Reverse Survivor: We're Down to Four

Right off the top: A big thanks to @stfhoops for coming up with the idea.  A big thanks to me for ripping it off with little remorse.

Everyone wonders whether Syracuse and Notre Dame are good enough to run the table in 2011.  That's fine and all, but what about those truly terrible teams and their potential at perfection?  I speak not of a spotless record to the right, but a spotless record to the left.

The winless, the perfectly defeated; the tired, the poor, the summarily beaten. 

With Marist's victory Tuesday over a reeling Albany squad, there are four teams* remaining that haven't enjoyed a victory beer yet this season: Canisius (0-6), Holy Cross (0-7), St. Joseph's (0-6), and Wagner (0-6).  They're all jockeying to join these prior "Reverse Survivor" champions of the last five years:

• 2010: Providence (0-14)
• 2009: Detroit (0-11)
• 2008: Hartford (0-13), Presbyterian (0-11), and Wagner (0-15)
• 2007: Wagner (0-15)
• 2006: Holy Cross (0-14), Wagner (0-15)

Wagner has the pedigree, but Holy Cross is no slouch at losing.  The best part of the 2011 "Reverse Survivor" championship, however, is this: None of the currently winless teams will face it each other down the stretch. 

A four-way tie for "Reverse Survivor" champion? Don't even tease me like that.

CANISIUS

Best Chance for Victory: Marist (March 26th)

Likelihood for Winlessness: Not good.  Canisius has a relatively manageable slate ahead of them, full of potential accidental wins.  The Golden Griffins could probably snag victory from the jaws of defeat against VMI, Detroit, or even Manhattan.

HOLY CROSS

Best Chance for Victory: Mercer (April 16th)

Likelihood of Winlessness: Not good. Mercer is all kinds of bad, and a big reason for that is that it's the first season for the Bears in the show.  Even in the midst of a season in which Holy Cross's head coach resigned, the Crusaders should be able to beat Mercer.

ST. JOSEPH'S

Best Chance for Victory: Never?  If the Hawks get one, it'll probably be against Towson (April 30th)

Likelihood of Winlessness: High to very high. The Colonial is no joke in 2011 and with an additional date against Pennsylvania, the Hawks are knee-deep in an impossible schedule (for them).  If Wagner didn't exist, St. Joseph's would be the early leader for hoisting the trophy.  (Or not hoisting a trophy. Whatever.)

WAGNER

Best Chance for Victory: Never.

Likelihood of Winlessness: Very high. Look: To any other school, Wagner's remaining schedule is cake.  But this is Wagner we're talking about.  Wagner, a three-time "Reverse Survivor" champion.  A team that can't win on Staten Island, a team that can't win on the road, and a team that couldn't win on the moon if they found a way to schedule a game there.

Outside of Mercer, this is the worst team in Division I.  They're going to bring home the 'ship after a two-year hiatus.

* I know that Mercer is currently winless against Division I competition.  I'm cutting the Bears some slack as their schedule was pretty ambitious for a first-year program (it's currently rated as the 28th most-difficult slate nationally).