Michigan #7 in latest AP Poll
Because no one is paying attention. They not only are only 2-4 against tournament teams, but they haven't even won many mildly impressive games outside of those two wins against Purdue and UNC. They beat Nebraska, Notre Dame and Penn State at home. That's it.
When the committee had them has a 3 seed a month ago when they did their preview, everyone thought they were insane, but it seems to be that at that point the committee was seeing MSU for what they actually are. Let's hope they have the same opinion a week from now.
is a really good point. I forgot about those "preview" seeds.
For starters, they are a talented team. Jackson Jr. and Miles Bridges have future NBA All Star potential.
Sparty shredded UNC in a early-season tournament. That is not easy to do.
Sparty has also taken care of business against less talented teams. Sparty doesn't have a loss outside of the RPI 25. That is consistency. For all the talk I've heard about a Sparty early exit, Sparty doesn't look like the type of team that will choke against a mid-major. Sparty has struggled against teams with reasonably equivalent talent. So has every other top team.
Here is another theory. All the bad that has happened at MSU this year has given members of the media a degree of sympathy for Izzo.
Well, when I said "struggled with" I was referring to the losses. Repeated close wins, especially on the road/neutral, are the mark of a good team. I don't see how Michigan can be considered a top team despite close wins against Minnesota and Iowa--indeed, Michigan was nearly upset to start the BTT. But Sparty gets graded down for close wins.
The way I see it, Sparty is was quite reasonably ranked in the top five or ten all year long.That is why kicking their ass twice felt so good.
Getting hot at the right time.
Four seed status should be a lock, and a good chance at a three seed. I do think though that there's going to have to be some upsets to give us any kind of shot at a two seed. Duke losing somewhere in the ACC tournament before the finals would be big, as would if Cincinnatti or Kansas could drop a game before making it to the finals of the Big XII or AAC tourney. I'm not banking on Gonzaga losing their tournament.
I do wonder too if we won't jump that high because the committee just doesn't want us to make that kind of quantum leap. I mean last week our range was anywhere from 5-7, with some douches thinking we were still in the 8-9 range.
i think they are key. need them to lose so we jump them. that way, xavier can go to nashville with purdue. we can go to detroit possibly with sparty.
I had to put money one way or the other I would bet that Michigan State plays at LCA.
i think they are key. need them to lose so we jump them. that way, xavier can go to nashville with purdue. we can go to detroit possibly with sparty.
Don't overthink the "quantum leap" thing. These bracket projections aren't coming from the committee. They'll do seeding last, after they spend most of this week arguing about the at-large bids... which will not include Michigan. :) Nobody is looking at Jerry Palm's February projections to make sure they don't put Michigan up too high.
Besides, it's not like that would be a difficult question to answer. "So, why did you have Michigan as a 2?" "Well, they've won 9 straight, looked great doing it, and defeated two other 2-seed-caliber teams doing it."
I don't think they'll get a 2, but it won't be because the committee is afraid to put them up that high.
I will just throw these two words out there: Jock Landale
St. Mary's beat Gonzaga once this year. Maybe Jock is itching for another victory?
national take on the Michigan/MSU game is that Michigan is just "a bad matchup" for Michigan State. I heard that from like 4 different commentators over the weekend. I was thinking "if by 'bad matchup' you mean way better than I agree."
Or is Jordan Poole the tallest 7-year-old on the planet? :)
Love his enthusiasm.
Maybe its just an attention thing. But i must admit, i find it amusing. I too love the enthusiasm and the relaxed demeanor.
He's a reminder that a lot of these players are still kids. This shit should be fun and he has fun.
the #5 seed in the NCAA that those "experts" have projected. Or, not.
For those wanting to get to the source it appears the NCAA is posting daily updates to the official "team sheets" that the committee will use to determine seeding. As of today, Michigan is the 13th sheet listed (ordered by averaging the six rating metrics used), MSU is 15th.
Michigan 13th, MSU 15th.. why does that sound familiar?
Oh, right. It's the RPI. They've apparently found a way to "validate" the RPI.
Edit: They're actually sorted by RPI, not average. See, e.g., Clemson.
Yep, you're correct. Still I think it's nice to see exactly what the committee sees (or doesn't see) when determining S-Curve.
FWIW, this looks exactly like the information available at crashingthedance.com -- same colors and everything.
at #4 in polls given the second decisive loss to Michigan Saturday. Thanks for sharing this mistersuits.
#7 in Coaches also.
MSU 5, Purdue 10, OSU 16
And yet our much higher profile football team finishes out of the Top 25.
So goes the trends of the two teams. Hoops, with its relatively low/moderate rated recruits, goes through the season like a big crescendo, getting better as it goes and peaking when it counts the most; whereas our football team starts with highly rated recruits, huge hype, beats a bunch of teams with losing records; and then hits the November Wall, with hopes dashed and expectations unfulfilled.
After 3 years, Beilein had 2 sub-.500 seasons.
GO BLUE!!!
State's rating is pure boooolshit.
We should be #1.