Polls, blind comparison

[FirstDownB]

Ok I'm over the Iowa game. Didn't really expect to win it anyway.

I will be interested (possibly disgusted) to see how the polls react to our 2-1 week, which included a road win and a road loss to the conference leader.

Here is a little blind comparison between 2 teams with comparable resumes:

Team A: 17-4, RPI=20, KenPom=13, BPI=13
Team B: 17-4, RPI=25, KenPom=9, BPI=14

How many spots do you think will separate these teams in the polls this week? 1? 2? 12??

 

[proudopete]

I'm not sure we drop much with how many teams ahead of us continued to lose.

To be honest I don't really care too much about it. We have a 3 game stand in early February where we have every opportunity to get back what we have lost.

I still see improvements in this team that make me hopeful that we have not peaked and are indeed working out the kinks that teams have found in our armor.

 

[FirstDownB]

I'm not sure we drop much with how many teams ahead of us continued to lose.

To be honest I don't really care too much about it. We have a 3 game stand in early February where we have every opportunity to get back what we have lost.

I still see improvements in this team that make me hopeful that we have not peaked and are indeed working out the kinks that teams have found in our armor.

Agreed in the grand scheme the current rankings aren't the end all. But.. a ranking is always good exposure. Honestly, just this Saturday I may have watched more of the Oregon-UCLA game if either team were ranked (I haven't paid any attention to the PAC-12 to know who is good) Well, turns out Oregon is having a pretty good season and will probably be ranked this week.

 

[boilerbusdriver]

Polls are polls, if (big if), we are a better team 4 weeks from now, and are at a full and healthy roster, I like our chances to surprise in the BIG Tourney, and have Big Mo riding with us into the NCAA's, am I crazy, doctors and family say I am, oh well BOILER UP!!

 

[tjreese]

I'm not sure we drop much with how many teams ahead of us continued to lose.

To be honest I don't really care too much about it. We have a 3 game stand in early February where we have every opportunity to get back what we have lost.

I still see improvements in this team that make me hopeful that we have not peaked and are indeed working out the kinks that teams have found in our armor.

Purdue played pretty well the first half against a really good team that was also playing well. cut down the turnovers and Purdue played a good half. Yes February as it seems over the years has been a time that Purdue played well...but we don't want the team to peak then either...just win!

 

[soybean]

Anybody who know anything about colleg basketball understands that Purdue is a solid Top 25 team...AIIEC.

 

[FirstDownB]

And... Team A (MSU) is ranked 11/12 and Team B (Purdue) is ranked 21/21
I will say I am impressed we didn't drop and not surprised at all in the difference of 10 spots.

 

[tjreese]

And... Team A (MSU) is ranked 11/12 and Team B (Purdue) is ranked 21/21
I will say I am impressed we didn't drop and not surprised at all in the difference of 10 spots.

So will team A or Team B catch the attention of the recruits during the season? If the tourney is different, will team A just say it was a bad game, but look how they were ranked most the season?

 

[FirstDownB]

So will team A or Team B catch the attention of the recruits during the season? If the tourney is different, will team A just say it was a bad game, but look how they were ranked most the season?

Everyone is free to draw their own conclusions, but what I infer as the difference in rankings is that MSU has typically exceeded expectations in March (made the F4 as a 7 seed last year), so now no one wants to be the one to "overestimate" their regular season losses. And, yes, there is therefore a snowball effect on recruiting.

 

[gelesen]

Everyone is free to draw their own conclusions, but what I infer as the difference in rankings is that MSU has typically exceeded expectations in March (made the F4 as a 7 seed last year), so now no one wants to be the one to "overestimate" their regular season losses. And, yes, there is therefore a snowball effect on recruiting.

I believe the difference in rankings is in large part a result of where you start. MSU was #1 while we started unranked or maybe 25th. People are quick to say preseason rankings are meaningless and it's really about where you end up. In reality preseason rankings are very significant and typically always favor the "name schools". Look at the first computer rankings and how biased they are to start the season when everyone is 0-0. Duke, KU, UNC, UK always start out on top.

 

[PU pit bull]

So PU actually moved up in the polls after the loss to Iowa? Would've liked to have beat the hawks, but at least I know the sky ain't falling. On to the next team...

 

[FirstDownB]

I believe the difference in rankings is in large part a result of where you start. MSU was #1 while we started unranked or maybe 25th. People are quick to say preseason rankings are meaningless and it's really about where you end up. In reality preseason rankings are very significant and typically always favor the "name schools". Look at the first computer rankings and how biased they are to start the season when everyone is 0-0. Duke, KU, UNC, UK always start out on top.

MSU was preseason #13 and made a leap to #3 when they beat KU early on, but I get your point. Speaking of KU, it hasn't been much of a struggle for them to stay in the top 4 despite getting waxed by WVU and Okie St.
On thing is for sure is there is a lot of parity out there this year in the top 25, but it is disappointing to see the order based more on name than actual results.

 

[02Boilermaker]

I won’t pretend to know how the coaches & media think about their votes, but I do feel informed enough about the tourney committee rules/process to give my thoughts on that.

Both MSU & Purdue have similar losses (very small edge to PU since MSU's home loss to Neb is worse than PU's road loss to Illinois). Both started strong before hitting some bumps in the road in conference play (though last 10 isn't supposed to matter any more). They are both 7-3 against RPI top 100 teams. The big difference is against RPI top 25 teams.

-PU’s best win (according to RPI on CBS) is #22 Florida (neutral site).
-MSU beat Florida as well (at home). They have 4 additional wins against teams in the top 21 in RPI.

Despite the rest of the resumes being so similar, those wins probably place MSU at least 1 seed line (more likely 2) better than Purdue at this point in the season. A lot can & will change over the next couple of weeks.