Michigan up to 16 in AP and Coaches Poll

Submitted by MI fan in MT on

@umhoops Michigan at 16 RT @USATODAYsports: The new USA TODAY Sports #CoachesPoll is here: http://t.co/LNaLekpxwD http://t.co/B3zFKskBZB

 

Other notables (AP--Coaches):

 

MSU        18--18

Iowa        20--19

Wisc        14--14

OSU         22--20

ISU           15--17

Duke         6--7

Arizona     3--3

 

creelymonk10

February 24th, 2014 at 12:55 PM ^

Iowa almost reminds of RR's later teams at UM. They have a great offense, wax the floor with inferior competition, but have trouble competing with the big guys. (Iowa just 2-7 vs RPI top 25 teams.)

LS And Play

February 24th, 2014 at 1:49 PM ^

I know, it seems like they lose a ton of close games to big teams. Every big game I see them play they seem to squander a late lead. I think I remember seeing Dylan at UMHoops put up a PPP chart for coming out of timeouts and out-of-bounds plays. Iowa was near or at the bottom of the Big Ten, if I recall correctly. This could have something to do with it. 

jmblue

February 24th, 2014 at 3:21 PM ^

I don't see the comparison.  All of RR's teams were bad.  The 2010 team could score, but played no defense at all, so no lead was safe, and when the offense didn't show up, it got ugly for us.

Iowa has been competitive in every game - all seven of its losses have been by single-digits, whereas almost all its wins are by double-digits. Iowa must be rank really low on KenPom's luck index.

 

Simps

February 24th, 2014 at 12:55 PM ^

How in the hell is OSU ranked near where MSU is? That seems a bit off. Not that the rankings matter that much, but it seems to me that they have no idea what to do with the B1G teams. 

Franz Schubert

February 24th, 2014 at 1:07 PM ^

They have only 4 wins against the RPI top 50 and 2 of them are against North Dakota St.,and Minnesota. What's really puzzling is its not just the polls but Kenpom and the RPI index have them ranked around the same as Michigan which has 9 top 50 RPI wins.

Simps

February 24th, 2014 at 1:11 PM ^

Yeah that is odd. Not that it's everything, but they also don't pass the eye test. They don't look like anything near a top 25 team. Maybe it was just because I watched them lose at home to Penn State but I just don't see anyone that is going to get them through the first weekend of March madness. 

mackbru

February 24th, 2014 at 12:59 PM ^

Interesting that the B10, which is said to be the country's best league, has no teams in the top dozen. It is a very strong league, especially top to bottom. And, yes, parity tends to whittle away at W-L records. But I can't help wondering whether the B10 really has the best top-end talent. Other leagues have some great top-end talent, too.

MichiganG

February 25th, 2014 at 9:20 AM ^

I think you're hitting on exactly what the analysts are talking about, though. Best league doesn't mean has the best teams; it means the league itself is the deepest top-to-bottom. Which doean't mean the B1G doesn't have great teams, of course, but calling it the best is usually just a way of saying there are more competitive teams in the league than in others.

Saint_in_Blue

February 24th, 2014 at 1:02 PM ^

Unfortunately I think even if Michigan wins out, wins the B1G regular season AND wins the B1G tourny their ceiling looks like a fringe top 10 finish and a #3 seed in the Big Dance. Anyone else see this as an issue?!?

turd ferguson

February 24th, 2014 at 1:08 PM ^

I neither see it as an issue nor as true.  If we win our next seven games and are outright regular season champions and tournament champions of arguably the toughest conference in the country, I'd be shocked if we aren't a 2-seed.  Many teams in front of us still have losses left in them.

Even if we were somehow a 3-seed in that scenario, I'm not sure it matters much.  The difference between being a low 2-seed and high 3-seed is probably really minimal.

Franz Schubert

February 24th, 2014 at 1:11 PM ^

Michigan is a 3 seed right now. The rankings are not the whole picture as the selection commitee loves road wins and UM has as good a resume of road wins as anyone in the country. We also have 9 top 50 RPI wins which is the 2nd best in the country behind Kansas.

1989 UM GRAD

February 24th, 2014 at 1:17 PM ^

We are getting it. We are the top-ranked seven-loss team in the country and ranked ahead of many other major conference teams with fewer losses. Based on our season so far, #16 seems about right.



If we win out we will be top ten going in to the BTT. If we win the BTT, we will be knocking on the door of top five.

TheVictors5

February 24th, 2014 at 1:15 PM ^

If Michigan wins out and wins the B1G title outright would UM be up for a #1 seed? Being that the B1G is the best league in NCAAB how could you not give the champs a #1 seed...I honestly see us as a #2 seed if we win outright. But if we also win the B1G tourney I dont see how UM doesn't deserve a #1 seed.

bluesalt

February 24th, 2014 at 1:38 PM ^

Not impossible, but a lot of it is out of michigan's control. If Kansas runs the table, shouldn't they be a 1-seed? Same with Florida, Zona, and Syracuse or Duke, and some of those probably don't have to win out. And then you have Wichita State, who has to be a #1 seed if they haven't lost since last year's Final Four.



The last few weeks of the college basketball season are always crazy, but we're behind several teams in pecking order for a #1 seed, and rightfully so. I do think winning out guarantees a 2 seed at worst.

michelin

February 24th, 2014 at 2:04 PM ^

per  one computer poll.  Sagarin also has our SOS in a virtual tie with Kansas (if you round up to integer values).  That said, Kansas has slightly tougher games remaining than we do; so, I doubt we will overtake them in SOS ratings at the end of the regular season.  And since they are already ranked higher than UM overall--considering both WL and SOS-- that advantage will grow if both teams win out. 

Nevertheless, our SOS is outstanding.  Also, in our overall rankings--considering both WL and SOS--most computer polls now have us between #10 and #14.  So, clearly, we should be ranked higher than we are now ranked in the human polls.  If we win out, we should have at least a #2 seed.  But who really cares?  Last year, we were a #4 seed in the NCAA's (and a #5 seed in the B1G tourney). But we ended up among the top two teams in the nation.

Blue Since B.C.

February 24th, 2014 at 1:31 PM ^

My favorite thing about the new poll is Villanova sitting right above Crieghton, just hating the fact that it's giving the Blue Jays more motivation to beat them by 20/30 + in the conference tourney for the third time this year.

Also, I think Michigan's # is about right...maybe 1 spot too low, given that San Diego State hasn't looked great lately.

LSAClassOf2000

February 24th, 2014 at 1:38 PM ^

The distribution of the AP votes for Michigan is now available - 

#10 - 1 vote

#13 - 3 votes

#14 - 5 votes

#15 - 17 votes

#16 - 15 votes

#17 - 14 votes

#18 - 6 votes

#19 - 3 votes

#20 - 1 vote

One person appeared to not turn in a ballot. I think it is the same guy as every other week too. 

allintime23

February 24th, 2014 at 1:48 PM ^

Amazingly shitty as far as the big tens concerned and I couldn't care one bit. I've been high on our team all year and rankings really didn't ever matter. Finish strong boys. Go Blue!

GRFS11

February 24th, 2014 at 1:53 PM ^

Toughest games left for other 3 seeds:

Wisco at Nebraska (3/9)

MSU vs. Iowa (3/6) and at OSU (3/9)

Iowa St at KSU (3/1)

SDSU at UNLV (3/5) and vs. New Mexico (3/8)

 

Toughest games left for other 4 seeds:

Cincinatti at UConn (3/1) and vs. Memphis (3/6)

UVA vs. Syracuse (3/1)

Saint Louis at VCU (3/1) and at UMass (3/8)

 

Conclusion:  there are lots of chances that Michigan can have help either solidifying a 4 seed or moving up to a 3 seed, provided we win our next four games.  Every other 3 and 4 seed has at least one other "hard" game left (if you consider @Nebraska "hard" now), compared to our schedule.  This is not to say, of course, that we will win our 4 games easily, especially on the road.  But, it's favorable, nonetheless.

MGoBlueFan90

February 24th, 2014 at 2:03 PM ^

I like it. 16 is definitely a good spot for us, and I still think a 3 is very nice as well for the Ncaa tournament. Been pretty fun year to watch, despite McGary's injury.

Blue Ballers

February 25th, 2014 at 10:37 AM ^

Hopefully they end up a 2 or 3, gives them an extra game before playing the 1, although it doesn't seem like there is much differences between the top 15-20 teams this year.