D2 Upper Echelon
This is a group of teams that should go deep into the playoffs and could make the NC game with the right matchups in their bracket. A national championship from this group would not surprise me.
Winona State coached by bigpoppa85. Well on their way to an undefeated regular season as of this writing. Nothing but sims to fill out their rest of their schedule. The CC game should be a challenge for the NSIC crown. They currently sit at 6. A 1 or 2 seed seems possibly, depending on the CC outcome. Their SOS sits at 34, but there are a couple of teams above them in the WIS ranks that could take a loss and drop, so they can secure a 1 if they take care of business.
Stonehill coached by mcbethbr. This team currently sits as #1 WIS ranked team and I doubt there will be slippage from the top four, so a 1 seed seems to be their destination come bracket time. The coach is certainly one of the best in the game. However, the roster is not a championship caliber roster when you put them up against others. Mcbethbr is certainly a magician and could make the final four depending on the matchups come playoff time.
Colorado-Mines coached by 0bigzeke0. As I’ve noted many times, Col-Mines has some big classes to fill in certain seasons and small classes to fill in other seasons. Well, he’s recently filled his large classes, so this powerhouse in the making is a young squad, so the following seasons, this team will be elevated into the elite category. But, this season is part of the building process for 0bigzeke0. A final four is likely the ceiling for this team for this year, but look out.
Truman State coached by oltjk1. It looks like Truman State has picked up where the left off last season, as they came through OOC with one blemish in a loss to Livingstone, but otherwise took care of some good teams. The path is clear to the CC game as it is Sim filled in conference play, so between Cheyney and Lock Haven to see who gets the right to compete against them for the title. Right now, they are eyeing a 3 seed if the playoffs were to begin today. Hard to see a monumental shift upward with no humans to face until the CC.
Slippery Rock coached by mikesy. I debated whether to put this team into the elite category and decided to keep them just a notch below. The team is very solid and has been taken care of by some of the best coaches around. Mikesy is no slouch either, taking a Stonehill squad to the quarters a couple of seasons ago, plus helped to elevate the roster at Millersville. In the end, I couldn’t justify putting them in the elite category. Currently sitting at 10 WIS, so they should end up with a 2-3 seed come playoff time.
Northwood coached by wareagle399. The Timberwolves roster is solid and could contend. Played Indianapolis earlier in conference play and lost by 6. I expect wareagle will get a chance at revenge in the CC game. Right now, the WIS rank is low at 26, however, that does not mean that this team has no shot at a run in them. 2, 3 or 4 seeds in the playoff bracket should be very scared if they get matched up against them in their bracket.
