KenPom/RPI Hybrid Top 83: Gophers are 6-2

[SelectionSunday]

There are 83 teams currently sitting in the top 100 of both the KenPom and RPI rankings. Currently the Gophers have a 6-2 record vs. such teams. So far the Gophers' Sun Belt opponents are treating them well, with three (UT-Arlington, Louisiana, Arkansas State) in both top 100s.

KenPom & RPI Top 100 (1/3/17)
Akron
Arizona
Arkansas (W) -- 42 RPI, 42 KenPom
Arkansas State (W) -- 47 RPI, 100 KenPom
Auburn
Baylor
Boise State
Butler
Cal
Central Florida
Chattanooga
Cincinnati
Clemson
College of Charleston
Colorado
Creighton
Davidson
Dayton
Duke
Florida
Florida Gulf Coast
Florida State (L) -- 12 RPI, 20 KenPom
Georgetown
Georgia
Gonzaga
Houston
Illinois
Illinois State
Iowa State
Kansas
Kansas State
Kentucky
Louisiana (W) -- 80 RPI, 91 KenPom
Louisville
Marquette
Maryland
Miami-Florida
Michigan
Michigan State (L) -- 34 RPI, 48 KenPom
Middle Tennessee
Minnesota
Monmouth
Nebraska
Nevada
North Carolina
NC State
North Carolina-Wilmington
Northwestern
Notre Dame
Ohio State
Oklahoma State
Ole Miss
Oregon
Penn State
Pitt
Providence
Purdue (W) -- 15 KenPom, 50 RPI
Rhode Island
Saint Bonaventure
Saint Mary’s
Seton Hall
South Carolina
SMU
Temple
Tennessee
Texas A&M
Texas-Arlington (W) -- 32 RPI, 60 KenPom
TCU
Texas Tech
UCLA
USC
Valparaiso
Vanderbilt (W) -- 61 RPI, 74 KenPom
Vermont
Villanova
Virginia
VCU
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest
West Virginia
Wichita State
Wisconsin
Xavier

 

[cemba99]

Although I did not think much of it at the time, the "neutral court" win against Vandy could provide a bit more fruit than expected. SEC is not strong this year and the Commodores already have a road win vs LSU. (Although LSU looks to be pretty weak with 35 and 34 point losses respectively to Wichita St and Wake Forest.)

 

[SelectionSunday]

Although I did not think much of it at the time, but the "neutral court" win against Vandy could provide a bit more fruit than expected. SEC is not strong this year and the Commodores already have a road win vs LSU. (Although LSU looks to be pretty weak with 35 and 34 point losses respectively to Wichita St and Wake Forest.)

Excellent point about the SEC. I like Vandy's chances of staying in the top 100 if they can simply go 8-10 or 9-9 in the SEC. The Commodores' strong non-conference SOS (currently #15) should help them stay afloat.

 

[SelectionSunday]

B1G Records vs. the KenPom/RPI Hybrid 83

Record vs. Teams Ranked in Top 100 of Both KenPom & RPI
1 Minnesota (6-2)
2 Maryland (4-2)
3 Wisconsin (3-2)
4 Michigan State (4-4)
T5 Illinois (3-3)
T5 Northwestern (3-3)
T7 Indiana (2-3)
T7 Michigan (2-3)
T7 Purdue (2-3)
10 Iowa (2-4)
11 Nebraska (2-5)
12 Ohio State (1-3)
T13 Penn State (0-4)
T13 Rutgers (0-4)

 

[matt]

Record vs. Teams Ranked in Top 100 of Both KenPom & RPI
1 Minnesota (6-2)
2 Maryland (4-2)
3 Wisconsin (3-2)
4 Michigan State (4-4)
T5 Illinois (3-3)
T5 Northwestern (3-3)
T7 Indiana (2-3)
T7 Michigan (2-3)
T7 Purdue (2-3)
10 Iowa (2-4)
11 Nebraska (2-5)
12 Ohio State (1-3)
T13 Penn State (0-4)
T13 Rutgers (0-4)

Guess which 3 of these teams are ranked...

 

[SelectionSunday]

Guess which 3 of these teams are ranked...

1 that shouldn't be (Indiana) and 2 am OK with (Wisconsin & Purdue). Gophers win 2 this week, they'll be there next week.

Main thing isn't the rankings. Keep stacking quality wins. Have at least 4-5 top-50 wins at the end of the season and about a half-dozen more in the top 100 and usually you'll be good to go.

 

[mizzougopher]

Thanks for this SS, always good stuff. Honestly I dont care about the top 25 at all. I also heard Pitino last night on his radio show saying he doesn't pay attention to it either. Main thing is to keep building up the resume with good RPI and KenPom wins, which is something he did talk about.

 

[SelectionSunday]

Thanks for this SS, always good stuff. Honestly I dont care about the top 25 at all. I also heard Pitino last night on his radio show saying he doesn't pay attention to it either. Main thing is to keep building up the resume with good RPI and KenPom wins, which is something he did talk about.

Glad to do it.

I don't care about the AP or coaches rankings, either. Nice to be recognized, but tournament-wise doesn't mean a hill of beans.

 

[Cayman]

Guess which 3 of these teams are ranked...

The ones who started the season ranked and haven't lost enough games to fall out yet. If we had started ranked, we'd probably still be ranked.

 

[Holy Man]

Glad to do it.

I don't care about the AP or coaches rankings, either. Nice to be recognized, but tournament-wise doesn't mean a hill of beans.

Certainly true in the objective world of tournament selection, but rankings help in getting scores and highlights shown to more people, and thus giving recognition to the program. Rankings are important for those who don't follow the details of college hoops, which I suspect includes a lot of potential recruits. Would be nice to hit the rankings for that reason alone.

 

[mnsportsgeek]

The ones who started the season ranked and haven't lost enough games to fall out yet. If we had started ranked, we'd probably still be ranked.

If we had started the year ranked we'd be top 15.

 

[macgopher]

The ones who started the season ranked and haven't lost enough games to fall out yet. If we had started ranked, we'd probably still be ranked.

Interesting bit of logic and there is no question if we started ranked, we'd still be ranked, since we only have two losses and don't have a bad loss as yet. Hopefully no bad losses during the year.

 

[The Culprit]

Excellent point about the SEC. I like Vandy's chances of staying in the top 100 if they can simply go 8-10 or 9-9 in the SEC. The Commodores' strong non-conference SOS (currently #15) should help them stay afloat.

Agreed that the non-conf is going to really help them/us. Big week for them this week with games vs Auburn and @Alabama. I took a look at their conference schedule and they got a tough draw (Kentucky, Tenn, Florida, Ark, A&M x2). I am pretty confident in Arkansas' ability to be in the tier below Kentucky (2-6), but I think Vandy needs to rack up some early wins to finish in that top 6. Beating similar teams like Auburn and Alabama will go a long ways, especially since they don't match up with either team again this year.

 

[UpAndUnder43]

Being ranked is fun but agree on compiling quality wins. Even with their shaky start, a win vs Michigan State would have been really stellar

 

[matt]

Certainly true in the objective world of tournament selection, but rankings help in getting scores and highlights shown to more people, and thus giving recognition to the program. Rankings are important for those who don't follow the details of college hoops, which I suspect includes a lot of potential recruits. Would be nice to hit the rankings for that reason alone.

Agreed. There are benefits to being ranked strictly from a fan perspective - AP previews on games, ESPN covers recaps on Sportscenter, more news articles, and other similar small benefits. It's also good for the non-Minnesota fans and recruits to see us ranked but those benefits are less tangible.

 

[Atl Gopher]

Thanks for this SS, always good stuff. Honestly I dont care about the top 25 at all. I also heard Pitino last night on his radio show saying he doesn't pay attention to it either. Main thing is to keep building up the resume with good RPI and KenPom wins, which is something he did talk about.

I agree with you. Until it comes to the tournament selection time the only folks that care about rankings are teams that have been losers most of the time. Great programs could care less. Wait; we only won how many games last year. 8? We're ranked number 26 now; cool!

 

[TruDat]

Someone is going to have to explain to me how Vanderbilt is a top 100 team.

 

[BarnBoy]

I agree with you. Until it comes to the tournament selection time the only folks that care about rankings are teams that have been losers most of the time. Great programs could care less. Wait; we only won how many games last year. 8? We're ranked number 26 now; cool!

National Championship or bust, amirit?

 

[Sour1729]

Sure, being ranked may not mean anything when it comes to the tournament. However, praise/validation from others is nice, and the rankings provide for more exposure. That helps with recruiting and building a large passionate fanbase.

I don't understand why people are so dismissive of the rankings, unless those same people don't care about the things I listed above.