sporting news -very preseason top 25

[Future Walk-On]

Who was better than Butler?? I can tell you that, they won. Kansas consistently underachieves. Kentucky hasn't done anything lately, the last time Villanova was in the Final Four was the same time a George Mason was there and BU was in the sweet sixteen. I'm not sure Butler was the 2nd best team in the nation, I think they might have been #1. Why is it so hard to conceive Butler, a pre-season #9 team wasn't a top tier team at the end of the season?

I agree they were a top tier team....but if they were supposed to be winning the national title game.....then none of their run would have been a big surprise....which it seemed to be

[amckillip]

I agree they were a top tier team....but if they were supposed to be winning the national title game.....then none of their run would have been a big surprise....which it seemed to be

Only to the biased media and selection committee. Top 10 ranked teams rarely find it hard to believe they're good.

[Future Walk-On]

Only to the biased media and selection committee. Top 10 ranked teams rarely find it hard to believe they're good.

Butler's best win outside the tournament was OSU at home without Evan Turner playing. They had 0 road wins outside the horizon league (besides northwestern without Coble and Ryan, and Evansville)

They beat Syracuse without Onaku and Michigan St. w/o Lucas.....they did beat Kansas state and played Duke tough....

They were surely not the 2nd best team in the nation or first.

[amckillip]

Butler's best win outside the tournament was OSU at home without Evan Turner playing. They had 0 road wins outside the horizon league (besides northwestern without Coble and Ryan, and Evansville)

They beat Syracuse without Onaku and Michigan St. w/o Lucas.....they did beat Kansas state and played Duke tough....

They were surely not the 2nd best team in the nation or first.

Excuses if you want, but Butler beat OSU, MSU, Syracuse, and K-State. Show me a team with a MORE impressive set of non-con victories. Include the NCAA tourney. Go look at Kansas' Non-con, or Syracuse's they have a worse non-con schedule by far.

BTW Butlers non-con schedule SOS: 1 (as in toughest in the nation). Bottom line, by any objective measure, Butler was better than any team in the country save Duke. By the subjective measures, they finished #2 and #3 (by the media and coaches whose opinion you seem to so highly value).

[TheAsianSensation]

Go look at Kansas' Non-con, or Syracuse's they have a worse non-con schedule by far.

Syracuse #14 non-con SoS, Kansas #30 according to what I see. For what it's worth.

And technically Butler was #2 non-con SoS, behind California, but obviously that doesn't change the argument you have.

Can't we agree that Butler was a top-10 team from last year, and that it's not any stretch to think any top-10 team can get to a championship game without "overachieving"?

[Future Walk-On]

Excuses if you want, but Butler beat OSU, MSU, Syracuse, and K-State. Show me a team with a MORE impressive set of non-con victories. Include the NCAA tourney. Go look at Kansas' Non-con, or Syracuse's they have a worse non-con schedule by far.

BTW Butlers non-con schedule SOS: 1 (as in toughest in the nation). Bottom line, by any objective measure, Butler was better than any team in the country save Duke. By the subjective measures, they finished #2 and #3 (by the media and coaches whose opinion you seem to so highly value).

I don't see this as awesome.

DAV W 73-62
11/18 @ NW W 67-54
11/21 @ EVAN W 64-60
11/26 vs. MINN L 82-73
11/27 vs. UCLA W 69-67
11/29 vs. CLEM L 70-69
12/02 @ BALL W 59-38
12/05 VALP W 84-67
12/08 vs. GTWN L 72-65
12/12 OSU W 74-66
12/19 XAV W 69-68
Lost at UAB by 10 too

going by just the NCAA tourney...and beating teams not at full strength....yeah they obv. were the 2nd best team in the country.

[amckillip]

I don't see this as awesome.

DAV W 73-62
11/18 @ NW W 67-54
11/21 @ EVAN W 64-60
11/26 vs. MINN L 82-73
11/27 vs. UCLA W 69-67
11/29 vs. CLEM L 70-69
12/02 @ BALL W 59-38
12/05 VALP W 84-67
12/08 vs. GTWN L 72-65
12/12 OSU W 74-66
12/19 XAV W 69-68
Lost at UAB by 10 too

going by just the NCAA tourney...and beating teams not at full strength....yeah they obv. were the 2nd best team in the country.

Yeah, you're right, every objective measure is wrong. SOS, the tournament, etc. Only your subjective opinion can determine if someones good, ignore results. I'll say it AGAIN. Show me one of these teams your saying is so good that had a better non-con schedule.

[Future Walk-On]

Yeah, you're right, every objective measure is wrong. SOS, the tournament, etc. Only your subjective opinion can determine if someones good, ignore results. I'll say it AGAIN. Show me one of these teams your saying is so good that had a better non-con schedule.

If Butler had the number 1 non-con then that is impossible. They also didn't run through their non con.....look at it....

why are we limiting this to better noncon schedule? i was using butlers noncon because their league is bad. all the teams i named battled through teams at butlers caliber or better in their respective leagues........

[SFP]

If Butler had the number 1 non-con then that is impossible. They also didn't run through their non con.....look at it....

why are we limiting this to better noncon schedule? i was using butlers noncon because their league is bad. all the teams i named battled through teams at butlers caliber or better in their respective leagues........

Just maybe those other conferences were just not as good as the pundits would have it. The Big East save WVU had a horrible NCAA Tourney!

[amckillip]

Just maybe those other conferences were just not as good as the pundits would have it. The Big East save WVU had a horrible NCAA Tourney!

Exactly, this thought that all those other teams were as good are better than Butler is a joke. How could they have been? The 'best; conferences had terrible showings. Look how well the Big 12 and Big East fared when it mattered... Butler was and is a top team, and will likely be again this year. The assumption these teams were better because they come from the conferences they did is not logical. If Butler played BCS football we'd be touting them as a top 5 basketball team next year.

[Future Walk-On]

Exactly, this thought that all those other teams were as good are better than Butler is a joke. How could they have been? The 'best; conferences had terrible showings. Look how well the Big 12 and Big East fared when it mattered... Butler was and is a top team, and will likely be again this year. The assumption these teams were better because they come from the conferences they did is not logical. If Butler played BCS football we'd be touting them as a top 5 basketball team next year.

i am just basing my opinion on a whole season....not one game each of these powerhouses lost to butler...

[TheAsianSensation]

If Butler played BCS football we'd be touting them as a top 5 basketball team next year.

No they wouldn't. IMO.