NCAA: Duke #1, Indiana falls, Butler in Top 25
What a difference one game makes… Indiana has been the steady #1 team in the NCAA from pre-season through their first nine games and as the result of a breakdown in defense and floater by a former baseball player who walked on to a Division 1 program that had been National runners-up two years in a row, dropped five spots in the polls. The squad that beat them, Butler, moved from 33rd on the list to 19th with the win. Much of the Top 25 remained the same this week with the exception of moves to accommodate the fast risers like Butler and Arizona.
Top 10:
The big news is Indiana dropping from #1 to #6, and with most of the top 10 taking care of business this week everyone just slide up the list. The other big move was Florida dropping from #5 to #8 after losing to #8 Arizona, 65:64.
1). Duke takes over the #1 spot on both the Associate Press and USA Today/Coaches Poll and are close to having unanimous support for that position this week. In the AP poll the Blue Devils earned 62 of 65 first place votes and on the Coaches poll they were given 30 of 31 first place votes. Michigan, who moved up to #2, picked up the remaining votes for the top spot, 3 with AP voters and 1 with the coaches. Duke only played one game this week, a home contest against Temple that resulted in a lopsided victory for the Blue Devils, 90:67. They play Cornell on Wed., which should bump their season record to 10-0.
2). Michigan picked up their 11th win on the season with an 81:65 win over West Virginia. This week’s polls move Michigan up one spot on each list, from 3rd to 2nd. The Wolverines take on in-state rival Eastern Michigan on Thursday, 12/20.
3). Syracuse also moved up a spot, going from 4th to 3rd. The Orangemen slid by Detroit, 72:68, this week to remain undefeated and move to 10-0 and in the process earned coach Jim Boeheim his 900th career victory. They host Temple on Saturday, 12/22.
4-5). Arizona picked up a big win this week over Florida, previously ranked #5, 65:64, in overtime. The win gave Arizona a 4-place jump on the AP poll to #4and a 3-place move with the coaches to #5 and an 8-0 record. They’ll face Oral Roberts on Tuesday. Louisville improved to 9-1 with an 87:78 win over Memphis. With the shuffle that went on above them, the Cardinals also picked up 1 place in the AP poll to #5 and 2 places in the coaches poll to #4. They’ll square off against Florida International on Wed., 12/19.
6). Indiana settled into unfamiliar territory this week after the tough lost to in-state rival Butler in overtime. They will most likely take out some serious frustration against Mount St. Mary’s on Wednesday and will get back in the good graces with the voters. It’ll take a few wins in the Big Ten to move back up, but it should happen quickly.
7). Ohio State stayed in the 7 spot this week, improving their record to 8-1 with a win over N.C.-Ashville, 90:72. The Buckeyes will match-up with Winthrop on Tuesday.
8-9). Florida took one on the chin this week when they dropped the close contest to Arizona. The fact that one loss to another top 10 team dropped the Gators from 5 to 8 on the AP poll and 5 to 9 on the coaches list and bumped Arizona from 8 to 4 is good indication how tight the top 10 voting is. Florida’s record dropped to 7-1 with the loss, but they’ll look to rebound big against SE Louisiana on Wed. Kansas also stayed right where they were on the AP list, but moved to 8th with the coaches, even after a 29-point win over Belmont. The victory boosted their record to 8-1 on the season and they’ll shoot for their ninth win on Tuesday when they line-up against Richmond.
10). Illinois rounds out the top 10 in the same position they were last week, moving to 12-0 with two big wins this week, 64:54 victory over Norfolk St. and a 66:53 decision over E. Kentucky. They are now off until Saturday when they take on Missouri.
The Nicholls Colonels don’t have much to celebrate this season as they’ve started the 2012-13 campaign with an 1-5 record. One bright spot has been the play of senior guard, Fred Hunter, who leads the country in scoring with a 25.2ppg average. He’s also able to mix it up inside since he’s 6’5″, 240lbs and is currently carrying a 7.3 rebound per game average. C.J. McCollum of Leigh has maintained his 24.9ppg average, but dropped from #1 to #2 on the list this week. Erick Green of Virginia Tech stayed right behind McCollum, but also dropped a spot to #3 to make room for Hunter. Green carries a 24.8ppg average. O.D. Anosike (13.0rpg) of Siena jumped ahead of Cole Dickerson (12.6rpg) on the rebounders’ list this week. Michael Carter-Williams remains in the top spot on the assists list with 10.8apg, increasing his average 0.4 assists per game this week with a 14-assist performance.
The Associated Press NCAA Top 25 Poll
| Rank | Team | Record | Votes | Previous | +/- |
| 1 | Duke (62) | 9-0 | 1622 | 2 | +1 |
| 2 | Michigan (3) | 11-0 | 1543 | 3 | +1 |
| 3 | Syracuse | 9-0 | 1465 | 4 | +1 |
| 4 | Arizona | 8-0 | 1371 | 8 | +4 |
| 5 | Louisville | 9-1 | 1362 | 6 | +1 |
| 6 | Indiana | 9-1 | 1321 | 1 | -5 |
| 7 | Ohio State | 8-1 | 1249 | 7 | – |
| 8 | Florida | 7-1 | 1163 | 5 | -3 |
| 9 | Kansas | 8-1 | 1110 | 9 | – |
| 10 | Illinois | 12-0 | 1044 | 10 | – |
| 11 | Cincinnati | 10-0 | 967 | 11 | – |
| 12 | Missouri | 8-1 | 886 | 12 | – |
| 13 | Minnesota | 11-1 | 730 | 13 | – |
| 14 | Gonzaga | 10-1 | 710 | 14 | – |
| 15 | Georgetown | 9-1 | 579 | 15 | – |
| 16 | New Mexico | 11-0 | 548 | 17 | +1 |
| 17 | Creighton | 10-1 | 530 | 16 | -1 |
| 18 | San Diego State | 8-1 | 493 | 18 | – |
| 19 | Butler | 8-2 | 361 | 33 | +14 |
| 20 | Michigan State | 9-2 | 343 | 19 | -1 |
| 21 | UNLV | 8-1 | 315 | 20 | -1 |
| 22 | Notre Dame | 9-1 | 291 | 22 | – |
| 23 | North Carolina | 8-2 | 256 | 21 | -2 |
| 24 | Oklahoma State | 8-1 | 244 | 24 | – |
| 25 | North Carolina State | 7-2 | 198 | 25 | – |
| Others Receiving Votes: Oregon 176, Pittsburgh 158, Kentucky 41, Wyoming 14, Marquette 8, Virginia Commonwealth 7, Wichita State 6, Connecticut 4, Murray State 4, Miami (FL) 3, Maryland 2, Bucknell 1 | |||||
Division I Coaches’ NCAA Top 25 Poll
| Rank | Team | Record | Votes | Previous | +/- |
| 1 | Duke (30) | 9-0 | 774 | 2 | +1 |
| 2 | Michigan (1) | 11-0 | 743 | 3 | +1 |
| 3 | Syracuse | 9-0 | 695 | 4 | +1 |
| 4 | Louisville | 9-1 | 640 | 6 | +2 |
| 5 | Arizona | 8-0 | 632 | 8 | +3 |
| 6 | Indiana | 9-1 | 627 | 1 | -5 |
| 7 | Ohio State | 8-1 | 595 | 7 | – |
| 8 | Kansas | 8-1 | 552 | 9 | +1 |
| 9 | Florida | 7-1 | 532 | 9 | – |
| 10 | Illinois | 12-0 | 482 | 10 | – |
| 11 | Cincinnati | 10-0 | 460 | 12 | +1 |
| 12 | Missouri | 8-1 | 451 | 11 | -1 |
| 13 | Creighton | 10-1 | 351 | 13 | – |
| 14 | Gonzaga | 10-1 | 339 | 14 | – |
| 15 | San Diego State | 8-1 | 296 | 15 | – |
| 16 | Minnesota | 11-1 | 273 | 16 | – |
| 17 | New Mexico | 11-0 | 219 | 20 | +3 |
| 18 | UNLV | 8-1 | 216 | 17 | -1 |
| 19 | Michigan State | 9-2 | 187 | 19 | – |
| 19 | North Carolina | 8-2 | 187 | 18 | -1 |
| 21 | Georgetown | 9-1 | 180 | 21 | – |
| 22 | Notre Dame | 9-1 | 125 | 24 | +2 |
| 23 | Kentucky | 7-3 | 98 | 22 | -1 |
| 24 | Oklahoma State | 8-1 | 94 | 23 | -1 |
| 25 | Butler | 8-2 | 89 | NR | + |
| Others Receiving Votes: North Carolina State 84, Pittsburgh 74, Oregon 45, Virginia Commonwealth 11, Wyoming 8, Connecticut 6, Wichita State 5, Murray State 3, Oklahoma 2 | |||||
Comparison Poll NCAA Top 25
| Rank | Team | Record | AP | Coaches | Avg |
| 1 | Duke | 9-0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| 2 | Michigan | 11-0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| 3 | Syracuse | 10-0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| 4 | Louisville | 9-1 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 4.5 |
| Arizona | 8-0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 4.5 | |
| 6 | Indiana | 9-1 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| 7 | Ohio State | 8-1 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| 8 | Florida | 7-1 | 8.0 | 9.0 | 8.5 |
| Kansas | 8-1 | 9.0 | 8.0 | 8.5 | |
| 10 | Illinois | 12-0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 |
| 11 | Cincinnati | 10-0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 |
| 12 | Missouri | 9-1 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 |
| 13 | Gonzaga | 10-1 | 14.0 | 14.0 | 14.0 |
| 14 | Minnesota | 11-1 | 13.0 | 16.0 | 14.5 |
| 15 | Creighton | 10-1 | 17.0 | 13.0 | 15.0 |
| 16 | New Mexico | 11-0 | 16.0 | 17.0 | 16.5 |
| San Diego State | 8-1 | 18.0 | 15.0 | 16.5 | |
| 18 | Georgetown | 9-1 | 15.0 | 21.0 | 18.0 |
| 19 | UNLV | 9-1 | 21.0 | 18.0 | 19.5 |
| Michigan State | 9-2 | 20.0 | 19.0 | 19.5 | |
| 21 | North Carolina | 8-2 | 23.0 | 19.0 | 21.0 |
| 22 | Butler | 8-2 | 19.0 | 25.0 | 22.0 |
| Notre Dame | 10-1 | 22.0 | 22.0 | 22.0 | |
| 24 | Oklahoma State | 8-1 | 24.0 | 24.0 | 24.0 |
| 25 | North Carolina State | 7-2 | 25.0 | 26.0 | 25.5 |
| Kentucky | 7-3 | 28.0 | 23.0 | 25.5 |
4 Comments
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The voting is based on a points system. In the Associate Press poll, 65 writers rank teams from 1 to 25 with the team earning the inverse points from that vote. First place votes are worth 25 points, 25th place votes are worth 1 point. The maximum points available the AP poll is 1,625 and in the Coaches poll it’s 775. They vote once a week and the results are released each Monday.
Thanks a lot. Though it looks Polls are based on the emotions of the last game of the teams, not it’s evaluated power or player’s ranking.
I agree 100%, it’s very much ‘what have you done for me lately…’ with these polls and quite frankly, some of the writers at times simply throw things down to get it done with. Not very scientific and arguments could (and have) be made about the accuracy of a poll that only includes 65 people, or in the case of the coaches poll, 31 coaches.
Would appreciate a lot if I can find with your help the system of polls and votes.
Does it mean that one victory or one loss decides for overall place? Logically – let’s see at the end of the season.