[Enlund's Blog] Marquette is 11th in both polls

[TomEnlundSays]

Marquette is 11th in both polls
               



Marquette will go into the NCAA tournament Thursday ranked 11th in both national polls.

               

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/142353445.html
               

[wadesworld]

Marquette is ranked 11th in the country, got the 3rd seed, and gets rewarded with having to play somebody ranked HIGHER than them if they both win their first NCAA Tournament game.  Awesome.

[TallTitan34]

In their home state.

I thought they protected the top four seeds?

[Hoopaloop]

Marquette is ranked 11th in the country, got the 3rd seed, and gets rewarded with having to play somebody ranked HIGHER than them if they both win their first NCAA Tournament game.  Awesome.

Murray State is 45 in the Ken Pom ratings.  The polls are a beauty contest.  If you don't lose, you keep moving up. If you play in a poor conference you won't lose so they benefited from it by moving up as others slid down by playing tougher competition.

Playing in their home state isn't wonderful, but that's exactly why I said last week we will play games on neutral and semi-neutral sites. Our record away from the BC of late hasn't been great.  To which the common response to me was that we would take our 9-5 away\neutral record prior to the season and be thrilled with it.   Sounds like tunes are changing.  All teams are good at this point.  We need to play better away from the BC then we have of late.

[wadesworld]

Murray State is 45 in the Ken Pom ratings.  The polls are a beauty contest.  If you don't lose, you keep moving up. If you play in a poor conference you won't lose so they benefited from it by moving up as others slid down by playing tougher competition.

Playing in their home state isn't wonderful, but that's exactly why I said last week we will play games on neutral and semi-neutral sites. Our record away from the BC of late hasn't been great.  To which the common response to me was that we would take our 9-5 away\neutral record prior to the season and be thrilled with it.   Sounds like tunes are changing.  All teams are good at this point.  We need to play better away from the BC then we have of late.

I agree that the polls don't mean much, but when a team is 30-1 it's hard but have not played a tough schedule at all it's hard to say how good they truly are.  They could be better than Kentucky for all anybody knows, but they could also be worse than UWM.  You just really don't know, which is why it's ridiculous to let them play in their home state.  If we had to play Missouri in Missouri that would make sense, but to give a 6 seed the benefit of home court advantage is a joke.

[Hoopaloop]

I agree that the polls don't mean much, but when a team is 30-1 it's hard but have not played a tough schedule at all it's hard to say how good they truly are.  They could be better than Kentucky for all anybody knows, but they could also be worse than UWM.  You just really don't know, which is why it's ridiculous to let them play in their home state.  If we had to play Missouri in Missouri that would make sense, but to give a 6 seed the benefit of home court advantage is a joke.

Wisconsin was a 6 seed and played Pittsburgh in Milwaukee.  It happens.  Pitt won that game by the way.  West Virginia is a 10 seed playing Gonzaga in Pittsburgh this year.  That is practically a home game for WVU.  We're a 3 seed, we need to act like it.  Yes it will be a hostile crowd, but look at who Murray State has played this year.  They haven't played a team like us since December 11th.  That is a lifetime ago.  Don't be surprised if Colorado State knocks them off.

[MUMac]

Wisconsin was a 6 seed and played Pittsburgh in Milwaukee. 

And Pitt fans were screaming over that one.  Rightly so, I might add.

West Virginia is a 10 seed playing Gonzaga in Pittsburgh this year.

A 7th seed is not a protected seed.  The 2 seed, which is protected, is the reason why they are playing there.

I do find the hand-wringing interesting, though.  If MU was scheduled to play Murray State in Louisville as part of a non-conference game, everyone would believe MU would win.  A little higher stakes, but I have the same feeling now as I would then.

[MUrugger]

11th in both polls and probably about 11th in the 1 through 65 ranking the NCAA will publish this year.  I heard last night that Missouri was eighth in that ranking.  Seth Davis said the winner of a 2-3 MU-Mizzou match-up goes to the Final Four (dismissing, I guess, MSU.)  Beating a #1 and a #2 to get to the FF would be a tougher road than the one taken in 2003.  (Though I think KY was #1 before MU & DWade's 3D took them out.)

If we can get to, and then beat Mizzou, I'd agree that we could get to the FF, beating MSU or anyone else that might be there in the Regional final.

[MUMac]

11th in both polls and probably about 11th in the 1 through 65 ranking the NCAA will publish this year.  I heard last night that Missouri was eighth in that ranking.  Seth Davis said the winner of a 2-3 MU-Mizzou match-up goes to the Final Four (dismissing, I guess, MSU.)  Beating a #1 and a #2 to get to the FF would be a tougher road than the one taken in 2003.  (Though I think KY was #1 before MU &DWade's 3D took them out.)

If we can get to, and then beat Mizzou, I'd agree that we could get to the FF, beating MSU or anyone else that might be there in the Regional final.

Pitt was a 2 and Kentucky a 1.  Kentucky was also #1 overall.