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MRI 2008 - Rankings Week 2
December 8, 2008 | By Benjamin Miraski
Just in case you couldn't guess, North Carolina is again No. 1 this week.
It wasn't at all surprising with the way they took it to Michigan State in the ACC - Big Ten Challenge.
So, let's talk about the more shocking news.
Northwestern is No. 8 in the MRI.
Northwestern.
N-O-R-T-H-W-E-S-T-E-R-N
The team that has never, ever, made the NCAA tournament.
They are not only No. 8, but they are the topped ranked Big Ten team in the MRI going into the conference season.
Who would have called that as even a possibility prior to this season?
I didn't.
Bob McClellan at Rivals.com didn't think so either earlier this year, although he though they were getting closer.
I am not saying that Northwestern will win the Big Ten, but this is an encouraging sign going into the conference season. Granted the schedule has not been the toughest so far, but a win against Florida State is very encouraging.
Michigan State, Purdue, Wisconsin, Illinois,...
If Northwestern can eek out a 5th place finish in the Big Ten, who is to say that won't be enough for the Wildcats to break the drought? Ohio State and Michigan might have something to say about that 5th place finish, but so far, I think Northwestern has shown they are going to be more than a doormat this season.
It is still a long way to go to Selection Sunday, but the first month is certainly very encouraging.
The MRI correctly predicted 68.46 percent of the games in its first week. All-time, the system is has predicted 71.66 percent of the games.
Check out all the rankings in week 2 of the MRI.
MRI Top 25 Rankings
| Rank | Team | Record | MRI | LW |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Carolina | 7-0 | 117.94 | 1 |
| 2 | Pittsburgh | 8-0 | 113.97 | 6 |
| 3 | Duke | 8-1 | 109.49 | 4 |
| 4 | Clemson | 9-0 | 103.39 | 2 |
| 5 | Connecticut | 8-0 | 100.67 | 3 |
| 6 | Villanova | 8-0 | 91.93 | 5 |
| 7 | Gonzaga | 5-0 | 90.36 | 7 |
| 8 | Northwestern | 6-1 | 89.27 | NR(36) |
| 9 | Wake Forest | 8-0 | 87.35 | 15 |
| 10 | West Virginia | 6-1 | 86.72 | 12 |
| 11 | Kansas | 7-1 | 84.40 | NR(29) |
| 12 | Dayton | 8-0 | 84.36 | 9 |
| 13 | Texas | 6-1 | 83.29 | 8 |
| 14 | Missouri | 7-1 | 82.46 | NR(46) |
| 15 | LSU | 6-0 | 81.38 | 16 |
| 16 | Oklahoma | 8-0 | 80.30 | 11 |
| 17 | Louisville | 4-1 | 80.19 | NR(95) |
| 18 | Memphis | 5-1 | 79.72 | 23 |
| 19 | BYU | 8-0 | 78.81 | 24 |
| 20 | Cal | 6-2 | 77.05 | 10 |
| 21 | Tennessee | 6-1 | 76.80 | 17 |
| 22 | Marquette | 7-1 | 75.53 | 18 |
| 23 | Davidson | 5-1 | 73.69 | 14 |
| 24 | Washington | 5-3 | 73.67 | NR(38) |
| 25 | Utah | 5-1 | 73.66 | 13 |
Teams Dropped From The Top 25: Illinois (LW #19, TW #27), Penn State (LW #20, TW #35), George Mason (LW #21, TW #61), Michigan State (LW #22, TW #39), Xavier (LW #25, TW #33)
Other Teams People Might Care About
| Rank | Team | Record | MRI | LW |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | Illinois | 7-1 | 73.04 | 19 |
| 32 | Maryland | 6-2 | 68.54 | 76 |
| 34 | Georgia Tech | 5-1 | 67.93 | 48 |
| 39 | Michigan State | 5-2 | 65.91 | 22 |
| 50 | UCLA | 5-2 | 61.61 | 30 |
| 51 | Boston College | 6-2 | 61.41 | 53 |
| 52 | Miami | 4-2 | 60.93 | 33 |
| 55 | Purdue | 6-2 | 59.96 | 34 |
| 56 | Illinois-Chicago | 5-2 | 59.62 | 87 |
| 60 | Kentucky | 6-3 | 58.78 | 94 |
| 65 | Iowa | 7-2 | 55.67 | 66 |
| 70 | Wisconsin | 5-2 | 53.93 | 52 |
| 72 | Texas Tech | 6-1 | 53.65 | 61 |
| 73 | Notre Dame | 5-2 | 53.32 | 47 |
| 74 | Florida State | 8-1 | 52.72 | 69 |
| 76 | Michigan | 5-2 | 51.73 | 60 |
| 77 | Auburn | 4-4 | 51.71 | 106 |
| 86 | Arizona | 5-2 | 47.79 | 93 |
| 98 | Vanderbilt | 5-3 | 44.72 | 55 |
| 131 | Wofford | 3-3 | 36.57 | 119 |
| 147 | Ball State | 3-3 | 34.61 | 140 |
| 148 | Northern Iowa | 4-3 | 34.36 | 142 |
| 154 | Drexel | 2-2 | 32.59 | 212 |
| 187 | Ohio | 3-3 | 26.76 | 90 |
| 194 | Indiana | 3-4 | 16.35 | 194 |
| 276 | Pennsylvania | 1-6 | 7.18 | 230 |
| 284 | Valparaiso | 2-4 | 5.75 | 260 |
Last Place this week: North Carolina Central (0-9) at -49.43.
Biggest Gain this week: Louisville gained 35.65 points. (Beat Indiana State (83-43) and Ohio (91-56))
Biggest Loss this week: North Carolina Central lost 22.48 points (Lost to High Point (64-73), Drake (46-89) and Texas Pan-American (50-56))
Conference rankings this week: ACC, Big East, Big 12, Big Ten, SEC, PAC-10, Mountain West, C-USA, MVC, Atlantic 10. The WAC is 15th.
The MRI Rankings are copyright 2008 by MRISports.com. Ben Miraski is a reporter for the Medill News Service, edits and writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com
Posted December 8, 2008 3:12 PM
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