MBB ESPN Power Rankings

Submitted by poseidon7902 on

Typical ones at the top:  Duke, Kansas, KY, Louis, 

Big Ten chewed up 2 of the top ten spots with OSU at 11.  It Basically says Talent at MSU (ranked 9) is down this year, but it has Sad Izzo asa coach, so that counts for something.  


UM rankted 10th.  Said talent is good, Belein is a beast.  Coaching up players to be NBA talent and top B1G talent.  Should be in the running for the B1G this year.  

 

http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/11471111/…

MGoPoe

September 11th, 2014 at 11:25 AM ^

Yes I know they're supposed to evaluate based solely upon the talent each team has on roster at this time but no one has any clue whether that talent will develop or not at all.  Some teams have a good track record of development and getting their kids into the NBA (Duke, KY jelly, Kansas, etc) but I'd like to see their prediction of Butler in the top 10 a few years back when they went to back to back nat champ appearances.  TL;DR future polls suck

BursleysFinest

September 11th, 2014 at 11:37 AM ^

With so many early entries and players that spectacularly over/underperform their rankings, this is like trying to predict the 2018 Super Bowl Winner. Anything where UM shows well though I can get behind.

alum96

September 11th, 2014 at 11:47 AM ^

3 years? In college basketball? How the heck can you judge - other then the Spartans who send almost no one early to the NBA almost all these teams will have turned over 80% of their roster in 3 years.  It's basically a poll on coaches.

LSAClassOf2000

September 11th, 2014 at 11:50 AM ^

As a baseline for a future power ranking, I would take 10th given the nature of the metric. I am interested to see what TeamRankings and Massey come up with for these same numbers later in the fall. If the thinking is that it could be a dogfight in the Big Ten between Michigan, OSU and MSU, I could definitely live with that and I think we're set up well to face that challenge too. 

SysMark

September 11th, 2014 at 8:08 PM ^

It's about as good as it gets, especially compared to where we were 5 years ago - almost unbelievable.  They make a good point regarding Beilein vs Izzo - relying on Top-50 talent vs. one-and-dones makes the program more stable and consistently excellent.

Now we just need football to step up.

MichAero

September 11th, 2014 at 12:42 PM ^

I'm not an insider, so I can't see the score breakdowns for all of the teams, but because they show Duke, I'll comment on them.

Perhaps I am not giving Duke enough credit, or not factoring in the weirdness of a 68 team tournament, but it seems like they are way too inconsistent given the combination of talent and coaching that they have. I personally *think* Coach K is a good coach, but is he being over rated by his early success, talent surplus, and Blue Blood status of Duke?

ChiCityWolverine

September 11th, 2014 at 1:13 PM ^

You say that because of the two early upsets in the NCAA Tournament. They're 150-31 the last five years, roughly 30-6 each year. Tourneys seeds of 1, 1, 2, 2, 3. Won the national title in 2010. It's just been so fun to see Duke knocked out early twice in that span, but two games out of 181 shouldn't diminish that recent success.

Blue NY Gold

September 11th, 2014 at 1:28 PM ^

Unfortunately or not, I think some teams get evaluated based on "history" and then others on "what have you done for me lately".

We know where the Blue bloods fit(Duke, Kentucky, etc...). Where do we fit at this point?.... Hmmm

poseidon7902

September 11th, 2014 at 2:07 PM ^

For those not wanting to do the paywall.  Here's UM's breakdown:

 

The bar graphs reflect the average rating given by the voters for each category.

Category averages are weighted by importance to generate overall score.

 

 

Why they are here: The Wolverines have become a national player under John Beilein. He transformed this program back into one that we presume will be in the hunt for the Big Ten title.Trey Burke and Nik Stauskas weren't the most coveted of players, yet both ended up as Big Ten Players of the Year and first-round picks after their sophomore seasons. So, the current talent and at times the recruiting may look lower compared to others in the top 10, but wait at least two seasons to judge this crew. The power of the program will continue to grow. The stability should be a higher number with Beilein looking more and more like this is his last stop. The Wolverines have to be in consideration as one of the elite programs. -- Andy Katz

Dilemma: I'm not sure there's much that will stop the Wolverines in the near future. I guess it's that Beilein is 61 years old, but he appears to be getting better with age. The major concern when he took the job was whether he could recruit at a high enough level; however, he and his staff have done a tremendous job mixing in underrated guys such as Burke and Caris LeVert with top-50 players including Mitch McGaryZak IrvinDerrick Walton and Kameron Chatman-- Jeff Goodman

Pipeline: As a sophomore, small forward Irvin is ready to step up his role and become a main offensive threat for Michigan. He's polished up his jumper this offseason and has the explosiveness to dunk over defenders. Joining Irvin is Chatman, a versatile, high-skilled prospect who will impress the Wolverines fans as he gets stronger. -- Paul Biancardi

 

poseidon7902

September 11th, 2014 at 2:08 PM ^

States

 

Why they are here: The Spartans can start planning on a Hall of Fame weekend for Tom Izzo, they may just have to wait awhile. The Spartans have flirted with danger, worrying if Izzo would take an NBA job. But the overtures from Atlanta, Cleveland, Detroit and others have come and gone. Izzo has stayed and that's why the program has the stability, the power and the ability to be a Big Ten/national title contender on an annual basis. The current talent is a bit weaker than usual, but to be dismissing this season's team given the coach would be premature. The Spartans rarely win the high grades over the above-mentioned teams in recruiting, yet are there at the end in March. Michigan State's win over Kentucky in Chicago last season was a perfect example of team versus raw talent at that time. The Spartans aren't winning a title this season, but don't cancel out any of the next few. -- Andy Katz

Dilemma: There are two concerns with the Spartans and whether they can remain at an elite level. First, will Izzo leave for the NBA? Second, Michigan State has lost to the likes of Duke and Kentucky in recruiting battles, and the current level of talent in the program isn't what it has been. Izzo gets the most out of his players, but he'll need to either beat the big boys for recruits once in a while or change his philosophy. He may have to forgo trying to get the one-and-done talents, and instead focus on trying to land top-50 players. -- Jeff Goodman

Pipeline: ESPN 100 point guard Lourawls Nairn will excite the home crowd in East Lansing, Michigan, with his passion for the game and playmaking talent. Nairn possesses tremendous straight-line speed, pushing the ball in the open floor and making the Spartans run for easy baskets. Next season look for Deyonta Davis to be a dynamic frontcourt addition. He has bounce, shot-blocking and scoring skill. -- Paul Biancardi

poseidon7902

September 11th, 2014 at 2:09 PM ^

OSU

 

The bar graphs reflect the average rating given by the voters for each category.

Category averages are weighted by importance to generate overall score.

 

 

Why they are here: The Buckeyes ranked well in every category, an unsurprising result for the stable, perennially impressive program run by coach Thad Matta. Since his arrival in 2005, Matta has consistently recruited some of the nation's best talent and then put it to good use in his swarming, pressuring man-to-man defenses. The result? This once basketball-averse program is a consistent Big Ten and national title contender. With one of the best recruiting classes in the country arriving this summer (just in time to replace stalwart guard Aaron Craft), the next three years look as bright as ever. -- Eamonn Brennan

Dilemma: Was OSU's excellence from 2005-06 to 2012-13 (two No. 1 seeds, four No. 2s) the norm, or was it specific to a particular moment when the Big Ten outside of Michigan State and Wisconsin was often weak? Matta has excelled at combining early-entry-level talent with sensational defense, but a stronger conference beyond the Spartans and the Badgers -- exemplified by Michigan's dramatic resurrection -- promises to intensify an already fierce competition for the Midwest's best players. -- John Gasaway

Pipeline: This year's top-five class included a trio of players ranked in the top 30. Matta and his staff have also already locked up three players in the Class of 2015 who rank in the top 75: big man Daniel Giddens, shooter Austin Grandstaff and in-state point guard A.J. Harris. There's enough talent in the state of Ohio to make sure that the Buckeyes continue to stay stocked. -- Jeff Goodman

Generic MGoBlogger

September 11th, 2014 at 3:06 PM ^

Irvin's ready to take a bigger role (seen in Italy trip). Caris is going to be seriously good, and Walton at the point should be VERY solid as well. A lot of this upcoming season will depend on how the bigs perform. However, I think we can do something similar to last season with the depth and talent we have now. I am really looking forward to watching this guys in a couple months.