The State of the Other 22The State of College Basketball is a brand-new ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 341 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of the Final Four in a simulation of last season. For our purposes here, it gives the world's only hype-free, non-voting, computer poll of teams in the lower 22 conferences. This is the full 246-team chart (which stopped hourly updates right before the selection show), and this is a doctored, spliced recording. As of 3/16/2008, 6 p.m. ET 1. Drake (Missouri Valley), 102.66, 28-4 (15-3) There have been about five messages a day, wondering if I'd forgotten to post a final State out of shame or something. I think the index did pretty well in its first full season, mostly because it knew what it was. This never pretended to be a predictor of future events, or a measure of Tournament worthiness, it simply rewarded schools at our level that played excellent, well-rounded basketball, and would be in position to win the kinds of games. Some of these teams did just that and will in the near future, and others fell short. The State of College Basketball is a brand-new ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 341 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of the Final Four in a simulation of last season. For our purposes here, it gives the world's only hype-free, non-voting, computer poll of teams in the lower 22 conferences. This is the full 246-team chart (updated hourly), and this is a recording. As of 3/5/2008, 4 p.m. ET 1. Drake (Missouri Valley), 101.07, 25-4 (15-3) [1] Well, this will be the second-to-last State sheet we'll be digitally printing for the season. By this time next week, some of these teams will be eliminated and gone forever! But we feel pretty confident in the top 10 we have here in terms of Tournament toughness; remember that this index is a measure of well-roundedness, multi-dimensionality, and general overall solidity. That's why you see a lot of teams with one great statistical attribute, or one great scorer, down in the lower reaches. One-trick ponies don't survive March, we all know that. The State of College Basketball is a brand-new ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 341 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of the Final Four in a simulation of last season. For our purposes here, it gives the world's only hype-free, non-voting, computer poll of teams in the lower 22 conferences. This is the full 246-team chart (updated hourly), and this is a recording. As of 2/26/2008, 1 p.m. ET There was quite a bit of movement in this here index after BracketBusters weekend, with two new teams entering the top 10 and some shell-shuffling in the top five. But we have the same No. 1 for the seventh straight week, which is just nine weeks fewer than the record 16 weeks "One Sweet Day" spent atop the Billboard Hot 100. We'll be right back after the jump with a long-distance dedication to a very special walk-on. The State of College Basketball is a brand-new ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 341 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of the Final Four in a simulation of last season. For our purposes here, it gives the world's only hype-free, non-voting, computer poll of teams in the lower 22 conferences. This is the full 246-team chart (updated hourly), and this is a recording. As of 2/19/2008, 1 p.m. ET Here, then, are the 10 most likely teams from our level to go to the NCAA Tournament and win games there. If you're just joining us, our computer index rewards well-rounded play, recent momentum, road wins and all the things that matter in March. We're going to be super-pithy in this week's version, focusing on what's left to do before the conference tournaments. Drake celebrated its first Valley regular season title in 37 years, and has three conference games to go before it takes its No. 1 seed in St. Louis at Arch Madness. All three teams the Bulldogs must face have already been vanquished: 8-7 Bradley at home tonight is perhaps the toughest test (that was a one-point win on the first go-round), then a visit to Missouri State (6-9) next Tuesday and Senior Day with sad-sack Wichita (3-12). Oh, almost forgot! There's also that ginormous BracketBuster this Saturday at... The State of College Basketball is a brand-new ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 341 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of the Final Four in a simulation of last season. For our purposes here, it gives the world's only hype-free, non-voting, computer poll of teams in the lower 22 conferences. This is the full 246-team chart (updated hourly), and this is a recording. As of 2/12/2008, 3 p.m. ET 1. Drake (Missouri Valley), 107.39 22-1 (13-0) [1] Clarification is always a good thing... we've only received one hate-mail letter about the Atlantic 14 since putting up the starburst at the top of the index page (and I quote: "whut flavor crack r you smoking, a-10 isnt mid major" A: Blueberry-Banana!). Now, I think I'm able to articulate what we're doing here with The State rankings. It's not a predictive formula, it's not something to take to the sportsbook in February. Our stat-basket formula, carefully calibrated to last year's Final Four, is measuring how well-rounded teams are -- as such, we are indexing the relative ability of teams to survive in a one-and-done situation. And in March, isn't that all anybody wants to know? Which Achilles' heels might end up with spears in them? The State of College Basketball is a brand-new ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 341 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of the Final Four in a simulation of last season. For our purposes here, it gives the world's only hype-free, non-voting, computer poll of teams in the lower 22 conferences. This is the full 246-team chart (updated hourly), and this is a recording. As of 2/5/2008, 1 p.m. ET Let's put this year's Bulldogs season in Valley perspective and stark relief. Now that they've won against each of the other nine teams (and have already recorded sweeps against Creighton and Indiana State), they have broken a lot of losing streaks against a lot of teams. Coming into this year, Drake had lost to Missouri State 10 times in a row, Creighton six times, and Bradley three. And, of course, there was that 17-game drought against Southern Illinois. Get this: over the last decade, Drake has only enjoyed winning records against two MVC teams, their former cellar-mates Evansville (12-9) and Indiana State (13-8). This really is a special year. The State of College Basketball is a brand-new ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 341 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of the Final Four in a simulation of last season. For our purposes here, it gives the world's only hype-free, non-voting, computer poll of teams in the lower 22 conferences. This is the full 246-team chart (updated hourly), and this is a recording. As of 1/29/2008, 1 p.m. ET As promised last week, we've tweaked the name a bit because you don't want to be calling those people you know, that thing, and they've got half-a-point so we're just going to back the heck off, kthxbye. So we're supersized this week to fit the theme, and we'll be showing 22 instead of 20 from here on out. Oh yeah, Drake. We're running out of nice things to say about the Bulldogs since we talk about them every day, but consider this nugget. Drake has been downright gentlemanly on the court, averaging just 15.5 whistles against per game. Not fouling isn't a be-all and end-all stat, but it certainly makes good teams better. The shortlist of 20 with lower averages includes UCLA, Florida, Texas and Washington State. The State of College Basketball is a brand-new ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 341 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of the Final Four in a simulation of last season. For our purposes here, it gives the world's only hype-free, non-voting, computer poll of teams in the lower 22 conferences. This is the full 246-team chart (updated hourly), and this is a recording. As of 1/22/2008, 1 p.m. ET The Knapp Center hasn't really been a house of horrors for opponents in recent years -- Drake's had three losing season records in home games over the past decade. But they're a perfect 10-0 there, prompting opponents to ask, "is this hell?" Nope, Iowa. Drake takes to the road before a nice two-game Valley homestand. Should the Bulldogs' 15-game win streak (third longest in the nation) survive tonight against No. 5 Creighton, they will have matched their victory total from last year, and it's not even February yet. The State of College Basketball is a brand-new ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 341 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of the Final Four in a simulation of last season. For our purposes here, it gives the world's only hype-free, non-voting, computer poll of teams in the lower 22 conferences. This is the full 246-team chart (updated hourly), and this is a recording. As of 1/16/2008, 11 a.m. ET If it sounds like a duck and runs like a dog, it must be Drake! The Bulldogs assume the top spot in our index this week, and they showed their depth and poise by beating Missouri State without leading scorer Josh Young, who's out with an ankle injury. Though the team's won 13 straight games, the road to the school's first Valley title since 1971 doesn't get any easier: tough game at Bradley tonight, followed by a Saturday date at home versus... The State of College Basketball is a brand-new ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 341 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of the Final Four in a simulation of last season. For our purposes here, it gives the world's only hype-free, non-voting, computer poll of teams in the lower 22 conferences. This is a recording. As of 1/8/2008, 1 p.m. ET Legend: Rank. Team Rating (Conference), Rating, Record (Conf. Record) [Last week] I have not actually seen this team with my own eyes (something we'll fix on Jan. 24), but we're starting to get reports from people who have. Two coaches who have played the Bearkats tell me that it was the toughest game of the year, and the team's only loss remains that one-point OT drop to San Diego State. Last week, they beat former mid-major and current money-conference participant UCF at home in OT. Now the Southland season begins (Wednesday against Southeastern Louisiana), and we'll see what happens. Either way, probably a drop in this index, since SHSU won't play another team in the State's overall top 100 until that JAn. 24 game with Stephen F. Austin. The State of College Basketball is a brand-new ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 341 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of the Final Four in a simulation of last season. For our purposes here, it gives the world's only hype-free, non-voting, computer poll of teams in the lower 22 conferences. This is a recording. As of 1/2/2008, 1 p.m. ET Instead of defending our methodology and pointing out 1-1 California road trips that contain an overtime loss to a Mountain West team, instead of pointing out that you're looking at a list of well-rounded teams that are potential NCAA first-round victory candidates, instead of pointing out that teams not on this list generally have a fatal flaw (or two), we're going to go down the list this week and put the spotlight on each Top 10 team's star player. A big reason for the Bearkats' emergence as a national mid-major threat is the breakout season by a 6-1 senior named Shamir McDaniel. The San Antonio native was an unlikely candidate for breakout anything with deep role-player status for his entire career, but he's more than doubled his output with 13.7 ppg, and is shooting 15 percentage points better than last year (47.6 percent). Nine double-figure scoring games so far this season for a guy who only had 10 in his first three years combined. Not bad. The State of College Basketball is a brand-new ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 341 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of the Final Four in a simulation of last season. For our purposes here, it gives the world's only hype-free, non-voting, computer poll of teams in the lower 22 conferences. This is a recording. As of 12/27/2007, 1 p.m. ET I spent a good deal of time in my ESPN chat yesterday sifting through questions in regards to whether this index was broken or not. The formula may rely a bit too much on the RPI (13 percent), but I 'm a fan of its performance so far. It's identified stories I wouldn't have picked up on if I were relying only on the standings for guidance, and teams that rate high here have gone on to have some pretty big upset wins. The teams that are hanging around are generally balanced, solid squads that could have very real chances to win NCAA Tournament games in March. The State of College Basketball is a brand-new ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 341 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of the Final Four in a simulation of last season. For our purposes here, it gives the world's only hype-free, non-voting, computer poll of teams in the lower 22 conferences. This is a recording. As of 12/18/2007, 1 p.m. ET The Bearkats are No. 1 for the second straight week because they're a.) undefeated and b.) good. I know nobody's keeping track of the actual index numbers, but Sam State's rating slipped four points, mostly because of an efficient but too-close 54-51 win over Texas Southern, but no other team distinguished themselves enough during Finals Week to overtake them in this index. The State of College Basketball is a brand-new ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 341 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of the Final Four in a simulation of last season. For our purposes here, it gives the world's only hype-free, non-voting, computer poll of teams in the lower 22 conferences. This is a recording. As of 12/11/2007, 2 p.m. ET The Bearkats take the top spot this week because the computer loves great road performances, and dayum was that a great one on Saturday afternoon at Saint Louis. Sure, the Billikens are having a sort-out year to begin the Majerus era, but they've won six games to date and shouldn't be held to just 29 percent shooting on its home floor. And, ooooh, look! Hype! The State of College Basketball is a brand-new ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 341 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of the Final Four last season. For our purposes here, it gives the world's only hype-free, non-voting, computer poll of teams in the lower 22 conferences. This is a recording. As of 12/4/2007, 2 p.m. ET Yup, the Bulldogs are the best we have, and the numbers match the hype -- even though the overall index has been rightly short-selling Ohio State, Butler's expensive dinner on Saturday night. That kept the team's per-game performance ratings down a bit for this one, and the computer didn't like the fact they only shot 41 percent and scored a thoroughly average 1.03 points per possession. Room for improvement? Really! I know, I know, I promised to do this last week. I didn't. I'm doing it now. Welcome to the first edition of The State Of The Other 22, a weekly look at the best and hottest mids in convenient top-ten form. There is no Week 1. The State of College Basketball is a brand-new ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 341 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of the Final Four last season. For our purposes here, it gives the world's only hype-free, non-voting, computer poll of teams in the lower 22 conferences. It's updated every hour on the hour over at Basketball State, but we'll be looking at a snapshot of the ratings every Tuesday in this space over the course of the season. SID's, get your linkers fired up! (In case you've been living under a rock, or have just been looking at one of the Internet's 56 million other web pages, Basketball State is The Mid-Majority's sister site. Its beautiful, luscious, smart, basketball-loving red-headed sister, who demands you buy her a $25 dinner before you can come up to her apartment.) |
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