2/22 Polls - Illinois #5 in AP Poll

#26      
I’m annoyed we stayed at 5, but whatever, it will sort itself out with our remaining games.

The most ridiculous thing I read, though, was the ESPN article about the rankings that said how amazing Gonzaga has done, “despite playing one of the nation's toughest schedules”.

Ummm, no. They’ve played 4 decent teams. That’s it. Even St Marys sucks this year.
 
#27      

Ransom Stoddard

Ordained Dudeist Priest
Bloomington, IL
I’m annoyed we stayed at 5, but whatever, it will sort itself out with our remaining games.

The most ridiculous thing I read, though, was the ESPN article about the rankings that said how amazing Gonzaga has done, “despite playing one of the nation's toughest schedules”.

Ummm, no. They’ve played 4 decent teams. That’s it. Even St Marys sucks this year.
Yep--Zaga's SOS is nothing special. Ours, on the other hand is #8 on KenPom, the next highest in KP's top 10 is OSU at SOS #12, Iowa @ #18, scUM @ 20, Gonzaga #96, Baylor #104.

Most difficult SOS in the country, in order from #1, are
Northwestern
PSU
Rutgers
Nebraska
Kentucky
Minnesota
IU
UI
Maryland
Purdue

Kentucky the only non-B1G on that list.
 
#28      
Agreed - if we win out against that schedule, that's a #1 team sheet. Baylor and Gonzaga could have helped themselves by rescheduling their COVID cancellation, in which case one of them would no longer be sporting a perfect record.
Was looking at kenpom.com. Gonzaga has the 96th rated SoS. Baylor has the 104th rated SoS. Illinois has the 8th rated SoS. B1G teams have 9/10 (the whole B1G is in the top 20) of the hardest schedules in college basketball. Baylor plays in a solid conference, but Gonzaga has a cupcake schedule, especially without rescheduling.

EDIT: oops Ransom Stoddard beat me to it.
 
#29      
At some point, the cancellations need to be factored in. I totally agree - the guys only control what happens on their court. Win out and put the pressure on the selection committee to reward a full body of work on the court, not games that never occurred.

The committee chair already came out and said it won't penalize teams for Covid-related pauses.
 
#32      
What you say during the season to prevent programs from hiding outbreaks versus what happens during deliberations behind closed doors are two different things.

He literally said this last week.

I am not going to assume he is lying and the first Top 16 that was released seemed to back up what he said.
 
#33      

Deleted member 186590

D
Guest
The committee chair already came out and said it won't penalize teams for Covid-related pauses.
Nor should they - not be willing to make up the games when reasonable is a whole other issue
 
#34      
Nor should they - not be willing to make up the games when reasonable is a whole other issue

Oh, absolutely. But I do think most teams are trying to work within their conference's rules to make up as many games as possible (not Michigan).
 
#35      
He literally said this last week.

I am not going to assume he is lying and the first Top 16 that was released seemed to back up what he said.
Cool story, bro.
I am assuming the NCAA will do whatever maximizes revenue and minimizes liability at any given point in time. The rest is window dressing.
 
#36      
Cool story, bro.
I am assuming the NCAA will do whatever maximizes revenue and minimizes liability at any given point in time. The rest is window dressing.
there is no question in the world about that - in this of all years, coming after last years cancellation of of March Madness
 
#37      

pruman91

Paducah, Ky
Yep--Zaga's SOS is nothing special. Ours, on the other hand is #8 on KenPom, the next highest in KP's top 10 is OSU at SOS #12, Iowa @ #18, scUM @ 20, Gonzaga #96, Baylor #104.

Most difficult SOS in the country, in order from #1, are
Northwestern
PSU
Rutgers
Nebraska
Kentucky
Minnesota
IU
UI
Maryland
Purdue

Kentucky the only non-B1G on that list.
great post and info....kudos
 
#40      

lstewart53x3

Scottsdale, Arizona
Not a big difference in perception of the program between the 4 & 5 ranking. So not too concerned about it. OSU probably edges out in some voters minds with the head to head win against us.

This late in the season, all that matters is wins & where we land on selection Sunday.
 
#41      
Cool story, bro.
I am assuming the NCAA will do whatever maximizes revenue and minimizes liability at any given point in time. The rest is window dressing.

You can stick with your conspiracy theories. I'll go with what was said in at least two different interviews with The Athletic and CBSSports.com.

They are not going to punish teams for Covid pauses.
 
#42      
You can stick with your conspiracy theories. I'll go with what was said in at least two different interviews with The Athletic and CBSSports.com.

They are not going to punish teams for Covid pauses.
They won't punish them for COVID pauses and they shouldn't punish them for COVID pauses. This is the year of the asterisk. Rules that might have made sense in normal times do not make sense now. You cannot punish teams for not playing, even if you suspect they are taking advantage of the system by avoiding certain games.
 
#43      

JFGsCoffeeMug

BU:1 Trash cans:0
Chicago
They won't punish them for COVID pauses and they shouldn't punish them for COVID pauses. This is the year of the asterisk. Rules that might have made sense in normal times do not make sense now. You cannot punish teams for not playing, even if you suspect they are taking advantage of the system by avoiding certain games.
The razor's edge they need to try and navigate is not only how do they avoid punishing teams for COVID pauses, but how do they avoid rewarding teams for COVID pauses. That's the challenge here. Need to consider both sides of that equation.
 
#44      
The razor's edge they need to try and navigate is not only how they avoid punishing teams for COVID pauses, but how do they avoid rewarding teams for COVID pauses. That's the challenge here. Need to consider both sides of that equation.
Don't disagree, but given the relative stakes (unfairness in sports competition vs. danger of encouraging the spread of Covid and potential litigation and PR nightmare) they are going to err on the side of eliminating any incentive for risky behavior. If there is any potential advantage to "risking it" (or any disadvantage to being cautious) then some team is going to do exactly that and I think that is what the NCAA and conferences are trying to avoid above all else.
 
#46      
Don't disagree, but given the relative stakes (unfairness in sports competition vs. danger of encouraging the spread of Covid and potential litigation and PR nightmare) they are going to err on the side of eliminating any incentive for risky behavior. If there is any potential advantage to "risking it" (or any disadvantage to being cautious) then some team is going to do exactly that and I think that is what the NCAA and conferences are trying to avoid above all else.
This is pretty much what I'm saying. There's no way in heck the NCAA would ever -publicly- take the position that a pause would affect seeding. Do I think the selection committee will privately have to take a good long look at whether Baylor (or even Michigan) still deserves a #1 seed if they (almost 100% certainly) manage to dodge more than half of their ranked matchups this year and teams like IL/OSU are knocking at the door? Absolutely. At the end, all we can do at this point is try to win out and put the onus on the committee.
You can stick with your conspiracy theories. I'll go with what was said in at least two different interviews with The Athletic and CBSSports.com.

They are not going to punish teams for Covid pauses.
Conspiracy theories? The NCAA will do what benefits the NCAA. That's not a conspiracy theory, that's a fact.
 
#47      
This is pretty much what I'm saying. There's no way in heck the NCAA would ever -publicly- take the position that a pause would affect seeding. Do I think the selection committee will privately have to take a good long look at whether Baylor (or even Michigan) still deserves a #1 seed if they (almost 100% certainly) manage to dodge more than half of their ranked matchups this year and teams like IL/OSU are knocking at the door? Absolutely. At the end, all we can do at this point is try to win out and put the onus on the committee.

Conspiracy theories? The NCAA will do what benefits the NCAA. That's not a conspiracy theory, that's a fact.

I mean, the committee announced their top 16 seeds. Michigan was not penalized.

So if you are going to continue to ignore facts that are staring you right in the face, yes, you are hanging onto conspiracy theories.

Literally everything you are saying is in direct opposition to what the committee has said and done thus far.
 
#48      
I mean, the committee announced their top 16 seeds. Michigan was not penalized.

So if you are going to continue to ignore facts that are staring you right in the face, yes, you are hanging onto conspiracy theories.

Literally everything you are saying is in direct opposition to what the committee has said and done thus far.
Over It Ugh GIF

Ok, buddy. This is redux of every other conversation I've seen you get involved in on here. Enjoy yourself.
 
#49      
Rankings mean squat, they are nice, but that's about it. When I was coaching, we were ranked #1 in state several years, but never took home the title. The only ranking that matters is the one after the last game!
 
#50      

sacraig

The desert
Rankings mean squat, they are nice, but that's about it. When I was coaching, we were ranked #1 in state several years, but never took home the title. The only ranking that matters is the one after the last game!

They're the most consistent and visible expression of program strength on a year to year basis, so they don't mean nothing. Teams with little numbers by their names get more TV coverage, more pundit coverage, more writer coverage, etc. It's a very valuable thing when it comes to recruiting and fundraising.

The difference between 4 and 5 is negligible from that standpoint, though.