We are late in our grades for the midterm. However here they are. We are grading each teams December and GPA so far. Yes, we are grading on a curve. It will be based on preseason expectations, improvement since November and Kenpom ranking to start and now.
Denver
December Record: 2-6
Best Win: St. Thomas
Worst Loss: Dixie State
November Kenpom: 331
Current Kenpom: 325
Grade:
1st quarter B-
2nd quarter C
GPA 2.27
While there wasn’t a huge dropoff and we still understand this is an entirely new squad this season, there wasn’t really a step forward either. A blowout loss at Dixie State hurts, and there were several games they lost by double figures. At the same time the win against UC San Diego and St. Thomas were both wins against teams rated higher in Kenpom than the Pioneers. However, they don’t have a win against a sub 300 Kenpom team this season. Would like to see a surprise win in the mix the second half of the season. In figuring out GPA, quarter 1 is 2 credits since it’s non conference, quarter 2 will be worth 3 (partial non-conference and partial conference), quarters 3 and 4 worth 4.
Kansas City
December record: 3-2
Best win: South Dakota
Worst Loss: SIU Edwardsville
November Kenpom: 221
Current Kenpom: 240
Grade:
1st quarter C+
2nd quarter C
GPA 2.13
It’s a little bit hard to judge the Roos in December. Not a large sample size of games one against a non division 1 opponent. It can be argued that no step forward this quarter so a slight drop in grade. The loss to SIU Edwardsville hurts and no marquee victories. At the same time star forward Josiah Allick missed all of december with injury. Arkel Lamar’s return helps cushion that blow a little bit.
North Dakota
December Record: 1-5
Best Win: No best win
Worst Loss: Dixie State
November Kenpom: 330
Current Kenpom: 345
Grade:
1st quarter C-
2nd quarter F
GPA .67
We are aware of the roster turnover for the Fighting Hawks this season. So the tendency is to want to move the curve a little bit more for North Dakota. However when looking at their December there just no other conclusion to come to than an F. There were some bright spots in November and that just didnt repeat in December. The Fighting Hawks lone win was against a non division 1 opponent and they suffered 3 losses to teams with a Kenpom in the 300’s. Paul Bruns is a bright spot and Coach Sather has them playing hard but it has to translate into on court success soon.
North Dakota State
December record: 5-2
Best win: Indiana State
Worst Loss: Montana State
November Kenpom: 164
Current Kenpom: 164
Grade:
1st quarter C
2nd quarter A-
GPA 3.00
Griesel returned and so did North Dakota State. Some would certainly argue an A- for a North Dakota State team that lost 2 games, however their two losses were Montana State and South Dakota State, both teams above them in Kenpom. The Bison also had 2 quality wins against Pacific and Indiana State. The Bison returned themselves to true contender conversation in December.
Omaha
December record: 1-5
Best win: Western Illinois
Worst loss: St Thomas
November Kenpom: 333
Current Kenpom: 340
Grade:
1st quarter F
2nd quarter D
GPA 0.60
We said we were grading on a curve and we meant it. Omaha’s win over Western Illinois in spite of being their only win moves them up an entire letter grade. In November Omaha didn’t have a division 1 win so the win against the Summit’s non conference darling finally showed some signs of life for the Mavericks.
Oral Roberts
December record: 4-3
Best Win: UT Arlington
Worst loss: South Dakota State
November Kenpom: 173
Current Kenpom: 149
Grade:
1st quarter C-
2nd quarter B-
GPA 2.27
Oral Roberts won the games they were supposed to win and lost the games they were supposed to lose. So why a B-? The Golden Eagles challenged themselves and competed. You can’t be mad when a Summit League team’s worst loss was against South Dakota State. Much like North Dakota State described above, the Golden Eagles used the month of December to separate themselves from the middle of the Summit League pack and look like a true Summit League contender.
South Dakota
December Record: 3-3
Best win: Bellarmine
Worst Loss: Kansas City
November Kenpom: 236
Current Kenpom: 252
Grade:
1st quarter C
2nd quarter C-
GPA 1.80
I wanted to give the Coyotes a higher grade but getting swept at home to start Summit League play a C- seems right. Mason Archambault started to step up this month and it seems like South Dakota is finding their footing. However,they weren’t quite there in December. If the start of January is an indication, the Coyotes 3rd quarter grade will likely look better.
South Dakota State
December record: 5-2
Best win: Washington State
Worst loss: Idaho
November Kenpom: 89
Current Kenpom: 89
Grade:
1st quarter A-
2nd quarter A-
GPA 3.67
How can it be an A-? Started conference play without a loss, including wins against their two best challengers in North Dakota State and Oral Roberts. Beat a good Washington team. Lost to Missouri State but Missouri State is very good. The Jacks are absolutely humming on offense and seem to have separated from the rest of the conference. In fact their offensive efficiency is top 15 in the nation. Frankly the minus comes specifically because of a loss to a bad Idaho team.
St. Thomas
December record: 4-3
Best win: Omaha
Worst loss: Denver
November Kenpom: 308
Current Kenpom: 283
Grade:
1st quarter B+
2nd quarter C
GPA 2.53
On the surface, a person sees the 4-3 record and you would think a C is overly harsh. However, 3 of the 4 wins were against non-division 1 opponents. Basically, we said we were grading on a curve. The Tommies curve has moved up. Their schedule existed before their curve moved so maybe the grade isn’t fair but again not a ton to grade on in the win column. So alas a C it is.
Western Illinois
November record: 5-2
Best win: Ball St
Worst loss: Omaha
Preseason Kenpom: 242
Current Kenpom: 183
Grade:
1st quarter A
2nd quarter B-
GPA 3.20
The record looks nice. One of the 2 losses was to Iowa. However the other was to a previously reeling Omaha team. Their only victory over a team under 300 in Kenpom was to Ball St. It was a pretty easy schedule for Western Illinois. At the same time, we will stick with B- as it’s still 5 wins in December.