So Where Does Michigan's Basketball Team Get Ranked?

Submitted by xtramelanin on November 28th, 2019 at 8:18 PM

Mates,

Our beloved MBB team was thought to be an unwanted, unranked, basketball orphan wandering in the woods since the departure of father Beilein.  Well, Juwan Howard seems to have put together a staff and game plans that were severely underrated by the experts.  We beat a solid Iowa State team last night, and thumped a highly talented (and highly paid) UNC team today.  Not only that, but we did it without the #1/#2 point guard in the B10 with the refs whistling him right off the court early in each half.

So the question today's question is pretty simple, and of course knowing that we have a game to play tomorrow against a very good Gonzaga team:

1.  Where does Michigan get ranked come Monday? 

I hope you are having a great Thanksgiving.  About to sit down to dinner here, just carved the bird. 

Go Blue, beat ohio! 

XM 

MGoBoard
Basketball

jmblue

November 28th, 2019 at 8:52 PM ^

We’re underrated by Kenpom though, because preseason projections are still factored in (which is why MSU is bizarrely still #1, and UNC is nine spots ahead of us despite today’s game).  Based on the actual 2019-20 data we might be in the top 10, and certainly top 15.

I don’t know why Pomeroy and others do it this way.  They should just let the data come in as is.  If it leads to comically weird rankings in November, that’s just part of the fun.

Joined: 11/07/2008

MGoPoints: 102852

joeyb

November 28th, 2019 at 9:40 PM ^

Kenpom isn't a resume ranking, it is a prediction tool. He keeps preseason predictions in because it makes the tool more accurate. There aren't enough datapoints this early, so removing projections can lead to really big swings in ratings, even when you didn't play. This is the exact opposite of what a predictor wants.

Joined: 10/12/2008

MGoPoints: 16845

jmblue

November 29th, 2019 at 9:54 AM ^

I get that, but in a sport with this much roster turnover from year to year, the preseason projections involve a lot of guesswork and that really shouldn’t be part of the formula.  Pomeroy could just wait a few weeks to release his rankings if he thinks the early samples are too small.

Joined: 11/07/2008

MGoPoints: 102852

Qmatic

November 28th, 2019 at 8:25 PM ^

If we beat Gonzaga and then #1 Louisville next week we honestly have the best case in the country to be #1. Not that that would happen, but we would be deserving

Joined: 01/09/2013

MGoPoints: 32780

IDKaGoodName

November 28th, 2019 at 9:42 PM ^

This is exactly what I was going to say. If there was no gonzaga game tomorrow, we have looked every part of a top 10 to top 5 team, especially when you consider the teams in the top 5-10 and the fact that half have suffered embarrassing losses, one school in particular lost twice and was beaten 3 times and scraped away a win against a choke artist. If we were ranked in the teens preseason, we would walk away from this UNC win in the discussion for top 3. If we beat Gonzaga we would 100% have the resume and video evidence to claim being the top team in the country. Sadly, despite the play being the same in any scenario, being unranked preseason (and not really within projection of the top 25) is what’s holding this back, and will require an additional few wins against solid teams, possibly even into the middle of the B1G season, before the polls catch up with that and Michigan were to take over the top spot. 

Joined: 12/17/2018

MGoPoints: 7378

Monk

November 29th, 2019 at 11:53 AM ^

I know that being a football school, fans rely on the polls for validation, but in basketball polls have zero influence on who gets in the tourney and what seed.  Realtime rpi has UM at 22, good, but Gonzaga is at 115, Oregon is the only good team they've played, the next best team is Texas-Arlington.  Gonzaga will come back to top-50 as they play UNC, Arizona, Washington, along with UM. 

Joined: 12/25/2008

MGoPoints: 952

bdneely4

November 28th, 2019 at 8:48 PM ^

If we beat the Zags we are a top 10 team. If we lose we will be a Top 15 team. There is no way UNC is dropping out of the top 15 after losing to us so that means we will be ranked ahead of them. 
 

Go Blue! Beat the Bucks!!

Joined: 01/06/2009

MGoPoints: 13935

evenyoubrutus

November 28th, 2019 at 8:54 PM ^

I don't know but since Harbaugh can't win big games, and Howard already won his first one, maybe Harbaugh should be let go and we slide Howard over to the football coach position. Same initials.

Joined: 11/04/2008

MGoPoints: 178243

ijohnb

November 28th, 2019 at 9:38 PM ^

Hold up there.  It may not have been a big game if Carolina doesn’t go to the Final Four.  You see, whether a game is big or not can only be judged at the end of the season now.

Unless we lose the game, and then it is definitely a big game even if it has no stakes at all when it was played and had no bearing on the outcome of anything.

Like Florida in football.  The bowl win didn’t matter because Florida “didn’t care” and the win in 17 didn’t matter because Florida “sucked,” but the bowl game last year was a big game because “OMG the program is in disarray.”  

It’s complicated, this “big game” thing.

 

Joined: 09/21/2009

MGoPoints: 69986

cobra14

November 28th, 2019 at 9:18 PM ^

The fact this team wasn’t ranked to start the year was so disrespectful in regards to what was returning.

And Juwan has done a great job but he inherited great core of kids who played in and won big games. The sophomores are extremely talented which you are starting to see and some should of had more minutes last year. IMO the talk on here about hopefully getting into the tournament was ridiculous. 

Some things I love that Juwan has brought. The zone to mix it up has been fantastic but the best thing he has done has added a 1-2-2 and 2-2-1 to control tempo in spots. He has also allowed kids to play through there mistakes including fouls. Kids feel that trust

Joined: 05/16/2012

MGoPoints: 8448

Alumnus93

November 28th, 2019 at 9:30 PM ^

Anyone watching that buzzsawing of UNC, would put us in top 10, ahead of every team that lost.  And UNC would be behind us... how can they not?   We were up by 24 at one point... the score doesn't reflect the true beatdown.    There is no question, based on what I saw today, that we belong in the top 10.

Joined: 09/10/2009

MGoPoints: 9684

Bergnee

November 28th, 2019 at 9:33 PM ^

Hate to be that guy, but who cares. I'd rather the team continue to be underrated and keep a chip on their shoulder. Complete opposite of football, where we started the season severely overrated and underachieved....again.

That being said, I would say somewhere in the top 15. 

Go Blue. Kick OSU's A$$ saturday.

Joined: 09/30/2015

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