Top 25 ranking anomaly

[Old Coach]

Obviously, there have been games played since this week's rankings came out, but I find the positioning of the Big Ten leader interesting. Below is the list of BCS conference leaders and their combined average national ranking (AP/ESPN).

Big East - Syracuse - 1
SEC - Kentucky - 2
ACC - Duke - 4
Big 12 - Kansas - 7
Big 10 - Illinois - 23.5

* In the ESPN poll, there are 6 non-BCS schools ranked ahead of the Big 10 leaders.

[Da Coach]

IMO, Illinois is not the best team in the Big Ten, though they currently sit in 1st place. And I think nearly everyone would agree that the Big Ten is down significantly this year, compared to most other power conferences.
And, 4 Big Ten teams, Ohio State (ranked 6th), Michigan, Michigan State, and Indiana, are ranked higher in both rankings.

Rankings-

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/polls

[TheAsianSensation]

And I think nearly everyone would agree that the Big Ten is down significantly this year, compared to most other power conferences.

Wha?

Everything I've seen says that the Big 10 has the best depth of any conference. They're #1 in CRPI, which isn't the end-all, but they lead by a significant margin. Odds are they'll get more teams in the NCAAs than any other conference (and that includes the BEast).

A couple other conferences may be more top-heavy, though.

[LittleBrave]

IMO, Illinois is not the best team in the Big Ten, though they currently sit in 1st place. And I think nearly everyone would agree that the Big Ten is down significantly this year, compared to most other power conferences.
And, 4 Big Ten teams, Ohio State (ranked 6th), Michigan, Michigan State, and Indiana, are ranked higher in both rankings.

Rankings-
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/polls

I would agree that the elite teams in the B-10 are weaker this year.
But it's tough to get a win on the road - no matter who you're playing this season. And Iowa and Northwestern are having better seasons than expected, along with maybe U of I.

[spoon]

I would agree that the B1G is the best all-around conference this year. Ohio State, Michigan State, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Purdue, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Northwestern could all be dancing by the time all is said and done. Right now I'm just not seeing any other conferences that you could make the argument for as being clearly better than the B1G. The only thing they're missing is the powerhouse at the top of the conference, like the Big East has with Syracuse.

[amckillip]

I agree with everyone that disagrees with DC. The Big Ten is toughest conference in the nation this year. Do they have a top 1-5 team? No. Would Syracuse be undefeated in the Big Ten? Not a chance. Baylor and Kentucky would have several more losses as well. The Big Ten may not get a #1 seed, but they will be well represented in the later rounds of the NCAA tourney this year. The polls reward gaudy records, not tough opponents, so the Big Ten looks poor in the polls, but watching them play, and looking at objective measures (RPI) tells a very different story.

[amckillip]

IMO, Illinois is not the best team in the Big Ten, though they currently sit in 1st place. And I think nearly everyone would agree that the Big Ten is down significantly this year, compared to most other power conferences.
And, 4 Big Ten teams, Ohio State (ranked 6th), Michigan, Michigan State, and Indiana, are ranked higher in both rankings.

Rankings-
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/polls

Apparently not...

[Bravesfan]

IMO, Illinois is not the best team in the Big Ten, though they currently sit in 1st place. And I think nearly everyone would agree that the Big Ten is down significantly this year, compared to most other power conferences.
And, 4 Big Ten teams, Ohio State (ranked 6th), Michigan, Michigan State, and Indiana, are ranked higher in both rankings.

Rankings-
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/polls

Really? Everything I have read points to a very strong Big Ten this year. Most national pundits are projecting 7 to 9 NCAA bids. Whether that's too many of the "Big Boys" coming out of one conference is open for debate. But I would agree based on RPI and non-conference records that the Big Ten is probably the strongest conference this year, even slightly ahead of the Big East.

Perhaps the top 2 or 3 teams in the Big Ten maybe ranked slightly lower than Syracuse, Duke and a few others, and their may be no clear cut favorite in the Big Ten. But from top to bottom they seem to be the deepest this year.

[tornado]

but wasn't Indiana like ranked #7 last week - the 2nd highest ranking of any Big Ten team and yet now they can't beat anyone --
they lost again tonight to bottom dweller & last place team Nebraska and blew an 11-pt lead in the final few minutes
They have now lost 3 in a row - 2 to bottom dwellers, and are now only a game ahead of Nebraska

[TheAsianSensation]

but wasn't Indiana like ranked #7 last week - the 2nd highest ranking of any Big Ten team and yet now they can't beat anyone --
they lost again tonight to bottom dweller & last place team Nebraska and blew an 11-pt lead in the final few minutes
They have now lost 3 in a row - 2 to bottom dwellers, and are now only a game ahead of Nebraska

Everyone got carried away with Indiana a little bit, really.

I guess it probably depends how you evaluate a conference - based on the number of elite teams, they're probably behind the BEast and Big 12 IMO, but the depth is the best in the country.

[MacabreMob]

First of all, any complaining about an anomaly makes me chuckle.

2nd of all - sorry DC... too much info supports the argument that the B10 is "up" (not "down").

But maybe... maybe the B10 "has cracked the code" on the RPI. And it's just not right to use an old system as that to base an opinion.

And so this discussion will look funny in a few weeks... maybe even sooner. But hey - checking the "Projected RPI" at Jerry Palm's site gives an interesting look into the future. Which, IMO... it's like a "heat-seeking" missile... it'll miss the correct direction to the right then correct itself to the left, but miss the correct direction a little too much to the left... then correct itself to the right a little... and so like with the Projected RPI, with each game played... it gets closer and closer to being correct.

So anyway - looking ahead (and based only on games played thru yesterday).... here is what the B10 teams will look like (not including any Conf Trny games):

RPI --- team --- Conf Record

6 Mich St 13-5
10 OSU 13-5
24 UIUC 12-6
22 Mich 11-7
27 Indy 11-7
32 NWrn 10-8
44 Wisky 10-8
55 Minn 9-9
64 Purdue 9-9
159 Iowa 5-13
176 Penn St 3-15
170 Nebr 2-16

If that were true, I see 5 locks. 2 more pretty much safely in, but I'd call them on the bubble. Then the next 2 in danger of being out. Pretty clearly out. 55 and 64 in the RPI and only .500 in conference. They would need to do some damage in the conf tourney to solidify their case and need teams like Murray St to win their conf tourneys.

So the 7-9 bid conversation is kinda funny to me. Yes 5, easily. Likely 7. But anyone locking up 9 makes me chuckle.

And then before I get blasted for saying that... and being told that an RPI of 55 and 64 are solid cause they are in the B10 and they were .500... you better then be able to admit that 3 teams from the MVC are locks too. Locks ahead of those 2. Cause here's the projected RPI for the top 3 MVC teams:
25 Creighton 16-2
26 Wichita St 15-3
33 UNI 13-5

Just don't try to tell me a 9-9 Purdue with a 64 RPI is a lock when a 13-5 UNI with a 33 RPI is not. That's all.

[cpacmel]

I don't see UNI going 13-5 in the MVC. Not when they are 3-5 now. I don't think they have a 10 game winning streak in them.

[Bravesfan]

Just don't try to tell me a 9-9 Purdue with a 64 RPI is a lock when a 13-5 UNI with a 33 RPI is not. That's all.

Well, UNI won't be a lock, but not because they will be 13-5. They'll be lucky to finish .500!

[MacabreMob]

I don't see UNI going 13-5 in the MVC. Not when they are 3-5 now. I don't think they have a 10 game winning streak in them.

Well, UNI won't be a lock, but not because they will be 13-5. They'll be lucky to finish .500!

I agree cpac - doubt they go 13-5. Bfan, right...

But maybe you miss my point. Let's not pick apart negatively at UNI going 13-5.

My point was more about a 9-9 B10 team being 64 in the RPI being a lock... over someone being 35 with a decent conference record.

You gotta grasp the concept of the "heat-seeking" missile.

This will change tomorrow. With an updated RPI and an updated Projected RPI. And then - the teams STILL have to play the games.

So I am chuckling at anyone saying 9 teams from the B10 are in when they are likely throwing out someone with a decent in-conference record from a top 10 rated conference (based on RPI - hey that includes the Pac12, A10, CUSA, MtnWest AND the MVC).

Throw out UNI for name sake. Someone is gonna be #35 with a decent in-conference record in one of those conferences battling a possibly #64 team (like maybe Purdue) from the B10 that finishes 9th at 9-9.

That's all I'm trying to say.

[Old Coach]

Maybe I just have titled the thread "Big Ten Standings Anomaly". Perhaps the 5th best team in the conference has managed to sneak its way into first place.