Syracuse.
I was watching the Cal-Stanford game last night (great win for Johnny D's kids) and Bill Walton was doing the game.
He said that Cal was No. 1 because they just beat No. 1 (Arizona) and that's the way "algebra" works -- to be No. 1 you have to beat No. 1 (don't get me started on his use of the word algebra).
Even if you concede his system, there was a flaw in his reasoning -- Arizona never beat No. 1 ... they were voted No. 1 by the pollsters.
So who should be No. 1 in the Walton Universe?
That depends on who starts as No. 1.
If you start with preseason No. 1 Kentucky, it goes from Kentucky to Michigan State to UNC to Texas to Michigan State again to Michigan and most recently to Indiana, which hasn't lost since beating Michigan.
But you could start with the defending national champ -- Louisville. In that case, it goes from Louisville to UNC to UAB to LSU to Rhode Island to St. Louis, which is still No. 1.
Which do you think has the better case? Indiana? Or St. Louis?
Syracuse.
fortunately the walton ranking always converges on the national champion, which is pretty nifty...but I'm inclined to think that UL holds on to the title across seasons until they lose...which means UL gets the nod!
for completeness, here is the walton #1 for all of last season
UK
duke
NCSU
maryland
UNC
NCSU
virginia
GT
FSU
WFU
BC
FSU
NCSU
UNC<first time since duke to hold it for more than a game...clearly it's cursed...
DUKE
Maryland (acc tourney)
UNC
miami (acc tourney)
marquette (sweet 16) <clearly since the ACC had held it since the second game of the season, it must have been the best conference, right?
syracuse (elite 8)
michigan (final 4)
louisville (championship)
this year
Louisville
UNC
UAB
LSU
Rhode Island
St. Louis
where might it go next???
VCU on saturday seems like a likely candidate...though it isn't likely to move out of conference until the tournament
1200. DDMF.
I'm firmly convinced that Walton's brain is covered in bong resin.
This is the same logic that supports my favorite meaningless piece of recognition - the NBA Regular Season Championship Belt. Just to show how ridiculous it is, the belt currently resides with the Charlotte Bobcats (at least until they lose to the Spurs on Saturday).
Just be you. You is enough. - K, 4/5/10, 0:13.8 to play, 60-59 Duke.
You're all jealous hypocrites. - Titus on Laettner
You see those guys? Animals. They're animals. - SIU Coach Chris Lowery, on Duke
close enough. in theory an ivy team could end the season holding #1, but not make the big dance (since they don't play a conference tourney). or a post-season ban team, like prior uconn, could also toss a monkey wrench in. i can't think of other possible exceptions. do any conferences exclude teams from their tourneys?
The Big Sky Conference tournament only lets the top 8 teams in (out of 11). Previously, the A-10 only let the top 12 teams into their conference tournament, so 3 out of its 15 teams were left out last year. But they only have 13 members now and apparently are expanding the A-10 tournament field to 13, so (assuming SLU has it now), it should find its way into the NCAA tournament. There may be other conferences that only let the top X number of teams in.
Also, N.J.I.T is independent.
I vote for St. Louis, because a) my wife went to SLU, and b) Billikens are awesome.
SLU Billiken.jpg
With 10 replies to the original post (now 11) I am pretty certain we have put a heck of a lot more thought into this than Walton ever did.
-Jason "Maybe we can turn this thread into an appreciation of JD's Stanford boys winning that game" Evans
Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?
We could do a king of the mountain top 25, where teams swap rankings when there is an 'upset'.
St louis losing with 11 minutes to go. ... could wet have a new King of the hill?
If the day ever comes one of these decades when Coach Vitale decides to drop the mic, I'm hoping the big redhead can pick it up and carry on the tradition of completely eccentric random basketball commentary.
Last night, they cut to a shot of the announcers and Walton was resplendent in a logo-free shortsleeve black golf shirt. His partner had the standard-issue suit and tie, and was busting Bill's chops about his clothes. Bill shrugged it off with a laugh, "what's wrong with this?"
Also, (forgive my east coast bias) I have not watched an entire Walton-announced game this season. But the thought occurs to me that you might be able to make a fun drinking (or smoking) game whenever Bill sneaks in a song lyric. Last night I heard him tell a story about a particular player and say, "however, that path is for his steps alone" and I started cracking up. And if that's not enough, you can also throw one in for any John Wooden quote / anecdote; those come around often enough too.
Might have to start setting my bedtime schedule around Walton's TV games...
Last edited by Turk; 02-20-2014 at 12:45 PM.
"Quality is not an option!"
Nah, I'd rather turn it into an appreciation of Walton. He was my first basketball idol when I was a little kid. Believe it or not, I still remember watching ND snap UCLA's winning streak at the local rec center.
The fact that Walton is even doing TV after overcoming his stuttering problem is impressive just by itself, never mind whatever ideas actually come out of his mouth.
"Quality is not an option!"
I just believe Mr. walton has a few screws loose when listening to him do a game,but man what a great college player he was.His logic just seems a bit flawed.
I've watched a few games this season that he's called. For those who get his references, he is probably a joy. For those who don't, it's probably awful. I fall more in the first camp so I love it. It's a shame he only really calls Pac-12 games, as I'd love to see him call some Duke games. I think he's a lot more entertaining than Vitale.