TrueBlue2003

January 15th, 2018 at 3:18 PM ^

but the committee and voters alike are influenced by things like how well a team is playing recently, margins of victory, injuries/changes in team composition (all things the RPI doesn't take into account), and they're not required to treat a win over the 300th best team much differently than a win over the 200th best team like the RPI does so they'll generally deviate from RPI in similar ways.

So if you did have the data I'm sure you'd see closer correlation between the rankings and the seedings than RPI and the seeding, but it's not because the committee says, oh look, the AP voters think this team is better than RPI does, maybe we should move them up the S-curve.  No.  The committee uses human judgement like the voters do and comes up with similar conclusions.

oriental andrew

January 15th, 2018 at 3:34 PM ^

to be fair, Graham Couch had Michigan ranked 12, so he's well ahead of the curve. 

Of the 15, Dickie V had us unranked. Some guy named Chris Dachille had St Mary's, Creighton, and Rhode Island (all unranked) in ahead of Michigan. 

In all, it seems Rhode Island, Creighton, FSU, St Mary's, and Nevada are the most popular unranked picks. 

Some of them are at least somewhat defensible, as St Mary's, Nevada, and Creighton are all KenPom top 25. 

The guy who picked New Mexico State, though, is just trying to be contrarian. 

http://collegepolltracker.com/basketball/team/michigan-wolverines/2017

Stay.Classy.An…

January 15th, 2018 at 12:50 PM ^

nationally or from our fanbase? I think he is definitely respected by both. Of course there are going to be some factions or both of those communities that don't really respect Coach B like they should, it is what it is. What some people forget is that Beilein teams are known for catching on late, so it never surprises me that Michigan isn't ranked or ranked very highly to start the season because Michigan often loses games it shouldn't early in the season. This could be one of Coach B's best defensive teams, you couple that with his offense and this team has scary potential.

TrueBlue2003

January 15th, 2018 at 5:35 PM ^

When we were sitting at 11-6 last year, coming off a terrible loss to Illinois and well outside of the bubble such that we were about to miss the tourney for the second time in three years (with the one year we made it a first round exit after limping in), despite having a clearly talented and experienced team, fans were justifiably unsatisfied.

Only a few of the fans on the extreme end of the unsatisfied spectrum wanted him fired, but there was a more moderate block of the fanbase (I admit to being part of this group) that felt he may be losing steam, and that while he had earned the right to go on his terms, if the current underacheivement kept up for a couple more seasons, he should probably voluntarily hang it up.

And lo, we turned it around, resumed playing great defense (like we did early in the season) and became the team our talent said we should have been. He's now killing it recruiting, and he's in the midst of another brilliant season thanks to sophomore leaps and contributing freshmen.  Given what's happened the past 365 or so days, I doubt there are many, if any, fans that want Beilien fired. 

People are allowed, and should be encouraged(!), to change their minds and opinions based on new information.

BigBlue02

January 15th, 2018 at 5:55 PM ^

There were not “only a few of the fans on the extreme end of the unsatisfied spectrum” who wanted Beilein fired last year. There were multiple threads calling for his firing to go along with multiple threads on who should be our next coach. Whenever anyone would bring up that the only Beilein team to not make the tournament since we first made it under him was a team that had the three best players go down with season ending injuries, they would be followed by people saying how he couldn’t develop big men talent and he was out of touch with recruiting and the game has passed him by. I would go so far as to say the majority of people on this board thought Beilein should be fired or retire after the year

TrueBlue2003

January 15th, 2018 at 9:14 PM ^

started by a tiny minority of the fanbase. It was literally like 3 people that started the threads (Maizen, Stringer Bell probably, and mayyybe one other one?) and a handful of people that agreed with them, with most other posters in the threads calling for reason (he's earned his time, who else is a sure upgrade, etc.).

Believe me, a few vocal people are not representative of the fanbase.  This is the internet, where the fringe/margin gets an outsized voice becase rational people aren't here wasting that kind of time. 

NittanyFan

January 15th, 2018 at 2:16 PM ^

Beilein and his teams are definitely appreciated.  They're just not always top-of-mind. 

As you said, Michigan has tended to have some slower starts.  That does play a role here.

His WVU teams --- I tend to remember the same dynamic.  

Beilein's a very good coach (obviously).  But his personality also makes him less of a "celebrity coach" versus others in the college game.  I'd say that's also plays a factor in Michigan's frequent "under-the-radar-ness."   College hoops is a sport where the coaches are often more of a star than the players .  

Blue in PA

January 15th, 2018 at 12:48 PM ^

Wow... beating a top five team after being hosed out of a win vs another top five team just days earlier would seem worth of a higher ranking.  

Oh well, it doesn't really matter yet.

 

In reply to by Blue in PA

Stay.Classy.An…

January 15th, 2018 at 12:53 PM ^

some of us are still upset about the Purdue game, but that was the right call. Whether or not a gentleman's agreement was violated is another issue. I have no problem getting on officials when they make the wrong call, this is not one of those times. The ball hit of off Matthews last before it went out of bonds, period. 

snarling wolverine

January 15th, 2018 at 1:03 PM ^

The Purdue defender didn't get all ball.  He got some of his wrist when he hit the ball.  If you want to get into what the letter of the law states, that's a foul.

If you don't want to call a foul there because "referees shouldn't decide the game," OK, but then don't call it on Mo at the other end.

And then there's the issue of the officials needing six minutes before they could decide whether the ball was off Matthews or not...

BK-bloo

January 15th, 2018 at 1:02 PM ^

the ball didn't "hit off Matthews". It was in his hands and swatted out of bounds by the defender. It didn't hit or bounce off anything else on its way out of bounds. That was a bad call.

This is irrelevant now, and we've moved on; but that remains a bad call.

CLion

January 15th, 2018 at 2:55 PM ^

The purpose of replay is not to redefine what constitutes "last touches," it's there to correct clear mistakes within the current interpretation and application of rules. It's not supposed to be CIA-level triangulation and photo study. The refs obsessed over a play to the detriment of the game flow and then decided on possession by a technicality rather than in the spirit of the play and the rules.

Look at what replay has done to the NFL and what constitutes a catch. Countless common sense catches are over turned because in super slow-mo we see the ball move 5 mircons to the left. Sports aren't science, they're games. And they should be treated as such.

ScooterTooter

January 15th, 2018 at 12:52 PM ^

Its incredible to think what this program has done since that dreadful Ohio State loss at home last year. 

I remember thinking that Beilein was lame duck coach at that point. Can't believe how things have turned around and if not for a couple of 50/50 bounces could have been even better. 

goblue16

January 15th, 2018 at 1:01 PM ^

Great win and nice to have some respect finally but we gotta focus on Maryland. They are a great team and we only had 1 and a half days to prepare. Let’s rock Crisler we gotta be loud and we gotta show up to the game. I’ll be there who else is going. Hail Beilein! Go blue!

LSAClassOf2000

January 15th, 2018 at 1:55 PM ^

I don't know that this is true - I think some consideration is given for competitive losses, even if it isn't as much as wins. I would have to believe that, come March, the committee looks at a 1-point loss to what was at the time the #5 team and sees it quasi-favorably despite the fact that it is an "L". If the committee simply saw a loss as a loss, NCAA tournaments would look a lot different, I think.