I would say Big 12 and B1G the 2 weakest of the Power 5 conferences, based on what I’ve seen. My comment was more a reaction to teams from these conferences being ranked when compared to Non Power 5 teams. Maybe my eyes are off, but other than Md or maybe Indiana I don’t see any of the B1G teams being much more competitive than, say Marquette, or maybe even Seton Hall for that matter, such as to qualify so highly for an NCAA seed. Just my opinion on eye test only.
Big 10 Quarters (merged thread)
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Listen for yourself here (20:45):
The argument begins: "I think Maryland has a great chance to be a number 1 seed." Winter-Scott then COMPARES Maryland to UConn but does not in any way say outright that UConn DOESN'T DESERVE to be a No. 1 seed. Her point was that Maryland has 1-seed credentials under this one narrow criteria.
As other posters here wrote, it's good business for ESPN to promote the Big Ten while it's on the network. But Winter-Scott is smart enough to know that UConn is a 1 seed. Hopefully you're not so insecure that you can't see that.
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Your reasoning is called. "Begging the question."
There can't be 5 number one seeds, so I by saying Maryland deserves a number one seed, logically implies one of the other 4 DOESN"T deserve it. In the same breadth, they compare Maryland and Uconn ( Not a big mental leap here) implies that Uconn is the team Maryland would replace.
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As Uconn has proved time and again, the 'strength' of a conference is not very important in the overall picture of WCBB.
What is important in my evaluation is the strength of the top of a league, whether that be 1 team, 2 teams, or more. The ACC with the addition of ND and Louisville has been a 'very strong' conference because it had two top 10 teams and a few more top 25 teams, and now NCSt has replaced a down ND. The Big10 and Big12 have generally been weak conferences with a single dominant team - not yet sold on IU or WV and OSU and TX aren't cutting it. SEC has rotated a couple of teams but with SC and MSSt/TA&M have had that multiple top 10 and a few top 25 team strength. The Pac12 has had a resurgence - the question in my mind is have the teams other than Stanford faded, or is this year just a downward blip in their upward trajectory? The next few years will tell. The Old BE with Uconn and ND/Louisville/Rutgers/WV etc. had that 2+ top 10/a few other top25 format - the AAC and new BE do not.
The reality is that most of the time (9 out 10 say) top 5 teams should beat all ranked teams outside the top 10, and should never lose to an unranked team, and if they don't play any teams in the top 10 their records are completely suspect. I would probably extend that to top 8 teams most years - this year being a little weird. This idea that playing 15 teams in the 'top 50' makes a great resume is hog wash if they haven't won games against top 10 teams. The women's game does not have an homogeneous top 50, they don't have an homogeneous top 25, they often don't have an homogeneous top 8. SOS becomes a blunt implement in such a stratified universe - it isn't great in men's sports, it is almost meaningless in women's. When looking at top ten teams in WCBB the teams should be evaluated based on huge blocks of teams - top 10, next 15, next 50, next 270 for top 25 teams, for lower ranked teams shift the blocks downward.
What is important in my evaluation is the strength of the top of a league, whether that be 1 team, 2 teams, or more. The ACC with the addition of ND and Louisville has been a 'very strong' conference because it had two top 10 teams and a few more top 25 teams, and now NCSt has replaced a down ND. The Big10 and Big12 have generally been weak conferences with a single dominant team - not yet sold on IU or WV and OSU and TX aren't cutting it. SEC has rotated a couple of teams but with SC and MSSt/TA&M have had that multiple top 10 and a few top 25 team strength. The Pac12 has had a resurgence - the question in my mind is have the teams other than Stanford faded, or is this year just a downward blip in their upward trajectory? The next few years will tell. The Old BE with Uconn and ND/Louisville/Rutgers/WV etc. had that 2+ top 10/a few other top25 format - the AAC and new BE do not.
The reality is that most of the time (9 out 10 say) top 5 teams should beat all ranked teams outside the top 10, and should never lose to an unranked team, and if they don't play any teams in the top 10 their records are completely suspect. I would probably extend that to top 8 teams most years - this year being a little weird. This idea that playing 15 teams in the 'top 50' makes a great resume is hog wash if they haven't won games against top 10 teams. The women's game does not have an homogeneous top 50, they don't have an homogeneous top 25, they often don't have an homogeneous top 8. SOS becomes a blunt implement in such a stratified universe - it isn't great in men's sports, it is almost meaningless in women's. When looking at top ten teams in WCBB the teams should be evaluated based on huge blocks of teams - top 10, next 15, next 50, next 270 for top 25 teams, for lower ranked teams shift the blocks downward.