The first "official" preseason poll has the Boilers at #....

[woggy718]

Number 16, one spot ahead of the Loosiers. All in all, I think this is a pretty accurate spot for the Boilermakers. Considering the the last DB poll didn't even have us in it.

http://athlonsports.com/magazines/athlon-sports-2015-16-college-basketball-preseason-top-25

 

[QuadBoiler2014]

Number 16, one spot ahead of the Loosiers. All in all, I think this is a pretty accurate spot for the Boilermakers. Considering the the last DB poll didn't even have us in it.

http://athlonsports.com/magazines/athlon-sports-2015-16-college-basketball-preseason-top-25

I'm happy we are getting recognition. I think 16 is a little too high IMO. 20 is about right to me. If everything goes right I can see us being top 10 sometime in the season. A lot has to go right for us to get there and for the start of the season I think 20 is about right.

I don't know about MSU or IU or even Wisconsin for that matter being ranked that high.

 

[BoilerinLouisville]

I'm happy we are getting recognition. I think 16 is a little too high IMO. 20 is about right to me. If everything goes right I can see us being top 10 sometime in the season. A lot has to go right for us to get there and for the start of the season I think 20 is about right.

I don't know about MSU or IU or even Wisconsin for that matter being ranked that high.

Vandy comes in at 15th, which is good to see. We get payback in Mackey this year

 

[purdue4sure]

Number 16, one spot ahead of the Loosiers. All in all, I think this is a pretty accurate spot for the Boilermakers. Considering the the last DB poll didn't even have us in it.

http://athlonsports.com/magazines/athlon-sports-2015-16-college-basketball-preseason-top-25

Since the experts agree, snuie must admit that the Boilers are superior to the hoosiers, so his team should just forfeit.

 

[Jack_Ripper]

SNU won't admit to nothin'....

 

[Cleanface]

Awesome.

Man, it's been a while since I've seen us sitting well inside the Top 20.

I know early rankings mean nothing BLAH BLAH BLAH, but it feels good to me.


BOILER UP.

 

[BoilerFan4Life]

I think pre-season polls are interesting and fun for the fans, but I'm not a big fan of them. I think they unintentionally have a unfair impact tournament selections, because polls have an impact on teams RPI. This poll is not based on teams performance playing on the floor, but merely based on schools reputations. Kentucky lost their entire starting lineup; IDC how good their recruiting class is...you can't honestly rank them #1 without even seeing them play. Similar stories for Duke and North Carolina, etc.

 

[mathboy]

You are right on target about the frailty of the preseason polls. Besides the UK and DUke rankings, which based almost entirely on freshmen recruits and the rep of the coach, how about AZ at #8, after losing the top 4 scorers from last year. Or Cal being #13 based on recruting 2 5* players.

Virginia continues to make early exits in the NCAA's (can you say "Over-rated"), yet gets a top 5 ranking. Not saying they are a bad team, but have they really earned a top5 ranking? Villinova may fall into the same catagory. Gonzaga, good team but has a huge hole at PG - sound familiar? The Zags are up there at #11, hum?

 

[mathboy]

Virginia 2014-15 OVERALL RANKINGS
This is the #5 preseason team's record form last year????
POINTS PER GAME
65.3 225th OVERALL
REBOUNDS PER GAME
36.2 80th OVERALL
ASSISTS PER GAME
12.9 151st OVERALL
FIELD GOAL PCT
.463 53rd OVERALL

 

[feulner]

You are right on target about the frailty of the preseason polls. Besides the UK and DUke rankings, which based almost entirely on freshmen recruits and the rep of the coach, how about AZ at #8, after losing the top 4 scorers from last year. Or Cal being #13 based on recruting 2 5* players.

Virginia continues to make early exits in the NCAA's (can you say "Over-rated"), yet gets a top 5 ranking. Not saying they are a bad team, but have they really earned a top5 ranking? Villinova may fall into the same catagory. Gonzaga, good team but has a huge hole at PG - sound familiar? The Zags are up there at #11, hum?

I'm assuming they give very little supporting evidence in their online ranking just as a teaser, but more depth n the magazine. I don't know how you even rank UK, Duke and Arizona against each other, let alone against teams with established players. It's just faith in the head coaches as long as they have all the positions covered by recruits.

 

[Toast.]

Virginia 2014-15 OVERALL RANKINGS
This is the #5 preseason team's record form last year????
POINTS PER GAME
65.3 225th OVERALL
REBOUNDS PER GAME
36.2 80th OVERALL
ASSISTS PER GAME
12.9 151st OVERALL
FIELD GOAL PCT
.463 53rd OVERALL

#1 defensive team and #10 in scoring margin... conveniently left those stats out.

I'd like to see them not get Izzo in the tourney. I think he's the perfect coach to find their weaknesses.

 

[boilerHup]

I think they unintentionally have a unfair impact tournament selections, because polls have an impact on teams RPI.

1. The RPI is an antiquated metric for basketball that becomes less important every year as selection committee members have access to much better metrics (i.e. KenPom)
2. To the extent that RPI matters at all, polls have zero impact. Straight math.

 

[sixpackpete]

To get back on subject that gives us three potentially tough games in a row in December.

12/19/15 vs #20 Butler TV Indianapolis
12/22/15 vs #15 Vanderbilt West Lafayette
12/29/15 at #19 Wisconsin *

 

[FiveWeight]

I think pre-season polls are interesting and fun for the fans, but I'm not a big fan of them. I think they unintentionally have a unfair impact tournament selections, because polls have an impact on teams RPI. This poll is not based on teams performance playing on the floor, but merely based on schools reputations. Kentucky lost their entire starting lineup; IDC how good their recruiting class is...you can't honestly rank them #1 without even seeing them play. Similar stories for Duke and North Carolina, etc.

Agree that pre-season polls have an unfair impact on tourney selections. The pre-season poll serves as the basis for the first pole after the season starts. Due in part to human ego, there's a bit of "stickiness" when the experts make their first-week predictions, and that effect may ripple on through tournament selection time.

Having said that, as a fan I do want to know what expert opinions are of the team rankings at this time of year. The best way to do that is for the experts to take into consideration all available information, no matter how weak it may be (high school success and other metrics). History would probably show that the top-ranked freshmen in the country cause their teams to perform better than they otherwise would, so that is information that should be taken into account.

My high school physics teacher might have called a pre-season ranking "accurate" but with a low degree of precision. In my field of software development, we'd call this a good estimate, but with a high degree of uncertainty. In other words, you have to take pre-season polls with a grain of salt, but we should still recognize that they're about the best predictor of success we can see at this point.

 

[Matt18Jones]

I'm happy we are getting recognition. I think 16 is a little too high IMO. 20 is about right to me. If everything goes right I can see us being top 10 sometime in the season. A lot has to go right for us to get there and for the start of the season I think 20 is about right.

I don't know about MSU or IU or even Wisconsin for that matter being ranked that high.

The only 2 things that has to go right for Purdue to be a consensus top 10 team are:

1. Stay healthy (every team needs this)
2. Enjoy better variance from 3 Point shooting and FTshooting

That's literally it. Everything else is a given. It's a given Purdues size will enable them to rebound well and Ray Davis and especially Hammons guarantee they'll be solid defensively. The inside scoring is guaranteed with Haas/Hammons/Swanigan.

Enjoying more favorable variance, as opposed to last year's awful lack from even their best shooters, will vault Purdue into consensus top 10 territory, and that's regardless of whatever PG play they get.

 

[feulner]

Agree that pre-season polls have an unfair impact on tourney selections. The pre-season poll serves as the basis for the first pole after the season starts. Due in part to human ego, there's a bit of "stickiness" when the experts make their first-week predictions, and that effect may ripple on through tournament selection time.

Having said that, as a fan I do want to know what expert opinions are of the team rankings at this time of year. The best way to do that is for the experts to take into consideration all available information, no matter how weak it may be (high school success and other metrics). History would probably show that the top-ranked freshmen in the country cause their teams to perform better than they otherwise would, so that is information that should be taken into account.

My high school physics teacher might have called a pre-season ranking "accurate" but with a low degree of precision. In my field of software development, we'd call this a good estimate, but with a high degree of uncertainty. In other words, you have to take pre-season polls with a grain of salt, but we should still recognize that they're about the best predictor of success we can see at this point.

I don't know if it's the pre-season poll that's sticky, or that the media still tends to bias their ranking in-season to the teams with the highest rated recruits and the top coaches. Back in 2010 just before Hummel got hurt, Purdue was in the top 5 or just on the cusp with arguably as good of a season as the top 3-4, yet the media wouldn't ever talk about Purdue in that group. Other teams were given the benefit of the doubt, while Purdue had to work their way into the discussion.

 

[boilerHup]

The only 2 things that has to go right for Purdue to be a consensus top 10 team are:

1. Stay healthy (every team needs this)
2. Enjoy better variance from 3 Point shooting and FTshooting

I would add reducing turnovers. We weren't great in that category last year, and PG is our shakiest spot.

 

[boilerHup]

Agree that pre-season polls have an unfair impact on tourney selections. The pre-season poll serves as the basis for the first pole after the season starts. Due in part to human ego, there's a bit of "stickiness" when the experts make their first-week predictions, and that effect may ripple on through tournament selection time.

Having said that, as a fan I do want to know what expert opinions are of the team rankings at this time of year. The best way to do that is for the experts to take into consideration all available information, no matter how weak it may be (high school success and other metrics). History would probably show that the top-ranked freshmen in the country cause their teams to perform better than they otherwise would, so that is information that should be taken into account.

My high school physics teacher might have called a pre-season ranking "accurate" but with a low degree of precision. In my field of software development, we'd call this a good estimate, but with a high degree of uncertainty. In other words, you have to take pre-season polls with a grain of salt, but we should still recognize that they're about the best predictor of success we can see at this point.

Actually, the pre-season poll has a better track record at predicting NCAA Tournament outcomes than the year-end poll, believe it or not.

 

[mathboy]

#1 defensive team and #10 in scoring margin... conveniently left those stats out.

I'd like to see them not get Izzo in the tourney. I think he's the perfect coach to find their weaknesses.

True! ...and they beat the likes of Maryland and Rutgers (badly!), so they are more deserving than I initially thought.

Thanks for the correction.