Final Rankings Out- Connecticut #3

[Fairfield Fan]

#1 is South Carolina.

#2 is Mississippi State

#3 Us

It shows that Connecticut was 17-1 against teams either ranked in the Top 25 or receiving votes in the last poll.

I'm guessing that the top three are going to show up unchanged in the first pre-season poll for 17/18.

- NYTimes.com

 

[johnnyc]

Yes South Carolina now should be #1 until they lose.

 

[Centerstream]

I don't think that MissSt will be ranked #2... I am guessing that most people who vote for the different rankings will agree that their upset of the real #1 team in the nation was a fluke. I am not saying that they didn't deserve their Final Four win just saying they aren't the second best team in the nation.

 

[Vowelguy]

Yes South Carolina now should be #1 until they lose.

So expectations for next year should be based on last year's players.

 

[EricLA]

I don't think that MissSt will be ranked #2... I am guessing that most people who vote for the different rankings will agree that their upset of the real #1 team in the nation was a fluke. I am not saying that they didn't deserve their Final Four win just saying they aren't the second best team in the nation.

Correct. It makes little sense to base rankings for next season on what was done the previous season. Graduations, transfers, incoming freshmen, or other players eligible next year will change the landscape for next season. Basing preseason rankings on what happened the previous year is inaccurate at best, and lazy at worst. UCONN, for example, started this season at #3 (AP poll) in spite of winning the 4 previous NC's.

 

[Vowelguy]

Correct. It makes little sense to base rankings for next season on what was done the previous season. Graduations, transfers, incoming freshmen, or other players eligible next year will change the landscape for next season. Basing preseason rankings on what happened the previous year is inaccurate at best, and lazy at worst. UCONN, for example, started this season at #3 (AP poll) in spite of winning the 4 previous NC's.

But eric, don't you understand that Notre Dame should've been ranked #1 in preseason 2001-02? Never mind that Ruth Riley, Niele Ivey, Kelley Siemon had graduated (70+% of points, RBs, and assists), they should've been #1, well, just because.

 

[Centerstream]

I think next season only one team will have 3 All Americans returning, so...

 

[BroadwayVa]

#1 is South Carolina.

#2 is Mississippi State

#3 Us

It shows that Connecticut was 17-1 against teams either ranked in the Top 25 or receiving votes in the last poll.

I'm guessing that the top three are going to show up unchanged in the first pre-season poll for 17/18.

- NYTimes.com

No complaints thats way the games played out---the proof is in the winning and losing. Unfortunately.
However --the first poll should also acknowledge the ending rankings--

 

[BroadwayVa]

I don't think that MissSt will be ranked #2... I am guessing that most people who vote for the different rankings will agree that their upset of the real #1 team in the nation was a fluke. I am not saying that they didn't deserve their Final Four win just saying they aren't the second best team in the nation.

Miss st--in my less than humble opinion/observation--beating Uconn was no fluke---there are a thousand theories of what happened to Napheesa, Gabby (a bit less) , Saniya and to a lesser extent KLS--My personal belief is Uconn lost the game on the boards-. Some of what happened resulted from Miss St 's game plan and D
Some was self inflicted--the end results Miss St by 2 says all there is to say. You can argue they aren't 2, but because they beat Uconn, then USC beat them (but not with out a struggle for 30 minutes) 1 beat 2, 2 beat 3, ---to carry this out where does Stanford fit?? they too were beaten by number one---are they one and a half?? If Miss st beat USC--would Stanford be number 3??? This kind of screws up my 1,2,3 theory.
Emotionally I agree with you---but ---

 

[bags27]

Of course, that's silly. I greatly respect Miss State: earlier in the season I thought they were the best team in the country.

But these rankings are based on the last 3 games played. I'd like to see what the rankings would be if they played those games over again. Not being a sore loser. And not trying to relitigate the rankings. Just saying that they are silly, even if they sort of make sense, if you know what I mean.

 

[noirwestern]

Meaningless numbers for the sake of having something to write down. Let them have their time on the stage and then let next season's play decide who is really #1.

 

[Centerstream]

Miss st--in my less than humble opinion/observation--beating Uconn was no fluke---there are a thousand theories of what happened to Napheesa, Gabby (a bit less) , Saniya and to a lesser extent KLS--My personal belief is Uconn lost the game on the boards-. Some of what happened resulted from Miss St 's game plan and D
Some was self inflicted--the end results Miss St by 2 says all there is to say. You can argue they aren't 2, but because they beat Uconn, then USC beat them (but not with out a struggle for 30 minutes) 1 beat 2, 2 beat 3, ---to carry this out where does Stanford fit?? they too were beaten by number one---are they one and a half?? If Miss st beat USC--would Stanford be number 3??? This kind of screws up my 1,2,3 theory.
Emotionally I agree with you---but --

My post was referring to the next season ranking offered in the initial thread post by Fairfield Fan.

 

[BroadwayVa]

My post was referring to the next season ranking offered in the initial thread post by Fairfield Fan.

As was I---my 1, 2, 3 for the initial polls reflects (as stated in my posting) the end of this year's --shake out of winners and loser's .
After the initial rankings---the poll will then reflect Next Years season winners/losers as it progresses--like ever other season--
The final shake out of this year is as it is--
Can't pick winners and losers too much in advance of them winning and losing--it's circular guessing that ends in the circular file

 

[MilfordHusky]

UConn got some 2nd place votes.

SC should be 1 or 2 in the preseason polls. I haven't seen any announcements by Gray or Davis about the WNBA. If either leaves, I don't think SC will be 1.

 

[chrissaran]

Did I miss something? Mississippi St. beat Notre Dame, Baylor, Maryland, South Carolina, Florida St., Texas, Ohio St., and DePaul, not to mention UCLA and Oregon. UConn deserves to be #2. Miss. St. beat them one time. Would bet on UConn the other 9.

 

[easttexastrash]

Does any ranking really count other than #1. Everybody other than SC lost the last game so who cares if you are ranked #2 or #22? Who is to decide whose last loss is worse or better than someone else's last loss?

 

[01Neaggrad02]

Yes South Carolina now should be #1 until they lose.

Why? We started the season off #3 this year and we won the title the year before.

 

[Plebe]

I think this is the only place on the Internet that cares a lick about end-of-season rankings.

 

[willtalk]

Is it a law that the winner of the NCAA tournament has to be labeled the best team in the country. Now logically they just won the tournament. It is possible for a dark horse to have double digit losses and put together a run and win the tournament with a bit of match up and timing luck. Would that really make them the best team in the country? To my way of thinking a single elimination tournament in a game like basketball is not a good enough indicator to make such a claim. I personally do not believe SC is the best team in the country. Or that Miss State is the second best team. To many variables involved in the game to come to such a simplistic conclusion.

 

[MilfordHusky]

The final rankings are the most meaningful, because they are the only ones that reflect the full season. Any other rankings are temporary or intermediate. Performance in the tournament has a very large impact, but both the overall record and post-season performance are factored in.

There are at least 3 ways to look at a season retrospectively. 1. Team X lost in the ____ round of the NCAAs. That gives some indication of how well they advanced and how close they were to winning it all. But it does not address whether they underachieved or overachieved in the tournament. 2. Team X finished the season ranked ____. That provides a measure of the full season's performance, with more weight given to the tourney. 3. Team X was ranked _____ at some point in the season or more most of the season. The most comprehensive measure is #2. It's the FINAL ranking that lives on in perpetuity. Because only 1 team wins the championship, the final ranking is the relevant ranking for all the other teams.