Against Ranked Teams (basketball) - Week 5

[SWC75]

This year I will be again charting how teams have done “against ranked teams”, which is something that always comes up at the end of the year when the arguments over who should be in the NCAA tournament start. As usual, this is not meant to end those arguments, just to give those making them something to look at in forming their opinions. This is just one thing to look at. But I think it’s a big thing.

I will again be using my “new procedure” this year. The old procedure was that I would first grant teams playing ranked teams a certain number of points based on who they are playing. If you played the #1 team, (I use the AP- writer’s poll for continuity), you get 25 points. If you are playing the #2 team, you get 24 points, etc. down to getting 1 point for playing the #25 team. I call these “schedule points”. Here’s a chart to make it simple:
1-25, 2-24, 3-23, 4-22, 5-21, 6-20, 7-19, 8-18, 9-17, 10-16, 11-15, 12-14, 13-13, 14-12, 15-11, 16-10, 17-9, 18-8, 19-7, 20-6, 21-5, 22-4, 23-3, 24-2, 25-1.
(Of course you can always just subtract the ranking from 26. That will work every time.)

Then I look at the point differential in the actual game. If you defeated the ranked team, you add the number of points you won by to the schedule points. If you lost to that team, you subtract the margin you lost by from the schedule points. (I call these ‘game’ points.) The difference is that formerly I didn’t count any deficit: if you got to zero, you got zero. This year I’m going to record negative points, too, so a team can get full ‘credit’ for a really bad performance.

WEEK 5

Purdue beat #5 Virginia 69-40 = +50 points
Ohio State beat #7 North Carolina 74-49 = +44 points
Louisville beat #4 Michigan 58-43 = +38 points
Virginia beat #7 North Carolina 56-47 = +28 points
Duke beat #11 Michigan State 87-75 = +27 points
Illinoi s lost to #3 Maryland 58-59 = +22 points
Iowa State beat #16 Seton Hall 76-66 = +20 points
Kansas beat #20 Colorado 72-58 = +20 points
Baylor beat #12 Arizona 63-58 = +19 points
Michigan State lost to #10 Duke 75-87 = +12 points
North Carolina lost to #5 Virginia 47-56 = +12 points
Gonzaga beat #22 Washington 83-76 = +11 points
Iowa lost to #4 Michigan 91-103 = +10 points
Michigan lost to #1 Louisville 43-58 = +10 points
Washington lost to #9 Gonzaga 76-83 = +10 points
Furman lost to #14 Auburn 78-81 = +9 points
Pittsburgh lost to #1 Louisville 46-64 = +7 points
Virginia Tech lost to #10 Duke 63-77 = +2 points
Alabama-Birmingham lost to #15 Memphis 57-65 = +3 points
Arizona lost to #18 Baylor 58-63 = +3 points
Rutgers lost to #11 Michigan State 65-77 = +3 points
Notre Dame lost to #3 Maryland 51-72 = -3 points
Saint Mary’s lost to #19 Dayton 68-78 = -3 points
Bradley lost to #15 Memphis 56-71 = -4 points
North Carolina lost to #6 Ohio State 49-74 = -5 points
Eastern Washington lost to #22 Washington 80-90 = -6 points
Fresno State lost to #25 Utah State 70-77 = -6 points
Loyola Marymount lost to #20 Colorado 64-76 = -6 points
Indiana lost to #17 Florida State 64-80 = -7 points
Mississippi lost to #24 Butler 58-67 = -7 points
Pennsylvania lost to #23 Villanova 69-80 = -8 points
St. Joseph’s lost to #23 Villanova 66-78 = -9 points
Clemson lost to #17 Florida State 53-72 = -10 points
San Jose State lost to #25 Utah State 59-71 = -11 points
Florida lost to #24 Butler 62-76 = -12 points
Hawaii lost to #13 Oregon 64-89 = -12 points
Penn State lost to #6 Ohio State 74-106 = -12 points
Fairleigh Dickinson lost to #8 Kentucky 52-83 = -13 points
South Dakota lost to #22 Washington 55-75 = -16 points
Texas Southern lost to #9 Gonzaga 62-101 = -22 points
Florida A&M lost to #21 Tennessee 43-72 = -24 points
Houston Baptist lost to #19 Dayton 68-99 = -24 points
Maryland-Eastern Shore lost to #18 Baylor 46-78 = -24 points

Comments: This was a week of big results, especially in the Big East-ACC challenge. Eight different teams had results that gave them 20 or more points. Purdue’s through demolition of Virginia was really shocking – maybe even moreso than the Maryland-Baltimore County upset because of the Boilermakers total dominance throughout the game. The top 3 teams are now Big Ten teams, and 4 of the top 6.

Top 25

Ohio State +85 points
Michigan +64 points
Purdue +59 points
Oregon +53 points
Duke +52 points

Michigan State +46 points
Florida State +44 points
Kansas +40 points
Louisville +38 points
Baylor +37 points

Georgetown +37 points
Iowa +35 points
Kentucky +32 points
Virginia Tech +30 points
Evansville +28 points

Tennessee +28 points
Virginia +28 points
Gonzaga +27 points
Stephen . Austin +27 points
North Carolina +26 points

Iowa State +25 points
Winthrop +24 points
Washington +23 points
Connecticut +21 points
Creighton +21 points


Syracuse has +1 point

SU’s opponents: Virginia +28, Colgate -22, Seattle none, Cornell none, Bucknell none, Oklahoma State none, Penn State -12, Iowa +35 Georgia Tech none, Georgetown +37, Oakland -11, North Florida +5, Niagara 0, Notre Dame +3, Virginia Tech +30, Virginia +28, Boston College none, Virginia Tech +30, Notre Dame +3, Pittsburgh +7, Clemson +1, Duke +52, Wake Forest -5, North Carolina State +5, Florida State +44, Louisville +38, Georgia Tech none, Pittsburgh +7, North Carolina +26, Boston College none, U of Miami +7


The worst team so far is Central Arkansas with -61 points. Don’t spend it all in one place…