OT: Maybe it’s time to get rid of the AP Poll once and for all - Awful Announcing

[BRS24]

Maybe it's time to get rid of the AP Poll once and for all

The AP Poll made sense in 1936 but doesn't work today. Beat writers can't watch every team, yet they're asked to rank 25 programs every week.

awfulannouncing.com

I posted this in the Football forum, and there's also some truth to it for hoop.

Beat writers aren't up to speed on the top 30-ish teams, never mind all 136 of them. In addition, there are probably a bunch of relatively inexperienced writers that are poll voters, so that complicates the whole deal.

And in M&WBB polls, there's always some head scratching votes. And yes, I will homer this one up, especially when UConn teams drop significantly after a loss that isn't a huge surprise.

 

[uh-no]

but....who cares? it's not like it matters for anything other than message board vigilantes to argue about

 

[storrsroars]

It has marginally greater value than a list of the nation's top 100 pizza places, but not much more.

 

[HooperScooper]

I've seen articles that say the AP Poll at the end of the year mirrors the NCAA Tournament selections and seedings very well. So it seems the polls do a good job the further along in the season you go. The preseason polls aren't that good but not totally useless.

I think the polls serve some purpose. When a game is on TV aren't you more apt to watch if it's 2 ranked teams as opposed to a P5 game that has 2 non-ranked teams? I know I am.

 

[RuffRuff]

I've seen articles that say the AP Poll at the end of the year mirrors the NCAA Tournament selections and seedings very well. So it seems the polls do a good job the further along in the season you go. The preseason polls aren't that good but not totally useless.

I think the polls serve some purpose. When a game is on TV aren't you more apt to watch if it's 2 ranked teams as opposed to a P5 game that has 2 non-ranked teams? I know I am.

100% relevant for only marketing purposes. I'd say you can create AI at this point that could easily run a better weekly poll than a group of unaware national writers with geographical bias.

 

[ec33]

I've seen articles that say the AP Poll at the end of the year mirrors the NCAA Tournament selections and seedings very well. So it seems the polls do a good job the further along in the season you go. The preseason polls aren't that good but not totally useless.

I think the polls serve some purpose. When a game is on TV aren't you more apt to watch if it's 2 ranked teams as opposed to a P5 game that has 2 non-ranked teams? I know I am.

Or the selection committee uses the polls. The unqualified bureaucrats on the committee are not exactly more qualified than the hacks that makeup the AP poll -- which is why they fall back onto the numbers and then fudging it from there (and perhaps including being biased by the polls).

As a UConn fan, I am keenly aware that you can win titles from unfavorable seedings, so I am not all that concerned either way.

 

[RuffRuff]

Or the selection committee uses the polls. The unqualified bureaucrats on the committee are not exactly more qualified than the hacks that makeup the AP poll -- which is why they fall back onto the numbers and then fudging it from there (and perhaps including being biased by the polls).

As a UConn fan, I am keenly aware that you can win titles from unfavorable seedings, so I am not all that concerned either way.

We'll see if that continues in the portal era. 7 of the Elite 8 teams last year were 1 or 2 seeds (chalk). There is a much more defined line these days when second tier schools become feeder programs for first. I don't expect to see mid majors making the S16 much anymore.

 

[ec33]

We'll see if that continues in the portal era. 7 of the Elite 8 teams last year were 1 or 2 seeds (chalk). There is a much more defined line these days when second tier schools become feeder programs for first. I don't expect to see mid majors making the S16 much anymore.

There will still be talented teams that put it together late and make unexpected runs.

But the point was that while the seedings might help, no one will a real shot at a championship will be excluded from the competition.