AP Poll Week #13

[navery12]

So you think the BE is knocking it out of the park on the recruiting front? And you expect them to recruit like the rest of the P4?

I very clearly did not say any of that. I think they're doing fine with HS recruiting and will continue to load up from the portal like they have been

 

[Hurleyman216]

The challenge for even a top tier team is that just getting to the NC is going to require going through at least 3 plus teams to get there. The top 4 seeds in any region are going to be very good.

I'm not sure having the most 3pt shooters is the only advantage to acknowledge. Right now, one of the most telling stats of success this year is rebounding margin. AZ, Florida, UM, Duke, Illinois, all in the top 14. We're 58th.

We have really lifted our 3pt% over the last couple games, from abou 150 to 54th nationally.

You really do have to comment on every post? While you have an opinion on this, the reality is 3 point shooting wins championships. The statistics bear it out as well. If we get high quality 3 point looks and make them, we are going to win against a team that barely shoots 3 pointers (Arizona) even if they outrebound us by 8-10. Our offense struggled in January, but we’ve seen the last 2 games what our offense can and has looked like the past few years. My personal eye test last night and at Creighton says if we shoot like that and defend like we have been no one is going to beat us in the tournament.

 

[FreeDogs]

Oh goodness please expound

Everything in this sport is about money and no matter how you break down the argument it connects to money in some way.

 

[FightOnCT]

That season isn't happening again - was the year of the old players, last COVID year. Auburn may have had the all time oldest college team of all time. It was the same reason the BE had some starpower left.

Having high end talent matters. Sure, someone may find the next Keaton Wagler, but your chances of landing difference making talent usually starts with recruiting in the top 50 or so. Shaka is always sniffing around in the 75-150 range, but he's been missing more than he's been winning lately.

This season is also an outlier with how many absurdly talented freshman there are. There are 3 guys that people for months argued which should go #1 pick.

 

[upstater]

I was not doing a side by side comparison with Gonzaga. Or the NBE and WCC More of an example of the relationship between top teams and the rest of their conferences. There is one major national player. One borderline one and them a bunch of mediocre to bad ones. On a relative basis it fair to say we are better than Gonzaga, though it is close and could change year to year, St John’s is better than St Mary’s. But that wasn’t the point.

Gonzaga lost to a horrendous Portland team tonight

 

[Mokum]

Next year we should schedule games against Gonzaga and Duke in January and February. They both need them like us

I agree. A couple of signature non conference games after the conference schedule begins, instead of all of those games in November and December. And more of them, because I think the Big East is regretfully on the way down and will never be what it once was. UConn will own the league like Gonzaga in the WCC. I hope that we eventually can join the ACC or the Big 12.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Everything in this sport is about money and no matter how you break down the argument it connects to money in some way.

Explain how “money” resulted in UM and UConn swapping #2 and #3 rankings in the AP and Coaches polls.

 

[Iluvsuebird]

What if Michigan's only loss was to #1 Arizona while our loss was to Seton Hall?

It does not change the week they had. Beating two top 10 teams, one of them on the road, trumps what we had done up that week. Now, things change, right? More information comes in. We trounced two teams. If we make it 3 dominant victories in a row, two of them on the road and one of them against a top 25 team, then you are building a better argument to return to 2. But it does not matter: Those teams might have peaked early. We are peaking at the right time. And remember, we have institutional memory regarding winning titles. Arizona does not. Michigan does not, at least not in the lifetime of their current players.

 

[RuffRuff]

It does not change the week they had. Beating two top 10 teams, one of them on the road, trumps what we had done up that week. Now, things change, right? More information comes in. We trounced two teams. If we make it 3 dominant victories in a row, two of them on the road and one of them against a top 25 team, then you are building a better argument to return to 2. But it does not matter: Those teams might have peaked early. We are peaking at the right time. And remember, we have institutional memory regarding winning titles. Arizona does not. Michigan does not, at least not in the lifetime of their current players.

Would be interesting if we put a solid whooping on StJ if they would put us back at 2.

 

[FreeDogs]

Explain how “money” resulted in UM and UConn swapping #2 and #3 rankings in the AP and Coaches polls.

Michigan has more money to pay players and Michigan has more money as a member of the Big Ten, both allowing to schedule a stronger schedule to include withing league play. We all agree they have a stronger schedule as late and their performance in that time, backed by money, has been stronger than ours and led to the move up over us.

Everything comes back to money in this sport.

 

[upstater]

It does not change the week they had. Beating two top 10 teams, one of them on the road, trumps what we had done up that week. Now, things change, right? More information comes in. We trounced two teams. If we make it 3 dominant victories in a row, two of them on the road and one of them against a top 25 team, then you are building a better argument to return to 2. But it does not matter: Those teams might have peaked early. We are peaking at the right time. And remember, we have institutional memory regarding winning titles. Arizona does not. Michigan does not, at least not in the lifetime of their current players.

So, a bad loss gets forgotten? I mean, it's a vote for the season you've had, not what you did in the week

 

[Rocktheworld]

Michigan has more money to pay players and Michigan has more money as a member of the Big Ten, both allowing to schedule a stronger schedule to include withing league play. We all agree they have a stronger schedule as late and their performance in that time, backed by money, has been stronger than ours and led to the move up over us.

Everything comes back to money in this sport.

I can now appreciate your point. Feel free to be this direct and complete in expressing your thoughts —or at least a bit less nebulous than “$$$$$$$”— in the future

 

[FreeDogs]

I can now appreciate your point. Feel free to be this direct and complete in expressing your thoughts —or at least a bit less nebulous than “$$$$$$$”— in the future

Will do. I was having a bad brain day when I responded so I can understand now how I left it nebulous.

By bad brain day I am referring to a medical thing, not that I wasn't thinking through what I was saying.