Who makes these polls up, anyway?
Not gonna lie, I've been busy and paying attention to not much more than the Big 12 and the big games thus far this season. So now that the holiday is upon us, I got a chance to play a little catch-up. I was looking at some of the upsets of the week and found myself asking - repeatedly - how these rankings came to be. This week some of the tops got toppled and some of the lesser programs made the most of their matchups on the hardwood.
Let's take a look at who the 'experts' suggest are the best in the nation and see just how they fared (AP/Coaches ranking).
Now the question I pose to you is this - how would you make the Top 25 more reflective of the top 25 teams? Or do you think the pollsters get the job done right?
After this week, I'm thinking that past the Top 2, the voters should be taking a closer look at the names they include.
#1 Connecticut, 10-0
Since we're still talking about the streak, we all know how the Huskies did, don't we? UConn made the #10 team look like the ... hmm ... way less than #10 team in the nation.
#2/3 Baylor, 10-1
Won 65-54 over Tennessee in a bobblehead giveaway, sellout crowd in Waco. The outfits of Mulkey and Summitt might have been a bigger hotbutton than some of the game action. Well that and the crazy blocking ability of the biggest woman on the court, Brittany Griner.
#3/2 Stanford, 6-2
The Cardinal had a week that they'd probably rather forget. First, Stanford lost to Depaul 91-71 on Thursday and then followed it up by an overtime loss to Tennessee on Sunday. Tara's quest for #800 keeps going...
#4 Duke, 11-0
Idle
#5 Xavier, 10-0
61-36 over Mississippi State in Friday's only game
#6 Tennessee, 10-2
Had a pair of Top 3 games to test the Vols. Tennessee started off the week with a loss to the Baylor Bears and followed it up with an overtime win over Stanford 82-72.
#7/8 West Virginia, 11-0
83-55 over St. Francis (PA) on Saturday
#8/7 Texas A&M, 9-1
Handled Rutgers 79-50 on Sunday
#9 UCLA, 9-0
Played Hawaii in the late game Sunday and posted a 72-44 win.
#10/11 North Carolina, 11-0
In the battle of the Carolinas the north rose again (lame, I know) and dismantled South Carolina 75-51 on Sunday.
#11/10 Ohio State, 8-2
Split a pair this week, the Buckeyes first got a 87-55 win over USC Upstate (wherever that is) and then became the bad end of a unwanted piece of history by losing to UConn in their streak-tying 88th win. Ohio State dropped the game 81-50.
#12 Oklahoma, 9-2
Posted a 67-57 loss at Arkansas on Saturday. The Sooners need Whitney Hand back. Quick.
#13 Kentucky, 8-1
84-58 over Alabama A&M
#14/17 Michigan State, 11-1
88-33 over Dartmouth on Saturday. Holy moly. 33. Takes the cake for least points by an opponent this week.
#15/14 Florida State, 9-2
Started the week with a 69-51 win over UCF on Wednesday andended it off with a stunner of a loss. The Yalies picked up the 91-85 upset over FSU on Saturday.
#16/15 Iowa, 10-1
65-54 over South Dakota State
#17/16 Notre Dame, 8-3
Idle
#18 St. John's, 11-1
One of the few teams that had multiple games this week; a 56-47 win over UCSB on Sunday and an 81-50 injury-plagued win over Southern Miss. Actually, not just injury plagued when you play the final few minutes of a game 4 on 5 due to foul outs and tap outs. How often does this happen? Not every day do you see this...
#19/22 Maryland, 10-1
79-49 over Delaware State
#20/19 Georgetown, 9-3
72-59 over Missouri State
#21/20 Iowa State, 7-2
Idle
#22/25 Depaul, 11-1
Idle
#23/NR Texas, 7-3
The Longhorns hung a pair weekend wins; first a 91-73 victory against SMU on Saturday and then an 85-59 beating of UNLV.
#24/NR Syracuse, 8-0
Idle
#25/24 Boston College, 11-0
Stayed unbeaten, taking care of UNC-Wilmington 85-55 on Sunday in their only game of the week.
NR/21 Nebraska, 8-3
I'm imagining that the coaches who had the Huskers in the poll will drop them off their lists after a rough week of two losses. First Nebraska dropped a 79-70 decision to Houston on Saturday and then lost to Marist 65-60 on Sunday.
NR/23 Green Bay, 10-1
72-48 over Evansville on Saturday
To sum it all up, for the 29 games played by the 27 teams that are ranked in the two polls, this week's results have:
Eight unbeatens
Seven losses
Five upsets
Five on hiatus