The Forgotten 40: We Have Games!

A regular feature here on BSB is going to be the “Forgotten 40” in college hoops, where we try and rank the 40 best teams that have not received a single vote in the AP Top 25 poll all year.  Obviously, the field of “eligible” teams will shrink as the season goes along, but it should still be interesting to see just how under-the-radar some of these teams can stay.

Teams Receiving their First “Recognition” This Week (previous Forgotten 40 ranking in parentheses)
Alabama (2)
Bucknell (8)
Connecticut (24)
Maryland (-)

UConn’s win over Michigan State catapulted them from not even receiving votes to the Top 25 this week.  Alabama and Bucknell were top 10 teams in the Forgotten 40 last week and are now being recognized nationally.  And, Maryland wasn’t even in the Forgotten 40, but their strong performance against Kentucky got them into the “others receiving votes” section.  In fairness, though, both last week’s AP poll and this poll were published without the knowledge that Dez Wells would be eligible this year.  That being said, it was still a good week for the Turtles.

Now, on to this week’s Forgotten 40 (previous ranking in parentheses):

1. Iowa State (5) – The main reason this team is “forgotten” is because they lost Royce White.  But, that is all they lost, and I believe very strongly in “The Mayor” Freddy Hoiberg as capable of building a sustainable program in Ames.  While the Cyclones have only played a pair of home games against wholly overmatched SWAC teams, they did beat Alabama A&M on Monday 98-40.
2. BYU (3) – The Cougars have also not left their own gym this year, but they do have a pair of double-digit wins, including one against a decent Tennessee State team.  A date with Florida State awaits, where a win will probably gain them the recognition needed to graduate from this list.
3. Temple (6) – An unabashed Temple fan, I was still a little apprehensive about this team just because I didn’t know where they would get scoring from other than Khaliff Wyatt.  Well, Scootie Randall dropped 31 at Kent State yesterday, which – at least for one day – was a strong answer to that question.  Needless to say, there is an argument that they could be #1 on this list, based on a tough road win, but it was only one game…and, I am scared of the homerism accusations.
4. Belmont (15) – I was already very high on the Bruins this year, and that was before they put a licking on their biggest rivals, Lipscomb, by 29.  As good as Murray State is, there is a legitimate chance that the Racers are only the second-best team in the Ohio Valley.
5. California (7) – The Pac-12 is 18-1 so far this year, and while it has not exactly come against the best competition, with the exception of the dreadful UW loss to Albany, the Pac teams have been convincing in their wins.  Cal is no exception, with double-digit wins over CS-Bakersfield and Pepperdine.  They have a road trip to Denver coming up, which could really tell us a lot about both of those teams.
6. Central Florida (-) – Ineligible for the postseason (which caused Marcus Jordan to transfer), the Knights looked to be in for a long season, but Keith Clanton stuck around, and they look like they are playing with a chip on their shoulders.  They went on the road and absolutely pounded a USF team that won two NCAA tournament games last year.  They may not play in the postseason, but they sure are playing now.
7. South Dakota State (9) – The highest team on this list with a loss, the Jackrabbits actually went to Alabama (last week’s #2 on this list before getting AP votes this week) and should have beaten the Tide.  They then came home and took care of a good Tennessee State team.  Nate Wolters is the REAL deal.
8. Illinois State (14) – The Redbirds looked awfully good in their season-opener against UCSB, beating an always-tough Goucho team by 28.  Not that it should come as any surprise, but, no matter how good Dougie Mac and Creighton are, no one runs away with the Valley.
9. Colorado (12) – Tad Boyle is a hell of a coach, and, if the first game is any indication, he might have something strong again this year.  The Buffs took care of a solid Wofford team by 15 in a game that wasn’t even that close.
10. Ole Miss (10) – Two home wins for the Rebels, including an 18-point win over a dangerous Coastal Carolina team keeps Andy Kennedy on track for YET ANOTHER 20-win season.
11. Northwestern (16) – Ho-hum.  The ‘Cats beat a SWAC team by 30 at home, but at least it was the best SWAC team, Texas-Southern.
12. Iowa (19) – The Big Ten is absolutely loaded this year, from top to bottom, and the Hawkeyes might be right in the middle of a mad fight for tournament bids.
13. Richmond (31) – It is a bit of a surprise that the biggest jump of the week came from a team that only won a pair of home games against lower-tier teams from the Big South and CAA.  But, the Spiders did it so convincingly that it is hard not to take notice.  They beat Liberty by 42 and then did that one better by crushing UNC-Wilmington by 43.  Wow!
14. Middle Tennessee State (17) – The Blue Raiders opened a promising season in style, acting like a big conference team, with a 44-point win over Alabama State.  They then took a trip to the MEAC’s best team, Savannah State, and beat them on their home floor.  With North Texas’s non-showing this weekend, Mid Tenn might be the team to beat in the Sun Belt.
15. Illinois (-) – New to the rankings this week, the Illini were even overlooked by me last week.  They do have Brandon Paul and D.J. Richardson back this year, and their frontcourt has looked really good in their two 20-point wins.
16. Clemson (-) – Another new team to the rankings, the Clemson Tigers do still have Devin Booker.  They pounded Presbyterian by 33, which caused us to take a little notice.  We shall see if their is a competitive ACC team lurking there or just more frustration for Brad Brownell (who is a really good coach, just maybe not an ACC recruiter).
17. Xavier (-) – One of the more surprising results of the early season was Xavier beating up on Butler yesterday.  It shouldn’t be surprising because the X should always be able to field a solid team with all those resources, but this was supposed to be a “down” year.
18. Wichita State (-) – Another team that is supposed to be in a rebuilding year are the Shockers of Wichita State.  But, I know that Shaka Smart will disagree, as Wichita went to VCU and came away with a big early-season win.  The MVC is gonna be great, yet again.
19. Youngstown State (-) – You would be hard-pressed to find a better start to the season around the country than at YSU.  A road win a GW was one thing, but the Colonials aren’t very good.  They then went on the road and beat Georgia by 12.  This team could push for a top spot in the Horizon.
20. Arkansas (1) – The Razorbacks take the biggest dive of teams that stayed in the rankings this week, mainly because they didn’t actually lose a game, but they sure did not look all that special in a nail-biting 5-point win at home over Sam Houston State.
21. Iona (-) – The Gaels opened their season with a tough home game against Denver and came away with a nice win, making a tenative believer out of me.
22. LSU (-) – Two solid home wins for the Tigers get them onto this list.  It may turn out that the change from Trent Johnson has made a big difference down on the Bayou.
23. UTEP (-) – A solid 20-point win over Oral Roberts gets the Miners onto the list, as well.  Other than Memphis, the Conference USA is wide open.
24. UMass (20) – A 3-point home win for the Minutemen against Harvard was uninspiring, but we are willing to give them a bit of a pass because they did beat a crosstown rival that was in the tournament last year.  But, we are keeping our eyes on upcoming games against Providence and @Siena to see if UMass really can compete as an A-10 upper division team this year.
25. Florida Gulf Coast (-) – Last night FGC pulled off the biggest win in program history, as the Eagles shocked Miami (FL), 63-51.  This team might be a legit A-Sun competitor.
26. Delaware (-) – After a season-opening loss at LaSalle, the Blue Hens beat Penn by 15 and then upset UVa last night.  If Drexel falters, UDel might be right in line for a CAA title.
27. Oklahoma (25) – LA-Monroe was no problem for the Sooners, as they drubbed them by 34.  No real reason for them to fall on this list, but I guess that is how it worked out.  Stay tuned, as they have a tough trip to UT-Arlington followed by a home matchup with UTEP and then a neutral court battle with Oral Roberts.  By the next publication, we will know a LOT more about this team.
28. Wagner (23) – They have not played a game yet, which is good enough to put them in as the potential favorites in the NEC, as it was just a BRUTAL week for the conference, as a while, as LIU, Robert Morris, and Quinnipiac all took some really bad losses.
29. USC-Upstate (37) – The most anticipated season in Upstate history started with a 17-point loss at Saint Louis, but they took out their frustrations against a D-II opponent on Sunday, winning by 54.  They have a tough road trip to UTSA and Santa Clara coming up, so we will see what they are made of soon enough.
30. Detroit (26) – Their only D-I game of the year was a loss, but it was only a 3-point loss in the Garden against St. John’s.  The book hasn’t even begun to be written about the 2012-13 Detroit Titans.
31. Manhattan (33) – The only team on the list with a 28-point loss is also the only team without a win.  But, the Jaspers only game was a road game at Louisville, so we will forgive them.  They go to Harvard next, which should be more telling.
32. Stony Brook (-) – Stony Brook has a pair of road wins already this year, including an 8-point win over a Rider team that was fresh off of a 25-point shellacking of Robert Morris.  The Brook is the odds-on favorite in the America East.
33. Mercer (38) – A pair of D-II opponents opened the season for the Mercer Bears, but they did beat them both handily.  They have a really interesting matchup with George Mason coming up next.  That would be a great win.
34. South Alabama (-) – One of the biggest early season upsets belongs to the Jaguars of USA, as they rolled into Tallahassee and beat the previously-ranked Seminoles.  Picked well below the big two in the Sun Belt (Mid Tenn and N.Texas), the Jaguars might have something to say about that race before it is all said and done.
35. UC-Irvine (-) – While USA may have pulled off the biggest upset, UC-Irvine had, BY FAR, the biggest “near-miss,” as they lost a 1-point overtime thriller to UCLA in Pauley Pavilion.  It is hard to say if this says that the Anteaters are that good or if UCLA was either distracted or flawed, but it was still an impressive performance by a suspected mid-level Big West team.
36. Loyola (MD) (39) – The Greyhounds beat up on Binghamton, but got put in their place in their trip to Washington.  But, that is a tough place to win (unless, of course, you’re a mid-level America East team from…)
37. Albany (-) – The Great Danes went into Washington and beat the Huskies last night.  There wasn’t much that pointed to that happening, though their first two games were okay performances (a 3-point home win over Duquesne and a 22-point respectable loss at Ohio State).  This might have been more about UW than Albany, but we are cautiously optimistic for the Danes.
38. Western Kentucky (-) – The Hilltoppers finished last season on a roll, and it looks as if they might have taken that momentum into this year.  They nearly upset Southern Miss (3-point road loss in OT) and then they beat up on Austin Peay.  The Sun Belt is looking better and better.
39. Montana (36) – The Grizzlies were barely on the list to begin with, so an 0-1 start threatened to knock them off, but they remain because their loss was only by 7 points on the road against a pretty good Colorado State team.  While they do not have a ton of substance in their November schedule, they do get BYU, San Francisco, and South Dakota State in December, so we may have to table the Montana discussion for a couple of weeks.
40. North Dakota State (40) – Last week’s #40 moves up a spot based on a 46-point domination of an overmatched D-II team and then a non-terrible showing (26-point loss) on the road against the nation’s #1 team, Indiana.  The Bison get Youngstown State later this week, which could be really interesting.

Fallen from the list (previous ranking in parentheses):
Rutgers (4)
Akron (11)
Marshall (13)
South Florida (18)
Robert Morris (21)
Long Island (22)
Long Beach State (27)
Penn State (28)
North Texas (29)
Princeton (30)
Georgia (32)
Tulane (34)
Denver (35)

A lot of these demotions are, admittedly, knee-jerk reactions to single losses (some of which weren’t even bad losses – see Marshall, LBSU, N.Texas, Denver), but there were enough teams that got some big wins to bump them out.  I expect many of these teams to pop back sooner rather than later.  However, that is not the case for Rutgers (home loss to lowly St. Peter’s), South Florida (18-point drubbing at home from crosstown rival, UCF), and Georgia (12-point home loss to Youngstown State after a near-loss to Jacksonville).  Most of all, I am disappointed with the performance of the two big NEC teams – Long Island and Robert Morris – who have been flat-out bad in the early going.  At least Wagner hasn’t played yet, so they had no opportunity to disappoint.