Dear AP Poll, Please explain

[Bajan Best]

How is it that #7 South Carolina is blown out by #1 UCONN in their own gym, by what 30 points? and still remain #7, whereas Oregon is beaten by then #24 Stanford by 13 points in their own gym and drop 3) spots from 6th to 9th. Does winning the Nat'l Championship the previous year earn a team such privileges? Perhaps then after losing to the #2 team this week they will jump from #7 to number #4, after all, it is the number #2 team

 

[cbraarj]

No comparison Uconn No.1 and beat a lower ranked team South Carolina. Oregon ranked No.6 lost to No.24 Stanford by double digits.

 

[oldude]

How is it that #7 South Carolina is blown out by #1 UCONN in their own gym, by what 30 points? and still remain #7, whereas Oregon is beaten by then #24 Stanford by 13 points in their own gym and drop 3) spots from 6th to 9th. Does winning the Nat'l Championship the previous year earn a team such privileges? Perhaps then after losing to the #2 team this week they will jump from #7 to number #4, after all, it is the number #2 team

When you lose to the Huskies by only 25 pts on your own court as SC did, you probably deserve to go up in the rankings.

 

[cbraarj]

Also in the 1999/2000 season Uconn was ranked No.1 the whole season in both the AP and ESPN/USA poll even after losing a game.

 

[Charliebball]

When you lose to the Huskies by only 25 pts on your own court as SC did, you probably deserve to go up in the rankings.

exactly............consider it a compliment to UConn...........

 

[Bronx23]

How is it that #7 South Carolina is blown out by #1 UCONN in their own gym, by what 30 points? and still remain #7, whereas Oregon is beaten by then #24 Stanford by 13 points in their own gym and drop 3) spots from 6th to 9th. Does winning the Nat'l Championship the previous year earn a team such privileges? Perhaps then after losing to the #2 team this week they will jump from #7 to number #4, after all, it is the number #2 team

What this says to me is women's college basketball still has a long ways to go to have some relative equity.
Yes, there are more good teams and programs. But, there are very few teams and programs that can truly compete with U Conn this as in most years.
That SC is a #7 and likely will stay there after two losses, one a complete rout and other a not so close loss and five losses speaks volumes about this.
MS as I thought last year is offensively challenged. They definitely win and beat us last year with playing tenacious defense and our having a real off day and game. Maybe the same could occur but I think we will beat them by at least 15-20 points. I think Louisville is very good but doubt it will be a close competitive game. I'm still not sure about Baylor as I haven't seen them much. Notre Dame is a very strong program and excellently coached but with injuries not that dangerous this year. Oregon is building a strong program with still a lot of good young players but I don't think they can win a NC now.
All in all, more teams are getting closer to the top but not quite there and after the top 6-8 there's another significant drop off.
Maybe someday we will have true balance but that likely won't be until Geno & CD retire.
Bronx23

 

[Charliebball]

What this says to me is women's college basketball still has a long ways to go to have some relative equity.
Yes, there are more good teams and programs. But, there are very few teams and programs that can truly compete with U Conn this as in most years.
All in all, more teams are getting closer to the top but not quite there and after the top 6-8 there's another significant drop off.
Maybe someday we will have true balance but that likely won't be until Geno & CD retire.
Bronx23

perhaps I'll be more comfortable liking your post on April 2nd...............

 

[CocoHusky]

No comparison Uconn No.1 and beat a lower ranked team South Carolina. Oregon ranked No.6 lost to No.24 Stanford by double digits.

 

[Centerstream]

What this says to me is women's college basketball still has a long ways to go to have some relative equity.
Yes, there are more good teams and programs. But, there are very few teams and programs that can truly compete with U Conn this as in most years.
That SC is a #7 and likely will stay there after two losses, one a complete rout and other a not so close loss and five losses speaks volumes about this.
MS as I thought last year is offensively challenged. They definitely win and beat us last year with playing tenacious defense and our having a real off day and game. Maybe the same could occur but I think we will beat them by at least 15-20 points. I think Louisville is very good but doubt it will be a close competitive game. I'm still not sure about Baylor as I haven't seen them much. Notre Dame is a very strong program and excellently coached but with injuries not that dangerous this year. Oregon is building a strong program with still a lot of good young players but I don't think they can win a NC now.
All in all, more teams are getting closer to the top but not quite there and after the top 6-8 there's another significant drop off.
Maybe someday we will have true balance but that likely won't be until Geno & CD retire.
Bronx23

I think Baylor is the big question mark at this point. They have two big guys that are playing very good this season, giving them a good high-low setup on offense and Wallace has had some very good nights shooting 3s. However, I still think UConn is a much better "team" especially if Z can stay in a game and play solid defense. "if".....

 

[LoTrader]

How is it that #7 South Carolina is blown out by #1 UCONN in their own gym, by what 30 points? and still remain #7, whereas Oregon is beaten by then #24 Stanford by 13 points in their own gym and drop 3) spots from 6th to 9th. Does winning the Nat'l Championship the previous year earn a team such privileges? Perhaps then after losing to the #2 team this week they will jump from #7 to number #4, after all, it is the number #2 team

Not to worry, it will all work out come NCAA Tournament time. I believe the WBB Ducks, and, other PAC12 WBB Teams will make significant noise when NCAA Tournament is under way. One of the reasons I like visiting the Boneyard, is there exists folks from the east coast that actually have a clue what is going on in PAC12 WBB. The media east of the Rockies does not.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

The AP Poll ... a bunch of daft reporters ... any questions?

 

[Bronx23]

Not to worry, it will all work out come NCAA Tournament time. I believe the WBB Ducks, and, other PAC12 WBB Teams will make significant noise when NCAA Tournament is under way. One of the reasons I like visiting the Boneyard, is there exists folks from the east coast that actually have a clue what is going on in PAC12 WBB. The media east of the Rockies does not.

I watch a lot of Pac 12 games in the evening and it's a very competitive conference. There are 5-6 quality teams and had two players who stand out.
Firstly is Ionescu who is a superstar phenom. A true point guard who can also shoot well. She likely will become an all time great women's player.
The other player I like to watch is I'm not sure if I got name right, think it's McPhee on Stanford. She just knows both how to play and score in big spots.
Obviously they have some very good coaches and of course Tara is almost up there with Geno, which is saying a lot.
Bronx23

 

[Kaizen]

1. Teams lost to UConn will not change the rank.
2. Teams lost to lower rank team will lower the rank.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

1. Teams lost to UConn will not change the rank.
2. Teams lost to lower rank team will lower the rank.

Well, if their lost, who cares what their rank is?

Soory, @Kaizen, one of those silly moods has me today.

 

[southie]

Don't get too excited about the logic in the AP poll. It has no bearing on the bracket.

Now, how the RPI relates to the committee's latest rankings and Creme's bracket is what has me very puzzled as it pertains to South Carolina and Ohio State.

Rating Percentage Index (RPI) Live 2017-2018 Women's College Basketball - WarrenNolan.com

 

[Orangutan]

How is it that #7 South Carolina is blown out by #1 UCONN in their own gym, by what 30 points? and still remain #7, whereas Oregon is beaten by then #24 Stanford by 13 points in their own gym and drop 3) spots from 6th to 9th. Does winning the Nat'l Championship the previous year earn a team such privileges? Perhaps then after losing to the #2 team this week they will jump from #7 to number #4, after all, it is the number #2 team

UConn games basically don't count against you in the polls. Stanford is making great strides as the season goes on (this just in, Tara is an extraordinary coach) but they're still an 8-loss team.

By the way, Stanford is #2 (!) in Sagarin's "recent" metric, which more heavily weights recent games.

For fun, the "recent " top 10. Some wonky ones at the bottom, but there's a reason this is only one component in his overall ranking system.
1. UConn
2. Stanford
3. Notre Dame
4. Mississippi State
5. Louisville
6. Baylor
7. Texas
8. LSU
9. Maryland
10. Green Bay

 

[Golden Husky]

The AP Poll ... a bunch of daft reporters ... any questions?

Oh dear. We AP reporters, even alums, prefer to be called "ink stained wretches," to "daft."

 

[willtalk]

I suppose if you are going to rank someone you have to have some sort of standard. The thing is that metrics and records focus on the past and not the present. Basketball as a game is also very reliant on Timing and Match ups. It's the any given day factor that makes comparative records and scores flawed. Teams can be hot or cold in respect to shooting and that plays a major role. The simi final in the NCAA's last year are a perfect example of Timing and Match ups combined with the any given day factor. If a team has a really off night and they play a team that is shooting lights out, unless they are vastly superior the odds are that they will lose. Does anyone really believe that Texas should be ranked # 2 based on their close game with Uconn?

The thing is that in college the teams do not play often enough, nor do they play an equal enough schedule to make records and comparative scores infallible. As has been pointed out, teams change as the season progresses some teams become better due to variable factors while others get weaker. Realistically even the final NCAA tournament the best team does not always come out on top. The winner is usually accepted as the best team, but based on logic it would not always be true.

 

[wallman]

The PAC has nothing to complain about this year. In general some teams went backwards in their scheduling and they lost to the few teams that the pollsters considered in their higher polls. Once that happened it is difficult for any PAC team to make a statement from conference games as none have a significant OOC win.

 

[Bigpetunia]

I suppose all of this simply serves to reinforce the point that the only ranking poll that is freighted with any meaning whatsoever is the one that comes out after the first week in April.

 

[Fightin Choke]

The PAC has nothing to complain about this year. In general some teams went backwards in their scheduling and they lost to the few teams that the pollsters considered in their higher polls. Once that happened it is difficult for any PAC team to make a statement from conference games as none have a significant OOC win.

I thought your Bruins had a pretty good OOC win against Baylor. Was it that long ago?

 

[DefenseBB]

The AP Poll ... a bunch of daft reporters ... any questions?

You game me an idea-let's set up the BY Poll with a select group of voters to post our top 25 each week. We have enough representation from across the country-nwhoop in the northwest, EricLA in ya know LA, Our SC Gamecock crew, our ND brethren, Milford Husky in VA, you in Montana, CharlieBB in NJ, HuskyNAN and Plebe.

The only caveat is UConn must stay #1...

 

[triaddukefan]

You game me an idea-let's set up the BY Poll with a select group of voters to post our top 25 each week. We have enough representation from across the country-nwhoop in the northwest, EricLA in ya know LA, Our SC Gamecock crew, our ND brethren, Milford Husky in VA, you in Montana, CharlieBB in NJ, HuskyNAN and Plebe.

The only caveat is UConn must stay #1...

 

[wallman]

I thought your Bruins had a pretty good OOC win against Baylor. Was it that long ago?

Too long and the whole no coach, no Cox, is still a talking point. But I was talking about the PAC as whole and lack of OOC good wins, scheduling is of course partly to blame.

 

[DefenseBB]

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Sorry , if it makes you feel any better I left EastTexasTrash, Bags, Oldude, STwain off as well in my haste to post...