|
| From left to right,
Randolph-Macon, Central and Gustavus Adolphus each knocked off Top
10 teams on Wednesday night. File photos |
Defending national champ and preseason No. 1 UW-Whitewater didn't get through its first game without losing. Preseason No. 4 IWU and No. 5 Williams lost on opening night as well.
- Wednesday's men's scores
- Wednesday's women's scores
- More men's game stories
- More women's game stories
Preseason Top 10 teams Calvin, UW-Stevens Point and Albertus Magnus each picked up losses in the opening week-plus as well. Then last week the new No. 5, Wooster, lost to Hanover, while No. 7 Dickinson lost to Gettysburg.
So it's no surprise that the "surprises" continued on Wednesday nights, as No. 1, No. 5, No. 7 and No. 10 all lost as well, including Central lighting it up with 16 3-pointers to knock off top-ranked Augustana 89-78.
Conference play began for several teams on Wednesday night and brought more upsets of ranked teams, headlined by Gustavus Adolphus beating No. 5 St. Thomas, 68-65. The Golden Gusties held St. Thomas to its lowest offensive output of the season, despite the Tommies shooting nearly 50 percent from the field. St. Thomas missed three potential game tying shots in the final 12 seconds.
Randolph-Macon opened ODAC play by grinding out a 55-47 win at No. 7 Virginia Wesleyan. Both teams struggled to shoot the three, combining to go 10-for-44 (23 percent). They didn't shoot much better from the field (35 perent) or the free throw line (55 percent). But the Yellow Jackets outrebounded the Marlins by 11 and shook off 21 turnovers for the win.
At the other end of the spectrum, No. 14 Ohio Wesleyan and No. 10 Wooster both shot well but the Battling Bishops shot a little better and outscored the Scots, 92-89. Claude Gray poured in 33 points and Nick Felhaber added 22 more for Ohio Wesleyan, which improved to 6-0, 2-0 in the NCAC.
There were upsets further down in the poll, too. Wheaton got 29 points from its starting backcourt and the Thunder handled No. 17 Chicago, 62-51. Denison topped No. 18 DePauw 67-65 in the conference opener for both teams. David Meurer scored 20 points for the Big Red who are 5-1, heading into Saturday’s game at Ohio Wesleyan.
Manhattanville surprised Freedom Conference champion DeSales 55-48 on opening night in that conference. UW-Platteville slipped past UW-La Crosse 57-56 despite making only one field goal in the final five minutes.
On the women's side, UW-Oshkosh bounced back from Saturday's loss at St. Norbert with a 72-58 win at UW-Whitewater in the WIAC opener. The Titans made 14 of their first 18 shots to start the first half and then made seven straight to start the second half. Recap
Amber Keys scored 21 points and Cabrini continued its mastery of Gwynedd-Mercy, 57-54. The Cavaliers have won their last seven games against the Griffins. Wilmington outscored Capital 21-0 from three and 61-52 overall as the Quakers improved to 5-0. Colby beat St. Joseph's (Maine) 65-53 for its seventh win of the season, already equaling last season's total.