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Basketball Teams in Exclusive Company in Standings, On Scoreboard

Thursday, January 5, 2012
 

2 or Fewer Combined Losses
School men women combined
Williams
11-1
11-0
22-1
Amherst
10-1
10-0
20-1
Hope
11-1
13-1
24-2
William Paterson
10-2
13-0
23-2
Emory
11-0
8-2
19-2
Fitchburg State
8-2
11-0
19-2
Rochester
9-2
10-0
19-2
MUHLENBERG
8-2
10-0
18-2
Hartwick
11-0
7-2
18-2
Low loss totals and high point totals make for an exciting start to the 2011-12 basketball season for the Muhlenberg teams.

Through 10 games, the women are 10-0 and the men are 8-2. Out of about 400 schools in Division III that field men’s and women’s basketball teams, Muhlenberg is one of only nine whose teams have combined for two losses or fewer.

The list includes some elite programs in Division III, including three – Amherst, Hope and Williams – that have won national championships in the last 10 years.

The Mule women, one of 13 remaining undefeated teams in Division III, are off to a 10-0 start for the fourth time in team history. They were ranked 10th in this week’s D3hoops.com poll and could move up if they win at McDaniel on Saturday, as No. 9 Wis.-Stevens Point lost to a lower-ranked team last night.

The men are 8-2 after 10 games for the first time in 43 years; last year, Muhlenberg didn’t get win No. 8 until its 16th game. The 1968-69 squad lost its 11th

The 80-80 Club
School Division men women
Ala.-Huntsville
II
80.3
83.0
Alaska-Anchorage
II
82.5
83.4
Henderson State
II
81.1
81.4
Kentucky
I
81.6
81.9
MUHLENBERG
III
83.1
81.7
North Carolina
I
88.1
80.5
game but went on to finish 19-6 and win the Middle Atlantic Conference South championship. The last Muhlenberg men’s team to open up 9-2 was the 1947-48 MAC championship squad.

Central to the success of both teams have been fast-paced, high-scoring offenses. Through games of last Sunday, the women ranked second in Division III (and 12th among NCAA women’s teams in all three divisions) with an average of 81.7 points per game. They improved their average to 82.2 with an 87-38 win against Dickinson last night.

The men, meanwhile, average 83.1 points per game – 26th in Division III. That makes Muhlenberg the only Division III school, and one of just six in all three divisions, to have its men’s and women’s teams both scoring in the 80s.

Both teams have used their prolific offenses to distance themselves from opponents. The women were third in Division III in scoring margin through Sunday’s games (22.6 points per game, up to 25.2 after last night), and the men were 36th at 13.2 points per game.