BY25 Poll #8: Results are in — plus a question for our voters

[Plebe]

Number of 1st-place votes shown in parentheses:

Also receiving votes (on at least two ballots): Marquette 23, Northwestern 18, Cal Baptist 13, Stephen F. Austin 9.

The following teams appeared on only one ballot: Houston, Syracuse, Alabama, Texas, Bowling Green, Iowa, Oregon State.

Thank you to all who voted. Sixteen ballots were submitted.

 

[Lorcan]

I see that you included a question in the header, but this Boneyard voter doesn't see any questions on this subject. Is it written in invisible ink?

 

[Plebe]

I see that you included a question in the header, but this Boneyard voter doesn't see any questions on this subject. Is it written in invisible ink?

Ha it was in the oven as you typed.

 

[Lorcan]

My personal preference is in two weeks, enabling us all to take into account the wonderful chaos that conference tournaments bring. I can just see it now (Butler upsets UConn, clinches Dance Berth! Pittsburgh dashes Notre Dame's Dance Hopes, continues on dancing! Florida takes the SEC Title with Briggs Buzzer-Beater over Ole Miss!)

After the NCAA Tournament, I think that it's moot as the clear #1 has been crowned; although, it might help us to give a better idea of how conferences did given the lack of conference play this season. For example, if 4/8 Elite 8 Teams are from the Pac-12, will people stop complaining about the lack of scheduling outside the Pac-12 this season in a pandemic?

 

[triaddukefan]

Cal Baptist with 13 votes

 

[Lorcan]

Cal Baptist with 13 votes

At this point, an undefeated team deserves to be ranked IMO.

 

[triaddukefan]

At this point, an undefeated team deserves to be ranked IMO.

I've had them ranked for over two months.

 

[Plebe]

At this point, an undefeated team deserves to be ranked IMO.

But no opponents in the NET top 150.

 

[Lorcan]

But no opponents in the NET top 150.

True, but still. It's quite a story.

 

[triaddukefan]

But no opponents in the NET top 150.

 

[Plebe]

Cal Baptist with 13 votes

From only two ballots.

 

[DefenseBB]

I selected Other and want 1 poll on March 15 and one after the Tournament as we can assess whether the P5 conferences are worth their salt.

 

[Lorcan]

From only two ballots.

Don't @triaddukefan like that. I mean, hear me out. Cal Baptist beat San Diego State, who beat Air Force, who beat Denver, who beat North Dakota State, who beat Northern Iowa, who beat Creighton, who beat DePaul, who beat Kentucky, who beat Tennessee, who beat South Carolina, who beat LSU, who beat Texas A&M, who beat Arkansas, who beat UConn. Clearly, undeniable proof that they deserve to be ranked.

 

[Plebe]

True, but still. It's quite a story.

Good story, yes. But the fact is that lots of teams are undefeated if you only look at their sub-150 opponents.

Even when going out of my way to include the oft-overlooked non-p5 teams, as I tend to do, I'd sooner give one of those last spots to a team like:

• Houston, who has not only dispatched all sub-150 opponents but also has wins over NET #18 and #24, plus two wins in the 51-100 range, plus #115. Those 5 wins are far better than Cal Baptist's best win.
• Stephen F. Austin, who has 3 wins in the 101-150 range.
• Bucknell, with four wins (!) over NET #94 Lehigh.
• South Dakota, who has wins over #88 Bradley and two wins over #103 N. Dakota St
• and others could be cited here, with no sub-150 losses and at least a win or two vs. the top 150.

 

[MSGRET]

My other is one in 2 weeks after Selection Monday and the final one after the Tournament.

 

[Vowelguy]

But no opponents in the NET top 150.

And none from Quad1 or Quad2.
There are at least 48 other teams that are undefeated vs Quad 3 & 4.

 

[Vowelguy]

UConn Holds at #1, A&M Rises to #2

Connecticut maintained the #1 ranking while the Aggies of Texas A&M used a win over previous #2 So Carolina to jump from #5 to 2 in the latest Boneyard Poll by Plebetm.

Heading into the final weeks before Selection Monday, the poll saw lots of movement in the top 10. Besides UConn, only Stanford held its position in the top 10 at #3, with NC St moving up to #4 and Maryland entering the top 5 for the first time this year.

Baylor continued to roll through the Big 12 rising to #6, while So Carolina tumbled to #7 following defeats to A&M and Tennessee. Louisville and UCLA also lost, falling to #8 and #9 respectively, while Indiana soared from #16 to #10, its highest BY ranking ever.

Nine teams moved five or more spots from the previous poll. Georgia was the big riser, up 7 spots to #16. Arkansas (#12), Tennessee (#15), So Dakota St (#17), and Missouri St (#19) were other top gainers, all rising 5 spots. On the downside, Oregon plummeted 8 notches to #20. Ohio St (#15 to #22), USF (#13 to #18), and DePaul (#18 to #25) saw big declines.

Last time's #25 Northwestern fell out, replaced by Big10 rival Rutgers, which entered at #24. FGCU also debuted, in a tie at #25.

The SEC led all conferences again with six teams, followed by the BiG with five. and the PAC with 4.

-- Boneyard Newswire, All Rights Reserved

 

[GRIFFBIFF20]

 

[Lorcan]

View attachment 65166

Keep in mind, this poll was before the loss to Butler, and they barely hung on this past week.

 

[Vowelguy]

Good story, yes. But the fact is that lots of teams are undefeated if you only look at their sub-150 opponents.

Even when going out of my way to include the oft-overlooked non-p5 teams, as I tend to do, I'd sooner give one of those last spots to a team like:

• Houston, who has not only dispatched all sub-150 opponents but also has wins over NET #18 and #24, plus two wins in the 51-100 range, plus #115. Those 5 wins are far better than Cal Baptist's best win.
• Stephen F. Austin, who has 3 wins in the 101-150 range.
• Bucknell, with four wins (!) over NET #94 Lehigh.
• South Dakota, who has wins over #88 Bradley and two wins over #103 N. Dakota St
• and others could be cited here, with no sub-150 losses and at least a win or two vs. the top 150.

So much for Houston. (Lost to 7-15 Cinci).

 

[Plebe]

So much for Houston. (Lost to 7-15 Cinci).

Clearly jinxed 'em.

 

[Vowelguy]

Clearly jinxed 'em.

Hmm ... I think you need to start advocating for ND to be ranked.

 

[Plebe]

A couple things:

The question about our last poll is weighing heavily in favor of option 1 (last poll on Selection Monday), with more than three-quarters of the vote. The minority (24%) would like to have a poll after the NCAA tournament in April. (There's still time to vote or change your vote, though.)

Next, I thought I'd dig into some of the voting stats on this week's poll:

Team (points)	# ballot appearances (out of possible 16)	Average rank	High	Low
1. UConn (385)	16	1.94	1	5
2. Texas A&M (379)	16	2.31	1	5
3. Stanford (378)	16	2.37	1	4
4. NC State (355)	16	3.81	1	7
5. Maryland (323)	16	5.81	4	8
6. Baylor (313)	16	6.44	5	8
7. S. Carolina (308)	16	6.75	5	9
8. Louisville (305)	16	6.94	5	10
9. UCLA (257)	16	9.94	8	12
10. Indiana (240)	15	11.00	6	NR
11. Arizona (223)	16	12.06	9	16
12. Arkansas (205)	15	13.19	7	NR
13. Michigan (194)	16	13.87	11	19
14. Tenn. (156)	16	16.25	11	22
15. Gonzaga (138)	16	17.37	12	24
16. Georgia (124)	13	18.25	11	NR
17. S. Dak. St (123)	15	18.31	10	NR
18. S. Florida (121)	14	18.44	10	NR
19. Missouri St (114)	15	18.87	9	NR
20. Oregon (111)	15	19.06	15	NR
21. W. Virginia (88)	14	20.50	15	NR
22. Ohio St (84)	12	20.75	15	NR
23. Kentucky (74)	12	21.37	15	NR
24. Rutgers (55)	12	22.56	16	NR
25T. DePaul (36)	7	23.75	18	NR
25T. FGCU (36)	8	23.75	16	NR

 

[LETTERL]

I'm tickled that NC State got a #1 vote in the BY Top 25 poll...but I have never had NC State ranked #1 on a ballot. And the fact that the Wolfpack Women got ranked as low as #7 by someone is a signal that there is still at least one non-believer amongst the voting panel.

I guess we'll just have to let things play out. NC State can be beaten if their shots aren't falling (the same could be said for almost every team), but if NC State brings energy and effort, I like their chances of a deep run in the upcoming national tournament.