Right. Their last win was against a Division III school I believe. How does that even count in your record? (Which I think it did)
Illinois #20 in 12/4 AP Poll
- Status
Right. Their last win was against a Division III school I believe. How does that even count in your record? (Which I think it did)
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I'd argue "we" didn't even really do that this year. There were a lot of preseason predictions that had Wisconsin over Illinois in the Big Ten this year. They only dropped a bit in "perception" when they lost to Tennessee at home (respectable) and then got smoked at Providence in the same week.
Of course, as far as "overestimating" goes in this young season ... nobody holds a candle to Maryland.
pruman91
- interviewing new NL's daily....I really really am
with the zero-izzo's a very close second.......
I am kind of worried that Maryland finally wakes up and plays up to expectations when we play them. Would be a bad loss this year (at least as things are shaping up so far). IIRC Maryland is a team that BU has not had very good luck against in the past comparatively speaking.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I am #TeamRankingsMatter for life, my man. There are kids right now forming their opinion of what the "cool" programs are, and some of them will grow up to be legit recruits ... nearly all of them will grow up to be fans with a TV, lol. I am 31, and consider the programs with the most AP Poll appearances in the first six seasons I can really even remember (2000 to 2005), that formed my perception of college basketball:
Duke: 113
Kansas: 113
Arizona: 112
Illinois: 99
Kentucky: 99
Florida: 94
Syracuse: 92
UConn: 89
Oklahoma: 89
Wake Forest: 88
Maryland: 87
Stanford: 85
Michigan State: 80
Texas: 79
Oklahoma State: 78
Cincinnati: 78
North Carolina: 73
Pitt: 63
Alabama: 63
Gonzaga: 61
Wisconsin: 57
Louisville: 47
There is still a subconscious part of me that has a lingering respect for programs like Wake Forest and Pitt because they were consistently good when I was younger ... think a current high schooler thinks much of Wake Forest?? Lol. Bottom line is that it is really good to get exposure like this. Even the people who take a weird sort of pride in "not caring about rankings, just win!" or whatever should be able to admit that even if it is not that important to be ranked ... it does no harm. At all.
pruman91
- interviewing new NL's daily....I really really am
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
100%. Even today, as a college basketball fan, I'll open up the ESPN app and choose which games to watch each night from the Top 25 tab. Rankings = eyeballs.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Regarding my last post, too, here is the current all-time top 25 if you get one vote for each week you have ever been ranked! Currently ranked teams are in bold to show who can possibly pass another program soon:
1. Kentucky: 954
2. North Carolina: 941
3. Duke: 877
4. Kansas: 844
5. UCLA: 737
6. Louisville: 656
7. Arizona: 591
8. Indiana: 576
9. Syracuse: 550
10. Illinois: 494
11. Michigan State: 493
12. Ohio State: 447
13. Villanova: 443
14. Maryland: 438
14. Michigan: 438
16. Cincinnati: 434
17. Purdue: 416
18. Georgetown: 397
19. Marquette: 396
20. Iowa: 387
21. UConn: 384
22. Notre Dame: 378
23. Oklahoma: 377
24. NC State: 348
25. Virginia: 346
---
RV: Alabama: 340
RV: Tennessee: 338
RV: Gonzaga: 335
RV: Texas: 312
RV: Memphis: 312
RV: Missouri: 303
RV: Wisconsin: 302
RV: Arkansas: 296
RV: Florida: 296
Fun notes:
- Our Fighting Illini passed MSU this week to be in the top 10 all-time! It's easy to get down about some of our early NCAAT exits, I know ... but this program has won a lot of games over the years. Sometimes I do not think we appreciate how fortunate we have been to watch some of these teams.
- It's kind of crazy how "static" the top 10 will be for the next several years besides Illinois and MSU battling for that last spot.
- Marquette will pass Georgetown this year. Underrated program historically, IMO.
- UConn will also pass Iowa this year. A shocking display of just how late UConn came onto the scene as a power for them to just be passing Iowa in 2023-24.
- Tennessee and Gonzaga will likely enter the top 25 this year, at the expense of NC State or possibly Virginia. Crazy that Tennessee has never even made ONE Final Four.
- Surprised how low Arkansas is.
1. Kentucky: 954
2. North Carolina: 941
3. Duke: 877
4. Kansas: 844
5. UCLA: 737
6. Louisville: 656
7. Arizona: 591
8. Indiana: 576
9. Syracuse: 550
10. Illinois: 494
11. Michigan State: 493
12. Ohio State: 447
13. Villanova: 443
14. Maryland: 438
14. Michigan: 438
16. Cincinnati: 434
17. Purdue: 416
18. Georgetown: 397
19. Marquette: 396
20. Iowa: 387
21. UConn: 384
22. Notre Dame: 378
23. Oklahoma: 377
24. NC State: 348
25. Virginia: 346
---
RV: Alabama: 340
RV: Tennessee: 338
RV: Gonzaga: 335
RV: Texas: 312
RV: Memphis: 312
RV: Missouri: 303
RV: Wisconsin: 302
RV: Arkansas: 296
RV: Florida: 296
Fun notes:
- Our Fighting Illini passed MSU this week to be in the top 10 all-time! It's easy to get down about some of our early NCAAT exits, I know ... but this program has won a lot of games over the years. Sometimes I do not think we appreciate how fortunate we have been to watch some of these teams.
- It's kind of crazy how "static" the top 10 will be for the next several years besides Illinois and MSU battling for that last spot.
- Marquette will pass Georgetown this year. Underrated program historically, IMO.
- UConn will also pass Iowa this year. A shocking display of just how late UConn came onto the scene as a power for them to just be passing Iowa in 2023-24.
- Tennessee and Gonzaga will likely enter the top 25 this year, at the expense of NC State or possibly Virginia. Crazy that Tennessee has never even made ONE Final Four.
- Surprised how low Arkansas is.
Same team: One ranked 15th, one unranked (getting votes at 27th). Which team is more likely to lose due to overconfidence? Which team is more likely to play with a chip on their shoulder?
Now consider being ranked 23rd vs. unranked (27th). In practice these are often nearly indistinguishable teams. Psychologically, the difference is pretty big.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I see your argument, but I have more faith in this squad to not get an inflated ego just because they are ranked. So, I think the benefits of the exposure and prestige far outweigh any potential danger of them overlooking opponents. Did any of us wish the 2005 Illini had been kept at #2 just to keep the chip on their shoulder??
So, we can pass Indiana in just a little over 4 more years?
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altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
Well done. FWIW 8 of the 14 BT teams are in the Top 20.
Bigtex
- DFW
More surprised by how high Louisville. I remember Denny Crum and a few good years but must have been more than a few good years
foby
- Bonnaroo Land
Pitino kept them in there most of the time. The program was all about the polls.
Battle89
- Cary-Grove, the better Trojan team
I guess they don't vacate polls, lol.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
(Not sure if this is the correct place)
Updated NET Rankings, this time just divided up by our schedule.
Quad 1: #1-30 Home, #1-50 Neutral, #1-75 Away
Quad 2: #31-75 Home, #51-100 Neutral, #76-135 Away
Quad 3: #76-160 Home, #101-200 Neutral, #136-240 Away
Quad 4: #161-353 Home, #201-353 Neutral, #241-353 Away
To summarize, winning the blue or especially green games is a golden opportunity. Losing either an orange or a red game is a huge black mark on the resume.
W vs. #290 Eastern Illinois
W vs. #105 Oakland
L vs. #8 Marquette
W vs. #291 Valparaiso
W vs. #206 Southern
W vs. #325 Western Illinois
W at #72 Rutgers
vs. #11 FAU (New York, NY)
at #16 Tennessee
vs. #135 Colgate
vs. #115 Missouri (St. Louis, MO)
vs. #299 Fairleigh Dickinson
vs. #48 Northwestern
at #4 Purdue
vs. #51 Michigan State
vs. #210 Maryland
at #89 Michigan
vs. #72 Rutgers
at #48 Northwestern
vs. #136 Indiana
at #20 Ohio State
vs. #77 Nebraska
at #51 Michigan State
vs. #89 Michigan
at #210 Maryland
at #169 Penn State
vs. #32 Iowa
vs. #158 Minnesota
at #25 Wisconsin
vs. #4 Purdue
at #32 Iowa
And just for fun, these would be the Quad categories for teams we would meet in the Big Ten Tournament, as of today:
Quad 1: #4 Purdue, #20 Ohio State, #25 Wisconsin, #32 Iowa, #48 Northwestern
Quad 2: #51 Michigan State, #72 Rutgers, #77 Nebraska, #89 Michigan
Quad 3: #136 Indiana, #158 Minnesota, #169 Penn State
Quad 4: #210 Maryland
For reference of how quickly this stuff can change (especially this early), Iowa dropped from #25 to #32 after losing to Purdue yesterday. In other words, a home win vs. Iowa toward the end of the year was a Quad 1 win yesterday, but it is a Quad 1 win today. So, over the next month, I would be rooting for our Big Ten rivals in the following contests (NET Rankings and same color scheme used from each Big Ten team's perspective)!
Thursday 12/7
#32 Iowa at #12 Iowa State
Saturday 12/9
#25 Wisconsin at #3 Arizona
#17 Alabama vs. #4 Purdue (Toronto, Canada)
#136 Indiana vs. #33 Auburn (Atlanta, GA)
#72 Rutgers at #81 Seton Hall
Saturday 12/16
#3 Arizona vs. #4 Purdue (Indianapolis, IN)
#6 Baylor vs. #51 Michigan State (Detroit, MI)
#15 Kansas at #136 Indiana
Sunday 12/17
#77 Nebraska at #100 Kansas State
Tuesday 12/19
#89 Michigan vs. #65 Florida (Charlotte, NC)
Wednesday 12/20
#48 Northwestern vs. #99 Arizona State (Phoenix, AZ)
Friday 12/22
#210 Maryland at #101 UCLA
Saturday 12/23
#40 Mississippi State vs. #72 Rutgers (Newark, NJ)
Go Big Ten! It would also make me sleep a little better at night if Mizzou got its act together besides for Braggin' Rights ... I am expecting a tough game there, and it would objectively be a really bad loss now.
Updated NET Rankings, this time just divided up by our schedule.
Quad 1: #1-30 Home, #1-50 Neutral, #1-75 Away
Quad 2: #31-75 Home, #51-100 Neutral, #76-135 Away
Quad 3: #76-160 Home, #101-200 Neutral, #136-240 Away
Quad 4: #161-353 Home, #201-353 Neutral, #241-353 Away
To summarize, winning the blue or especially green games is a golden opportunity. Losing either an orange or a red game is a huge black mark on the resume.
W vs. #290 Eastern Illinois
W vs. #105 Oakland
L vs. #8 Marquette
W vs. #291 Valparaiso
W vs. #206 Southern
W vs. #325 Western Illinois
W at #72 Rutgers
vs. #11 FAU (New York, NY)
at #16 Tennessee
vs. #135 Colgate
vs. #115 Missouri (St. Louis, MO)
vs. #299 Fairleigh Dickinson
vs. #48 Northwestern
at #4 Purdue
vs. #51 Michigan State
vs. #210 Maryland
at #89 Michigan
vs. #72 Rutgers
at #48 Northwestern
vs. #136 Indiana
at #20 Ohio State
vs. #77 Nebraska
at #51 Michigan State
vs. #89 Michigan
at #210 Maryland
at #169 Penn State
vs. #32 Iowa
vs. #158 Minnesota
at #25 Wisconsin
vs. #4 Purdue
at #32 Iowa
And just for fun, these would be the Quad categories for teams we would meet in the Big Ten Tournament, as of today:
Quad 1: #4 Purdue, #20 Ohio State, #25 Wisconsin, #32 Iowa, #48 Northwestern
Quad 2: #51 Michigan State, #72 Rutgers, #77 Nebraska, #89 Michigan
Quad 3: #136 Indiana, #158 Minnesota, #169 Penn State
Quad 4: #210 Maryland
For reference of how quickly this stuff can change (especially this early), Iowa dropped from #25 to #32 after losing to Purdue yesterday. In other words, a home win vs. Iowa toward the end of the year was a Quad 1 win yesterday, but it is a Quad 1 win today. So, over the next month, I would be rooting for our Big Ten rivals in the following contests (NET Rankings and same color scheme used from each Big Ten team's perspective)!
Thursday 12/7
#32 Iowa at #12 Iowa State
Saturday 12/9
#25 Wisconsin at #3 Arizona
#17 Alabama vs. #4 Purdue (Toronto, Canada)
#136 Indiana vs. #33 Auburn (Atlanta, GA)
#72 Rutgers at #81 Seton Hall
Saturday 12/16
#3 Arizona vs. #4 Purdue (Indianapolis, IN)
#6 Baylor vs. #51 Michigan State (Detroit, MI)
#15 Kansas at #136 Indiana
Sunday 12/17
#77 Nebraska at #100 Kansas State
Tuesday 12/19
#89 Michigan vs. #65 Florida (Charlotte, NC)
Wednesday 12/20
#48 Northwestern vs. #99 Arizona State (Phoenix, AZ)
Friday 12/22
#210 Maryland at #101 UCLA
Saturday 12/23
#40 Mississippi State vs. #72 Rutgers (Newark, NJ)
Go Big Ten! It would also make me sleep a little better at night if Mizzou got its act together besides for Braggin' Rights ... I am expecting a tough game there, and it would objectively be a really bad loss now.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Lol. I would think at least one of those teams' ranking would go up as their SOS improves ... but not if they all keep losing. We CANNOT lose to those three, and there should be plenty of motivation to beat all three of those programs anyway, not even considering the rankings.
Sorry, but you will never convince me to root for Mizzou.
This.
It is silly to root for wins and losses from other teams to marginally improve our SOS. It will be what it will be. Only thing we can do is win games.
- Status