Against Ranked Teams - Basketball - after Week 1

[SWC75]

The last few years I’ve attempted to quantify team’s performances against ranked teams, (historically a big factor in decisions made about getting into playoffs) with a system that gives points to teams for the ranking of their opponents and adds or subtracts the point differential in their games, (adds in a win, subtracts in a loss). The ‘ranking’ points are 25 for playing a #1 ranked team, 24 for playing a #2 ranked team, etc., down to 1 point for playing a 25th ranked team. These points are easily computed by subtracting the ranking number from 26, (26-1 = 25; 26-25 =1, etc.). Over the course of the season, I add the points earned by each team in their games against ranked teams as a sort of standings but have always maintained that this is just one thing to look at in evaluating the team, not a final overall ranking.

WEEK 1 (11/6-11/12)
The week was full of “guarantee games”, where an over-matched opponent agrees to come to play a team clearly on another level for a generous payment. Most of the time they lose by a big score and it seemed as if these schools were in a contest to see how much they could lose by:
Arizona beat #2 Duke 78-73 = +29
James Madison beat #4 Michigan State 79-76 = +25
Brigham Young beat #17 San Diego State 74-65 = +18
Duke lost to #12 Arizona 73-78 = +9
Weber State beat #23 St. Mary’s 61-57 = +7
Wisconsin lost to #9 Tennessee 70-80 = +7
Ohio State lost to #15 Texas A&M 66-73 = +4
Loyola (Chicago) lost to #10 Florida Atlantic 62-75 = +3
Auburn lost to #20 Baylor 82-88 = Even
Yale lost to #11 Gonzaga 71-86 = Even
Northern Illinois lost to #5 Marquette 70-92 = -1
Southern Indiana lost to #4 Michigan State 51-74 = -1
Central Florida lost to #13 U of Miami 72-88 = -3
Gardner-Webb lost to #14 Arkansas 68-86 = -6
Morehead State lost to #3 Purdue 57-87 = -7
Kansas State lost to #21 Southern California 69-82 = -8
Gardner-Webb lost to #20 Baylor 62-77 = -9
Radford lost to #19 North Carolina 70-86 = -9
Rider lost to #5 Marquette 65-95 = -9
Oakland lost to #25 Illinois 53-64 = -10
Texas A&M-Commerce lost to #16 Kentucky 61-81 = -10
New Mexico lost to #23 St. Mary’s 58-72 = -11
North Dakota State lost to #8 Creighton 60-89 = -11
Manhattan lost to #1 Kansas 61-99 = -13
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi lost to #7 Houston 50-82 = -13
Dartmouth lost to #2 Duke 54-92 = -14
Lehigh lost to #19 North Carolina = -15
Cal State Fullerton lost to #17 San Diego State 57-83 = -17
North Carolina Central lost to #1 Kansas 56-99 = -18
Delaware State lost to #18 Texas 59-86 = -19
Indiana State lost to #24 Alabama 80-102 = -20
John Brown lost to #20 Baylor 70-96 = -20 (John Brown?)
Stonehill lost to #6 Connecticut 67-107 = -20
Cal State Bakersfield lost to #21 Southern California 59-85 = -21
Tennessee Tech lost to #9 Tennessee 42-80 = -21
Texas A&M-Commerce lost to #15 Texas A&M 46-78 = -21
Alcorn State lost to #14 Arkansas 59-93 = -22
LeMoyne lost to #22 Villanova 57-83 = -22
American University lost to #22 Villanova 63-90 = -23
Northern Arizona lost to #6 Connecticut 52-95 = -23
Incarnate Word lost to #18 Texas 56-88 = -24
New Jersey Inst of Technology lost to #13 U of Miami 60-101= -28
Eastern Illinois lost to #25 Illinois 50-80 = -29
Morehead State lost to #24 Alabama 73-105 = -30
New Mexico State lost to #16 Kentucky 46-86 = -30
Samford lost to #3 Purdue 45-98 = -30
Florida A&M lost to #8 Creighton 54-105 = -33
Louisiana-Monroe lost to #7 Houston 31-84 = -34
Morgan State lost to #12 Arizona 59-122 = -49
And we have a winner:
Stanislaus State lost to #23 St. Mary’s 28-107 = -79

WEEKLY CHAMPIONS
Week 1 Arizona beat #2 Duke 78-73 = +29


TOP TEN
Week 1 Arizona beat #2 Duke 78-73 = +29
Week 1 James Madison beat #4 Michigan State 79-76 = +25
Week 1 Brigham Young beat #17 San Diego State 74-65 = +18
Week 1 Duke lost to #12 Arizona 73-78 = +9
Week 1 Weber State beat #23 St. Mary’s 61-57 = +7
Week 1 Wisconsin lost to #9 Tennessee 70-80 = +7
Week 1 Ohio State lost to #15 Texas A&M 66-73 = +4
Week 1 Loyola (Chicago) lost to #10 Florida Atlantic 62-75 = +3
Week 1 Auburn lost to #20 Baylor 82-88 = Even
Week 1 Yale lost to #11 Gonzaga 71-86 = Even

The worst game so far:
Week 1 Stanislaus State lost to #23 St. Mary’s 28-107 = -79

CUMULATIVE TOP 25
Arizona +29
James Madison +25
Brigham Young +18
Duke +9
Weber State +7

Wisconsin +7
Ohio State +4
Loyola (Chicago) +3
Auburn lost to Even
Yale Even

Northern Illinois -1
Southern Indiana -1
Central Florida -3
Gardner-Webb -6
Morehead State -7

Kansas State -8
Gardner-Webb -9
Radford -9
Rider -9
Oakland -10

Texas A&M-Commerce -10
New Mexico -11
North Dakota State -11
Manhattan -13
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi -13

The worst cumulative total: Stanislaus State -79

Syracuse has yet to play a ranked team

Syracuse opponents:
Boston College
Canisius
Clemson
Colgate
Cornell
Duke +9
Florida State
Georgetown
Georgia Tech
Louisville
U of Miami
New Hampshire
North Carolina
North Carolina State
Notre Dame
Louisiana State
Niagara
Oregon
Pittsburgh
Tennessee
Virginia
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest

Possible opponents:
Chaminade
Gonzaga
Kansas
Marquette
Purdue
UCLA