Mike wrote:
>>WILL WE GET POLL VOTES THIS WEEK??
 
>Based on what?  Seriously...Lowell hasn't met the iron yet and hasn't
>beaten anyone of note.  But Providence, which still hasn't gotten much
>recognition, has beaten Western Michigan on the road and Maine.  And
>having seen both teams, I would certainly give PC more thought than
>Lowell at this point.  And UNH without Todd Hall is still better than
>Lowell...that would have Lowell no better than 5th in my ranking of HE
>teams behind BU, Maine, PC, and UNH.  They would get a very slight nod
>over Merrimack for beating them last week, with Merrimack's two wins
>over UNH making it a close call.
 
Lowell has the same problem as some other teams in the 10-15 ranking right
now; the "Big Boys" aren't losing too often, and if they are, they're losing
to each other (e.g. LSSU loses twice, but to BG and WMU; BG loses, but to
WMU, Maine loses to BU, etc. etc.).  There aren't a lot of huge upsets at
this point in the season, so there's really been no reason to drop the teams
from the pre-season polls.  Mike's point about Providence is well-taken,
especially considering what WMU has done this season (and they finally cracked
the polls, at least the WMEB poll, at #10).
 
When this happens, it's tough for a team like Lowell to move up.  (MSU has sort
of the same problem, with a 7-game win streak but over no one of consequence,
with an 0-3 record against teams in the top 10, though the win over Cornell
looks better and better with the recent performance of the Big Red.)  Lowell's
test, as Mike mentioned, comes this weekend with the tournament in Orono.
 
But there's still a lot of season left, with a lot of games.  And being ranked
in November doesn't necesaarily mean you'll be there in March (but it doesn't
hurt, since it gets tougher to move up each week; ask Northwestern or Ohio
State).
 
G. M. Finniss
Michigan State University 7-2-0, 9-3-0
 
To illustrate that we're not total cannibals in this state, congrats to the
Ferris State Bulldogs for their first-round win in the NCAA Division II play-
offs and good luck in the quarters.  (Now, this non-cannibalistic streak only
extends so far.  I did cheer for Penn State this weekend [though certainly not
next weekend] and will be rooting for Ohio State on Saturday.)
 
Also, congrats to the MSU women's volleyball team, who clinched at least a tie
for the Baker's Ten conference title with wins over Penn State and Ohio State
this weekend in East Lansing, finishing up their home schedule this year at
19-0 and improving their season record to 29-2 (17-1 in the Baker's Ten).  The
Spartan netters had been ranked seventh in the nation before this weekend's
action (and both Penn State and Ohio State were in the Top Ten).  The title
is the first for MSU in an Olympic sport since 1982.
 
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