POWER 16: Jan. 21 Edition
by BracketCat on Jan 21, 2010 12:00 PM CST
in Men's Basketball
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PrintJust so ya know, this isn't late. SBNation changed the release date for the Power 16 to Friday, which means I didn't have to complete my ballot until this morning.
Good thing, too, because there were a few changes from last night's games.
Follow the jump to see who lost and how it affected my ballot.
- Kentucky Wildcats (+1)
- Texas Longhorns (-1)
- Kansas Jayhawks
- Syracuse Orange (+1)
- Villanova Wildcats (+1)
- BYU Cougars (+1)
- Kansas St. Wildcats (+3)
- Tennessee Volunteers (+3)
- Northern Iowa Panthers (NR)
- Duke Blue Devils (-2)
- West Virginia Mountaineers (-2)
- Michigan St. Spartans (+3)
- Purdue Boilermakers (-9)
- Pittsburgh Panthers (-1)
- Georgetown Hoyas (-3)
- Gonzaga Bulldogs (NR)
I still think Texas is a better overall team than Kansas, so I didn't penalize the Longhorns much for losing to the now-No. 7 team on this ballot.
Some will question my inclusion of Northern Iowa anywhere on this ballot, considering its loss to Wichita State the other night.
But the Panthers only have lost two games, and the first of those was way back in November. They possess the only non-conference road win over a Big 12 team. They've beaten everyone else, including all other league opponents, soundly. I think they're good enough to be a Sweet 16 team.
And this just in — the Shockers are a damn solid team themselves, and undefeated at Koch Arena, too. I refuse to penalize UNI for being in a mid-major conference, which is the only reason they started unranked and entered the polls late.
Duke and West Virginia both slid for losses in the last week, and Purdue nosedived because it's been a week and half since I last did this — and the Boilermakers just fell apart shortly after that.
By the way, I am aware that Georgetown beat Pittsburgh, but the Hoyas have three losses and you might notice I'm not rating the Big East teams quite as highly as the national pollsters. I think they're appropriately ranked for now.
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I'm getting the rest of this done soon, guys.
We had the drug bust of the century here yesterday and work has just been INSANE since then.
That's cool
So do I. Well, three (weekly) newspapers.
I guess I wouldn't have a problem
including them near the bottom in some top 25 power poll, but #9? Need some explanation there.
Northern Iowa is definitely a legit top-25 team from the MVC
but a #9 ranking is a bit too high coming off a loss. Remember, N. Iowa is the only team in the country to win AT a Big 12 school this season (Iowa State).
That being said, BYU is too high. They’ve got a good record while beating a few decent teams, but their overall schedule is extremely weak. They don’t have the schedule or marquee wins to be up this high.
Should know more about them after their next 2 games against San Diego St. and New Mexico.
Surgeon General's Warning: K-State-Mizzou basketball may increase the risk of high blood pressure. Please consult your doctor prior to watching any of these games.
I don't know...
…I’m not down on Northern Iowa, but they need to convince me more than their current body of work says. A loss to a bad DePaul team and a win over Iowa State. I can think of other teams that would be way more deserving of a top 25 ranking at this point other than Northern Iowa. I’m just not convinced at this point that they belong in the top 25. I wouldn’t have a problem with it at 24 or 25, but 9 is waaaay too high.
Yeah I agree, they are not top-10 caliber.
I think Bracket is going to have to comment on this one.
Surgeon General's Warning: K-State-Mizzou basketball may increase the risk of high blood pressure. Please consult your doctor prior to watching any of these games.
Drug bust and Bracket's rankings
Maybe there’s a correlation here? If the cops in south central Kansas read this blog, then the ranking of UNI at #9 may have tipped them off that he was on something….
Just giving you a hard time, man. I’m sure you have an explanation. Either way, it makes for good discussion.
www.bringonthecats.com
I rely on computer rankings quite a bit
Several computers really like UNI and BYU, and I tend to agree.
Statistically, they are strong teams. I think they both will advance to the Sweet 16 — which pretty much means they need to be in my top 16, right?
Plus, this is as much an assessment for the body of work completed thus far as it is a prediction of what the 16 best teams are. At least, that’s how I approach it.
They didn’t really give us many guidelines.
P.S. I absolutely believe that on a neutral court
at this point in time, that the Panthers could beat any of the teams ranked below them.
Except maybe Duke — but I had to temporarily drop the Blue Devils because of their loss last night.
P.P.S. You might notice that
BYU is the lowest-ranked 1-loss team and UNI is the lowest-ranked 2-loss team.
So you could argue I’m still penalizing them for their conference and their schedule.
that is fair. at least you put teams from mid tier conferences in your poll
most polls i see on other sites might have one team.
i'm all about covering the spread and moneylines. i was building a house, i don't deserve this, deserves have nothing to do with it. bang. "unforgiven"
by wolfmanshowlforever on Jan 21, 2010 6:58 PM CST up reply actions
As you should...
…penalize them for their schedule. Look, I just can’t justify placing UNI in the top 16 of any poll based on what they’ve done not what their potential is. Are they a possible Sweet 16 team? Certainly. And if they do, I’ll have no problem placing them in a poll, but their best win is Iowa State (I get that it was at home) and to me that doesn’t justify a top 16 ranking.
I'll make you a deal
If UNI loses one more game, I’ll knock them out, probably for good.
But a 2-loss team in a multi-bid conference deserves consideration.
Maybe not in the Top 10, but everyone behind them either has sucked ass recently (Duke, West Virginia, Purdue, Pittsburgh, Georgetown) or plays in an overrated conference (Michigan State).
There’s shame in losing a close game at Koch, man. Other than that, the Panthers basically are undefeated.
I’m telling you, they could be this year’s Butler.
It's a deal
I just have a sneaking suspicion that they would have the same or worse record if they had the same schedule as Duke, West Virginia, or Purdue. I’m not disagreeing that they shouldn’t be ranked, but I would put them between 20 and 25. No, there is no shame losing at Koch, but based on where you have them ranked, a top 10 team should win on the road in the MVC. So, my point is, I just think you have them too high. But I do agree, they will probably surprise some people in March.
But how much of that...
is a function of their schedule? The computers really liked TTech early as well, and we see what happened when the competition stiffened.
That DePaul loss was way back in November on a neutral site
Might as well throw that thing out — they’re playing way better now.
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