So....What are we ranked on Monday - 1/6/2025?

[Dr. Blackheart]

#24 in RealTime Power Rankings (not RPI)

http://realtimerpi.com/ncaab/Men.html

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

I'd say between 26-30. A lot of movement in top 25 this week. A win at PITT next weekend, and we'll jump into the 23-25 range.

Huge win boys!!!

[LAZER]

RPI is up to 36 too.  A great way to start conference play after a lackluster OOC.

[Warriors Forever]

College and professional athletics, at their essence, are children's games played by young adults for the spectator's entertainment. In the grand scheme of the world, none of us should care about any of the games and none of it is relatively important in the least.

But we do care because we as fans like to see the institutions and teams we root for do well. One of the ways we can gauge how Marquette is doing is by the the two major polls. One of those polls is by the writers who cover the sport as journalists more extensively than any of us could. The other is by the coaches who coach the sport at a higher level than any of us could. So when Marquette, our school and our team, is doing well in the polls, well, it matters to us. And on a small level it is important as it keeps us connected and gives us entertainment.

Also, on a more practical level, if a team is ranked for most of the season, it is a lot more likely that the selection committee will look favorably on them and put them in the tournament. There are not a lot of slots given to unranked teams that do not win their conference's automatic bid.

In addition, ranked teams get vastly more media exposure. This media exposure leads to greater ticket sales and more merchandise sales. It also helps recruit not just athletes, but students who may not otherwise consider Marquette for college.

So it does matter, in a sense. In fact, it matters a lot.

I like that post. Very Jerry Maguire Mission Statement-ish....

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

I like that post. Very Jerry Maguire Mission Statement-ish....

Woah, bro.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

25 on Goodman and Parrish top 25. Good sign that we will receive a fair share of votes this week.

[brewcity77]

Wouldn't surprise me if we came in to Pitt ranked and they were unranked.

[Windyplayer]

#33 in the USA Today/ESPN poll. Kind of a slap in the face--plays into Buzz's hands.

[Windyplayer]

#29 in the AP.

[Bocephys]

#33 in the USA Today/ESPN poll. Kind of a slap in the face--plays into Buzz's hands.

Ehh, not really.  Two home wins don't completely erase the UWGB loss nor the Florida shellacking.  Just because everyone gets their panties in a bunch when Mike Hunt brings it up doesn't mean it didn't happen.

[MerrittsMustache]

#33 in the USA Today/ESPN poll. Kind of a slap in the face--plays into Buzz's hands.

Beat UWGB (even by 1) and this team is ranked. 12-2 with losses to #11 and #14 plus a win over #19 gets you in the top 25.

[BCHoopster]

Really, do you really believe we are a Top #25 team?  Might have to win a game on the road to do that, secondly MU barely beat both teams, easily could have been 0-2!  They shoot
the ball like a bunch of 9th graders, long way in my mind that they are even a Top 50 team.

[ChicosBailBonds]

#33 in the USA Today/ESPN poll. Kind of a slap in the face--plays into Buzz's hands.

Why, who should we be ranked above?  Losing to Green Bay will leave a sour taste for many voters and rightly so.

[Windyplayer]

Really, do you really believe we are a Top #25 team? 

Nope, not at all, but thought we deserved to be a little higher outside the top 25 after beating two quality Big East opponents.

[LAZER]

Really, do you really believe we are a Top #25 team?  Might have to win a game on the road to do that, secondly MU barely beat both teams, easily could have been 0-2!  They shoot
the ball like a bunch of 9th graders, long way in my mind that they are even a Top 50 team.

I agree that they're not a top 25 team, but they're top 50 without a doubt.  You're going to have a real hard time finding 50 teams better than MU and once you get past 30 or so you're sifting through a lot of really mediocre teams that have as many issues, if not more, than Marquette.

[Windyplayer]

Why, who should we be ranked above?  Losing to Green Bay will leave a sour taste for many voters and rightly so.

Well, it depends on how you view rankings. I personally beleive that quality wins should be valued more highly than bad losses. A lot of the teams in front of us have pretty weak schedules and it's just been a matter of taking care of business against cupcakes, which doesn't impress me. See Wichita State, PITT, Maryland, VCU. Ultimately, I don't care since these easy schedules that get you in the polls earlier in the year may doom your tourney chances come March (EDIT: cough, cough Cincy). Admittedly, the Green Bay loss was bad and that alone should keep us out of the top 25, but not behind these teams who either haven't been tested or have failed their tests.

[RushmoreAcademy]

I think where we're placed is pretty accurate.
Two Big East wins, sure, the teams in the top 25 all have big wins, and our big wins weren't exactly convincing.  Moving in the right direction, and great games for sure, but eye opening nationally, probably not so much yet.

[ATWizJr]

Beat UWGB (even by 1) and this team is ranked. 12-2 with losses to #11 and #14 plus a win over #19 gets you in the top 25.

Exactly right.

[PGsHeroes32]

Beat UWGB (even by 1) and this team is ranked. 12-2 with losses to #11 and #14 plus a win over #19 gets you in the top 25.

Yup. 12-2 just looks so much nicer as is then the fact that we would have no bad losses and a good start in conference play. Even if we weren't ranked wed be sitting pretty darn good for march.

[BCHoopster]

I agree that they're not a top 25 team, but they're top 50 without a doubt.  You're going to have a real hard time finding 50 teams better than MU and once you get past 30 or so you're sifting through a lot of really mediocre teams that have as many issues, if not more, than Marquette.

Lets see how they play on the road?  They easily can lose them all, not sure where they play DePaul, but 2 years ago MU lost there, so if they go 9-9 in the Big East (where I think
they will end up) maybe 8-10th in the league, I can see almost 16-17 teams better than MU in the Big East and Big 10, so in saying that are 30 other teams better we will see? Hope
I am wrong.

[Windyplayer]

Lets see how they play on the road?  They easily can lose them all, not sure where they play DePaul, but 2 years ago MU lost there, so if they go 9-9 in the Big East (where I think
they will end up) maybe 8-10th in the league, I can see almost 16-17 teams better than MU in the Big East and Big 10, so in saying that are 30 other teams better we will see? Hope
I am wrong.

You do realize that this team is slowly coming together after a non-conference period of soul-searching, right? Assuming, a few players step up and start hitting shots, which I see happening (it cannot get much worse), this team can be top 25 good. MU, under Buzz, is notorious for starting out slow, but they're always playing their best basketball in February and March. This year looks no different. In fact, Buzz may have them a little ahead of the curve at this point in the year. I just don't get how you can be so negative after two quality wins despite abysmal shooting. Wilson, Lockett, Blue, and Mayo will be decent to good shooters at the end of the year and couple that with our staunch defense, and I like what's developing here.  

[Windyplayer]

Removed

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

Really, do you really believe we are a Top #25 team?  Might have to win a game on the road to do that, secondly MU barely beat both teams, easily could have been 0-2!  They shoot
the ball like a bunch of 9th graders, long way in my mind that they are even a Top 50 team.

Not far off from a top 25 team. Watch more college bball besides Marquette and you will see that there just aren't that many good teams. MU beats Green Bay and they're in the 19-16 range. I don't think it is a stretch at all that Marquette is currently the 25th best team in the land.

[BCHoopster]

You do realize that this team is slowly coming together after a non-conference period of soul-searching, right? Assuming, a few players step up and start hitting shots, which I see happening (it cannot get much worse), this team can be top 25 good. MU, under Buzz, is notorious for starting out slow, but they're always playing their best basketball in February and March. This year looks no different. In fact, Buzz may have them a little ahead of the curve at this point in the year. I just don't get how you can be so negative after two quality wins despite abysmal shooting. Wilson, Lockett, Blue, and Mayo will be decent to good shooters at the end of the year and couple that with our staunch defense, and I like what's developing here.  

Have to prove it on the court, only time will tell.  I hope they shoot it better, but look at Wisky last night, horrible on the road.  The next 3 games will be interesting, Pitt is beatable and
so is Cincy, I will have a different opinion in 2 weeks.  MU defended there court against 2 of the middle of the road Big East teams, GTown was way overated. To get into the
dance, you have to beat those teams and they did, Cincy and Pitt are in the middle as well.  Beat those teams and your an upper tier team.  Lets see!

[BCHoopster]

Not far off from a top 25 team. Watch more college bball besides Marquette and you will see that there just aren't that many good teams. MU beats Green Bay and they're in the 19-16 range. I don't think it is a stretch at all that Marquette is currently the 25th best team in the land.

Agreed, I do watch a great deal of hoops, but you do still need to win on the road, so maybe between 35-45.  There so many question marks about this team, it is really to hard to
predict.  2 great victories to start, time will tell.  Say 9-9 record in Big East.  Next 3 games might change my mind.  I have them losing the next 2 out of 3.