Give me the BEST 16 teams in the country

[Arizona_Sting]

That's your opinion but RPI has Illinois at 12th and both the AP has them top 25 as well. They beat a 21rst ranked/undefeated Missouri team on the road. Also, with the Big Ten being the best conference in the Nation you know at least 7 teams will make the tournament and Illinois is definately a top 7 Big Ten team. Again, based on pure statistics UW is the #1 team in the Nation but preseason rankings is the only way I can see somebody not having them as #1 right now.

Arizona beat SDSU (much better team than Illinois) in a true road game earlier in the year. Michigan on the road and Duke on a neutral court. Wisconsin is good and worthy of a top 3 ranking but their resume isn't any better than Zona's.

 

[Great Dayne]

Sorry, if you disagree with the stats my friend.

 

[Great Dayne]

Arizona beat SDSU (much better team than Illinois) in a true road game earlier in the year. Michigan on the road and Duke on a neutral court. Wisconsin is good and worthy of a top 3 ranking but their resume isn't any better than Zona's.

NCAA College Basketball BPI Rankings - ESPN

 

[TrollyMcTroller]

Badgers definitely sufficiently demonstrated why they're are deserving of the top ranking in the human polls (at the very least a single vote) after a 25 pt blowout vs a top 25 team. According to SOS, wins and location played without the preseason ranking biases this is how the top 5 should look
1.) Wisconsin
2.) Iowa St.
3.) Cuse
4.) AZ
5.) MSU

I'd rather see a 5 point win over a Top 5 team than a 25 point win over a top 25 team. Blowing out a questionable top 25 team at home isn't that big of a deal.

I don't really have an issue with claiming that you think that Wisky is #1. They're certainly in the conversation, but I don't think you can make any definitive claim to the #1 spot.

If it was as definitive as you say, then Wisconsin will be ranked #1 on Monday. Somehow I doubt that will actually happen.

 

[mr.hockey4242]

That's your opinion but RPI has Illinois at 12th and both the AP has them top 25 as well. They beat a 21rst ranked/undefeated Missouri team on the road. Also, with the Big Ten being the best conference in the Nation you know at least 7 teams will make the tournament and Illinois is definately a top 7 Big Ten team. Again, based on pure statistics UW is the #1 team in the Nation but preseason rankings is the only way I can see somebody not having them as #1 right now.

RPI doesn't tell you the talent level of the team lol.

At this point all it means is they didn't play extreme cupcakes.

Sorry but beating Mizzou who also hasn't looked good isn't much.

If you are boasting a Illinois win you are reaching. Big time. Honestly the win over Florida even without half their team is still more impressive.

 

[Arizona_Sting]

Can't argue with people that don't know what they're talking about. Sorry GD.

 

[Great Dayne]

RPI doesn't tell you the talent level of the team lol.

At this point all it means is they didn't play extreme cupcakes.

Sorry but beating Mizzou who also hasn't looked good isn't much.

If you are boasting a Illinois win you are reaching. Big time. Honestly the win over Florida even without half their team is still more impressive.

This sounds like a load of excuses for their wins which I can do for any other teams best victories as well. The fact of the matter is of the teams with the unblemished records, Wisconsin has the most difficult SOS.

 

[TrollyMcTroller]

I'd like to point out that SoS is NOT indicative of quality wins. It's an AVERAGE. You could have a good SoS without playing a single quality opponent, and you can have a terrible SoS even with multiple quality wins.

If you consider blowing out an iffy Top 25 team at home to be better than a solid win against a Top 15 team on the road, well you're entitled to your opinion, but you have to understand that not everyone agrees with that.

Also worth noting that SDSU is a top 15 team since losing to AZ. Even if Illinois beats NW by 100 they won't still be ranked in the Top 25 next week.

 

[mr.hockey4242]

This sounds like a load of excuses for their wins which I can do for any other teams best victories as well. The fact of the matter is of the teams with the unblemished records, Wisconsin has the most difficult SOS.

What's an excuse? You are using Illinois as a clamoring point. They are not good. They should not have been top 25. They have done nothing to warrant it. As you have been unable to support yourself.

Iowa was 22nd and took wisco to the wire. You're trying to say Illinois is good?

Zona has the better wins right now.

Rankings don't matter anyways. Get over it.

 

[Arizona_Sting]

Illinois was never worthy of the top 25 ranking. Move along.

 

[TrollyMcTroller]

NCAA College Basketball BPI Rankings - ESPN

If you think BPI is a valid stat to reference, then you can't ignore the fact that Arizona (and Iowa St.) are ranked AHEAD of Wisconsin.

If you believe the BPI is valid, then Arizona is better than Wisconsin. If you don't think their ranking of Arizona is valid, you can't cite them as a source for SoS. The two are inextricably connected.

Sorry if your own stats disagree with what you're claiming.

 

[Great Dayne]

What's an excuse? You are using Illinois as a clamoring point. They are not good. They should not have been top 25. They have done nothing to warrant it. As you have been unable to support yourself.

Iowa was 22nd and took wisco to the wire. You're trying to say Illinois is good?

Zona has the better wins right now.

Rankings don't matter anyways. Get over it.

One win superior to our best win doesn't make their resume more impressive than ours. That's why the Badgers have a superior SOS and more wins vs top 100, top 50 and top 25 opponents than Cuse and AZ right now.

I can easily say the only reason Duke is even ranked is due to preseason rankings, Michigan was terrible early in the season and were winning for the entire game until the end. Mich has 4 L's and Duke has 3.

 

[mr.hockey4242]

One win superior to our best win doesn't make their resume more impressive than ours. That's why the Badgers have a superior SOS and more wins vs top 100, top 50 and top 25 opponents than Cuse and AZ right now.

I can easily say the only reason Duke is even ranked is due to preseason rankings, Michigan was terrible early in the season and were winning for the entire game until the end. Mich has 4 L's and Duke has 3.

Yes and Wisconsins best win was at home by 5 vs a team missing 3 of their best guys.

Arizona has 2 great true road wins and a neutral court win.

They have done nothing to warrant losing their top ranking.

 

[TrollyMcTroller]

One win superior to our best win doesn't make their resume more impressive than ours. That's why the Badgers have a superior SOS and more wins vs top 100, top 50 and top 25 opponents than Cuse and AZ right now.

I can easily say the only reason Duke is even ranked is due to preseason rankings, Michigan was terrible early in the season and were winning for the entire game until the end. Mich has 4 L's and Duke has 3.

You're right... it doesn't make their entire resume superior to Wisconsin's.

But not everyone ranks based entirely on resume. If you're looking to the human polls, then you can't ignore the "eyeball" test (also known as the only thing that really separates the human polls from the computer polls)

Right now Wisconsin might have the best claim to a #1 Seed (which is resume based) but the human polls sometimes use things like logic.

And if you're trying to figure out which team is the best, looking at the best win is a good way to do that.

But like I said. You can make a good argument for Wisconsin being #1, but it certainly won't be a bulletproof argument. It all boils down to opinions.

 

[Great Dayne]

Illinois was never worthy of the top 25 ranking. Move along.

Neither did Michigan or Duke with exception of the preseason ranking system.

UW's best 7 wins>>AZ's top 7 is the logic I'm sticking with over AZ's best win>UW. If I was an AZ fan I would be saying the same thing if the schedules were reversed. That being said I believe you guys have a better chance at ending up with the better record. After seeing Colorado face WSU I wasn't impressed. If that's your toughest test for the year then you might be lucky to have 1 or 2 L's at the very most. @ UCLA might be your most difficult opponent for the next month.

 

[mr.hockey4242]

Arizona has 3 wins better than Wisconsins best win.

Sorry but it's true. Florida at home half mast is not better than 3 wins away from home.

 

[TrollyMcTroller]

Neither did Michigan or Duke with exception of the preseason ranking system.

UW's best 7 wins>>AZ's top 7 is the logic I'm sticking with over AZ's best win>UW. If I was an AZ fan I would be saying the same thing if the schedules were reversed. That being said I believe you guys have a better chance at ending up with the better record. After seeing Colorado face WSU I wasn't impressed. If that's your toughest test for the year then you might be lucky to have 1 or 2 L's at the very most. @ UCLA might be your most difficult opponent for the next month.

While I think it is incorrect to say that Illinois was never worthy of their ranking, it's pretty clear now that Illinois isn't a top 25 team (and they obviously won't be next week)

But, claiming that Duke and Michigan didn't deserve it is just as wrong. (more so really since the BPI still has them both ranked in the Top 25)

 

[Frank Rizzo]

I can't believe you guys have been carrying on this argument for two pages. It isn't even mid January yet and the rankings really don't mean anything. I hope my team has a good enough resume to hopefully get a 1 or at least a 2 seed in the tournament. Until then I could care less where they are ranked.

 

[rmilia1]

Arizona has 3 wins better than Wisconsins best win.

Sorry but it's true. Florida at home half mast is not better than 3 wins away from home.

Arizona has 3 wins better than Iowa??? Highly doubt that. They may not even have 1 win better than Iowa.

 

[dcZONAfan]

Arizona has 3 wins better than Iowa??? Highly doubt that. They may not even have 1 win better than Iowa.

At SDSU is better than home vs Iowa. But besides that I agree with you rmilia.

Of course none of this matters, let's wait and see how we play tonight against a FUCLA team that, while inferior to us last year, still managed to sweep three against us.