virginia Tech) - 6'2", 235: Anderson is a former third-round pick who has never quite lived up to expectations, although the talent in front of him has had much to do with that. He was retained with the low RFA tender offer ($1.01 million) which would have returned a 3rd-round pick to the team had he been signed away, but received no interest on the FA market. Anderson only played defense in two games last year, and has started just three games in his three years here, so he is the most likely of our veteran linebackers to be cut, to which his non-guaranteed salary also contributes. Still, he should have a leg up on the remaining candidates to make the roster, who are all undrafted free agents with fewer than two years of experience in the league.

Jeremy Leman (2nd year, Illinois) - 6'2", 240: Leman is a former college All-American who went undrafted in 2008 and spent the preseason with the Vikings before being released in the final round of cuts. He was regarded as an instinctive player with high football IQ who lacked the physical attributes to be an NFL player. Chance of making team: 3.75%

Anthony Heygood (rookie, Purdue) - 6'1", 225: Heygood is a former running back who converted to linebacker and started for two years. He was considered a draftable prospect by some sources, and despite his inexperience at the position, he was a productive player due to his athleticism and instincts, and was voted the team's MVP by his teammates this past season. His future in the NFL--if he has one--is likely as a special teams demon and at the weakside LB position. Chance of making team: 6%

Mortty Ivy (rookie, West Virginia) - 6'1", 239: Ivy was another possible late-round pick who was a three-year starter. He likely projects as an OLB in the pros, but he also got some experience in the middle, and could conceivably play there in the NFL if he improves his football awareness. He was a first team All-Big East player for the 2008 season, and once came back from a torn ACL in April to play in 11 games for WVU. Like Leman, and unlike Heygood, he is considered a player who has used his intangibles to overcome a lack of extraordinary physical abilities. Chance of making team: 4%

EDIT: A girl I work with who's a WVU fan says, and I quote, "He's good." So I think that tells me two things: relatively casual fans of the team are aware of his existence, which means he was making plays, and they don't hate him. So those aren't bad things. :)

EDIT: These next two guys have been cut as of 6/30, but I'll leave their profiles for posterity's sake.

Brit Miller (rookie, Illinois) - 6'0", 243: After playing alongside Leman on the outside, he took over the MLB spot last year and was incredibly productive, leading the Big Ten in tackles per game at 11+. He is an experienced (38 career starts), huge LB, but there are concerns about his tackling technique, conditioning ("He's one of the only LBs in FBS with a gut"), and work ethic. A message board post compared Leman and Miller thusly:

J (Jeremy) was just a very emotional and smart player, but he has physical limitations. Brit is built better, he's much faster, he's better in coverage, and he's more versatile.

Chance of making team: 3.5%

Mike Juergens (rookie, Wyoming) - 6'3", 230: Juergens was a two-year starter at OLB who led the Cowboys in sacks last year. He posted decent numbers in the agility tests at his pro day with a 7.16 three-cone drill time, a 4.27 short shuttle time, and a 12.00 in the long shuttle. Chance of making team: .01%

Poll

Will we see any of the rookie linebackers make the team in favor of a veteran?

Yes

64 votes

No

154 votes

218 votes | Poll has closed

Boilermakings says hello, goodbye

BoilerTMill — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 01:01:59 -0000

One of the busiest weekends of the spring sports schedule has come and gone, so with it we get a Super-sized Boilermakings. This one involves two new basketball players coming in, while two Purdue football players move on to the NFL.

Basketball gets Sandi Marcius, Dru Anthrop - In perhaps the biggest news of the weekend Purdue found some much needed help for JaJuan Johnson in 6'9" 240lb forward Sandi Marcius. The Croatian Sensation, as I will now call him, spent this past year playing at La Lumiere in LaPorte, IN. It is a relatively new prep school in northwest Indiana. They play a mostly IHSAA schedule, but they are not eligible for tournament play. Marcius averaged 15 points and 15 rebounds as the Lakers went 14-5. He was coached by former Mr. Basketball DelRay Brooks, who was also a member of Providence's 1987 Final four Team under Rick Pitino. The Lakers played some tough games against East Chicago and Bowman Academy, but his level of competition will jump dramatically at Purdue.

Lafayette Central Catholic guard Dru Anthrop also agreed to come to Purdue as a preferred walk-on. The parallels between him and Bobby Buckets are similar, but Anthrop may be a better overall player. He averaged 23 points, 7 rebounds and four assists this past season. He acquitted himself very well the time I saw him this past season. He had 18 points as the Knights upset Patrick Bade and Franklin Central in the morning game of the Zionsville tournament. At 6'1" he has more size than Buckets, and easily could step into the same role. The article also mentions the possibility that Frankfort's Stevie Loveless could be coming as well. It's been awhile since I have seen him, but he is another guy that could be a key practice player. I don't think he has the size to play every night in the Big Ten, but he is someone that can push our guys in practice and make everyone better.

D.J. Byrd was also named the Lafayette area player of the year by the Journal and Courier. Byrd and Bade will be playing together this summer with the Indiana All-Stars against Kentucky. Byrd also saw plenty of time against Loveless and anthrop throughout their high school careers. I like bringing in guys that have that familiarity because it gives the team an instant chemistry. It helped us immensely when Hummel, Moore, and Johnson came in, so this will only help. There has been no further word on Jeff Robinson, but I question how much he is going to contribute anyway. There were games where he couldn't even get off the bench for Lawrence North.

Alex Magee and Curtis Painter head to the NFL - It was a slightly disappointing weekend at the NFL draft for Purdue. Only Magee and Painter were drafted, while Kory Sheets, Greg Orton, Sean Sester, and Anthony Heygood will have to go the free agent route.

The dude is a badass if he eats gold. Imagine what he will do to linemen.

Magee was one of the first picks on day 2, going in the third round to Kansas City. The Chiefs are hoping to use him all over the defensive line, as he is one of our rare defensive linemen that is big enough to stay there in the NFL. Players like Shaun Phillips, Akin Ayodele, and Anthony Spencer have often played a hybrid of linebacker and end because of their size and quickness. The Chiefs were awful last season, so Magee should have every chance to play.

Painter cannot say the same about his NFL chances. Curtis went 201^st overall to the Colts. It is safe to say he isn't exactly going to challenge for the starting job. It's a high-risk, high reward opportunity for Curtis. If he can make the roster (and beat out long-time backup Jim Sorgi) there are few better quarterbacks in the league to learn from. Unfortunately, the odds are against him even making the regular roster. Sorgi is fairly entrenched as Manning's caddy, and the Colts rarely have three quarterbacks on the active roster because Manning is so durable. Painter may find himself on the practice squad for a year or two, which is still a very good place to learn from Manning. I would honestly be shocked if he played a down in the NFL this regular season.

As for Heygood, Sheets, Orton, and Sester, I would be surprised if they didn't at least get a free agent look. I thought for sure Sheets was going to go somewhere and for much of the final round he was listed as one of the best backs available. Making a team as a free agent isn't unheard of, but it makes the task that much more difficult when you don't have a draft pick next to your name. Of these four I can see Heygood and Sheets having the best chances.

Perhaps the best news of the draft came from Denver, where they did not draft a highly touted quarterback to compete with Kyle Orton. They did draft Tom Brandstater as a quarterback from Fresno State, but all signs are pointing to Kyle being the man when training camp starts. I am definitely in the camp of hoping Kyle has an FU season to shut up all his critics, much the same way Drew Brees had in is second to last year in San Diego. At least he won't piss and moan like his predecessor in Denver.

UPDATE: Kory Sheets has signed with San Francisco as a free agent. Anthony Heygood also got on with Carolina and Ryan Baker with Miami. No word yet on Orton or Sester.

2nd UPDATE: Greg Orton gets a deal with Cincinnati.

Ladies golf wins Big Ten Championship - If you look at performance on a national stage for the past few season, the women's golf team has had more success than any other sport on campus. They have finished in the top four of each of the last two NCAA championships with a runner-up finish in 2007. Sunday afternoon they won their second consecutive Big Ten championship at home on the Kampen Course in West Lafayette.

Senior Maria Hernandez and sophomore Maude-Aimee LeBlanc tied for the individual title, while Purdue won the team title over Michigan State by 37 strokes. They will now compete in one of three NCAA Regionals on May 7-9 at either Ohio State, Arizona State, or Florida. Georgetown is hosting the NCAA championships, and the Boilers are heavily favored to return for the 10^th consecutive year.

Women's softball takes a big step forward in Big Ten play - Those fortunate enough to have the Big Ten Network might have caught a glimpse of the women's softball team over the weekend. Purdue slit a doubleheader at #14 Ohio State last Wednesday before sweeping Penn State this weekend in Happy Valley. Both Penn State games were televised by the Big Ten Network, and Purdue won each 2-0 and 3-2. Liane Horiuchi entered the Purdue record books for most steals in a season by swiping her 36^th and 37^th bases in the first game against the Nittany Lions. To top the day off she wont he second game with a seventh inning home run. Purdue sits at 26-17, 9-7 Big Ten as it goes into its final two home games of the season Wednesday against Illinois.

Baseball swept again - Purdue's postseason hopes in baseball took a severe blow this weekend as Minnesota swept the Boilers 4-3, 3-1, and 5-2 in Minneapolis. I caught the tail end of Friday night's game on Big Ten Network and it was an ugly one. Matt Bischoff once again had a solid Friday night effort as Purdue held a 3-1 lead going into the bottom of the ninth, but it was all for naught. Bischoff gave up a single, a walk, and a double that tied the game as he came up just short in his bid for a third straight complete game. Kevin Cahill then loaded the bases and Justin Gominsky drove in the winning run on a sacrifice fly. The rest of the weekend was a struggle as Purdue netted next to nothing offensively.

This is Purdue's second straight weekend in which it has been swept in Big Ten play. The Boilers (17-21, 5-9) now find themselves on the outside looking in at the Big Ten Tournament. Indiana comes to town this coming weekend for a series that Purdue absolutely has to win if it is going to make the Big Ten Tournament.

Travis Iles wins Purdue Grand Prix - If you've ever been to Purdue you know that Grand Prix weekend is one of the greatest weekends of the year. This year the Grand Marshall was none other than Dustin Keller, showing how much the race means to alumni of the university. Sure, most use it as an excuse to drink and party, but the race itself is pretty cool. I was even lucky enough to serve as track announcer for the 2002 and 2004 races. This year the race was moved to the Northwester Athletic Complex since the old track is now going to be a practice field for the football team. Sigma Chi's Travis Iles won the event pretty convincingly, lapping all but one competitor. It was his first win in four tries. Sean Noonan finished second in a hotly contested final few laps.

Boilermakings for 2/23

BoilerTMill — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:36:05 -0000

This was just too good to pass up from GBI's Tom Campbell

Let’s get right to it since this was a busy weekend.

Baseball can’t handle extra innings

It was a rough weekend for the Boilers in the inaugural Big East/Big Ten challenge down in Clearwater, FL. Purdue started off the season well by beating Cincinnati 11-10 Friday afternoon. Dan Black singled home Ben Wolgamot with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to give Purdue the victory. Wolgamot had earlier delivered a two out single to tie the game as Purdue trailed 10-9 going into the final inning.

The rest of the weekend wasn’t as good. Since Purdue and Michigan do not face each other in a Big Ten series this year they played a non-conference game Saturday morning. Purdue built a 3-0 lead through five and a half, but fell 4-3 in 10 innings when Jake McLouth delivered a 2 out RBI single in the bottom of the 10th.

The Boilers then dropped a 7-5 contest to South Florida Saturday night before falling 9-4 in 10 innings Sunday to Notre Dame. The Notre Dame and Michigan games are tough losses since they were two great chances to gain quality out of conference wins. There isn’t a lot of non-conference power this year, so Purdue needs to get good wins when it has a chance. Next up is a four game series this weekend at Southeast Missouri State. The Redhawks are 2-1 after winning a season opening series at traditional SEC power Alabama. The Crimson Tide was also ranked 16th in the preseason polls.

Black, who is Purdue’s starting catcher, managed to draw the eye of Baseball America’s Aaron Fitt over the weekend. Purdue doesn’t normally get a large number of draft picks because, well, we’re just not that good in baseball. It’s nice to see some national attention directed at Black. In another cool bit of history, the Purdue-Cincinnati game on Friday was the first ever Division I baseball game to feature two female umpires.

Women’s softball gets back on track

After losing its first ever national ranking with a poor 2-3 showing at the Florida State Sunshine Classic the women’s softball team had a much better outing this past weekend. The Boilers headed to Alabama for the War Eagle Classic to face Middle Tennessee State, Austin Peay, Winthrop, and host Auburn. Purdue lost the opener 11-4 to Middle Tennessee State, but beat Austin Peay 6-4, Winthrop 2-0, and Auburn 3-1 to move to 7-4 on the season. The Auburn game saw all three Purdue runs scored in the top of the seventh and final inning to give pitcher Suzie Rzegocki her fifth win of the season.

Katie Mitchell added a home run to tie the contest in the seventh. Liane Horiuchi and Candace Curtis each had RBI doubles in the inning for Purdue. The win gave Purdue the tournament title with the best record in the round-robin format. Unlike baseball, the Big Ten is much more of a softball power, therefore Purdue has plenty of chances to improve its NCAA resume once conference play starts. So far the non-conference season is working out just fine, however.

Kory Sheets sets fire to Lucas Oil Stadium turf

I have Colts season tickets as part of my sports addiction. We have had them for years and basically we keep the games we want and sell the rest for a very nice profit. Though the initial expense is high, we have so far attended 13 games in the four years we have had the tickets and have made more money than we have spent. Thanks to this weekend’s NFL combine though, Kory Sheets could cut into my profit margins. He is one of my favorite Purdue players ever, so it would be very nice to see him in Colts blue.

Mr. Sheets has had a very good weekend, impressing many scouts with his speed and pass catching ability. I’d love to see the hometown Colts draft him as a backup to Joseph Addai and kick returner. They could definitely use him in the kick returning department and he would thrive as a running back since the Colts throw to their backs a lot. Unfortunately it’s a crowded backfield at the moment with Addai, Dominic Rhodes, and Mike Hart.

I wouldn’t make too much of his contentious relationship with coach Tiller either. Kory flat out got it done on the field this year. He would have done even more if we had given him the chance. He torched Oregon and easily could have had 200 yards if we had given him more carries. He was torching Notre Dame until we stupidly went away from the run too. I am confident he will find a place in the NFL and make some team very happy.

I haven't seen many reports on how the rest of our guys did. CurtisPainter seemed to have fairly average numbers as a quarterback. Greg Orton is probalby lost in the crowd as a wide receiver. I know Alex Magee had an impressive Senior Bowl, but there is no word on how he has looked at the combine. It's somewhat disappointing given what Cliff Avril, Dustin Keller, and Stanford Keglar did last season. I am still shocked that Anthoney Heygood did not get invited.

Scrath that, the Boiled Sports guys have come through again with some solid info on the Combine. Thanks again, guys!

Non-Conference opponents updates:

Since the last time I ran this feature we have gotten quite a bit of help thanks to some upsets. We’re about a week from when some of the lesser conference tournaments get started. Some of our former opponents are positioning themselves nicely for a surprise run or two. We’re obviously an NCAA lock at this point, but the better these teams do means a higher seed for us if we can keep taking care of business in the Big Ten. Each RPI is out of 343 Division I teams

Detroit (7-20, 2-14 Horizon League) CBS Sports RPI: 272 – The Titans are not one of those teams helping us. They have lost four in a row and will have the worst seed in the Horizon League tournament with a last place finish.

Eastern Michigan (4-23, 2-10 MAC) CBS Sports RPI: 331 – How did this team even get invited to the Preseason NIT? They finally got another win by beating Bowling Green on February 15th, but that is just their second win vs. D-I competition. They are also in last place in their conference. RPI-wise, they are the worst team we have faced.

Loyola-IL (14-16, 6-11 Horizon) CBS Sports RPI: 198 – This is one of the teams that helped us with a shocking win over Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse. While unlikely, they could get hot and steal the Horizon League automatic bid. It would be nice if they can at least get to .500, but they have just one regular season game left.

Coppin State (11-16, 8-5MEAC) CBS Sports RPI: 216 – The Eagles have been on fire of late, winning eight of their last nine. They currently sit in third place in the MEAC, so a higher seed will help them if they want to steal the automatic bid. Their final regular season game is against current leader Morgan State, which is clearly the best team in this bad conference at 18-10.

Boston College (19-9, 7-6 ACC) CBS Sports RPI: 54 – Boston College lost at Miami on Saturday and was swept by the Hurricanes for the season, but I still think they are safely in the field right now. They won at North Carolina and also just beat Duke at home, giving them two major wins. They finish with Florida State, NC State, and Georgia Tech. As long as they get at least one of those they are probably safe as it would assure a .500 record in ACC play.

Oklahoma (25-2, 11-1 Big 12) CBS Sports RPI: 2 – The Sooners lost a chance at #1 by losing to Texas Saturday, but they are still one of the best teams in the nation. Blake Griffin could be sidelined for a critical conference game against Kansas tonight with a head injury, but he should be fine for the tournament.

Duke (22-5, 8-4 ACC) CBS Sports RPI: 4 – No one seems to want to win the ACC. The top of that conference is about as brutal as the Big 10. Duke righted itself by beating Wake Forest last night 101-91, but has three of its next four on the road.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff (10-15, 9-5 SWAC) CBS Sports RPI: 243 – The Golden Lions are completely overmatched by anyone outside of the SWAC, but they have been doing well within that conference. Like Coppin State, they sit in third place and could make a decent tournament run to get the auto-bid. So far they are 0-3 against the top two teams in Jackson State and Alabama State.

Ball State (12-13, 6-6 MAC) CBS Sports RPI: 230 – The MAC should be a better basketball conference than it is. Ball State won a BracketBusters game over Tennessee Tech this weekend, but they remain under .500 overall. They did notch a win over conference leader Buffalo on February 15th.

Indiana State (9-19, 6-10 MVC) CBS Sports RPI: 205 – The overall record is still awful, but the Trees have been playing well of late. They are actually on a five game winning streak and could easily stretch it to seven by facing two of the worst teams in the Missouri Valley Conference to finish the year. How will that help? Beating both would assure they don’t have to play on the first day of Arch Madness, giving them a chance to stay hot, win just three games, and steal the automatic bid.

Davidson (22-6, 15-2 SoCon) CBS Sports RPI: 60 – If the mark of an NCAA at large team is that it can compete with anyone in the country I think Davidson is in. I would much rather see them get in (assuming they lose in the SoCon tourney) than some .500 team from a major conference because they value it more. Yes they wouldn’t have their gaudy record in the ACC, but they have gotten the opposition’s best shot for 28 games and Stephen Curry has been the focus each time. There is something to be said for consistently beating the opposition when you are THE team they want to beat. That is not the case for those .500 major conference teams. Despite all that, they are 22-6.

IPFW (11-16, 6-10 Summit League) CBS Sports RPI: 223 – The Mastodons are a middling team in a pretty bad conference overall. They lost on a last second basket to IUPUI in Indianapolis last week and are aiming to be a one and done in the Summit League Tournament since North Dakota State and Oral Roberts are dominating.

Valparaiso (8-20, 4-12 Horizon) CBS Sports RPI: 243 – I wonder how much we are personally raising the Horizon League’s RPI by having played three teams. Valpo won a BracketBusters game over Akron this weekend, but they are not likely a serious threat to win the Horizon League Tournament. The three Horizon teams we have played are the three worst teams in the league with a combined league mark of 12-37.