February 18, 2008

MRI 2007 - Week 12: Same names, different numbers

If you want changes, well, I am sorry to disappoint you. The top five teams are the same five teams as last week.

Only this week, they decided they didn't like where they were the week before and shake things up a bit.

North Carolina returns to the top spot thanks to a Kansas loss and a big win over Virginia Tech. The Tarheels cross the 200 point MRI threshold, which should have them gunning for a #1 seed in March.

Kansas falls to #2 thanks to its loss.

Staying in the #3 spot is Memphis. The Tigers briefly moved into the top spot earlier in the week amidst the shuffling, but a couple of close wins have them back in their old familiar location.

Moving back into the #4 hole is UCLA, thanks to a Duke loss, only its second of the season. The Dukies are #5 after quietly being the last team other than Memphis to lose its second game.

Check out all the rankings in Week 12 of the MRI.

The MRI Rankings are copyright 2008 by MRISports.com. Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

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February 11, 2008

MRI 2007 - Week 11: #1 continues to shuffle

For anyone that thinks being undefeated should get you to the #1 spot in any poll, I contend you are mistaken.

Kansas and North Carolina, with three losses between them, currently have a stranglehold on that top spot. This week, Kansas returns to the top after another loss by North Carolina, this one to rival Duke.

All this shuffling has allowed undefeated Memphis to close the gap between itself and the leaders, but not overtake them.

Behind them, still trails Duke and UCLA, but a fairly large gap remains between the top three and the rest of the pack.

Check out all the rankings in Week 11 of the MRI.

The MRI Rankings are copyright 2008 by MRISports.com. Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

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February 4, 2008

MRI 2007 - Week 10: A Kansas loss, a new #1

Perhaps I was wrong. Kansas State pulls a historic shocking upset of the Kansas Jayhawks to knock the high-flying birds from the top spot in the MRI.

In their place, it is North Carolina, who rolled with another two strong wins.

However, the story of the week might be UCLA which pounced back into the #4 spot in the MRI, just behind the lone undefeated in Division 1, Memphis.

Rounding out the top five, is not Xavier. It is Duke, who is quietly hanging in there without a big man and with only a single loss on the year. The biggest test becomes a game with the #1 North Carolina Tarheels in the coming week.

Check out all the rankings in week 10 of the MRI.

The MRI Rankings are copyright 2008 by MRISports.com. Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

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January 28, 2008

MRI 2007 - Week 9: The lead grows, can anyone stop the Jayhawks?

If you thought that Xavier was out of it, you might have been mistaken. The Musketeers have come through to pass UCLA for the #4 spot once again.

But don't think the same thing happened for the #1 spot. Kansas extended its lead on the top spot. With much of the season gone, it will become harder for anyone to catch them, especially when the disadvantage to Kansas for losing a game will not be as harsh as the season rolls on. And Kansas almost had the biggest gain for the second week in a row.

North Carolina stays in second place with Memphis still filling in the #3 hole. UCLA slips but stays in the #5 slot.

Check out all the rankings in week 9 of the MRI.

The MRI Rankings are copyright 2008 by MRISports.com. Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

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January 20, 2008

MRI 2007 - Week 8: Kansas jumps to the front

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

Kansas takes the #1 spot in the MRI because of North Carolina's first loss of the season to Maryland. It shouldn't come as any surprise then that the Jayhawks also had the largest gain of the week to pull into that lead.

North Carolina only drops to #2, followed by consistent #3 Memphis.

However, look out for UCLA who has now moved into the #4 spot, although a clear fourth behind the leaders as they sit right now.

The loser in all this? Xavier.

That was to be expected after a shocking loss to Temple. And this wasn't a slim margin, but 19 points to the Owls, who are 118th in the latest MRI.

Check out all the rankings in Week 8 of the MRI.

The MRI Rankings are copyright 2008 by MRISports.com. Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

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January 14, 2008

MRI 2007 - Week 7: Welcome Memphis to the contenders

If North Carolina is separating from the pack, then we might just want to focus on the battle for #2. Memphis closed in on #2 Kansas this week, now making the spread very tight between the two.

Xavier managed to hold strong at #4 while UCLA lurks just behind at #5.

Taking a tumble out of the top 25 this week was Syracuse who fell from #17 to #42, which in this season of parity could be very damaging for the Orange. Every close game, close loss, can hurt your chances at this point, because climbing back up into the mix is going to just get tougher. The Orange are hanging just in the field now, but as we have seen in the past, that is no guarantee.

Check out all the rankings in Week 7 of the MRI.

The MRI Rankings are copyright 2008 by MRISports.com. Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

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January 7, 2008

MRI 2007 - Week 6: North Carolina Separates

North Carolina continues its reign at the top of the MRI after two weeks of games and extends its lead over Kansas at #2.

Memphis, Xavier and UCLA move into the top 5 after strong weeks, especially in the case of the Musketeers of Xavier. They had the biggest gain over the two week span, blowing out every team that they faced.

Check out all the ratings in Week 6 of the MRI.

The MRI Rankings are copyright 2008 by MRISports.com. Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

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December 26, 2007

MRI 2007 - Week 5: North Carolina #1 in a 3rd Poll

With the holidays here, game slates are smaller, but in some cases more important. This week saw Duke, Clemson, and Georgetown all lose their first games of the year, and all of those losses came in games against other undefeated teams.

Nroth Carolina took advantage of some of these slips to jump to the #1 spot this week, unseating Kansas. The two teams have separated themselves from the pack a little and now have a nice lead on #3 Wisconsin.

Rounding out the top 5 are Texas A&M and West Virginia.

With the short week, the next MRI will be published on January 7th. That also corresponds with the start of my return to school books at Northwestern. As a result, I am not sure how often the MRI website will be updated with Games to Watch, or other articles. However, I will do my best to keep you updated with your favorite numerical rankings.

But, until then, you can check out all the rankings in week 5 of the MRI.

And Now the Rankings
RANK	TEAM	RECORD	MRI	LW
1	North Carolina	11-0	124.71	2
2	Kansas	11-0	122.49	1
3	Wisconsin	9-2	111.57	3
4	Texas A&M	10-1	109.07	9
5	West Virginia	9-1	107.29	4
6	UCLA	10-1	103.62	6
7	Duke	10-1	103.11	5
8	Memphis	10-0	100.93	11
9	Stanford	10-1	98.41	13
10	Michigan State	11-1	97.34	15
11	Pittsburgh	10-0	95.92	8
12	Texas	10-1	95.80	7
13	Virginia	9-2	94.60	23
14	Indiana	10-1	92.43	10
15	Mississippi	11-0	90.89	20
16	Villanova	9-1	90.50	19
17	Notre Dame	8-2	89.08	14
18	Minnesota	8-1	88.84	18
19	Xavier	8-3	88.70	12
20	New Mexico	11-2	88.17	NR(29)
21	Drake	7-1	87.13	17
22	Connecticut	8-2	86.69	NR(28)
23	Butler	11-1	86.50	NR(32)
24	Marquette	8-1	86.36	NR(31)
25	Rhode Island	11-1	85.39	NR(30)
Teams Dropped From The Top 25:
Florida State (LW #16, TW #28), Gonzaga (LW #21, TW #33), Florida (LW #22, TW #35), Clemson (LW #24, TW #43), Georgetown (LW #25, TW #48)
Other Teams People Might Care About
RANK	TEAM	RECORD	MRI	LW
26	Tennessee	10-1	85.14	27
28	Florida State	10-4	84.15	16
30	Miami	11-0	84.02	35
37	Arizona	8-2	77.73	48
38	Vanderbilt	11-0	76.88	41
42	Dayton	10-1	74.18	53
58	Illinois	7-4	65.42	55
65	Washington	7-4	63.15	104
70	Purdue	8-4	60.79	54
71	Boston College	8-2	59.62	65
76	Ohio	8-4	58.01	72
90	Texas Tech	5-5	52.15	86
92	Northern Iowa	7-3	50.26	87
106	Georgia Tech	5-5	47.03	142
127	Illinois-Chicago	7-4	41.30	157
131	Maryland	6-6	39.81	103
138	Auburn	7-2	38.57	143
140	Kentucky	5-5	36.60	132
141	LSU	6-4	36.53	117
168	Iowa	6-6	28.20	168
180	Michigan	4-8	23.49	169
198	Drexel	6-5	20.31	223
205	Wofford	4-4	17.99	275
279	Pennsylvania	4-7	0.27	296
298	Ball State	0-11	-7.17	278
Last Place this week: North Carolina Central (1-15) at -91.34.
Biggest Gain this week: Southern Mississippi gained 19.82 points. (Beat New Orleans (84-62), Louisiana Tech (80-56), and Alcorn State (86-61), Lost to McNeese State (57-63))
Biggest Loss this week: Northern Colorado lost 21.12 points (Lost to Gonzaga (57-77), Oregon State (56-65), and Portland (63-70))
Conference rankings this week: PAC-10, ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, SEC, MVC, Mountain West, Atlantic 10, C-USA. The WAC is 18th.

The MRI Rankings are copyright 2007 by MRISports.com. Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

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December 17, 2007

MRI 2007 - Week 4: Rock Chalk Flies To #1

All it took was a less than stellar week for Xavier and the "X' no longer guard the top spot in the MRI. After a close win against Cincinnati - always expected in the rivalry series - Xavier went down to Arizona State in crushing fashion. The Sun Devils, who looked anything but good in Maui to start the season, showed that Xavier might be a decent team, but they are no #1. The Musketeers fell to #12 in the latest rankings.

So, who is the new #1? Remember that Ohio team which pulled the MRI's predicted upset over Maryland earlier in the week? No, they aren't #1, but they did get blown out of the gym by the new front runner. Kansas took Ohio to task on Friday, winning 88-51. The Kansas squad, which was a little inconsistent in the early season, had no problems with what should be one of the best teams in the MAC, and one of the best mid-majors in the country. The halftime score was 46-20, and things didn't get any prettier from there.

One reason for the Kansas surge is the return to health of much of their rotation. Brandon Rush made his first start of the season, and Sherron Collins made only his second appearance of the year in the rout. This was a highly thought of team going into the season, and if this is how they will play at full strength, it might be a while until we see another team at #1 in the MRI.

Pulling into the #2 spot is North Carolina, who quietly sneaked up the rankings and jumps from a #5 showing last week. North Carolina is my pick to win it all this season assuming they stay healthy. That is always an issue with the Tar Heels, especially in the grueling ACC season. Tyler Hansbrough is probably glad the ACC season is still a few weeks away, if he can even remember that. Hansbrough suffered a concussion in a win against Rutgers on Sunday. That can't be a good sign with the banging that he takes under the hoop.

Still at #3 is that pesky Wisconsin team which keeps hanging around despite two losses already this season. They polished off two system schools this week. They are off until facing Valpo on Saturday. After that, another week will pass until we see what they can do against rising star Texas.

Speaking of rising stars, West Virginia, under Bob Huggins is making a name for themselves in the MRI this season. The Mountaineers are a basket away from a perfect season, and while the rankings are not yet giving them notice, the rest of the country sure is. They have a chance to continue their winning ways against Radford and Canisius this week.

Rounding out the top 5 is Duke who had the week off. It is a testament to their season so far that a week off the court led to an erosion of the MRI score of only 0.15 points and three places. While normal teams might have dropped 5-10 places, the Blue Devils appear to have staying power at the top. They warm up against Albany tonight before the anticipated game against Pittsburgh on Thursday night.

Check out all the rankings in Week 4 of the MRI.

And Now the Rankings
RANK	TEAM	RECORD	MRI	LW
1	Kansas	9-0	109.30	7
2	North Carolina	9-0	108.02	5
3	Wisconsin	8-2	106.89	3
4	West Virginia	7-1	105.68	9
5	Duke	9-0	102.29	2
6	UCLA	8-1	100.98	4
7	Texas	9-0	100.44	6
8	Pittsburgh	9-0	96.33	10
9	Texas A&M	8-1	92.97	14
10	Indiana	9-1	92.61	16
11	Memphis	8-0	92.45	12
12	Xavier	8-2	91.39	1
13	Stanford	8-1	91.26	8
14	Notre Dame	7-2	90.37	11
15	Michigan State	9-1	89.26	18
16	Florida State	9-3	86.99	17
17	Drake	7-1	85.91	15
18	Minnesota	7-1	85.45	13
19	Villanova	8-1	84.97	NR(26)
20	Mississippi	8-0	84.30	20
21	Gonzaga	8-2	83.07	19
22	Florida	10-1	82.71	NR(27)
23	Virginia	7-2	81.18	23
24	Clemson	8-0	79.70	24
25	Georgetown	8-0	79.30	NR(40)
Teams Dropped From The Top 25:
Oregon (LW #21, TW #34), Providence (LW #22, TW #26), Rhode Island (LW #25, TW #30)
Other Teams People Might Care About
RANK	TEAM	RECORD	MRI	LW
27	Tennessee	8-1	79.01	35
31	Marquette	6-1	76.84	28
32	Butler	9-1	76.67	34
35	Miami	8-0	75.90	29
41	Vanderbilt	10-0	73.60	32
48	Arizona	6-2	67.29	67
53	Dayton	8-1	63.61	61
54	Purdue	6-2	63.38	65
55	Illinois	5-3	63.18	57
65	Boston College	7-2	59.16	52
72	Ohio	6-3	56.08	64
86	Texas Tech	5-4	52.81	63
87	Northern Iowa	6-2	52.20	85
103	Maryland	6-5	45.93	92
104	Washington	5-4	45.87	106
117	LSU	5-3	42.78	120
132	Kentucky	4-4	39.16	111
142	Georgia Tech	4-4	34.63	142
143	Auburn	5-2	34.29	161
157	Illinois-Chicago	5-4	30.82	162
168	Iowa	6-6	28.64	155
169	Michigan	4-7	28.29	165
223	Drexel	5-5	15.53	219
275	Wofford	1-3	2.82	265
278	Ball State	0-9	2.02	272
296	Pennsylvania	3-7	-3.93	300
Last Place this week: NJIT (0-13) at -84.01. 4th week in a row.
Biggest Gain this week: Penn State gained 14.07 points. (Beat Princeton (61-38) and Denver (60-39))
Biggest Loss this week: Prairie View lost 22.42 points (Lost to New Mexico State (43-80) and Utah State (51-77))
Conference rankings this week: PAC-10, ACC, Big East, Big 12, Big Ten, SEC, MVC, Mountain West, Atlantic 10, C-USA. The WAC is 20th

The MRI Rankings are copyright 2007 by MRISports.com. Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

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December 10, 2007

MRI 2007 - Week 3: "X" is Twice as Nice

It may come as a shock, but Xavier has managed to stay on top of the MRI for the second straight week. This could be the newest version of the St. Joe's Hawks, who went undefeated through the regular season, and lost in the first round of their conference tournament back in 2003-4. Yes, Xavier already has a blemish on their record, a two point loss to Miami (Ohio). However, the X-Men are playing solid team basketball. That has translated into wins, including the big win over Creighton on Wednesday night this past week.

Xavier has a schedule that would rival some of those impossible Gonzaga schedules which the Zags always put together, and that should translate well for them come tournament time. They also have some good competition in the Atlantic 10 this season, unlike recent history where maybe 2 teams were decent.

So for the second straight week, Xavier holds onto the top spot, and more importantly perhaps, breaks the 100 point barrier in the MRI, a good signal that they are headed for the tournament.

In second place this week is Duke, moving up from #3 last week. The Blue Devils had an easy victory over Michigan on Saturday, during which CBS tried everything to keep you interested. It didn't work. Watching games where one team is ahead by 25 and the other team has absolutely no shot to come back isn't fun.

Duke may be one of the surprises of the season. While improvement over last season was expected, it was hard to imagine a start like this with so many victories of the blowout variety. Even without a true big man, the Blue Devils are succeeding. And that success doesn't come the same way every game. Some nights it is the tough defense and fast break. Some games, it is the three-point line that gets Duke rolling. Duke has this entire week off to prepare for what should be a gimmee against Albany and then a huge game at Pittsburgh, another game where we can see if the lack of size could hurt them.

Still hanging in the top 3 despite two losses is Wisconsin, who lost another tough game on Saturday against Marquette. Part of what is keeping the Badgers where they are is that Duke has not lost yet. That means the huge blowout that Wisconsin suffered is not really being reflected yet in their MRI score. I am not sure that Wisconsin is the class of the Big Ten, but then again, I am not sure there is a top team in that conference this season. The Badgers take on their system schools this week, facing both Green Bay and Milwaukee.

Rounding out the top five this week are UCLA and North Carolina, two teams expected to be near the top.

Check out all the rankings in Week 3 of the MRI.

And Now the Rankings
RANK	TEAM	RECORD	MRI	LW
1	Xavier	7-1	103.95	1
2	Duke	9-0	102.44	3
3	Wisconsin	6-2	98.73	4
4	UCLA	7-1	98.72	5
5	North Carolina	8-0	98.43	8
6	Texas	8-0	97.83	9
7	Kansas	8-0	97.39	10
8	Stanford	8-1	96.02	2
9	West Virginia	6-1	94.81	NR(29)
10	Pittsburgh	8-0	92.53	6
11	Notre Dame	7-2	91.10	14
12	Memphis	7-0	87.46	7
13	Minnesota	6-1	86.88	NR(34)
14	Texas A&M	7-1	86.76	19
15	Drake	6-1	85.99	NR(49)
16	Indiana	8-1	84.76	NR(27)
17	Florida State	9-2	84.70	18
18	Michigan State	8-1	84.53	20
19	Gonzaga	8-2	83.56	NR(28)
20	Mississippi	7-0	83.22	15
21	Oregon	7-1	82.56	17
22	Providence	6-3	82.24	12
23	Virginia	7-2	81.60	11
24	Clemson	8-0	80.20	21
25	Rhode Island	10-1	80.05	NR(45)
Teams Dropped From The Top 25:
Creighton (LW #13, TW #30), Miami (LW #16, TW #29), Villanova (LW #22, TW #26), Duquesne (LW #23, TW #48), New Mexico (LW #24, TW #38), Marquette (LW #25, TW #28)
Other Teams People Might Care About
RANK	TEAM	RECORD	MRI	LW
27	Florida	9-1	77.77	38
28	Marquette	5-1	77.37	25
29	Miami	7-0	76.19	16
32	Vanderbilt	9-0	74.07	36
34	Butler	8-1	73.33	33
35	Tennessee	7-1	72.89	31
52	Boston College	7-1	63.52	72
57	Illinois	5-3	62.27	42
61	Dayton	7-1	61.10	71
63	Texas Tech	5-3	59.60	81
64	Ohio	5-2	59.56	110
65	Purdue	5-2	58.64	44
67	Arizona	5-2	57.35	63
85	Northern Iowa	6-2	52.21	59
92	Maryland	6-4	49.76	123
106	Washington	4-4	46.16	98
111	Kentucky	4-3	43.81	73
120	LSU	4-3	40.26	106
142	Georgia Tech	4-4	34.79	151
155	Iowa	6-5	30.69	155
161	Auburn	4-2	29.94	137
162	Illinois-Chicago	4-4	29.22	216
165	Michigan	3-6	28.18	175
219	Drexel	5-4	17.33	173
265	Wofford	1-2	7.37	295
272	Ball State	0-8	5.60	229
300	Pennsylvania	3-7	-3.29	292
Last Place this week: NJIT (0-11) at -83.72. 3rd week in a row.
Biggest Gain this week: West Virginia gained 22.70 points. (Beat Auburn (88-59) and Duquesne (92-68))
Biggest Loss this week: Howard lost 25.45 points (Lost to American (54-66) and VMI (59-95))
Conference rankings this week: PAC-10, ACC, Big East, Big 12, SEC, Big Ten, MVC, Mountain West, Atlantic 10, C-USA. The WAC is 20th

The MRI Rankings are copyright 2007 by MRISports.com. Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

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December 3, 2007

MRI 2007 - Week 2: "X" Marks the #1 Spot

No, that isn't a misprint. A strong week #2 has vaulted the Atlantic 10's Xavier into the top spot in the MRI. How are they doing it?

Xavier is using a short bench and primarily organizing their game around the top six players. All of those players are averaging double digit points while only one of those six has more than two turnovers a game. Only one of those players has less assists than his turnover numbers too. Good strong fundamental basketball.

There may be a question of whether they can continue on this pace, and whether an appearance with such a short rotation in the NCAA tournament could turn out well. As we saw with Duke last season, it might be tough on the latter point. On the former, it is probably possible to hang at the top in the MRI if they continue to win. The Atlantic 10 looks like they are going to have at least 5 or 6 teams which can compete in the conference. That will help Xavier once conference season begins, unlike in recent years, when the overall profile of the Atlantic 10 has brought down teams as the long conference slate wore on.

Two quick games from the weekend which you may not have seen (unlike Texas beating down UCLA, which I am sure you heard much more about).

First, Texas Tech coach Bob Knight left a game against Centenary prior to halftime and didn't return to the court after the break. Claiming sickness, perhaps at the sight of how his team was playing, Knight was taken back to the hotel where he rested. Texas Tech went on to lose to Centenary, giving the Gentlemen their 4th Division 1 win of the season. Of course, this is the same Centenary team that lost to Baylor by 23 a week earlier, and that has an enrollment of 910 students, the smallest in Division 1. Not a great day for the Red Raiders, who slipped to 81st in the MRI.

And last, Tommy Amaker got a little revenge on all those Michigan fans who wanted him gone, despite doing well given all of the handcuffs on him as he was repeatedly slapped with probation caused by his predecessors. I always felt that Michigan was just a little bit away from really making it work. Well, Tommy went to Harvard. And Harvard defeated Michigan, 62-51, on Saturday. It was the first time Harvard has beaten Michigan, although the two schools with long histories have only met 3 times. Harvard is up to 178th in the MRI this week, while Michigan is at 175 in the latest rankings.

And now, it is time to check out all the rankings in Week 2 of the MRI.

And Now the Rankings
RANK	TEAM	RECORD	MRI	LW
1	Xavier	6-1	97.79	15
2	Stanford	8-1	95.58	8
3	Duke	8-0	95.57	3
4	Wisconsin	5-1	93.88	1
5	UCLA	6-1	92.24	2
6	Pittsburgh	6-0	91.39	4
7	Memphis	6-0	90.52	7
8	North Carolina	7-0	88.80	21
9	Texas	6-0	86.78	13
10	Kansas	6-0	85.54	NR(37)
11	Virginia	6-1	85.16	5
12	Providence	5-1	84.48	NR(29)
13	Creighton	5-0	80.68	NR(61)
14	Notre Dame	5-2	80.54	18
15	Mississippi	6-0	79.34	NR(34)
16	Miami	6-0	77.98	NR(46)
17	Oregon	6-1	77.69	14
18	Florida State	8-2	77.63	NR(40)
19	Texas A&M	6-1	77.44	6
20	Michigan State	6-1	77.02	NR(64)
21	Clemson	7-0	77.02	17
22	Villanova	5-1	76.43	16
23	Duquesne	6-1	76.29	11
24	New Mexico	7-1	76.17	9
25	Marquette	4-1	74.44	NR(41)
Teams Dropped From The Top 25:
Seton Hall (LW #10, TW #40), Gonzaga (LW #12, TW #28), Missouri (LW #19, TW #55), Oklahoma (LW #20, TW #37), Illinois (LW #22, TW #42), Washington State (LW #23, TW #39), Ohio State (LW #24, TW #78), Minnesota (LW #25, TW #34)
Other Teams People Might Care About
RANK	TEAM	RECORD	MRI	LW
27	Indiana	6-1	73.86	36
31	Tennessee	6-1	70.91	50
33	Butler	7-0	70.23	38
36	Vanderbilt	7-0	69.48	30
38	Florida	7-1	69.08	48
42	Illinois	5-2	67.72	22
44	Purdue	4-1	65.99	35
59	Northern Iowa	6-1	58.44	71
63	Arizona	4-2	56.67	165
71	Dayton	5-1	52.65	79
72	Boston College	5-1	52.60	60
73	Kentucky	4-2	52.50	51
81	Texas Tech	4-3	50.81	75
98	Washington	4-3	45.95	56
106	LSU	4-2	44.10	203
110	Ohio	3-2	43.22	53
123	Maryland	5-3	39.88	104
137	Auburn	4-1	36.65	119
151	Georgia Tech	3-4	32.02	144
155	Iowa	5-4	31.32	154
173	Drexel	5-3	28.42	107
175	Michigan	3-5	28.38	120
216	Illinois-Chicago	2-4	19.39	226
229	Ball State	0-6	15.32	230
292	Pennsylvania	2-6	-0.83	266
295	Wofford	0-1	-1.16	312
Last Place this week: NJIT (0-8) at -68.48. 2nd week in a row.
Biggest Gain this week: Hampton gained 27.58 points. (Beat Delaware (51-50), Virginia Commonwealth (64-55), and Howard (65-31))
Biggest Loss this week: Florida International lost 30.02 points (Lost to South Florida (69-77), Robert Morris (61-88), and Florida Gulf Coast (70-73))
Conference rankings this week: PAC-10, Big East, ACC, Big 12, SEC, Big Ten, MVC, Mountain West, Atlantic 10, C-USA. The WAC is 20th

The MRI Rankings are copyright 2007 by MRISports.com. Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

Posted by bmiraski at 6:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 26, 2007

MRI 2007 - Week 1: Badgers Bring Us Back On Top

Can you believe another season is already seven games old for some teams? And that means it is time to reveal the MRI standings for the first time this year.

Before we get to the rankings, remember that this is early. A team like Duquesne, was 250th in the league last year. For them to hold onto an #11 ranking would be a huge turnaround. In fact, there are 4 teams which were listed at 125 or higher last season in this year's first rankings. No doubt that will change at some point, but right now, they are riding high, so who can complain? Maybe that gives us a little insight into those bubble teams we will be talking about in 2 months. Maybe even sooner than that, considering that I am already hearing teams labeled as "bubble watch" even though the conference season has yet to start.

And as with all early rankings, teams that are on a roll now are in no guarantee to make the tournament. Let's all remember what we should call "The Clemson Factor". Sometimes, you can really pad the MRI numbers before you come down to earth. Even when you come down, don't think that you will fall. You might just stay even.

Last season was a great example of that. Clemson never really lost points after a certain point. They just stayed even in their MRI score. The bigger issue was that teams wouldn't pass them. It was part of what made last year's tournament so chalky. There were about 16 really good teams which were almost destined for the Sweet 16, and then there was everyone else. No surprises, No George Mason. Just a mass of teams which should have had the NCAA contracting to a 32 team exhibition.

Expect a lot of familiar faces back this season. Duke (#3) looks like they are back to being Duke, a team that has held the #1 ranking for at least a week in almost every MRI season. It won't be such a stretch for that to happen again if they can beat starting #1, Wisconsin on Tuesday. This may be the best early match in the MRI ever. (Just for kicks, the MRI is predicting a Wisconsin win, but not by much. See if Brian Butch being back from that freaky elbow injury makes any difference to you.)

Other names at the top also look familiar. UCLA is starting the year at #2. Returning almost every major player on the team from last season has them poised to go to a third straight Final Four. I don't doubt their ability at all. At #4 is a team that looks a lot like UCLA, Pittsburgh. UCLA's Eastern image is quietly having a nice 4-0 start.

Rounding out the initial top 5 is Virginia who is off to a 5-1 beginning to their season. Sean Singletary is back to his shooting self, while he gets help from Adrian Joseph inside. It will certainly be something to see if they can keep it up during the ACC season. Of course, they could fall victim to the "Clemson Factor", although their early season hasn't exactly been cupcakes, winning against Arizona and Drexel.

Speaking of the "Clemson Factor", look for it to possibly come into play again on its namesake. Clemson might be 5-0, but the combined record of their opponents is 9-21, the worst in the ACC, except for Wake Fo