No.1-worthy?

[Uncle Drew]

RPI has Memphis at 32 SOS vs. 37 for Duke. Pomeroy has them at 32 vs. 30 for Duke. Since this whole conversation was based upon whether we should be #1 vs. them, on what basis shouldn't they be ranked ahead of us? We have done worse against a schedule that is at best about equal to their schedule. Don't get the rest of their schedule confused with their past slate...

Agreed Clips. But I think the thing about college basketball that makes it by far the best college sport (and IMO the best sport pro or college) is rankings; be it ESPN, coaches poll, RPI, Pomeroy etc. mean very, very little if anything at all. They might decide what seed you get in the NCAA's or if you get into the NCAA's. But in theory once you're in the dance EVERY team has the same statistical chance of taking home the prom queen. Granted #1 and #2 seeds usually play lesser quality teams the first and / or second round. But the NCAA's depend a TON on match ups. There have been a few years I knew Duke had one of if not the best team out there but they were pitted against a team that matched up with them very well. Additionally despite what the selection committee would tell us, they like the soap opera effect and intriguing match ups based on various circumstances. (Quinn Snyder might have a Final Four appearance under his belt if he hadn't run into Coach K and company one year.)

I'm just thankful Duke will get their chance to decide if they are worthy of a Final Four or even national championship on the court. Instead of relying on a BCS type system which might leave them out in the cold with a #3 ranking.

[sandinmyshoes]

The RPI doesn't even have us ahead of UNC at this point, neverminding Memphis or Kansas (although it has Tenn. at #1).
It also has UNC with the 11th ranked SOS compared to Duke at 37. And did we beat Maryland so convincingly that we are not really worried about a rematch?

I think there was a whole lot of fan perspective in the original post. Plus, sometimes it's fun to be just a little bit smaller target for a change.

[DukeDevil]

James Worthy has never been No. 1 at anything.

ROFLMAO

[DukeDevil]

Personally, I think that Duke will get some No. 1 votes if we take care of business on Feb 6. I also think that rankings mean squat, except for the purposes of seeding.

[BlueDevilJay]

I learned my lesson from UConn the year they beat us in the title game. They were #1 for the majority of that season, and all season long I said they were overrated as I thought they had not played any quality teams. I longed for Duke to get a shot at them to put them in their place, and when we got it, they beat us. At that point, I decided I would no longer worry about if a team is "overrated" or whatever, unless of course that team is South Orange County Community College, of whom I will always think they are overrated (As proven by MD just over a week ago)

[AKG]

I don't want us to even sniff number 1 this early in the season. That said, if we do win our next three we will more than likely some consideration. Kansas State has a reasonably good chance of knocking off kansas coming up, but I just can't see memphis stumbling...(sorry, I just don't think houston is good enough) unless they completely don't show up. I personally hate memphis' roster/attitude, but I also think it is without question the most complete collection of NBA-caliber talent. As much as I can't stand Calipari, he has absolutely gotten it done OOC. I'd kind of like to see them keep winning and go into the tourney as the odds on favorite...shades of UNLV in '91. I think we could all live with a similar result.

[Clipsfan]

I'm just thankful Duke will get their chance to decide if they are worthy of a Final Four or even national championship on the court. Instead of relying on a BCS type system which might leave them out in the cold with a #3 ranking.

I couldn't agree more. It'll be fun rooting for them in the tourney.

[mpj96]

Personally, I think the selection committee has a #1 seed waiting for the winner of the ACC. So, to maintain that #1 seed, I think we'll have to win the regular season title (which will probably include at least a split with Carolina). On top of that, I'd imagine that we'll have to win the ACC tournament or go farther than Carolina.

You mean that if Duke or UNC continue to play well and win the ACC that the selection committee will place Duke or UNC #1, right? I have a hard time believing that MD, Clemson or Miami would get a #1 seed in the NCAAs by winning the ACC tourney with the kinds of records they have accumulated to date.

I am happy with Duke being a top 10 team overall and think our ranking may be just a tad high at present. I think that over the past 5 games we have played like a top 10 team, but I don't think we are playing like a #1 team yet.

That said, I don't think that a #1 caliber team with Duke on its schedule would be wise to look past us.

[BigTedder]

Although I might agree with you about Memphis, KU is the real deal . . . and until they lose, we won't be #1.

Agreed, Kansas is NOT to be *'d with. They are hot.

[SilkyJ]

Although I might agree with you about Memphis, KU is the real deal . . . and until they lose, we won't be #1.

I agree Brandon Rush is Good.

Mempis IS #1 playing in a weak conference and Duke is neither #1 nor in a weak conference. As i mentioned earlier, rankings at this point don´t matter much and i would actually prefer Duke not to be #1. All i wanted to point out is that Duke should mos def be in the discussion about being a #1 team, or at least a #1 seed...

I agree with ur premise, but its not that black and white for the voters, especially when you are evaluating the top teams. at the top, the voters tend to look and say well who would win if they played each other, meaning how do the teams matchup. Clearly memphis would appear to have the personnel to keep up with our guards/wings (our strength) and they have a serious inside presence that we can't match (our weakness) so, the schedules aside, its easy for the voters to look and say memphis "looks" better than us...same with UNC, i would say...

[Classof06]

You mean that if Duke or UNC continue to play well and win the ACC that the selection committee will place Duke or UNC #1, right? I have a hard time believing that MD, Clemson or Miami would get a #1 seed in the NCAAs by winning the ACC tourney with the kinds of records they have accumulated to date.

I am happy with Duke being a top 10 team overall and think our ranking may be just a tad high at present. I think that over the past 5 games we have played like a top 10 team, but I don't think we are playing like a #1 team yet.

That said, I don't think that a #1 caliber team with Duke on its schedule would be wise to look past us.

Sorry, I meant the selection committee has a #1 seed waiting for the ACC regular-season champ. I think this will go a long way in deciding who gets the #1 seed between Duke and UNC. I don't forsee any other team winning the ACC Regular Season crown.

Food for thought: If Carolina sweeps us in the regular season but we beat them to win the ACC tourney (or vice versa), who gets the 1 seed?

[Clipsfan]

I agree with ur premise, but its not that black and white for the voters, especially when you are evaluating the top teams. at the top, the voters tend to look and say well who would win if they played each other, meaning how do the teams matchup. Clearly memphis would appear to have the personnel to keep up with our guards/wings (our strength) and they have a serious inside presence that we can't match (our weakness) so, the schedules aside, its easy for the voters to look and say memphis "looks" better than us...same with UNC, i would say...

I have to disagree...the voters tend to just move teams down if they lose without respect to whether they're better. Over the years teams which have been openly discussed as the runaway favorites have suddenly fallen behind teams with worse records (let's say 18-1 vs. 15-3) just because they finally lost a game. There is little reason behind the rankings, which is a large part of why they're fairly meaningless. If what you're saying is true, UNC should be ranked AHEAD of us, not behind us...

[Johnny B]

In a moment of pure insanity yesterday after the win, I decided to check out IC.

Let me tell you folks, you know we're good when they have two or three serious threads about what it's going to take to beat us.

I wouldn't say they're scared of us right now, but they're definitely taking us very seriously.

So after reading Feldspar's post, I also checked out IC (for the first time). If you want to see how bad a poorly moderated board can become, check out IC. Mostly nasty, thoughtless diatribe. Hurling very personal insults. The kind of thing we probably all got ticked of about when Maryland fans insulted JJ's family. I quite like a bit of GTHC, but this is the difference between at PG13 and a mature rating. After a while I simply got nauseated and had to stop reading.

Makes me thankful for the mods at DBB.

So, if you want to swim in the mud, you've been warned...

[shadowfax336]

http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?S=78&F=...1410&t=1938092

[shadowfax336]

among other things K is compared to Hitler and the Henderson incident is connected to the lax case... (referred to as the rape case despite the lack of actual rape...)

[SilkyJ]

I have to disagree...the voters tend to just move teams down if they lose without respect to whether they're better. Over the years teams which have been openly discussed as the runaway favorites have suddenly fallen behind teams with worse records (let's say 18-1 vs. 15-3) just because they finally lost a game. There is little reason behind the rankings, which is a large part of why they're fairly meaningless. If what you're saying is true, UNC should be ranked AHEAD of us, not behind us...

yea thats actually pretty true...maybe im really talking about the way i look at it, cause i still view unc ahead of us...

[BigTedder]

Agreed, Kansas is NOT to be *'d with. They are hot.

Naturally, then they lose. Im such a douche. But wait...so if I say UNC is hot....hmmmm.

[Clipsfan]

What'll be interesting again is how far KU falls following this loss. They really shouldn't move at all, given that they're still the same team we thought was the best one out there, and their record is still the second best record. I'm willing to bet that they slip some, though.

[GMR]

I agree, perhaps Kansas shouldn't fall from #2, but if the polls were to come out right now, I think they would be ranked 4 or 5. It would be:

1. Memphis
2. Duke
3. UNC
4. UCLA or Kansas
5. UCLA or Kansas

The polls are very much about "what have you done for me lately".

GMR