Week One Power Rankings - Part One
Welcome to season 58's first official power rankings following games one and two of the regular season. The season has gotten underway with a relatively big bang from several players with seven players averaging at least 25 points, ten of them averaging 60% or higher in field goal percentage, eight players hitting at least 60% from three-point range, 12 players not missing a free throw, five players with at least 31 rebounds, 11 players averaging at least 5 assists per game, and nine players averaging over 25 in efficiency. It looks like we're shaping up to have another defensive battle themed season with only 4 teams allowing more than 100 points per game and only three teams averaging more than 100 points per game. Some of the promotees look really good while some of them look really bad and Tachenko is, as expected, bringing fire from Div II.
My power rankings are based on a combination of average Efficiency Per Game (EFFG) rank and their Opponents EFFG (OPP EFFG). Week one ties are sorted by difference in EFFG and OPP EFFG (ensuing weeks will take into consideration previous week's rankings to sort ties).
1. Tachenko
Ranked 2nd in my preseason rankings, Tachenko has dominated their first two games against admittedly weaker opponents, although Żubr Białystok held their own against them for two quarters Tuesday night. Four of their 5 starters are averaging at least 14 PPG and their fifth starter, SG Harris Stark has only given up 8 points in two games. They lay claim to the highest differential in EFFG, sitting at 69 after two games (nice).
2. Linndale
Ranked 3rd in the preseason, Linndale easily handled their first two opponents of the season, winning both games by over 20 points. While they're only shooting 35% from three, they're tied for the league lead in steals and have given up the least number of turnovers. Their scoring attack, so far, doesn't feature one dominant player, but is evenly spread between three starters and two bench players. It will be interesting to see how they hold up against stiffer competition with a matchup on the road against Philly Dribble next week.
3. Rip City Revival
Jbogroff's team was my number one entering the season, and while their efficiency rankings don't have them there (yet), they've proved their worth with a dominant win over San Dominica and a spectacular 4th quarter come from behind win on the road in the Dribble Bucket against Philly Dribble holding them to 29% 3-point FG shooting. They pulled out the win despite giving up 22 FT makes. Last season's MVP, Nikky Nay Nay, is continuing his dominant work, averaging 25.5 PPG on 60% shooting and a 14.7 Average Rating.
4. Hustlas
Even though Reece was a promotee, not much of a surprise to see them this high in the rankings as they appeared to be well set up to succeed in Div III. Their first two matchups have been against other Div IV promotees, but both 2% and Heaven appear to be relatively overmatched at this level. Hustlas actually are ranked 1st in EFFG and while their OPP EFFG (8th) leaves a little to be desired, they should hold their own relatively well throughout the season. Sirmantas Legkauskas appears to be a legitimate scoring threat, averaging 37 PPG over the first two games to lead the league. Fun fact: Legkauskas holds the Hustlas record for scoring at 67 points, but has routinely scored at least 50 points, hitting that mark 22 times over the last 5 seasons!