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

[MU82]

I'd be plenty confident either way.

I'm already confident we have what it takes to end the season #1.

[real chili 83]

AP, hands down.  It is the top conversation starter.  It draws eyeballs, which the school greatly benefits from. Can't buy that kind of publicity.

[Hards Alumni]

AP, hands down.  It is the top conversation starter.  It draws eyeballs, which the school greatly benefits from. Can't buy that kind of publicity.

Exactly.

[Uncle Rico]

I'd rather be number one in graduation rate

[StillAWarrior]

Cherry picking at its finest. Considering the variability of a single elim tournament... let's take champ out of it. Call it final 4, or even elite 8. You're telling me you value that a recency biased beat reporter from Clevelands top 25 AP submission over Kenpom? Any one of us could fill out a top 25. What's with the distaste for advanced metrics?

Now you're cherry picking...or at least exaggerating. The AP poll is not just the vote of a "recency biased beat reporter from Cleveland". It's a compilation of the vote of 60+ recency biased beat reporters. And while I agree that it's a blunt instrument, the volume of votes helps normalize things a bit. There is quite a bit of correlation between the two -- currently 9 of Kenpom's top 10 are in the AP top 10 (and the one that isn't - Houston - is AP 15).

I'm not trying to be argumentative here but it feels like I'm taking crazy pills. Of course predictive metrics like Kenpom have no bearing on how we will fare. The comparison was to AP ranking. Does that?

I think a lot of people just prefer reactive rankings (i.e., how did our team do) to predictive metrics. As has been stated above, the AP poll is what drives the national conversation and also what ultimately denotes the champion. For most, being a fan is a communal and interactive experience and many have a preference for the ranking system that drives conversation and shared experience.

That said, I'm a bit of a nerd, so I do check Kenpom and would be thrilled with a No. 1 ranking. The problem is that when I bragged about it to all my friends and family, none of them would have any idea what the hell I was getting on about. If we hit No. 1 in the AP, my friends and family would be contacting me.

[brewcity77]

I'm not trying to be argumentative here but it feels like I'm taking crazy pills. Of course predictive metrics like Kenpom have no bearing on how we will fare. The comparison was to AP ranking. Does that?

No, but until they start ordering teams on the ESPN ticker by kenpom ranking, it simply doesn't have the marketing value that the AP Poll is. There's a reason that Marquette tweets out a "No Finish Line" post every Monday with the new AP ranking announced.

I agree that kenpom does a better job of showing who is likely the better team, but ultimately I think anyone in the top-10 has a real shot at winning it all depending on their draw. Here are where the last few champs entered the tournament in kenpom:

• 2024: #1 UConn
• 2023: #4 UConn
• 2022: #6 Kansas
• 2021: #4 Baylor
• 2019: #1 Virginia
• 2018: #2 Villanova
• 2017: #3 North Carolina
• 2016: #5 Villanova
• 2015: #6 Duke
• 2014: #25 UConn

Obviously that last one is a massive outlier, but only twice in the last 10 tournaments has the #1 kenpom team won it all. #4 and #6 are just as likely to cut nets at #1 is, based on recent historical data. If we are in the top-10 or so, I like our chances, so give me the more marketable one, because the odds are if we are #1 in the AP Poll, we probably are close enough to that in kenpom to be a title threat.

[Newsdreams]

I'd rather be number one in graduation rate

I just wish we could get more students go to Gesu

[Jay Bee]

#HotTakes from #HotCarl

[Its DJOver]

Yea, everyone knows you only want to be no. 1 in blk%.

[MarquetteMike1977]

Marquette is Ranked #5 Today In ESPN's Power Rankings

[Newsdreams]

Marquette is Ranked #5 Today In ESPN's Power Rankings

ESPN suxs

[tower912]

11-12

[MuggsyB]

#10.

Bama
Florida
Oklahoma will jump ahead of us. 

[Newsdreams]

26

[Hards Alumni]

12

[GoldenEagles03]

Was thinking we wouldn't drop much at all.

Rick Bozich has us at 16 this morning...maybe it'll be a further fall than anticipated.

I'll say 11

[tower912]

May be grateful MU was in the top 12 the week that mattered.

[GoldenEagles03]

Rothstein also dropped us all the way to 12 behind Dayton at 11 who he previously had unranked.

[Daniel]

Don't think we will be any better than 12 and could be more around 15.  Seems like big jumps or drops are made this year.

[TallTitan34]

AP voter Dave Borges moved us from 7 to 9.

[MarquetteMike1977]

Marquette is ranked #9 in Today's USA Today Coaches Poll

[MuMark]

https://x.com/bensteelemjs/status/1868719701993701501?s=61&t=6XPB8f4sAKmJIzxgMcsCjw

[Uncle Rico]

A top-10 team?!?!?!?

[GoldenEagles03]

https://x.com/bensteelemjs/status/1868719701993701501?s=61&t=6XPB8f4sAKmJIzxgMcsCjw

Sweet!

Didn't think we should drop out of the Top 10, but saw someone had us at 16 and got worried.

Top 10 team heading into Big East play!

[94Warrior]

A top-10 team?!?!?!?

Damn straight, Skippy!