Consensus Pre-season Top 25 so far

[Aughnanure]

Cool spreadsheet of the top 25 rankings from the 10 pre-season polls made so far. From the Badger board...surprisingly

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Asjb5kvZz0PcdFJVaUJ1TW0xSS00WHN3TXluTjljTGc#gid=0

[Dawson Rental]

How bad a coach do you have to think that Josh Pastner is before you fail to rank Memphis in your preseason top 25?

[Warriors10]

Pretty nice.  This should show you how pointless Dickie V is...he ranked Indiana #4 last night and consensus isn't even in the top 19.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Cool spreadsheet of the top 25 rankings from the 10 pre-season polls made so far. From the Badger board...surprisingly

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Asjb5kvZz0PcdFJVaUJ1TW0xSS00WHN3TXluTjljTGc#gid=0

Thanks Augie...exciting year to come.  On the cusp...

[Ari Gold]

Love this.
Heck of a drop off after the top 10

[Coleman]

Glad Georgetown is in the mix, but not too close to us.

I'd love the dominate the Big East but I don't want people thinking this is a new WCC with no competition.

Let's hope G-town, Butler and Nova are solid tourny teams

[Galway Eagle]

Not exactly the best showing for the new league. 

[Aughnanure]

Not exactly the best showing for the new league. 

Neither for the Big XII and Pac-12.

[Ellenson Guerrero]

Not exactly the best showing for the new league. 

Hopefully GTown is good enough without Porter to remain in the polls. I also think Nova will be in the 15-20 range by mid-season. If St. John's players don't bolt too soon, then they have a chance to be in the top 25 as well. Butler wasn't expected to do anything this year either.

If we can get four teams into the top25 for most of the season I'd consider that a strong first showing. But MU better be prepared to carry the heavy lifting for the next couple of years.

[PGsHeroes32]

18 beyond the bets? Ill take that bet.

[Galway Eagle]

Hopefully GTown is good enough without Porter to remain in the polls. I also think Nova will be in the 15-20 range by mid-season. If St. John's players don't bolt too soon, then they have a chance to be in the top 25 as well. Butler wasn't expected to do anything this year either.

If we can get four teams into the top25 for most of the season I'd consider that a strong first showing. But MU better be prepared to carry the heavy lifting for the next couple of years.

Butler was receiving more votes than us at the beginning of the season.  I don't think SJU is going anywhere this year didn't someone just transfer and another likely to leave or get expelled?  Nova is likely though. 

[Windyplayer]

Glad Georgetown is in the mix, but not too close to us.

I'd love the dominate the Big East but I don't want people thinking this is a new WCC with no competition.

Let's hope G-town, Butler and Nova are solid tourny teams

I'm as high as anyone on MU and its long-term prospects, but this is beyond a little presumptuous.

[GoldenZebra]

Hahaha whoever ranked MU as 18 is delusional. Never even heard of Beyond the Bets.  MU is waaaaayyyy higher than that. and LOL at ranking Wisconsin anywhere in the top 25. They lost in the first round...a 9? Really??

[Aughnanure]

Hahaha whoever ranked MU as 18 is delusional. Never even heard of Beyond the Bets.  MU is waaaaayyyy higher than that. and LOL at ranking Wisconsin anywhere in the top 25. They lost in the first round...a 9? Really??

They'll overachieve next year somehow. As always.

[Coleman]

I'm as high as anyone on MU and its long-term prospects, but this is beyond a little presumptuous.

I was mainly referring to next year and next year only. I think the strength of the league will be down a little bit, with us and maybe Georgetown as the only other contender.

I know the league will be strong long-term, very strong. Nova, Butler, Creighton, etc. will all be in contention in the future

[Windyplayer]

I was mainly referring to next year and next year only. I think the strength of the league will be down a little bit, with us and maybe Georgetown as the only other contender.

I know the league will be strong long-term, very strong. Nova, Butler, Creighton, etc. will all be in contention in the future

Gotcha. I have no concerns about dominating a good league in a potentially down year.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Look at the preseason polls the last 10 years or so, I'd bet 40% of the teams listed here won't be ranked by season's end if patterns continue. Let's just hope MU is one of the 60%, but preseason polls are horrifically bad.

[JD]

what evidence would you provide that would make you think MU wouldn't be ranked?  Every year they are it seems.

[jesmu84]

Look at the preseason polls the last 10 years or so, I'd bet 40% of the teams listed here won't be ranked by season's end if patterns continue. Let's just hope MU is one of the 60%, but preseason polls are horrifically bad.

Agree. I loathe preseason polls. I think polls shouldn't come out until conference play starts. In football, particularly, it's nearly impossible to start on the outside (the 25) and get to the BCS game, even if your team was pretty significantly underrated/overlooked when the season started.

[RawdogDX]

Agree. I loathe preseason polls. I think polls shouldn't come out until conference play starts. In football, particularly, it's nearly impossible to start on the outside (the 25) and get to the BCS game, even if your team was pretty significantly underrated/overlooked when the season started.

There is a good reason why they shouldn't come out in football (no playoffs), there is no such reason with basketball, that is just silliness.  If you want to convince me that you 'loath' them, then don't click on threads titled 'Pre-season top 25' and then leave a comment.

[jesmu84]

There is a good reason why they shouldn't come out in football (no playoffs), there is no such reason with basketball, that is just silliness.  If you want to convince me that you 'loath' them, then don't click on threads titled 'Pre-season top 25' and then leave a comment.

So you completely ignore everything in life that you disagree with? You don't voice your opinion and try to change things? Pretty apathetic.

[The Lens]

This year's AP Top 10:

1   Indiana - SWEET 16
2   Louisville - CHAMPS
3   Kentucky - BUST
4   Ohio State -ELITE 8
5   Michigan - RUNNER UP
6   North Carolina State - 1ST ROUND
7   Kansas - SWEET 16
8   Duke - ELITE 8
9   Syracuse - FINAL FOUR
10   Florida - ELITE 8

60% made the Elite 8, 80% made the Sweet 16, 90% made the NCAAs.

FIXED my KU mistake...they made S16, not E8.

[MUMonster03]

what evidence would you provide that would make you think MU wouldn't be ranked?  Every year they are it seems.

I don't think it was meant that Marquette won't be ranked, just that a certain number of teams in the preseason top 25 fallout and a certain percentage of them live up to expectations and are still there at the end.

[ChicosBailBonds]

This year's AP Top 10:

1   Indiana - SWEET 16
2   Louisville - CHAMPS
3   Kentucky - BUST
4   Ohio State -ELITE 8
5   Michigan - RUNNER UP
6   North Carolina State - 1ST ROUND
7   Kansas -ELITE 8
8   Duke - ELITE 8
9   Syracuse - FINAL FOUR
10   Florida - ELITE 8

70% made the Elite 8, 80% made the Sweet 16, 90% made the NCAAs.

Yup, but we were talking about the top 25 and my point was where they are ranked in the preseason is not where where they are ranked at the end.  Furthermore, it's not that hard to figure out the top 10 teams, yet even then they got 20% of them wrong.

#3 Kentucky...not ranked end of year
#6 NC State...not ranked end of year
#12 North Carolina...not ranked end of year
#13 UCLA...not ranked end of year
#17 Missouri...not ranked end of year
#18 Baylor...not ranked end of year
#19 UNLV...not ranked end of year
#20 San Diego State...not ranked end of year
#22 Notre Dame...not ranked end of year
#24 Cincinnati...not ranked end of year
#24 Texas...not ranked end of year
#24 Florida State...not ranked end of year

12 of the top 25 preseason didn't finish ranked.....almost 50%  You can do the exercise for both polls, they are brutally bad in the preseason and have been so for many years.


Then you factor in the other way

Marquette...not ranked preseason....but finished ranked
Saint Louis...not ranked preseason....but finished ranked
Wichita State...not ranked preseason....but finished ranked
Kansas State...not ranked preseason....but finished ranked
Miami...not ranked preseason....but finished ranked
New Mexico...not ranked preseason....but finished ranked
La Salle...not ranked preseason....but finished ranked
Oregon...not ranked preseason....but finished ranked
VCU...not ranked preseason....but finished ranked

[Coleman]

Yup, but we were talking about the top 25 and my point was where they are ranked in the preseason is not where where they are ranked at the end.  Furthermore, it's not that hard to figure out the top 10 teams, yet even then they got 20% of them wrong.

#3 Kentucky...not ranked end of year
#6 NC State...not ranked end of year
#12 North Carolina...not ranked end of year
#13 UCLA...not ranked end of year
#17 Missouri...not ranked end of year
#18 Baylor...not ranked end of year
#19 UNLV...not ranked end of year
#20 San Diego State...not ranked end of year
#22 Notre Dame...not ranked end of year
#24 Cincinnati...not ranked end of year
#24 Texas...not ranked end of year
#24 Florida State...not ranked end of year

12 of the top 25 preseason didn't finish ranked.....almost 50%  You can do the exercise for both polls, they are brutally bad in the preseason and have been so for many years.


Then you factor in the other way

Marquette...not ranked preseason....but finished ranked
Saint Louis...not ranked preseason....but finished ranked
Wichita State...not ranked preseason....but finished ranked
Kansas State...not ranked preseason....but finished ranked
Miami...not ranked preseason....but finished ranked
New Mexico...not ranked preseason....but finished ranked
La Salle...not ranked preseason....but finished ranked
Oregon...not ranked preseason....but finished ranked
VCU...not ranked preseason....but finished ranked

That, sir, is why they play the games.


Being ranked in the preseason top 10 is good for a couple reasons: exposure (national TV games especially) and starting a leg up over the unranked in terms of staying ranked. That's pretty much it. It is not a predictor of NCAA tournament chances, RPI, or conference success. It means little. But it does have a few benefits. And when its the offseason, its something to be excited about at least.