2. Auburn: 27-2
4. Florida: 25-4
5. Tennessee: 24-5
6. Alabama: 23-6
18. Kentucky: 19-10
27. Mississippi: 20-9
31. Mississippi St: 20-9
34. Georgia: 18-11
38. Vanderbilt: 20-9
78. Louisiana St: 14-15
Having three teams in the top five, four teams in the top ten, five teams in the top 20, and nine teams in the top 40 is unbelievable. I've never seen anything like it. To put these figures in perspective, here's the Classic Big 10:
9. Wisconsin: 22-6
10. Michigan St: 23-5
15. Purdue: 20-9
22. Illinois: 18-11
25. Michigan: 22-6
32. Ohio St: 16-13
44. Indiana: 9-9
47. Northwestern: 16-13
74. Iowa: 15-14
89. Minnesota: 15-14
That's zero teams in the top five, two in the top ten, three in the top 20, and six in the top 40. That's pretty good -- but nowhere close to the Classic SEC. On paper, at least, this year's Classic SEC is the strongest basketball conference since the Big East sent three teams to the Final Four in 1985.
44. Indiana is 18-11, not 9-9. The Hoosiers are 9-9 in conference play.
ReplyDeleteHere's the Classic ACC:
ReplyDelete1. Duke: 26-3
14. Maryland: 22-7
17. Clemson: 24-5
39. N. Carolina: 19-11
67. S. Carolina: 12-17
77. Wake Forest: 20-9
102. Virginia: 14-15
126. N. Carolina St: 11-18
Here's the Classic Southwest:
ReplyDelete3. Houston: 25-4
7. Texas Tech: 22-7
21. Texas A & M: 20-9
30. Baylor: 17-12
42. Arkansas: 17-12
46. So. Methodist: 21-8
51. Texas: 16-13
82. Tex. Christian: 16-13
165. Rice: 13-16
To give you a sense of how tough the SEC is, consider that St. John's (26-4) has played only eight games that Ken-Pom regards as an "A" level contest. The Johnnies are 4-4 in those games. Kentucky has played eighteen "A" level games. The Cats are 9-9 in those games. In non-A games, St. John's is 22-0, and UK is 10-1: UK's only non-A loss was at home against Arkansas.
ReplyDeleteLast year, the Cats only played eleven A games in the regular season. They went 6-5 in those games, and 17-3 in all other games.
ReplyDeleteMemphis rolls into Birmingham and beats UAB 88 to 81. The Tigers are now 24-5, and the Blazers are now 19-10.
ReplyDeleteWith Memphis State's victory, the Classic Metro Seven looks like this:
ReplyDelete23. Louisville: 23-6
44. Memphis St: 24-5
50. Cincinnati: 17-12
90. Florida St: 16-13
105. Saint Louis: 17-12
146. Virginia Tech: 13-16
155. Tulane: 17-12
I think Ken Pom has both U of L and Memphis State ranked lower than they should be.
Here's the Classic OVC, which is not having a banner year:
ReplyDelete116. Mid. Tenn. St: 20-9
144. W. Kentucky: 16-13
148. Murray St: 15-16
177. E. Kentucky: 18-13
278. Austin Peay: 13-18
306. Tennessee Tech: 15-16
325. Morehead St: 15-16