The 2010 Men

Does being the top ranked men’s college basketball team in January have any relevance come Selection Sunday? If you ask the players and coaches they’ll tell you “Were taking it one game at a time. Were not worried about that”, or “We don’t pay attention to that kind of thing.” The only benefit to mid season rankings are there role in determining each teams RPI. From an NCAA standpoint in season rankings are used merely as a promotional tool in making an important game, that much more important.
Mid-season rankings mean very little to the players, coaches, and writers of the game; but what about the fans? The fans that wake up at the crack of dawn on the west coast just to be a part of college gameday. The same fans that continue to pack student sections night in and night out looking to claim their school as number one. So fans, does your school have what it takes to be my number one team in college basketball?
The battle for my number one ranking focuses on, you guessed it, Kentucky, Kansas, Villanova, and Syracuse. .
1.) Obviously with each team dropping only one game all year, you can’t separate these teams by record alone. So instead you must consider the team with the most recent loss, and that as we all know came Tuesday night as South Carolina and Devan Downey handed Kentucky its first loss of the season. Because of this, Kentucky “You are NOT my number one team”.

2.) RPI, RPI, RPI. Wins against some of the top ranked RPI teams in the country played a major factor in my decision to eliminate another contender. More specifically I looked at wins against the RPI top 25 as well as strength of schedule. Syracuse has 3 wins over RPI top 25 teams, Kansas with 2, and Villanova with just 1. I didn’t penalize them for only being one RPI top 25 win away from tying Kansas, but the two 2 point victories over RPI 80th ranked Marquette, and a 1 point victory over George Mason early in the season sealed their fate. Villanova, “You are NOT my number one team”.

3.) And then there were two; Syracuse vs. Kansas in a rematch of the 2003 National Championship game (minus Roy Williams and a guy named Carmelo). I decided to look at several factors in a best of 3 series to determine my number one team. Once again I took a look at the RPI, more specifically each teams last 5 games. During Syracuse’s 5-0 stretch they have faced an opponent with an average RPI ranking of 62nd, including 2 wins against top ten big east foes. Kansas on the other hand has faced teams with an average ranking of 70th, and not a single team in the top 30 during their last five contests. Syracuse 1 Kansas 0. Next, I focused on each teams one loss. Syracuse losing to Pittsburgh at HOME, while Kansas lost an emotional hard fought game at Tennessee. Syracuse losing to a relatively similar ranked opponent at home as opposed to having its only loss come on the road, I give the advantage here to Kansas. Syracuse 1 Kansas 1. I needed something to set these teams apart, a statistic that would leave no debate; and that’s exactly what I found. So far this season Syracuse and Kansas have played four similar opponents; Memphis, Oakland, California, and Cornell. Kansas has beaten all four by a combined 52 points; or an average of 13 points a game. Syracuse however has outscored those same opponents by a total of 79 points; an average of 19.75 a game, with no game closer than twelve. The level of play against the same four opponents between Syracuse and Kansas favors the Orange, and for that reason; Syracuse “You ARE my number one team”.
Jim Boeheim has his Syracuse Orange off to a (20-1) start. Thier next game comes this Saturday @ Depaul University at 2:00 pm. If Syracuse continues to “Shut it Down” this season the Orange faithful and “Otto’s Army” will watch as Wesley Johnson and crew cut down the nets in Indy.

Share

Save

No related posts.