Tag: net

LSU Basketball debuts at No. 2 in first NET rankings

Solid start for the Tigers.

The NCAA’s first NET rankings came out this week and Will Wade’s LSU squad is sitting pretty.

The Tigers debuted at second, only behind top-ranked Purdue and first in the SEC.

The NCAA defines the NET rankings as the “primary sorting tool for evaluating college basketball teams” when selecting the field of 68 for the NCAA tournament in March.

LSU remains just one of nine unbeaten teams left in division one. LSU, along with Arkansas, represent the only two unbeaten left in the SEC.

To this point, LSU’s most impressive wins are over Belmont and Wake Forest, two teams ranked in the top 60 by KenPom.

People didn’t know what to expect from LSU coming into the season, given all of the scorers they were losing. The early returns have been promising with senior Darius Day and transfer Tari Eason leading the way.

LSU is in the midst of a 10-day break right now but will be back in action in Atlanta against Georgia Tech this weekend. The Tigers are in a really good spot at this point. The team will officially open SEC play on Dec. 29 when they visit Auburn.

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Watch: Enormous sea creature hoisted from sea via crane

Rare footage shows an estimated 4,000-pound sunfish being hoisted aboard a vessel via crane during a successful entanglement rescue.

Rare footage captured off Africa’s north coast shows an estimated 4,000-pound sunfish, or moonfish, being hoisted aboard a vessel during a successful entanglement rescue.

The sunfish, believed to be a Mola alexandrini, became trapped in a net used to catch tuna off Cueta, a Spanish enclave in Africa.  The footage was captured on October 4.

A crew from a marine biology lab run by the University of Seville participated in the rescue. The footage shows the massive sunfish being hoisted by a crane and swimming after it was set free.

Click on this link for more on this story and to view images captured by the rescue crew.

‘Stunned’ researchers rescue 4,000-pound sunfish from net

A sunfish estimated to weigh more than 4,000 pounds – it was too heavy for the scale – has been rescued from a fishing net off the Spanish enclave of Cueta. The colossal sunfish, believed to be of record size for the region, was pulled from the …

A sunfish estimated to weigh more than 4,000 pounds – it was too heavy for the scale – has been rescued from a fishing net off the Spanish enclave of Cueta.

The colossal sunfish, believed to be of record size for the region, was pulled from the water with cranes and briefly studied before it was set free (see video below).

According to the Estrecho Marine Biology Station of the University of Seville, the entangled sunfish was discovered off Cueta, on the north coast of Africa, on Oct. 4.

 

“We tried to put it on the 1,000-kg (2,204.6-pound) scale but it was too heavy. It would’ve broken it,” the station’s Enrique Ostale told Reuters. “Based off its corpulence and compared with other catches, it must’ve weighed around 2 tonnes (4,409 pounds).”

ALSO ON FTW OUTDOORS: Mystery surrounds rare crocodile discovery on Baja California beach

Two cranes on different vessels were used to hoist the sunfish, according to the university. The fish measured 10.5 feet and was nearly as wide between its fins. (Sunfish have truncated bodies, giving them an unusual appearance.)

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DNA samples were collected but the fish is believed to be a Mola alexandrine, or southern sunfish. They’re closely related to the more widespread Mola mola. Both species are docile and prey mostly on sea jellies.

“I was stunned,” Ostale told Reuters. “We’d read about such individuals, but never thought we’d actually touch one that day.

“But it was also stressful: you’re on a boat in the middle of the water, there’s a crane moving huge weight, a live animal. We couldn’t waste a moment and had to avoid accidents.”

Cueta is one of nine Spanish territories in Africa. It borders Morocco along the boundary of the Mediterranean and Atlantic.

–Images courtesy of the Estrecho Marine Biology Station/University of Seville

Michigan State basketball comes in at No. 119 in first release of NET rankings

The Spartans were the second-lowest ranked Big Ten team in these rankings, only ahead of Nebraska at No. 186.

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The first official NET — which stands for NCAA’s Evaluation Tool — rankings were released on Monday, and Michigan State fans will not be happy with where the Spartans are ranked.

Michigan State came in at No. 119 in the first edition of the rankings, which will be updated daily moving forward. The Spartans were the second-lowest ranked Big Ten team in these rankings, only ahead of Nebraska at No. 186.

Click here to view the complete NET rankings.

The NET rankings are still relatively new to many college basketball fans but they are basically created by a mathematical equation to assess teams. However, there are some potential loopholes in the rankings that could explain why Michigan State is ranked so low in the initial release.

Kevin Pauga, associate athletic director at Michigan State, pointed out shortly after the rankings were released that there are a number of factors in play skewing the data so far. You can see his explanation below:

This certainly would make sense since Michigan State currently lacks a Quad 1 win since Duke is ranked so low based on the lack of games played. So anticipate the Spartans to start moving up the rankings — assuming they are able to win some games — in the coming weeks.

Michigan State returns to the floor tomorrow to face No. 15 Rutgers in a ranked match-up at the Breslin Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on ESPN2.

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