can someone explain

[DBFAN]

I know that polls this time of year are pretty meaningless, but why on Earth did Pitt jumps us in the Coaches Poll. This seems to be quite unfair, especially since Duke just won 3 games in 4 days. I think there is too much Bias for the Big East. It is not Duke's fault that they did not get to play a marquee game against UCLA, but it seems as though they are being punished for that.

Oh well, I guess we just have to keep on winning.

[wisteria]

I was about to post something similar, but then it doesn't really matter. No.5 was a bit too high for us to start with, IMHO.

[shadowfax336]

There were a lot of concerns coming into the season about Levance Fields and when he would come back from injury/if he'd be 100% at any point in the season. He came back ahead of schedule and has averaged over 9 assists per game so far. That by itself drastically changes the season outlook for Pitt. A healthy Fields is one of the best PGs in the nation. That makes a BIG difference

[shadowfax336]

I was about to post something similar, but then it doesn't really matter. No.5 was a bit too high for us to start with, IMHO.

That said I think 5 is just about right for us right now. I'd pick us to beat everybody ranked beneath us (and pick us to beat UConn and Louisville as well actually). I think we're about dead even with Pitt (see the game in the garden last year, they lost Cook, Ramon, and Benjamin, we lost D-Marc), and UNC... well we all know about them.

[DBFAN]

I understand what all of you are saying but the fact is we are 6-0 Pitt is 4-0, and we got jumped in the poll, I really think that the ACC should have a problem with this. Reminds me of last week when we barely beat Rhode Island and we dropped two spots in the AP poll, while UCLA had a similiar situation and they they stayed at the #4 spot. The last time I checked this is not the BCS and we should not be penalized for not winning by 50 points. At this rate they might as well go ahead and give the four number one seeds to the big east, because that seems to be what they want.

[dukelifer]

I know that polls this time of year are pretty meaningless, but why on Earth did Pitt jumps us in the Coaches Poll. This seems to be quite unfair, especially since Duke just won 3 games in 4 days. I think there is too much Bias for the Big East. It is not Duke's fault that they did not get to play a marquee game against UCLA, but it seems as though they are being punished for that.

Oh well, I guess we just have to keep on winning.

Didn't Pitt beat Duke last time they played- clearly they are a superior team :)
Polls mean nothing at this point. Not even worth thinking about unless you have never been ranked number 1 - which is certainly not the case for Duke.

[pfrduke]

At this rate they might as well go ahead and give the four number one seeds to the big east, because that seems to be what they want.

Hmmm.... overreacting just a touch to a November poll, are we?

[CameronCrazy'11]

I actually had much the same reaction. However, when the entire top 10 has a combined 0 losses, arguments about who is better than whom are necessarily even more subjective than usual. If you can't point to actual wins and losses to justify rankings, you end up having to make arguments like "Team A was almost beating Team B at halftime, and Team A isn't very good, so Team B can't be very good either". With a few tough games coming in December, the time is approaching for us to put up or shut up. If we make it through December undefeated, we are a top 5 team, and if we don't then we don't merit a top 5 ranking.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Hmmm.... overreacting just a touch to a November poll, are we?

Exactly. Talk to me about the poll in April when we are National Champs!

[sagegrouse]

Exactly. Talk to me about the poll in April when we are National Champs!

As long as we keep winning, I would prefer us to be ranked low rather than high.

sagegrouse

[Kedsy]

At this rate they might as well go ahead and give the four number one seeds to the big east, because that seems to be what they want.

You think the coach's poll (or the newspaper poll for that matter) has anything to do with seeding in the NCAA tournament?

[DBFAN]

So maybe I am overreacting just a little, but so far this seems to be a trend. What bothers me is what if this was March, and some people somewhere decided that team X should jump team Y, not because they lost but become someone just thinks team Y is better. I guess I just do not see any justifiable reason PITT should have jumped us.

[wisteria]

We were No.5 in ESPN poll and No.10 in AP poll. That's quite a difference. In the AP poll, Pitt was ahead of us anyway. So who knows... perhaps whoever voted the ESPN poll just decided that they'd make the two polls closer. I mean...the two pollls usually do end up almost the same.

[DoubleDuke Dad]

Since this is basketball and not football the polls are of no real significance. However, we are clearly not being shown any respect by the polls. It is as if we were a mid-major where a better record is discounted because they are not playing against better competition. We are being treated like Boise State in the Football Poll. They are undefeated but only ranked 9th.

[rasputin]

Since this is basketball and not football the polls are of no real significance. However, we are clearly not being shown any respect by the polls. It is as if we were a mid-major where a better record is discounted because they are not playing against better competition. We are being treated like Boise State in the Football Poll. They are undefeated but only ranked 9th.

I disagree. There are still lots of undefeated teams out there, most ranked way below us. Xavier is 5-0 and 20th and with better wins than Duke has.
And, of course, the polls just don't matter.

[JasonEvans]

You think the coach's poll (or the newspaper poll for that matter) has anything to do with seeding in the NCAA tournament?

This is not the place to go into a lengthy discussion of it, but you should be made aware that folks who track NCAA seeding say that -- at least in the case of the top seeds -- the best way to figure the seeds out is to look at the poll rankings. The polls do a far better job than the computer rankings or the RPI in tracking the top 4 seeds in each region. The RPI does a great job of helping you figure out the bubble teams but when it comes to the top seeds, look at the polls for guidance.

So, having a high poll ranking probably does matter... at least once we hit February and March.

--Jason "we dropped in the coaches poll this week because we dropped in the AP poll last week and the coaches look at the AP poll for guidance" Evans

[BlueintheFace]

I want to be vastly underrated by every commentator and coach except for Bilas, because that means that expectations are low, but we are actually a great team... and thats the best place to be.

[wisteria]

--Jason "we dropped in the coaches poll this week because we dropped in the AP poll last week and the coaches look at the AP poll for guidance" Evans

Yeah... that's what I thought too.

[hughgs]

This is not the place to go into a lengthy discussion of it, but you should be made aware that folks who track NCAA seeding say that -- at least in the case of the top seeds -- the best way to figure the seeds out is to look at the poll rankings. The polls do a far better job than the computer rankings or the RPI in tracking the top 4 seeds in each region. The RPI does a great job of helping you figure out the bubble teams but when it comes to the top seeds, look at the polls for guidance.

So, having a high poll ranking probably does matter... at least once we hit February and March.

--Jason "we dropped in the coaches poll this week because we dropped in the AP poll last week and the coaches look at the AP poll for guidance" Evans

I hope you're not saying that the polls predict or guide the seeds ...

[Cavlaw]

So maybe I am overreacting just a little, but so far this seems to be a trend. What bothers me is what if this was March, and some people somewhere decided that team X should jump team Y, not because they lost but become someone just thinks team Y is better. I guess I just do not see any justifiable reason PITT should have jumped us.
I thought the entire purpose of filling out the ballot for the poll was to rank which team you thought was better than which other teams.

If enough voters decide that they think team Y is better than team X, then team Y should end up ahead of team X. It's not a matter of what team X deserves.

That's why it's called a poll.

[DBFAN]

I thought the entire purpose of filling out the ballot for the poll was to rank which team you thought was better than which other teams.

If enough voters decide that they think team Y is better than team X, then team Y should end up ahead of team X. It's not a matter of what team X deserves.

That's why it's called a poll.

Why such hostility?

[Cavlaw]

Why such hostility?
erm, because you're reading into the text an emotion which isn't there?

[Jarhead]

We were No.5 in ESPN poll and No.10 in AP poll. That's quite a difference. In the AP poll, Pitt was ahead of us anyway. So who knows... perhaps whoever voted the ESPN poll just decided that they'd make the two polls closer. I mean...the two pollls usually do end up almost the same.
No. We are #6 in the AP poll

[JasonEvans]

I hope you're not saying that the polls predict or guide the seeds ...

Why not? Almost every serious bracketologist agrees that the polls are an excellent predictor of the top seeds. Are you disputing that fact?

-Jason "the polls do a better job than the RPI or the computer rankings when it comes to the top seeds-- it is just a fact" Evans