MRISports.comtag:www.mrisports.com,2012://12012-04-05T19:24:57ZMovable Type Pro 4.34-enCollege Basketball Rankings - MRI 2011-12, Week 17 - Tournament Finaltag:www.mrisports.com,2012://1.9982012-04-05T18:58:14Z2012-04-05T19:24:57ZThere will be no computer controversy this seasonKentucky is your MRI Tournament champion.Benjamin Miraski
There will be no computer controversy this season; Kentucky is your MRI Tournament champion.
Prior to the tip of the NCAA Tournament, North Carolina had snuck into the lead of a race between the Tar Heels, Kentucky and Ohio State.
But an injury to Kendall Marshall derailed the boys is Carolina blue, leaving Ohio State and Kentucky to battle it out.
Ohio State faltered down the stretch against the Jayhawks which kept the country from seeing a 1-2 matchup for the title game. It would have been close to a toss-up for the title had that occurred.
As it was, Kentucky entered that final game as a prohibitive favorite, with a chance to win over 70 percent of the time.
Unlike the Buckeyes, the Wildcats worked within the percentages and took home the title, thanks to probably the most impactful player this season, Anthony Davis.
Davis didn't score much, but it was his all-around play that helped Kentucky. Those things are better captured in HOOPWAR, so it will have to wait for another post.
As for Kentucky, they finished atop the computer also, with a score of 240.82, a full nine points ahead of Ohio State. The Wildcats would be favored in every matchup against every team in the country with that mark. That is domination.
The computer showed some domination too. Despite an injury derailing its title pick and a run to another pool title, the MRI predicted 42 of 63 games prior to the start of the Round of 64. The best mark in one pool it entered was 45, and that person had Kentucky winning it all.
The winner in its most competitive pool on ESPN only picked 40 games correctly, showing that scoring in a pool can matter a great deal to the finish. (If you ask me, getting more games correct, even though your final pick is wrong should be worth more points. Probably a scoring algorithm that makes that happen somewhere).
Going round to round, the computer was correct in 48 of the tournament's 67 game, for a 71.64 percent mark. If you leave out the PIGs, the computer did a tad better -- it really did not do well on that Tuesday and Wednesday -- hitting 47 of the 63 games, for a 74.60 percent mark.
For the season, once predictions began after Thanksgiving, the computer got 72.60 percent of all games correct. It is now correct on 71.64 percent of games all-time, a mark based on predictions of 28,529 games.
Check out all the rankings in the Tournament Final of the 2011-12 Basketball MRI.
MRI Top 25 Rankings
Rank
Team
Record
MRI
LW
1
Kentucky
38-2
240.82
3
2
Ohio State
31-8
231.85
2
3
North Carolina
32-6
224.10
1
4
Michigan State
28-8
189.85
4
5
Syracuse
34-3
184.93
5
6
Kansas
32-7
175.48
8
7
Florida
26-11
163.43
14
8
Memphis
26-9
162.68
6
9
Wichita State
26-6
160.45
7
10
New Mexico
27-7
158.01
9
11
Missouri
29-5
152.17
10
12
Indiana
27-9
150.36
11
13
Marquette
27-8
147.09
18
14
Wisconsin
26-10
146.40
15
15
Saint Louis
25-8
145.22
12
16
Baylor
29-8
144.71
19
17
Gonzaga
26-7
142.12
17
18
Louisville
30-10
137.54
NR(29)
19
Georgetown
23-9
136.14
20
20
Duke
27-7
136.07
14
21
St. Mary's
25-6
134.93
16
22
Vanderbilt
25-11
131.79
24
23
Murray State
28-2
129.73
NR(28)
24
New Mexico State
24-10
129.09
21
25
Florida State
25-10
129.00
22
Teams Dropped From The Top 25: Cal (LW #23, TW #27), Creighton (LW #25, TW #28).
On the Bubble: Stanford, Cal, Creighton, UNLV, BYU, Drexel, Virginia Commonwealth, Belmont, Iona, Kansas State.
Wofford Watch: Wofford (17-14) finished 169th in the MRI, with a score of 29.13.
Most Average Team: Texas A&M (13-18), with a score of 31.56.
Last Place this week: Grambling (4-24) at -132.38. 17th week in a row, completing the season sweep.
Biggest Gain this week: Stanford gained 31.64 points. (Won NIT.)
Biggest Loss this week: Tennessee Tech lost 7.51 points. (Lost to Georgia State in the CIT, 74-43.)
Conference rankings this week: Big Ten, SEC, Big East, Big 12, ACC, Mountain West, Atlantic 10, PAC-12, Conference USA, Missouri Valley.
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College Basketball Rankings - MRI 2011-12, Week 16 - Pre-Tournament Finaltag:www.mrisports.com,2012://1.9972012-03-12T17:09:19Z2012-03-12T17:39:48ZThe tournament field is set. Find out who deserved to be in, and who looks like they are just pretending in the latest MRI Basketball Rankings.Plus, get the final ratings for all 68 teams in the tournament.Yes, I am that nice.Benjamin Miraski
If the MRI were the sole arbiter of the NCAA Tournament, there would be six teams with wholly different reactions to their status today.
But the MRI is not, and I would think probably shouldn't be. You can't just use one formula to rule them all.. although the committee does seem to do that with the RPI.
There is a ting of bitterness this morning, but not much. Drexel did not make the field, despite a ranking of No. 39 in the final MRI, which I believe is the highest it has achieved since I started publishing this about 12 years ago.
The key feature that half of the "snubs" have is that they come from smaller conferences. They didn't win their conference tournament, and therefore lost their "chance" to get into the dance.
I can't begrudge teams that did make it like Colorado, when they won their playoff. That is one way in. The Buffs would have been NITing it or worse if they hadn't have beaten Arizona. Both teams were fighting for their tournament lives. But you can take exception with some of the committees choices.
Here are the snubs and the list of replacements with the MRI rankings in parentheses. The cutoff in the MRI was No. 56, which was Purdue.
Snubs: Drexel (39), Middle Tennessee State (40), Oral Roberts (45), Seton Hall (46), Wagner (54), Stanford (55).
Questionable choices: San Diego State (59), Michigan (60), Notre Dame (64), Xavier (65), Colorado State (81), South Florida (105).
Of course, the MRI has two questionable choices that probably aren't that way in most people's minds. And I will admit that Michigan and Notre Dame probably have good cases for being in. Both teams are within 9 points of the final spot, which if the game was a home game, would mean they would be favored over Purdue. I would imagine the same can hold true for San Diego State, since they were just a few spots off.
On the "snub" side, You can maybe discount Wagner and Stanford, but anyone higher maybe deserved a longer look. As it was, if Iona hadn't gotten into the field, it would have been even a bigger snub, as they were higher ranked than any of these teams. The committee maybe got that one correct.
The big issue should be with the Colorado State and South Florida inclusions. Just based on MRI numbers, they don't belong. In the Ken Pomeroy rankings, South Florida is No. 66 and Colorado State is No. 76. Drexel (41) and Middle Tennessee (61) are higher than both. Seton Hall is higher than both. Stanford is higher than both.
I won't complain any more. It is a difficult job to make the choices for the last spots. It is made even harder now that the field has expanded and the choice to include three more teams of questionable character has to be made.
Either way, we will have a great tournament. That much never changes.
Enjoy the rankings in this week's MRI, along with the rankings of every tournament team after the normal update. All of the Top 25 made the tournament.
MRI Top 25 Rankings
Rank
Team
Record
MRI
LW
1
North Carolina
29-5
212.42
2
2
Ohio State
27-7
211.92
3
3
Kentucky
32-2
211.14
1
4
Michigan State
26-7
180.36
5
5
Syracuse
31-2
178.13
4
6
Memphis
26-8
165.03
12
7
Wichita State
26-5
162.57
6
8
Kansas
27-6
160.33
7
9
New Mexico
26-6
157.90
8
10
Missouri
29-4
152.48
15
11
Indiana
25-8
144.67
10
12
Saint Louis
24-7
143.22
9
13
Florida
23-10
138.29
11
14
Duke
27-6
137.46
13
15
Wisconsin
24-9
135.81
17
16
St. Mary's
25-5
135.68
18
17
Gonzaga
25-6
134.95
16
18
Marquette
25-7
134.60
14
19
Baylor
26-7
132.75
22
20
Georgetown
22-8
131.43
19
21
New Mexico State
24-9
131.26
NR(27)
22
Florida State
24-9
129.38
25
23
Cal
24-9
127.58
20
24
Vanderbilt
24-10
127.51
NR(34)
25
Creighton
28-5
126.98
21
Teams Dropped From The Top 25: BYU (LW #23, TW #27), UNLV (LW #24, TW #26).
On the Bubble: UNLV, BYU, Murray State, Louisville, Belmont, Iona, Davidson, Virginia Commonwealth, South Dakota State, Virginia.
Wofford Watch: Wofford (17-13) is currently 163rd in the MRI, with a score of 32.78.
Most Average Team: Texas A&M (13-18), with a score of 31.05.
Last Place this week: Grambling (4-24) at -132.30. 16th week in a row, completing the season sweep.
Biggest Gain this week: Memphis gained 25.83 points. (Beat UTEP 65-47, Central Florida 83-52, and Marshall 83-57 to win the C-USA title.)
Biggest Loss this week: Prairie View lost 10.83 points. (Lost to Alcorn State 103-79.)
Conference rankings this week: Big Ten, SEC, Big East, Big 12, Mountain West, ACC, Atlantic 10, Conference USA, Missouri Valley, PAC-12.
By request, here are the numbers on the other NCAA Tournament teams
Rank
Team
Record
MRI
LW
26
UNLV
24-8
126.36
24
27
BYU
23-8
125.58
23
28
Murray State
27-1
125.04
26
29
Louisville
26-9
124.38
40
30
Belmont
26-7
115.44
28
31
Iona
25-7
113.96
29
32
Davidson
24-7
113.89
30
33
Virginia Commonwealth
28-6
113.56
33
34
South Dakota State
25-7
113.08
38
35
Virginia
22-9
111.51
31
36
Harvard
25-4
111.04
35
37
Kansas State
21-10
110.68
32
38
Alabama
21-11
110.13
36
41
Long Beach State
23-8
108.23
50
42
Ohio
26-7
107.21
43
43
West Virginia
19-13
106.08
41
44
Iowa State
22-10
102.75
42
47
Cincinnati
24-10
100.32
45
48
Connecticut
20-13
99.88
48
49
Texas
20-13
98.95
47
50
North Carolina State
22-12
98.64
55
51
Southern Mississippi
23-8
98.60
49
52
Temple
24-7
97.37
46
53
Lehigh
25-7
97.03
52
56
Purdue
21-12
95.76
54
58
Lamar
21-11
94.47
67
59
San Diego State
24-7
93.25
60
60
Michigan
23-9
91.38
56
64
Notre Dame
22-11
86.74
62
65
Xavier
21-12
86.73
66
73
Montana
23-6
83.33
89
76
St. Bonaventure
20-11
81.87
82
81
Colorado State
19-11
77.96
87
93
Vermont
23-11
72.28
97
96
UNC-Asheville
21-9
71.86
95
97
Loyola (MD)
24-8
69.96
99
105
South Florida
19-13
66.37
104
108
Detroit
20-13
64.69
118
113
Colorado
21-11
61.13
120
122
LIU-Brooklyn
25-8
53.00
134
130
Norfolk State
24-8
47.08
145
171
Mississippi Valley State
21-12
28.72
178
209
Western Kentucky
15-18
11.17
214
]]>
Calculating Player Value: An Introduction to HOOPWARtag:www.mrisports.com,2012://1.9962012-03-09T04:09:10Z2012-03-09T04:17:23Z How do you evaluate player value? There are a lot of different theories.Well, how about one more.Introducing HOOPWAR, my attempt at developing a way to measure a player's value in wins above a replacement.Benjamin Miraski
Hustle Belt, I published some data on player valuation.
It is an overly complicated formula, designed to try and come up with a measure similar to Wins Above Replacement for baseball.
I promised a breakdown of the formula so here goes.
The basic formula is: (Points Saved + Points Earned) * Average Pace/Team Pace - Replacement level / 30.
We will take each piece separately to try and explain the methodology
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DR: Defensive rebounds stop the other team from having the ball.
Steals: Steals stop the other team from having the ball
Blocks: Blocks stop a shot. It doesn't necessarily change possession but it does stop a potential scoring shot.
Fouls: I figure this will be controversial. I could weight fouls based on how many fouls a team has end up being shooting fouls, and then multiply that by the free throw percentage of the opponents, and there are offensive fouls, and fouls that don't actually result in points. I get that. But here is why I use just straight fouls: impact. We have all watched a game where a player makes a stupid foul, or players play differently with a certain foul total than without. The point is that fouls affect your defensive play. In some cases they turn directly into points. In other circumstances, they result in your being less effective. The end result is that I feel fouls have to be counted in defense, and I count the full amount.
Team defensive points per possession: I could have used the league average, but defense is a team effort. I felt that if your team was good on defense, you are getting some help on the defensive front. You might make better stats than if you were the lone player in a bad defense. This was my way of making sure that the points a player saved its team were counted, at the average rate the team gave up points.
To use Kentucky's Anthony Davis (through 29 games) as an example, which is admittedly taking the most ridiculous example possible:
Points Saved = (198 + 43 + 138 - 58) * 0.8807 = 285.07
Points Earned = FG * (2 * (1-TeamAstPct)) + 3PT * (1-(Team3ptShotPCT*TeamAstPct))+ FT + Off Reb + Ast * TeamAstPct * ( 2+Team3ptshotPct) - ( TO * Team offensive Pts per Poss)
Terms explained:
FG: Number of field goals that a player makes (both 2-pointers and 3-pointers). Simple: Makes shot, get credit... but how much credit?
2*(1-TeamAstPct): Since I am giving some of the credit for the shot to the person making the assist, you only get partial credit. Basically, you get credit for the percentage of the points that your team on average didn't assist on.
3PT: I do the same adjustment for three pointers. You get the extra point in a ratio based on assist percentage and the percentage of threes that your team makes.
FT: You get credit for all of your free throws made. I could take off for free throws missed, which is something I might think about because you should be above a league average FT shooter, but for now, full credit
Offensive rebounds: You have to get some credit for keeping the possession alive.
Assists: You get credit for your assists multiplied by the team assist factor times 2 plus your team's three point percentage. In essence, this is trying to distribute the points not earned by the actual scorer to the guy making the assist.
Turnovers: You lost the ball. You cost your team the equivalent of the points per possession that your team makes on offense. That is taken away from your total.
Anthony Davis again.
Points Earned = 158 * ( 2 * (1-.485)) + 0 * ( 1 - (163/802) * 0.485) + 99 + 87 + 26 * ( 0.485 * ( 2 + (163/802))) - 27 * 1.16 = 345.109
Adding those two numbers, you get: 630.179
That is Davis' raw score.
Now, divide that by the total number of possessions that Kentucky had this year, both offense and defense. This gives you the contribution of Davis per possession.
630.179 / 3859.5 = 0.1632
Again, Davis is a rare case. Most players are not worth 0.1 points per possession, no matter how slow their team plays.
Multiply that per possession number by the number of possessions in a game for an average team in NCAA basketball and then again by the number of games a team played. Some teams will play more games, and their players may be worth more as a result. But they also contributed to more wins. At this point, we could go to a per game basis, but let's continue.
0.1632 * 136.2 * 29 = 645.27
Now we have to subtract out the contribution of a replacement player playing in Davis' minutes.
How did we arrive at the replacement player? Well, the thought was that a team of replacements would somehow manage to win nine games, or at least be worth nine games worth of wins.
Teams that won nine games this year had about 1920 points of offense. If you look at the formula for Points Earned, you aren't going to recoup all of the points you scored. Some of that will be made up on defense.
I am assuming that a team of 12 replacement players would be worth 1920 points overall. It might be a bad assumption (see my thoughts below). It might actually be too high.
It is what it is. Twelve replacement-level players, all playing 500 minutes over 30 games would therefore be worth 160 points.
To get Davis' value over replacement, take his total score and subtract out 160 points for every 500 minutes he played.
645.27 - ( 160 * ( 911/500 )) = 353.748
You can see, Davis is still worth a heck of a lot to his team. But how does that turn into wins?
Using the Pythagorean Formula for basketball, you can approximate a team's winning percentage using points scored and points against. The exponent in the formula varies, according to posts I have seen. I used 10.45. At that exponent, it take a marginal change in points of about 30 to "earn" an extra win.
At the upper levels of the formula, it gets hard to move that needle, but that is why it is very difficult to win 100 percent of the games.
So much like 10 in baseball, I divided the total by 30 to get what I am calling HOOPWAR
Davis: 353.75 / 30 = 11.8
The man is a god on the basketball court. I have found no other player worth that much.
I have run Thomas Robinson, I have run Draymond Green; I have run the entire MAC conference.
If Davis isn't the player of the year in college basketball, I don't know what team that guy plays for, because 11.8 is turning out to be a big number.
Now, there are some things that I am continuing to think on:
Replacement level might still be off, but I can't lower replacement value without inflating Davis' number into a region that I don't think any player could possibly achieve. Maybe that is OK. I am not comfortable with it right now.
The end result of No. 1 is you have a lot of guys who play AT REPLACEMENT LEVEL. Maybe it is just the teams I have run, and if I ran more of the teams from the top half of the country, there would be more impact players. But right now, I have a glut of players who come in at right around 0 for their worth. Am I OK with that? I would need a better sample size to answer that.
If you run a team, the combined HOOPWAR value plus 9 (the value of the replacements playing) does not equal the number of wins for the team. What can I attribute this to? Some of it is the normalization of the number to an average pace. Some of that might be getting more from your players than the actual sum of the parts. Some of that might be a contribution from the losing team (if you play a really bad team, you could almost be guaranteed a win based on their ... crappiness). If you look at baseball, there is a similar phenomenon, but I think the data is closer. In some cases, I have 20 win teams that were worth 15 wins.
Is the defensive rating right? I know usage on defense is a big deal and centers and forwards do have a better chance to compile defensive numbers. With more data, I might see a pattern in how the big men are leading the way with the numbers, but in a league like the MAC, where I have run all the numbers, there were still a few guards scoring well on defense, and overall (perhaps because of the assist addition). Just something to think on.
Feel free to email me at bmiraski at mrisports.com if you want to discuss.
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College Basketball Rankings - MRI 2011-12, Week 15tag:www.mrisports.com,2012://1.9952012-03-05T18:21:43Z2012-03-05T18:41:15ZThere is one more week of basketball left before Selection Sunday.Who has proven themselves capable of making a deep run in the tournament, and who will be most likely to create some upsets?Find out in this week's MRI.Benjamin Miraski
This week's rankings always look a little strange.
Over the past seven days, many of the mid-major and low-major conferences have stacked the deck with their conference tournaments. Teams have played -- and in some cases won -- several more games than the high-major teams.
The result is a surge by those teams in the rankings.
The side effect is that many of them will experience a backslide this week as the top tournaments start.
For example, Wichita State, which bowed out in the semifinals of the Missouri Valley tournament, is still ranked No. 6 in the MRI. But Kansas has yet to start its conference tournament, where most likely, it will play two more games this week.
Win those and the Shockers are dropping.
Other teams whose seasons are over will see the same thing happen to them. Teams like Belmont, Iona and Middle Tennessee State will likely be passed by "bubble" teams making a last push for tournament inclusion this week.
As for the Gaels and Blue Raiders, they have a tough week ahead of them. Both teams availed themselves well in the regular season, each winning 25 games overall and their regular season conference crowns.
Both teams took difficult losses in their conference tournaments though and now are looking at NIT bids.
This is despite high rankings in the MRI that have both teams in the 26-35 range. Getting to that level in the rankings is nothing to sneeze at. You have to have a good season to get that far.
The thing is that usually those teams win their conference tournaments, or have made such a regular season case for themselves, they are considered locks for the NCAA tournament.
Neither is the case with these two. As much as the numbers are king at the MRI, the committee will not believe that wins by Middle Tennessee State over Belmont, Akron, UCLA and Mississippi will be enough. The same with Iona's scalps of Western Michigan, St. Joe's, Maryland, Nevada, Denver and Vermont.
It is a tough sell. It is why tonight's game between Virginia Commonwealth and Drexel will means so much. The loser will likely be in the NIT, although current projections have VCU hanging on to a glimmer of hope should they lose.
It is too bad that 25 wins, no matter who those 25 wins come against, means so little. That Murray State's 27 Division 1 wins mean more to the committee just because they were the final team to lose this season is sad. Both the Atlantic Sun and MAAC were better conferences than the OVC.
The Racers didn't beat Goliaths. They handled St. Mary's, Memphis, Dayton and Southern Mississippi. Two of those four teams are very good. But the depth and breadth of the resume is no better than what Drexel, VCU, Middle Tennessee and Iona bring to the table.
Murray State did the important thing. They removed doubt. They won the Ohio Valley tournament, even though Tennessee State provides them a tough matchup and almost pulled it out.
This is the year for the committee to make a statement though. It can state that WINNING is important over all things. Leave Northwestern, or a few of the gagging 10 Big East teams that Joe Lunardi has dancing in his latest projection at home.
Give a small school with a decent overall resume and a gaudy 25 wins a shot.
You might be surprised how good a team like that actually is, and how well they perform on the big stage.
And on to the rankings.
MRI Top 25 Rankings
Rank
Team
Record
MRI
LW
1
Kentucky
30-1
209.44
2
2
North Carolina
27-4
208.42
3
3
Ohio State
25-6
199.87
1
4
Syracuse
30-1
180.03
4
5
Michigan State
23-7
169.02
5
6
Wichita State
26-5
162.60
6
7
Kansas
26-5
159.57
7
8
New Mexico
23-6
148.59
10
9
Saint Louis
23-6
143.90
12
10
Indiana
24-7
143.13
16
11
Florida
22-9
139.52
8
12
Memphis
23-8
139.20
24
13
Duke
26-5
138.67
9
14
Marquette
25-6
137.89
11
15
Missouri
26-4
137.04
14
16
Gonzaga
25-5
135.52
21
17
Wisconsin
23-8
135.14
17
18
St. Mary's
24-5
134.38
13
19
Georgetown
21-7
129.50
20
20
Cal
23-8
128.69
15
21
Creighton
28-5
127.58
NR(26)
22
Baylor
24-6
127.03
22
23
BYU
23-8
126.43
18
24
UNLV
23-7
125.14
19
25
Florida State
21-9
124.79
23
Teams Dropped From The Top 25: Murray State (LW #25, TW #26).
On the Bubble: Murray State, New Mexico State, Belmont, Iona, Davidson, Virginia, Kansas State, Virginia Commonwealth, Vanderbilt, Harvard.
Wofford Watch: Wofford (17-13) is currently 164th in the MRI, with a score of 32.86. Its season is likely over.
Most Average Team: Rice (14-14), with a score of 29.87.
Last Place this week: Grambling (4-24) at -131.27. 15th week in a row.
Biggest Gain this week: UNC-Asheville gained 18.68 points. (Beat High Point 86-61, Charleston Southern 91-64 and VMI 80-64 to win the Big South tournament.)
Biggest Loss this week: Tulane lost 16.27 points. (Lost to Houston 82-53 and East Carolina 66-49)
Conference rankings this week: Big Ten, SEC, Big East, Big 12, ACC, Mountain West, Atlantic 10, Missouri Valley, Conference USA, PAC-12.
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College Basketball Rankings - MRI 2011-12, Week 14tag:www.mrisports.com,2012://1.9942012-02-27T19:30:22Z2012-02-27T20:33:31ZThe rankings through February 27 are up, which means the end of the regular season for most teams.Who put themselves in position for a tournament discussion in a couple of weeks? Find out in the latest edition of the Basketball MRI.Benjamin Miraski
The MRI has had its ups and downs in terms of predicting which teams will make the NCAA basketball tournament. There is a reason for this: it was never designed to do such a thing.
That said, it was designed to determine what teams are the best at playing basketball. That doesn't always mean they get selected to play in the big dance.
There has been some criticism that the MRI relies too much on the team's record, with the understanding that wins equate to a better team (if you don't lose, you are doing something correct).
What is lost by that argument is that the MRI does take into account who you played in order to rack up those wins. It isn't enough just to run through the SWAC. You might get a bulky win number that way, but you might not be ranked highly in the MRI.
Instead, you have to do it convincingly because year after year, the SWAC is among the bottom three conferences ranked by this computer (and this year, clearly the worst).
That is why Murray State of the one-loss and long unblemished record makes its first appearance at No. 25 in this week's rankings. It took an entire season for the computer to even give credit to the Racers, who play in what the MRI considers the 23rd best conference in the country.
The team was always near the rankings, just not in them. They should have gotten an at-large bid to the tournament even if they somehow tripped in the conference tournament.
They are good, just not among the top 10 best teams in the country as many would have you believe, namely the AP rankings.
That the MRI considers who you play also leads to teams like Florida State, with a 19-9 record getting into the rankings, or a 21-8 Wisconsin team cracking the top 20.
You have to play the best to be ranked highly. You have to win some of those games, and you have to be consistent and win convincingly to get high marks.
This site has always been of the opinion that the tournament should be more open to the mid-major conferences. For many of these leagues, there are few chances to play up against the teams in the top 50 in the RPI, and therefore, the tournament should allow more bias towards teams in smaller conferences that performed exceptionally well, versus those in bigger conferences that were somewhere in the middle.
In some ways, the RPI is an odd measure. There was talk back when the Missouri Valley landed so many teams in the tournament that they had gamed the system.
The league did this by doing well in scheduling during the nonconference season (by playing teams that ENDED UP being good, not necessarily ones that were good at the time). They won some of those games, enough that when the league schedule started, every game was bump up in the RPI, as opposed to being dragged down by teams that were shutout early in the season.
What people forget is that the big conferences manage to game the system every year. Very few of the teams in the best conferences are going to perform poorly in the nonconference season. There might be a couple of losses here and there, but for the most part, they win.
When the league starts, they are constantly getting a boost in the RPI, because no team has such a dreadful record as to be a drag on the overall mark.
Yes, those are usually the best teams anyway, but it doesn't mean that a team like Drexel, whose RPI is 67 isn't just as good.
I bring up Drexel, not because I went there, and there might be a small amount of bias in how I feel about them. After all, they were the reason the MRI was created: to show that teams in smaller conferences were just as good as the big boys, if you evaluated teams based on actual game performance, not just schedule.
Drexel has lost just a single game since the calendar changed to 2012. They have excelled in playing the game of basketball. They are now 25-5 against Division 1 teams, and they will be a tough sell come selection Sunday if they do not keep up the winning streak through the CAA tournament.
They have no top 50 wins, and played just one team in that group, Virginia, early in the season, without one of the team's best scorers.
But because schedules are set a couple of seasons in advance for the most part, Drexel had games against teams that could have been good, but weren't. They may have been better off, because at less than full strength, they may not have won those game anyway. Still the schedule could look better, if say a St. Joseph's weren't struggling, or one of the MAAC teams they played had turned it on.
The Colonial did a bad job up and down the chart of scheduling this season. That is why many believe that between Virginia Commonwealth and Drexel, only the winner of the conference tournament will get in. And if it isn't one of those two teams, the league will not get a second bid. (Drexel at least gets an automatic entry into the NIT, for what that is worth. Barely missing the NCAA tournament has not been a recipe for success in the minor league bracket lately. Call it some sort of hangover effect).
It is also why Drexel's margin for error to get to even the brink of consideration has been so small. The Dragons lost just two games in the conference season, but they couldn't have slipped up much more without it becoming a problem. Every game they played was a fight against a big drop in the RPI. A loss could have tanked whatever small chance they currently have.
According to the MRI, Drexel is currently No. 44. That is by no means a lock for the tournament, even though this is an odd year. Currently, the cutoff point for an at-large berth would fall all the way down at No. 62, currently held by Wyoming. But a number of current small conference leaders fall within those 62 spots. If they lose and are near the bottom of the list (say Lehigh, or Texas Arlington), the bubble jumps up one more spot, leaving the Cowboys, who at one point were in the MRI top 25, in the dust.
The year everyone assumes that Drexel was snubbed for the tournament (with an RPI of 43, again, not putting much stock in the stat), the Dragons were a lowly 71 in the MRI on Selection Sunday.
Would I have been happy to see them in after beating Villanova and Syracuse that year? Yes. Did I think they were as badly snubbed as Dick Vitale did? No, not really, because they played well, just not well enough.
This season they are playing very well, and yet even though major conference contenders for the last few spots are playing soft, and some scheduling quirks, the Dragons will likely be playing in the NIT should they lose in the next week.
These mid-major teams live on the point of a needle, and some of them (not all) need to be given the benefit of the doubt when it comes to whether they are among the top teams in the country, and deserve to be in the bracket.
Another school that seems to be on the verge of getting left out, despite its own RPI of 48 is BYU. The Cougars haven't excelled against the top part of their conference (1-3 against St. Mary's and Gonzaga, two likely locks), but they have performed well enough to be in the top 25 of the MRI for most of the year. The Cougars lost to Baylor and Wisconsin, and no one can fault them there. And the Cougars lost to Loyola Marymount, who also tripped up St. Mary's in case you were wondering.
They haven't done anything wrong necessarily. And yet, despite what experts claim is a "great" RPI number, BYU is also sweating it out.
That very few teams ranked at the end of the season in the MRI have missed the tournament probably doesn't help fans at this point (Missouri State and Akron are the two that come to mind off the top of my head).
In the end, my point is that if you are an Oral Roberts, with a 26-5 record, or South Dakota State, with a 24-7 mark, you deserve some consideration, even though only one of those two teams will play in the dance. Both had excellent seasons.
Can I argue that they are better than South Florida's season? You bet. The Bulls are 11-5 in the Big East so far, but the only significant win among those 11 is against Seton Hall, who is also fighting for its tournament life. Against the top four teams in the conference standings, South Florida has been shut out. Due to the fabulously bloated league, they don't have another chance against those teams.
Should they be rewarded for playing the bottom of the Big East which is not that good this season? Should they be rewarded over Drexel, despite losing to Old Dominion and Virginia Commonwealth in nonconference games, teams that the Dragons swept? (Heck, should they be rewarded over VCU for that matter?). Should they be rewarded just because the RPI puts them at No. 46, even though they couldn't beat Penn State, Auburn or Southern Mississippi?
Decide for yourself. Just know that the MRI has the Bulls at No. 103.
Here are all the rankings in week 14 of the basketball MRI.
MRI Top 25 Rankings
Rank
Team
Record
MRI
LW
1
Ohio State
23-6
201.26
1
2
Kentucky
28-1
198.01
2
3
North Carolina
25-4
192.58
3
4
Syracuse
29-1
180.12
4
5
Michigan State
23-5
175.51
5
6
Wichita State
25-4
157.54
7
7
Kansas
24-5
154.60
6
8
Florida
22-7
144.81
9
9
Duke
25-4
139.92
12
10
New Mexico
21-6
137.21
8
11
Marquette
24-5
135.34
14
12
Saint Louis
21-6
135.03
10
13
St. Mary's
23-5
133.04
17
14
Missouri
24-4
132.09
11
15
Cal
23-7
131.95
13
16
Indiana
22-7
131.30
22
17
Wisconsin
21-8
130.74
15
18
BYU
22-7
127.41
18
19
UNLV
22-6
125.03
23
20
Georgetown
20-6
124.87
19
21
Gonzaga
23-5
124.74
20
22
Baylor
23-5
124.43
21
23
Florida State
19-9
123.32
16
24
Memphis
21-8
123.25
NR(30)
25
Murray State
25-1
117.58
NR(26)
Teams Dropped From The Top 25: Creighton (LW #24, TW #26), Virginia (LW #25, TW #28).
On the Bubble: Creighton, New Mexico State, Virginia, Alabama, Vanderbilt, Iona, Harvard, Louisville, Middle Tennessee State, Seton Hall.
Wofford Watch: Wofford (17-12) is currently 150th in the MRI, with a score of 39.86.
Most Average Team: Rice (13-13), with a score of 29.55.
Last Place this week: Grambling (3-22) at -126.58. 14th week in a row.
Biggest Gain this week: Dayton gained 14.87 points. (Beat Duquesne 74-62 and Massachusetts 76-43)
Biggest Loss this week: Tennessee-Martin lost 18.58 points. (Lost to Austin Peay 85-67 and Jacksonville State 77-46)
Conference rankings this week: Big Ten, SEC, Big East, Big 12, ACC, Mountain West, Atlantic 10, Missouri Valley, Conference USA, PAC-12.
]]>
College Basketball Rankings - MRI 2011-12, Week 13tag:www.mrisports.com,2012://1.9932012-02-27T03:00:39Z2012-02-27T03:01:58ZThe rankings through the games of Bracket Buster weekend, ending February 19.Benjamin Miraski
Rankings through the games of February 19.
MRI Top 25 Rankings
Rank
Team
Record
MRI
LW
1
Ohio State
22-5
199.38
1
2
Kentucky
26-1
191.65
2
3
North Carolina
23-4
188.25
4
4
Syracuse
27-1
178.04
3
5
Michigan State
21-5
166.60
5
6
Kansas
22-5
153.24
6
7
Wichita State
23-4
147.73
7
8
New Mexico
21-4
147.28
9
9
Florida
21-6
144.46
15
10
Saint Louis
21-5
139.69
11
11
Missouri
24-2
137.96
10
12
Duke
23-4
135.91
14
13
Cal
22-6
134.80
12
14
Marquette
22-5
130.80
18
15
Wisconsin
20-7
130.70
13
16
Florida State
19-7
129.19
20
17
St. Mary's
21-5
128.50
8
18
BYU
21-6
126.90
17
19
Georgetown
19-5
121.44
22
20
Gonzaga
21-5
121.44
19
21
Baylor
21-5
120.84
23
22
Indiana
20-7
119.60
21
23
UNLV
20-6
118.22
16
24
Creighton
23-5
117.94
24
25
Virginia
20-6
115.37
25
Teams Dropped From The Top 25: None.
On the Bubble: Murray State, Louisville, Middle Tennessee State, Vanderbilt, Memphis, Harvard, Iona, West Virginia, New Mexico State, Kansas State.
Wofford Watch: Wofford (15-12) is currently 171st in the MRI, with a score of 33.05.
Most Average Team: Ball State (12-12), with a score of 30.26.
Last Place this week: Grambling (3-21) at -122.75. 13th week in a row.
Biggest Gain this week: Florida gained 16.74 points. (Beat Alabama 61-52, and Arkansas 98-68)
Biggest Loss this week: Troy lost 14.19 points. (Lost to Arkansas State 83-59, and Arkansas-Little Rock 74-62 (OT))
Conference rankings this week: Big Ten, Big East, Big 12, SEC, ACC, Mountain West, Atlantic 10, Missouri Valley, Conference USA, PAC-12.
]]>
College Basketball Rankings - MRI 2011-12, Week 12tag:www.mrisports.com,2012://1.9922012-02-22T22:56:17Z2012-02-22T22:57:34ZRankings through the week ending February 12.Benjamin Miraski
Rankings through Feb. 12.
MRI Top 25 Rankings
Rank
Team
Record
MRI
LW
1
Ohio State
21-4
195.98
1
2
Kentucky
25-1
185.07
3
3
Syracuse
25-1
179.13
2
4
North Carolina
21-4
178.21
4
5
Michigan State
19-5
156.10
5
6
Kansas
20-5
147.28
7
7
Wichita State
21-4
138.33
20
8
St. Mary's
21-3
135.22
6
9
New Mexico
19-4
133.53
9
10
Missouri
22-2
132.52
10
11
Saint Louis
19-5
130.45
13
12
Cal
20-6
129.19
18
13
Wisconsin
19-6
129.01
12
14
Duke
21-4
128.37
16
15
Florida
19-6
127.73
8
16
UNLV
20-4
126.99
11
17
BYU
19-6
126.76
15
18
Marquette
21-5
123.22
22
19
Gonzaga
20-4
122.78
24
20
Florida State
17-7
121.30
14
21
Indiana
19-6
120.29
23
22
Georgetown
18-5
119.78
21
23
Baylor
20-4
116.08
19
24
Creighton
21-5
114.37
17
25
Virginia
19-5
110.86
25
Teams Dropped From The Top 25: None.
On the Bubble: Louisville, Kansas State, Middle Tennessee State, Memphis, Murray State, Vanderbilt, West Virginia, Harvard, Iona, Texas.
Wofford Watch: Wofford (14-11) is currently 162nd in the MRI, with a score of 34.84.
Most Average Team: UAB (10-14), with a score of 30.22.
Last Place this week: Grambling (3-19) at -114.55. 12th week in a row.
Biggest Gain this week: Wichita State gained 19.84 points. (Beat Northern Iowa 82-57, and Creighton 89-68)
Biggest Loss this week: Central Arkansas lost 19.77 points. (Lost to Texas State 94-63, and McNeese State 71-56)
Conference rankings this week: Big Ten, Big East, Big 12, SEC, ACC, Mountain West, Atlantic 10, Missouri Valley, Conference USA, PAC-12.
]]>
College Basketball Rankings - MRI 2011-12, Week 11tag:www.mrisports.com,2012://1.9912012-02-17T19:22:46Z2012-02-17T19:24:11ZThe rankings through the games of February 5.Benjamin Miraski
Rankings through the games of Feb. 5.
MRI Top 25 Rankings
Rank
Team
Record
MRI
LW
1
Ohio State
20-3
199.77
1
2
Syracuse
23-1
173.88
2
3
Kentucky
23-1
173.58
4
4
North Carolina
20-3
169.27
3
5
Michigan State
17-5
145.53
5
6
St. Mary's
20-2
136.95
6
7
Kansas
19-18-5
133.66
8
8
Florida
19-4
132.79
10
9
New Mexico
18-4
130.81
15
10
Missouri
20-2
127.33
7
11
UNLV
19-4
126.84
12
12
Wisconsin
18-6
126.52
9
13
Saint Louis
17-5
123.82
22
14
Florida State
16-6
123.60
14
15
BYU
18-6
122.50
19
16
Duke
19-4
122.29
16
17
Creighton
21-3
121.93
20
18
Cal
18-6
121.57
11
19
Baylor
20-2
121.15
13
20
Wichita State
19-4
118.49
18
21
Georgetown
17-4
116.01
NR(31)
22
Marquette
19-5
114.07
17
23
Indiana
18-6
112.63
23
24
Gonzaga
18-4
110.45
21
25
Virginia
18-4
107.22
24
Teams Dropped From The Top 25: West Virginia (LW #25, TW #27).
On the Bubble: Kansas State, West Virginia, Louisville, Harvard, Connecticut, Middle Tennessee State, Murray State, Southern Mississippi, Iona, Vanderbilt.
Wofford Watch: Wofford (13-9) is currently 137th in the MRI, with a score of 42.37.
Most Average Team: Rice (10-11), with a score of 30.48.
Last Place this week: Grambling (3-17) at -105.90. 11th week in a row.
Biggest Gain this week: Georgetown gained 16.66 points. (Beat Connecticut 58-44 and South Florida 75-45)
Biggest Loss this week: Bradley lost 17.75 points. (Lost to Evansville 92-62 and Illinois State 78-48)
Conference rankings this week: Big Ten, Big East, Big 12, SEC, Mountain West, ACC, Atlantic 10, Missouri Valley, Conference USA, PAC-12.
]]>
College Basketball Rankings - MRI 2011-12, Week 10tag:www.mrisports.com,2012://1.9902012-02-01T21:43:26Z2012-02-01T21:56:16ZNo rants on Murray State this week, although it is likely the streak will end when the Racers meet St. Mary's in Bracket Busters.Just enjoy the rankings this week. More in the weeks to come, including the premier of the tournament projections.Benjamin Miraski
No rants on Murray State this week, although it is likely the streak will end when the Racers meet St. Mary's in Bracket Busters.
One quick note on the made-for-television event. If ESPN could pressure one of the big leagues into participating (and this is not the Mountain West, or Atlantic 10, this is one of the big boys), it would fulfill a much greater purpose.
When the mid-majors face the big boys, it is always at the beginning of the season, before the smaller schools have had a chance for their teams to really come together.
But if the schools played now, there is a greater chance we could see the "upsets", and see the teams earn that extra win that gets them into the tournament.
All anyone is asking for is a shot, and this is the one shot that many of these high-performing teams are asking for. Beating another Missouri Valley team, or a Colonial team isn't as meaningful as beating one of the middle of the pack Big Ten or Big 12 teams, ones that might be the last one in the tournament.
Instead, the teams who truly deserve that extra spot could get it, even if it is just for a single round.
Enjoy the rankings this week. More in the weeks to come, including the return of the tournament projections.
MRI Top 25 Rankings
Rank
Team
Record
MRI
LW
1
Ohio State
19-3
197.44
1
2
Syracuse
22-1
169.44
2
3
North Carolina
18-3
159.26
3
4
Kentucky
21-1
158.52
4
5
Michigan State
16-4
142.75
5
6
St. Mary's
19-2
135.34
7
7
Missouri
18-2
130.17
6
8
Kansas
17-4
129.98
8
9
Wisconsin
17-5
129.35
9
10
Florida
17-4
125.71
12
11
Cal
17-5
122.01
11
12
UNLV
18-3
121.26
10
13
Baylor
18-2
120.20
14
14
Florida State
14-6
119.74
21
15
New Mexico
16-4
119.18
NR(30)
16
Duke
18-3
118.69
17
17
Marquette
18-4
117.87
23
18
Wichita State
17-4
115.34
13
19
BYU
16-6
113.72
18
20
Creighton
20-2
113.25
22
21
Gonzaga
17-3
113.14
19
22
Saint Louis
15-5
112.49
15
23
Indiana
17-5
109.80
25
24
Virginia
17-3
108.88
24
25
West Virginia
15-7
105.77
16
Teams Dropped From The Top 25: Seton Hall (LW #20, TW #29).
On the Bubble: Middle Tennessee State, Kansas State, Vanderbilt, Seton Hall, Murray State, Georgetown, Harvard, Louisville, Southern Mississippi, Oral Roberts.
Wofford Watch: Wofford (12-8) is currently 136th in the MRI, with a score of 41.16.
Most Average Team: St. Francis (NY) (11-10), with a score of 30.39.
Last Place this week: Grambling (3-15) at -98.51. 10th week in a row.
Biggest Gain this week: New Mexico gained 23.03 points. (Beat Colorado State 85-52, and TCU 71-54)
Biggest Loss this week: NJIT lost 16.82 points. (Lost to North Dakota 80-63, and Utah Valley State 81-58)
Conference rankings this week: Big Ten, Big 12, Big East, SEC, Mountain West, ACC, Atlantic 10, Missouri Valley, Conference USA, PAC-12.
]]>
College Basketball Rankings - MRI 2011-12, Week 9tag:www.mrisports.com,2012://1.9892012-01-24T20:41:13Z2012-01-26T03:36:07ZThis is a great year for the smaller conferences, the ones that don't get all the facetime on ESPN.Only the media and the coaches have it wrong all because of a zero in the loss column.Benjamin Miraski
Bracket Project , the Racers are on the six line. It is close to where the MRI would slot them (the rest of the Project does not agree so nicely). The inputs, such as a three-seed from several outlets, are a little nuts though. There is also one site that doesn't even mention Murray State (totally not right).
Then again, this is the site that accused me of being nuts for rating George Mason and some other mid-majors high.
Murray State is still a good team, and the Racers will likely be in the tournament should they not make it through the OVC tournament. They just aren't among the top 12 teams in the country.]]>
MRI Top 25 Rankings
Rank
Team
Record
MRI
LW
1
Ohio State
17-3
183.54
2
2
Syracuse
20-1
171.36
1
3
North Carolina
16-3
144.81
3
4
Kentucky
19-1
144.14
4
5
Michigan State
15-4
136.20
5
6
Missouri
17-1
130.99
6
7
St. Mary's
17-2
128.95
7
8
Kansas
16-3
128.84
9
9
Wisconsin
16-5
124.39
12
10
UNLV
16-3
120.12
17
11
Cal
16-5
118.97
10
12
Florida
15-4
117.93
14
13
Wichita State
16-3
117.51
15
14
Baylor
16-2
114.21
8
15
Saint Louis
14-4
113.80
21
16
West Virginia
15-5
113.12
19
17
Duke
16-3
112.72
18
18
BYU
15-5
112.68
13
19
Gonzaga
16-3
112.47
16
20
Seton Hall
15-4
112.28
11
21
Florida State
13-6
111.38
22
22
Creighton
18-2
109.22
24
23
Marquette
16-4
107.87
23
24
Virginia
15-3
106.66
25
25
Indiana
16-4
106.31
20
Teams Dropped From The Top 25: None.
On the Bubble: Georgetown, Middle Tennessee State, Kansas State, Murray State, New Mexico, Vanderbilt, Dayton, Alabama, North Carolina State, Wyoming.
Wofford Watch: Wofford (10-8) is currently 152nd in the MRI, with a score of 37.49.
Most Average Team: Loyola Marymount (9-8), with a score of 30.46.
Last Place this week: Grambling (2-15) at -99.23. 9th week in a row, and opening up some room on Binghamton.
Biggest Gain this week: Wyoming gained 14.37 points. (Beat Air Force 64-54, and Colorado State 70-51)
Biggest Loss this week: South Carolina State lost 24.56 points. (Lost to Florida A&M 86-69, and Savannah State 83-53)
Conference rankings this week: Big Ten, Big 12, Big East, SEC, ACC, Mountain West, Atlantic 10, Missouri Valley, PAC-12, Conference USA.
]]>
College Basketball Rankings - MRI 2011-12, Week 8tag:www.mrisports.com,2012://1.9882012-01-16T20:03:55Z2012-01-18T22:01:00ZThe Big Ten continues to prove it is the top conference from top to bottom, while a few teams that looked bubblicious rebound with big wins.Check it all out in Week 8 of the Basketball rankings.Benjamin Miraski
It is late, so no soapbox standing today.
But let's just say this:
Big Ten (Yes!)
Georgetown (No!)
Connecticut (No!)
Pac-12 (Do they actually still play basketball?)
Cue the rankings
MRI Top 25 Rankings
Rank
Team
Record
MRI
LW
1
Syracuse
19-0
174.72
2
2
Ohio State
16-3
174.67
1
3
North Carolina
15-3
135.92
3
4
Kentucky
17-1
131.19
4
5
Michigan State
14-3
127.63
5
6
Missouri
15-1
123.80
6
7
St. Mary's
15-2
122.58
12
8
Baylor
16-0
120.85
14
9
Kansas
14-3
117.27
13
10
Cal
15-4
117.19
10
11
Seton Hall
15-3
115.81
8
12
Wisconsin
14-5
112.78
11
13
BYU
13-4
110.55
16
14
Florida
14-4
110.03
19
15
Wichita State
14-3
109.16
20
16
Gonzaga
14-3
108.06
7
17
UNLV
14-3
105.80
15
18
Duke
15-2
105.68
17
19
West Virginia
13-5
103.59
25
20
Indiana
15-3
103.47
9
21
Saint Louis
13-4
102.10
18
22
Florida State
11-6
102.01
NR(47)
23
Marquette
14-4
101.99
NR(27)
24
Crieghton
16-2
101.59
NR(29)
25
Virginia
14-2
100.27
22
Teams Dropped From The Top 25: Kansas State (LW #21, TW #30), Louisville (LW #23, TW #32), Alabama (LW #24, TW #27).
On the Bubble: New Mexico, Alabama, Connecticut, Georgetown, Kansas State, Murray State, Louisville, Vanderbilt, Middle Tennessee State, North Carolina State.
Wofford Watch: Wofford (8-8) is currently 167th in the MRI, with a score of 30.90.
Most Average Team: Texas San Antonio (9-7), with a score of 30.48.
Last Place this week: Grambling (2-13) at -88.84. 8th week in a row, and Binghamton is closing fast.
Biggest Gain this week: Florida State gained 20.81 points. (Beat Virginia Tech 63-59, and North Carolina 90-57)
Biggest Loss this week: Marist lost 14.00 points. (Lost to Canisius 67-57 and Niagara 86-67)
Conference rankings this week: Big Ten, Big 12, Big East, SEC, ACC, Mountain West, Atlantic 10, Missouri Valley, PAC-12, Conference USA.
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MRI Football 2011 - Rankings Bowl Finaltag:www.mrisports.com,2012://1.9862012-01-10T18:45:55Z2012-01-10T19:04:49ZWith its win Monday night, Alabama moved back into the top spot in the MRI to be this season's champion.And the MRI went home a big winner in the ESPN college bowl mania picks. Find out where the computer finished.Plus check out the rankings in the bowl final MRI rankings.Benjamin Miraski
finished in the top 10 percent of "America" finishing in the 90th percentile in the ESPN College Bowl Mania. Just goes to show that the computer continues to be smarter than most college football fans. So be careful what you criticize.
Check out all the final rankings in the bowl final football MRI for 2011-12.]]>
MRI Top 25 Rankings
Rank
Team
Record
MRI
LW
1
Alabama
12-1
131.39
2
2
LSU
13-1
122.49
1
3
Houston
13-1
118.37
4
4
Oklahoma State
12-1
115.56
3
5
Oklahoma
10-3
106.58
5
6
Boise State
12-1
101.57
8
7
Oregon
12-2
98.78
9
8
Wisconsin
11-3
98.51
6
9
Stanford
11-2
96.98
7
10
Michigan
11-2
82.97
10
11
South Carolina
11-2
75.55
15
12
Southern Mississippi
12-2
75.27
12
13
Georgia
10-4
72.26
11
14
Arkansas
11-2
70.44
17
15
USC
10-2
67.80
14
16
Virginia Tech
11-3
67.61
13
17
Michigan State
11-3
62.58
16
18
Baylor
10-3
61.68
23
19
West Virginia
10-3
61.11
NR(32)
20
TCU
11-2
60.32
20
21
Florida State
9-4
59.98
22
22
Toledo
9-4
59.85
19
23
Texas
8-5
59.59
25
24
Temple
9-4
58.74
NR(29)
25
Tulsa
8-5
58.17
21
Teams Dropped From The Top 25: Arkansas State (LW #18, TW #28), Clemson (LW #24, TW #33)
On the Bubble: Texas A&M, Missouri, Arkansas State, Northern Illinois, Ohio, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Clemson, BYU, Cincinnati.
Last Place this week: Akron (1-11) at -86.53. 4th week in a row, and the worst score ever registered in the MRI.
Biggest Gain this week: Alabama gained 13.99 points. (Beat LSU 21-0 in the National Title game)
Biggest Loss this week: Wyoming lost 8.66 points (Lost to Temple 37-15 in the New Mexico Bowl)
Conference rankings this week: SEC, Big 12, Big Ten, Big East, PAC-12, ACC, Conference USA, Mountain West, MAC, WAC, Sun Belt
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College Basketball Rankings - MRI 2011-12, Week 7tag:www.mrisports.com,2012://1.9852012-01-10T02:31:19Z2012-01-10T04:28:23ZUnlike in Ken Pomeroy's rankings, Wisconsin did start a slow slide down the MRI this week.Just shows that you can withstand a loss or two and keep your rating. Five? That is a different matter.Check it all out in Week 7 of the MRI.Benjamin Miraski
one of these.
Wisconsin is very much still a contender. Remember that North Carolina took a few weeks to even appear in the MRI rankings. And any team that reaches the magical 100 point mark in the rankings is almost guaranteed a tournament spot.
Many teams go through these funks. Most recover. Wisconsin is one of those teams.
There are other teams that people should be questioning right now.
Both Connecticut and Georgetown took hard losses this weekend. Both were ranked highly in the AP poll. Neither had been higher than No. 20 in the MRI. The schedules were not overwhelming. They didn't dominate any games. They squeaked their way to their position in the computer, and it was a shaky one at that.
So why did they get any love, other than for the name on their jersey, in the human polls?
The same question can be asked about Harvard. If not for a win over Florida State, the record would be built on the backs of a number of questionable teams. Add in the loss to Connecticut and they look even shakier.
Before that loss they were not even sniffing the top 25 in the computer despite an undefeated record (the same could be said for Murray State right now, who at least makes the ranking bubble list).
If there is no Tommy Amaker in Boston, there is no Harvard with a number next to it.
It is important to keep in mind as we move deep into the season that the human polls are very flawed. (Note: The computers are flawed too. The MRI is historically only 75 percent correct.)
But just because a team is highly ranked, or has a big gaudy record, that doesn't mean that they are excellent/unstoppable/elite eight material.
Remember that Connecticut came out of seemingly nowhere last season to win the title. Remember that teams consistently "surprise" come March, because expectations are so skewed by the human polls. You have to use all the data available to make judgements.
Wisconsin could still make a big splash come the tournament. Whether that is a second weekend appearance, or a Final Four run remains to be seen and a lot depends on what happens over the next 6 weeks.
Don't overreact to numbers you see on January 9. Teams will change. Teams will evolve.
And only then will we see who the real contenders for the title are.
And maybe it will be Connecticut, Georgetown, Harvard and the Badgers after all.
Check out all the rankings in week 7 of the basketball MRI.
]]>
MRI Top 25 Rankings
Rank
Team
Record
MRI
LW
1
Ohio State
15-2
168.07
2
2
Syracuse
17-0
163.48
1
3
North Carolina
14-2
134.72
3
4
Kentucky
15-1
128.55
4
5
Michigan State
13-2
117.45
6
6
Missouri
13-1
115.18
8
7
Gonzaga
13-2
113.26
14
8
Seton Hall
14-2
113.13
13
9
Indiana
15-1
111.09
7
10
Cal
13-4
109.26
12
11
Wisconsin
12-5
108.65
5
12
St. Mary's
12-2
106.32
9
13
Kansas
12-3
105.91
NR(27)
14
Baylor
14-0
105.83
21
15
UNLV
14-2
105.24
17
16
BYU
12-4
103.01
NR(26)
17
Duke
13-2
102.13
10
18
Saint Louis
12-3
100.25
25
19
Florida
12-4
100.19
18
20
Wichita State
11-3
100.09
11
21
Kansas State
12-2
99.97
16
22
Virginia
14-1
99.08
20
23
Louisville
13-3
96.88
19
24
Alabama
12-3
96.45
NR(38)
25
West Virginia
12-4
95.51
39
Teams Dropped From The Top 25: Marquette (LW #15, TW #27), Oklahoma (LW #22, TW #36), Connecticut (LW #23, TW #32), Georgetown (LW #24, TW #28).
On the Bubble: New Mexico, Marquette, Georgetown, Creighton, Murray State, Dayton, Connecticut, Southern Mississippi, Michigan, Purdue.
Wofford Watch: Wofford (7-7) is currently 176th in the MRI, with a score of 28.11.
Last Place this week: Grambling (1-12) at -86.97. 7th week in a row.
Biggest Gain this week: Texas Southern gained 23.07 points. (Beat Alcorn State 87-52, Southern 73-39, and Prairie View 84-49)
Biggest Loss this week: Southeastern Louisiana lost 25.56 points. (Lost to Texas Arlington 85-46, and Stephen Austin 63-36)
Conference rankings this week: Big Ten, Big 12, Big East, SEC, ACC, Mountain West, Atlantic 10, Missouri Valley, PAC-12, Conference USA.
]]>
College Basketball Rankings - MRI 2011-12, Week 6tag:www.mrisports.com,2012://1.9842012-01-04T23:16:52Z2012-01-04T23:23:33ZNo blabber this week, just rankingsBenjamin Miraski
No blabbering this week. Just the rankings.
All rankings are based on Division I game results through January 1, 2012.
Happy New Year. Happy rankings.
Unless you went to Grambling.
MRI Top 25 Rankings
Rank
Team
Record
MRI
LW
1
Syracuse
15-0
157.21
1
2
Ohio State
13-2
147.10
2
3
North Carolina
13-2
127.75
4
4
Kentucky
13-1
118.08
7
5
Wisconsin
12-3
117.74
3
6
Michigan State
12-2
111.11
10
7
Indiana
13-1
106.57
9
8
Missouri
12-0
105.82
5
9
St. Mary's
11-2
104.54
23
10
Duke
12-1
102.96
NR(30)
11
Wichita State
9-3
101.52
16
12
Cal
12-3
101.20
13
13
Seton Hall
12-2
99.23
17
14
Gonazaga
11-2
98.75
NR(27)
15
Marquette
12-2
97.73
8
16
Kansas State
11-1
97.45
18
17
UNLV
13-2
97.40
21
18
Florida
11-3
97.35
11
19
Louisville
12-2
97.15
6
20
Virginia
12-1
96.36
14
21
Baylor
12-0
95.95
15
22
Oklahoma
10-2
95.70
12
23
Connecticut
12-1
94.63
19
24
Georgetown
11-1
94.09
25
25
Saint Louis
11-2
93.01
20
Teams Dropped From The Top 25: Creighton (LW #22, TW #30), Pittsburgh (LW #24, TW #35).
On the Bubble: BYU, Kansas, Murray State, New Mexico, Creighton, Purdue, Mississippi State, Stanford, Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh.
Wofford Watch: Wofford (5-6) is currently 209th in the MRI, with a score of 19.04.
Last Place this week: Grambling (0-10) at -80.41. 6th week in a row.
Biggest Gain this week: Duke gained 19.53 points. (Beat Western Michigan 110-70, and Pennsylvania 85-55)
Biggest Loss this week: Arkansas-Pine Bluff lost 18.60 points. (Lost to Jacksonville State 78-55, UTEP 79-58 and New Mexico State 81-65)
Conference rankings this week: Big Ten, Big East, Big 12, SEC, ACC, Mountain West, Missouri Valley, Atlantic 10, PAC-12, Conference USA.
]]>
College Basketball Rankings - MRI 2011-12, Week 5tag:www.mrisports.com,2011://1.9832011-12-27T18:56:32Z2011-12-27T19:12:04ZFor some schools, it just takes time.
Everyone knew that North Carolina was good. The Tar Heels showed that in flashes during the early season.
But it took until Christmas before they truly found themselves.Benjamin Miraski
For some schools, it just takes time.
Everyone knew that North Carolina was good. The Tar Heels showed that in flashes during the early season.
But it took until Christmas before they truly found themselves.
North Carolina destroyed Nicholls State (which is to be expected) and then dismantled Texas to the tune of 20 points.
That is why the Tar Heels have vaulted to No. 4 in the MRI rankings.
The things that had been holding North Carolina back -- rebounding and turnovers -- are suddenly a thing of the past. The two losses to UNLV and Kentucky almost feel like a different team was playing.
North Carolina is now averaging almost 10 more rebounds a game than its opponents. And it is now just about average in the takeaway department.
North Carolina has arrived, and is poised to challenge Syracuse, Ohio State and Wisconsin for the top of the heap.
There are still six teams that have not lost a game this season, to go with 11 teams that have not beaten another Division 1 team.
Keep an eye on Murray State to see if they can survive as the lowest ranked of the undefeated. And watch Alabama A&M for when they might break through. Although being ranked 309 isn't exactly encouraging.
Check out all the rankings in Week 5 of the MRI.
MRI Top 25 Rankings
Rank
Team
Record
MRI
LW
1
Syracuse
13-0
139.27
1
2
Ohio State
12-1
132.48
2
3
Wisconsin
11-2
119.72
3
4
North Carolina
11-2
110.39
15
5
Missouri
11-0
105.98
4
6
Louisville
12-0
103.27
8
7
Kentucky
11-1
103.05
9
8
Marquette
11-1
102.72
5
9
Indiana
12-0
102.35
10
10
Michigan State
10-2
99.73
19
11
Florida
10-2
98.04
18
12
Oklahoma
9-1
97.93
11
13
Cal
10-3
97.00
7
14
Virginia
10-1
96.61
6
15
Baylor
11-0
94.34
21
16
Wichita State
8-2
94.22
12
17
Seton Hall
11-1
93.55
13
18
Kansas State
10-1
92.90
NR(28)
19
Connecticut
10-1
92.64
17
20
Sain Louis
10-1
92.16
22
21
UNLV
11-2
90.22
NR(34)
22
Creighton
10-1
90.17
NR(29)
23
St. Mary's
9-2
90.09
NR(27)
24
Pittsburgh
11-2
89.82
20
25
Georgetown
9-1
88.87
NR(26)
Teams Dropped From The Top 25: Stanford (LW #14, TW #31), Florida State (LW #16, TW #33), Minnesota (LW #23, TW #32), Texas (LW #24, TW #43), Mississippi State (LW #25, TW #28).
On the Bubble: BYU, Gonzaga, Mississippi State, Ohio, Duke, Stanford, Minnesota, Florida State, West Virginia, Murray State.
Wofford Watch: Wofford (5-5) is currently 196th in the MRI, with a score of 22.76.
Last Place this week: Grambling (0-9) at -77.13. 5th week in a row.
Biggest Gain this week: North Carolina gained 20.90 points. (Beat Nicholls State 99-49, and Texas 82-63)
Biggest Loss this week: Central Arkansas lost 23.67 points. (Lost to Iowa 105-64, and Drake 87-64)
Conference rankings this week: Big Ten, Big East, Big 12, SEC, Mountain West, ACC, Missouri Valley, PAC-12, Atlantic 10, Conference USA.
