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Okay, the polls are out and we get to see what defeating Louisville in Rupp Arena does for the Wildcats. Below, we have a table that compares the poll position of each team in the AP and Coaches Polls sorted by AP poll position.
Here is some quick analysis of the polls:
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It's interesting that Kentucky and Louisville are so close in the AP and so much farther apart in the coaches. I actually think, based on the team performances at KenPom.com, that the coaches is closer to correct than the AP.
For those who tend to be annoyed when voters place a losing team ahead of a winner, just remember that a proper poll would not consider a head-to-head matchup unless it were a tie. For the record, I think Louisville deserves to be ahead of Kentucky right now.
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I am very skeptical of Baylor's exalted poll position. While they did beat us and played Syracuse close, the narrow escape at home to a weak Northwestern St. team gives me serious doubts that they deserve to be a top 10 team.
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Is there some really good reason why Duke is a top ten team? I can't see it.
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Oregon is good. Not sure they are top ten good. They don't defend well at all.
Overall, though, I don't have many gripes about the polls this week. I think there are a few teams that may deserve to be in more than Mizzou or Gonzaga, but honestly, the case for them is just as defensible. Pittsburgh is very good, UMass may deserve to be much higher based on their record, and Colorado may be better than their ranking. But honestly, these are mere quibbles. As polls go, this is as good as any.
What do you think?
TEAM | RECORD | AP Rank | AP Points | Coaches Rank | Coaches points |
Arizona | 13-0 | 1 | 1620 | 1 | 798 |
Syracuse | 12-0 | 2 | 1550 | 2 | 762 |
Ohio State | 13-0 | 3 | 1462 | 3 | 741 |
Wisconsin | 13-0 | 4 | 1408 | 5 | 677 |
Michigan State | 11-1 | 5 | 1364 | 4 | 682 |
Oklahoma State | 11-1 | 6 | 1278 | 6 | 605 |
Duke | 10-2 | 7 | 1144 | 8 | 568 |
Wichita State | 13-0 | 8 | 1067 | 7 | 588 |
Baylor | 10-1 | 9 | 1013 | 11 | 429 |
Oregon | 12-0 | 10 | 987 | 9 | 530 |
Villanova | 11-1 | 11 | 943 | 14 | 392 |
Florida | 10-2 | 12 | 915 | 13 | 413 |
Iowa State | 11-0 | 13 | 869 | 12 | 420 |
Louisville | 11-2 | 14 | 812 | 10 | 515 |
Kentucky | 10-3 | 15 | 753 | 16 | 319 |
Kansas | 8-3 | 16 | 666 | 17 | 314 |
Connecticut | 11-1 | 17 | 647 | 15 | 340 |
Memphis | 9-2 | 18 | 625 | 18 | 268 |
North Carolina | 9-3 | 19 | 413 | 19 | 184 |
Colorado | 11-2 | 20 | 373 | 24 | 92 |
San Diego State | 10-1 | 21 | 371 | 19 | 184 |
Iowa | 11-2 | 22 | 258 | 23 | 113 |
Massachusetts | 11-1 | 23 | 160 | 22 | 137 |
Gonzaga | 11-2 | 24 | 78 | 21 | 145 |
Missouri | 11-1 | 25 | 76 | 25 | 51 |