JMU Playing Tougher Foes
Posted: January 8, 2013
HARRISONBURG — The James Madison women’s basketball team is unique among the six Colonial Athletic Association squads that enter the new year with winning records: Unlike the others, its strength-of-schedule rating isn’t terrible.
According to RealTimeRPI.com, JMU has the 96th-strongest schedule among the nation’s 345 Division I teams, second in the CAA only to Delaware’s No. 40. After that, no team is better than Drexel’s 226. Then, it’s Old Dominion (235), Northeastern (286) and Georgia State (328).
That means the CAA is winning — its non-conference record is 64-60 — but it’s not beating anybody of note, which could hurt the Colonial’s at-large hopes for the NCAA tournament.
“There is some inconsistency,” JMU coach Kenny Brooks said. “Last year, I think we had a little bit more success as a conference in the non-conference part of the schedule, which is relative to the fact that our RPI as a conference is not very high.”
As a league, the CAA’s RPI is 14 out of 30, according to RealTimeRPI.
Defending champ Delaware (9-3 overall, 1-0 in the CAA) has carried the conference. The Blue Hens — despite missing superstar and 2012 CAA Player of the Year Elena Delle Donne (Lyme disease) for six of 12 games — lead the Colonial with an RPI of 45.
“We’ve had all kinds of issues with illness, kids being sick, fevers, Elena’s situation, half the team being able to practice, half of them not,” Delaware coach Tina Martin said on the CAA conference call Monday. “Our biggest thing … is be healthy.”
Old Dominion (10-3, 1-0) has an RPI of 68 and is the only other CAA school under 100. Drexel (8-4, 1-0) is 101st, Northeastern (8-4, 1-0) 117th and JMU (7-6, 1-0) is 128th.
“It’s all relative,” Brooks said of the league. “It’s going to be a dogfight. I think that, obviously, Delaware is playing the best and getting the best wins of anybody right now, but it’s all wide open. I really believe that. And, if you ask any coach in this league, they’ll say the same thing. It gives a lot of hope to a lot of teams.”
But, unlike much of the Colonial, the Dukes have played somebody — at least early.
At one point, Madison’s schedule was ranked as the 16th-hardest in the country. The Dukes were 3-5 then (and soon to be 3-6) and struggling with more than a tough schedule. They had no frontcourt, no rotation and too many injuries, most notably to senior guard/forward Nikki Newman, a Turner Ashby High School graduate who broke a foot in December.
Brooks said Monday that Newman will miss the rest of the season, and JMU will seek a medical redshirt.
Except for Newman, the injury bug appears to be behind JMU, which has won four straight to inch above .500, most recently winning its CAA opener against North Carolina-Wilmington on Sunday.
The Dukes also have benefitted from a soft spot in their schedule. During their four-game win streak, they’ve won by an average of 35 points against American, Maine, Georgia Southern and UNCW. As of Monday afternoon, the combined record of those teams was 10-42. Take out 7-7 American and it was 3-36.
“We never thought to panic,” Brooks said. “We knew we had the capability. We knew we were a good basketball team. We just hit a rough stretch. … We just needed to right the ship. By no means do I think that we’re there, but we’re going in the right direction. It’s a really good feeling to walk around and know that you’re playing good basketball as you head into a very tough stretch.”
This week, JMU hosts Drexel on Thursday and surprising Northeastern on Sunday, and the Dukes have extra motivation for both games.
Last year, Drexel routed Madison by 23 at home and then eliminated the Dukes in the semifinals of the CAA tournament. Northeastern, traditionally a CAA doormat, played a major role in denying JMU an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. At selection time, a 61-50 loss to the Huskies in Boston was referenced by selection committee chairman Greg Christopher as a major reason the Dukes were left out. At the time, Northeastern had an RPI of 205.
NOTES: JMU junior guard Kirby Burkholder was named the CAA’s Player of the Week on Monday. The TA graduate scored a career-high 27 points against Georgia Southern on Dec. 31 and made six of nine 3-pointers. Against UNCW on Sunday, she had 15 points. … Brooks said Lexi Carpenter has left the team for personal reasons. The freshman guard transferred from Dayton less than two weeks ago. Brooks said it was Carpenter’s decision to leave.
According to RealTimeRPI.com, JMU has the 96th-strongest schedule among the nation’s 345 Division I teams, second in the CAA only to Delaware’s No. 40. After that, no team is better than Drexel’s 226. Then, it’s Old Dominion (235), Northeastern (286) and Georgia State (328).
That means the CAA is winning — its non-conference record is 64-60 — but it’s not beating anybody of note, which could hurt the Colonial’s at-large hopes for the NCAA tournament.
“There is some inconsistency,” JMU coach Kenny Brooks said. “Last year, I think we had a little bit more success as a conference in the non-conference part of the schedule, which is relative to the fact that our RPI as a conference is not very high.”
As a league, the CAA’s RPI is 14 out of 30, according to RealTimeRPI.
Defending champ Delaware (9-3 overall, 1-0 in the CAA) has carried the conference. The Blue Hens — despite missing superstar and 2012 CAA Player of the Year Elena Delle Donne (Lyme disease) for six of 12 games — lead the Colonial with an RPI of 45.
“We’ve had all kinds of issues with illness, kids being sick, fevers, Elena’s situation, half the team being able to practice, half of them not,” Delaware coach Tina Martin said on the CAA conference call Monday. “Our biggest thing … is be healthy.”
Old Dominion (10-3, 1-0) has an RPI of 68 and is the only other CAA school under 100. Drexel (8-4, 1-0) is 101st, Northeastern (8-4, 1-0) 117th and JMU (7-6, 1-0) is 128th.
“It’s all relative,” Brooks said of the league. “It’s going to be a dogfight. I think that, obviously, Delaware is playing the best and getting the best wins of anybody right now, but it’s all wide open. I really believe that. And, if you ask any coach in this league, they’ll say the same thing. It gives a lot of hope to a lot of teams.”
But, unlike much of the Colonial, the Dukes have played somebody — at least early.
At one point, Madison’s schedule was ranked as the 16th-hardest in the country. The Dukes were 3-5 then (and soon to be 3-6) and struggling with more than a tough schedule. They had no frontcourt, no rotation and too many injuries, most notably to senior guard/forward Nikki Newman, a Turner Ashby High School graduate who broke a foot in December.
Brooks said Monday that Newman will miss the rest of the season, and JMU will seek a medical redshirt.
Except for Newman, the injury bug appears to be behind JMU, which has won four straight to inch above .500, most recently winning its CAA opener against North Carolina-Wilmington on Sunday.
The Dukes also have benefitted from a soft spot in their schedule. During their four-game win streak, they’ve won by an average of 35 points against American, Maine, Georgia Southern and UNCW. As of Monday afternoon, the combined record of those teams was 10-42. Take out 7-7 American and it was 3-36.
“We never thought to panic,” Brooks said. “We knew we had the capability. We knew we were a good basketball team. We just hit a rough stretch. … We just needed to right the ship. By no means do I think that we’re there, but we’re going in the right direction. It’s a really good feeling to walk around and know that you’re playing good basketball as you head into a very tough stretch.”
This week, JMU hosts Drexel on Thursday and surprising Northeastern on Sunday, and the Dukes have extra motivation for both games.
Last year, Drexel routed Madison by 23 at home and then eliminated the Dukes in the semifinals of the CAA tournament. Northeastern, traditionally a CAA doormat, played a major role in denying JMU an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. At selection time, a 61-50 loss to the Huskies in Boston was referenced by selection committee chairman Greg Christopher as a major reason the Dukes were left out. At the time, Northeastern had an RPI of 205.
NOTES: JMU junior guard Kirby Burkholder was named the CAA’s Player of the Week on Monday. The TA graduate scored a career-high 27 points against Georgia Southern on Dec. 31 and made six of nine 3-pointers. Against UNCW on Sunday, she had 15 points. … Brooks said Lexi Carpenter has left the team for personal reasons. The freshman guard transferred from Dayton less than two weeks ago. Brooks said it was Carpenter’s decision to leave.