ND still #2?

[Suebird10fan]

Finally dropping ND to #3 in my personal rankings. Could argue for #4 but I'm not quite there yet.

Duke and ND have both had three close gameall on the road. ND beat PSU, Or St and Va by 10, 12 and 7. Duke beat Cal, Ok, Ky by 12, 9 and 8. Meantime ND's marquee win is home v MSU by 19 while Duke beat Syr on the road by 33. I trust the comparison speaks for itself.

The only reason to think ND is better is if you count getting beat up by UConn against Duke. And given the Huskies dominance I think you have to give the Blue Devils a pass on that.

Btw I know ND won't drop in polls. Just asking for personal opinion.

 

[chrissaran]

ND will be two until they lose. That's how the polls work. It doesn't matter the reality of the situation. We'll find out more when they face Duke, Maryland and North Carolina.

 

[semper]

I'm looking forward to those three games. Wish we could play NC, too.

 

[DobbsRover2]

ND plays next Monday at UTenn, the Monday after at MD, and the Sunday after that at Duke. Might want to let that all play out before getting into deep discussions about who's #2 and all that.

 

[ndmb]

Finally dropping ND to #3 in my personal rankings. Could argue for #4 but I'm not quite there yet.

Duke and ND have both had three close gameall on the road. ND beat PSU, Or St and Va by 10, 12 and 7. Duke beat Cal, Ok, Ky by 12, 9 and 8. Meantime ND's marquee win is home v MSU by 19 while Duke beat Syr on the road by 33. I trust the comparison speaks for itself.

The only reason to think ND is better us if you count getting beat up by UConn against Duke. And given the Huskies dominance I think you have to give the Blue Devils a pass on that.

Btw I know ND won't drop in polls. Just asking for personal opinion.

I generally agree. Pretty much every team in the top 25 has proven that they deserve to be there more than ND (who's prime accomplishment thus far has been not blowing it against a far-outmatched team) has. If ND beats Tenn and MD, then we can talk,

 

[doggydaddy]

I think you are asking where WE would rank them, not where the voters will rank them.

Obviously they will stay #2 until they lose.

But personally, I think Duke is better, based on all other games not including the Uconn loss for Duke.

 

[msf22b]

The combination of a strong inside presence plus efficient guards may make ND too large an obstacle for Duke or the others.
i think ND ends a deserved #2

 

[DobbsRover2]

I generally agree. Pretty much every team in the top 25 has proven that they deserve to be there more than ND (who's prime accomplishment thus far has been not blowing it against a far-outmatched team) has. If ND beats Tenn and MD, then we can talk,

Seriously? You believe that every team currently in the AP top 25, which until the new ones are released include teams like Georgia, Arkansas, and San Diego, have shown they belong more in the polls more than ND? An Indiana team that also has not played any Sagarin top-25 team is better than ND? All those ranked teams like Georgia whose only top 25 game was a home loss to UTenn deserves a T25 ranking more than ND??? There will be some changes in the new polls, but the new teams entering the poll won't have sterling T25 credentials either.

I know this is simmer-down period, so I'll just say your statement is interesting.

 

[doggydaddy]

Seriously? You believe that every team currently in the AP top 25, which until the new ones are released include teams like Georgia, Arkansas, and San Diego, have shown they belong more in the polls more than ND? An Indiana team that also has not played any Sagarin top-25 team is better than ND? All those ranked teams like Georgia whose only top 25 game was a home loss to UTenn deserves a T25 ranking more than ND??? There will be some changes in the new polls, but the new teams entering the poll won't have sterling T25 credentials either.

I know this is simmer-down period, so I'll just say your statement is interesting.

Some posts you need to just shake you head and move on. It was so over the top, no response is necessary.

I will add that Georgia was ranked 25 and then lost two games this week.

 

[PacoSwede]

I think you are asking where WE would rank them, not where the voters will rank them.

Obviously they will stay #2 until they lose.

But personally, I think Duke is better, based on all other games not including the Uconn loss for Duke.

This brought a hypothetical situation to mind:

Suppose, even though it is a huge stretch, the Huskies lose tonight. (Maybe the whole team has a serious flu outbreak brought on by the long flight to Texas, nobody can shoot straight, Morgan is still out of action and Stef, Stewie and Kiah all have horrible foul trouble.)

How many poll voters drop UConn out on the No. 1 slot? None? If they do, who do they elevate? ND?

 

[RadyLady]

ND plays next Monday at UTenn, the Monday after at MD, and the Sunday after that at Duke. Might want to let that all play out before getting into deep discussions about who's #2 and all that.

My money is on ND beating Tennessee at home, mowing over MD where ever they play, and the Duke game will be interesting. I will give it to ND, but I wouldn't mind being wrong

 

[doggydaddy]

This brought a hypothetical situation to mind:

Suppose, even though it is a huge stretch, the Huskies lose tonight. (Maybe the whole team has a serious flu outbreak brought on by the long flight to Texas, nobody can shoot straight, Morgan is still out of action and Stef, Stewie and Kiah all have horrible foul trouble.)

How many poll voters drop UConn out on the No. 1 slot? None? If they do, who do they elevate? ND?

I thought about it but just couldn't post it. I'm glad you are the one that brought that up....lol.

 

[DobbsRover2]

My money is on ND beating Tennessee at home, mowing over MD where ever they play, and the Duke game will be interesting. I will give it to ND, but I wouldn't mind being wrong

All of ND's upcoming games against ranked teams in the next few weeks are on the road, so you definitely can't just say they'll breeze into the battle with the Blue Devils at Cameron. UTenn may be sliding a bit lately, but you gotta expect they'll get up for ND at TBA, so it could be quite a game. MD has just the one loss (at home) to UConn, so that's another big tester for the Irish.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Part of what will make some of those games interesting to me will be that Notre Dame plays a more disciplined style than Tennessee and Maryland. I agree with the poster who expects Duke to be the biggest challenge.

Of the couple of games I've seen involving these teams (nothing involving ND), I actually was most impressed by Maryland. Not because I wanted to be, either.

 

[VAMike23]

IMO, ND just plays better basketball than Duke particularly on the offensive end. You watch ND for awhile and you see they have players who know what to do with the basketball. They don't have quite the athleticism and length that Duke has across the board, however, and on a given night this can be more of a handicap for them.

l think they are the better team over Duke -- we'll see what happens moving forward.

 

[easttexastrash]

ND plays next Monday at UTenn, the Monday after at MD, and the Sunday after that at Duke. Might want to let that all play out before getting into deep discussions about who's #2 and all that.

Those games will go a long way in determining seeding for the NCAA tourney.

 

[easttexastrash]

When I look at ND's schedule I see that their highest ranked opponent so far is Penn St., who will likely be out of the top 20 this week. Is that correct or am I missing something?

 

[semper]

The results of the matchups we've been discussing here will have quality of coaching as a major factor, and in that regard there is no contest. From what I've seen, ND wins all three...Duke as a squeaker.

 

[DobbsRover2]

When I look at ND's schedule I see that their highest ranked opponent so far is Penn St., who will likely be out of the top 20 this week. Is that correct or am I missing something?

Only thing you've been missing is the Sagarin factoids thread about it and maybe a few more threads that might have sprung up in the last few minutes about ND's clearly abysmal schedule. Still, their SOS is rated 224 spots better than Baylor's, and the Irish have 4 wins against to 50 teams, while Baylor has just 1, which is less than even George Washington. As noted elsewhere, PSU was ranked #13 when they played ND but then fell a bit out of the ratings. The Irish also played two other ranked teams who later fell out of the rankings.

 

[easttexastrash]

Only thing you've been missing is the Sagarin factoids thread about it and maybe a few more threads that might have sprung up in the last few minutes about ND's clearly abysmal schedule. Still, their SOS is rated 224 spots better than Baylor's, and the Irish have 4 wins against to 50 teams, while Baylor has just 1, which is less than even George Washington. As noted elsewhere, PSU was ranked #13 when they played ND but then fell a bit out of the ratings. The Irish also played two other ranked teams who later fell out of the rankings.

I have fully admitted that Baylor has had an embarrassing OOC schedule, but ND has not yet played anyone who should test them in the least. I cannot put them at number 2 considering that they have only played PSU and barely beat UVA.

They simply haven't played anyone. At least Baylor will have two top 10 OOC opponenets after tonight.

 

[easttexastrash]

Only thing you've been missing is the Sagarin factoids thread about it and maybe a few more threads that might have sprung up in the last few minutes about ND's clearly abysmal schedule. Still, their SOS is rated 224 spots better than Baylor's, and the Irish have 4 wins against to 50 teams, while Baylor has just 1, which is less than even George Washington. As noted elsewhere, PSU was ranked #13 when they played ND but then fell a bit out of the ratings. The Irish also played two other ranked teams who later fell out of the rankings.

Ranked teams that fell out of the rankings simply have proven not worthy of being ranked and should never have been ranked in the first place. And quite frankly, in women's basketball, top 50 might as well be top 500.

 

[DobbsRover2]

I have fully admitted that Baylor has had an embarrassing OOC schedule, but ND has not yet played anyone who should test them in the least. I cannot put them at number 2 considering that they have only played PSU and barely beat UVA.

They simply haven't played anyone. At least Baylor will have two top 10 OOC opponenets after tonight.

It appears that the pollsters did put ND at # 2 though for Week 11. And MSU who beat #16 Nebraska last week is now considered ND's highest rated opponent so far. And just palying top 10 opponents is not enough, you have to beat some.

 

[RadyLady]

All of ND's upcoming games against ranked teams in the next few weeks are on the road, so you definitely can't just say they'll breeze into the battle with the Blue Devils at Cameron. I definately didn't UTenn may be sliding a bit lately, but you gotta expect they'll get up for ND at TBA, so it could be quite a game. ND will be VERY up for this game, and given TN's current disorginazation, they will lose their minds and lose the game - see LSU game at TBA MD has just the one loss (at home) to UConn, so that's another big tester for the Irish. Please - MD has played only one other ranked team, the rest were cupcakes.

 

[easttexastrash]

It appears that the pollsters did put ND at # 2 though for Week 11. And MSU who beat #16 Nebraska last week is now considered ND's highest rated opponent so far. And just palying top 10 opponents is not enough, you have to beat some.

I am discussing ND...you are wanting to discuss Baylor. IMO, Notre Dame has not played a high quality opponent and therefore should not be number 2. Now, if Baylor were ranked number 2 I could see why you would want to discuss Baylor. But this thread is titled "ND Still #2?"

 

[easttexastrash]

It appears that the pollsters did put ND at # 2 though for Week 11. And MSU who beat #16 Nebraska last week is now considered ND's highest rated opponent so far. And just palying top 10 opponents is not enough, you have to beat some.

So, ND has neither played nor beaten a top 10 team. They will get that chance, but to date, they have proven nothing to me, especially after that 6 point win over unranked UVA.

Just my opinion. They may be the second best team in the nation, but we don't know how they stack up yet until they play a team of high quality.