Cards not ranked
- Thread starter TheRealVille
- Start date
That's the problem.
Like look at Lunardi's current in and out, the only 2 teams I'm seeing in the tournament we've beaten are Clemson & WVU. Wake Forest, North Carolina, and IU are out but on the bubble.
We would be good even if the league was tougher, but the fact is that it's so bad that the wins don't even register on the metrics.
We were starting to rise when we beat SMU & Wake, good wins(not great but really good) and we were on a 9 game streak, but then lose to a terrible Georgia Tech team. Yes we've won 4 straight, but 4 wins against the 3 bottom teams in the ACC and Notre Dame, all 4 who have losing records. To be fair to voters and metrics, those aren't games that are going to gain respect.
I know some are going on about the $EC bias and teams are getting the benefit of the doubt, but I would ask who are they getting the benefit of the doubt over? Like I see our fans getting mad about Ole Miss and Miss State's rankings, but do we think that ESPN is just biased against North Carolina, Indiana, Stanford, and SMU type teams or should those teams actually be ranked higher and that it's a ESPN conspiracy to keep them down?
Idk if the SEC is that good, but the ACC is bad. Lets factor that into the fact the PAC 12 no longer exists. So you're down a power league and the ACC is a non-factor. The AAC was eaten up by their top teams leaving. The Big East is down too. So you're left with the SEC, Big 12, and Big Ten. I think it's more of the fact that the power is consolidating more and more. Maybe the SEC isn't the best ever, but the rest of college basketball isn't as deep.
The SEC has around 14 teams in or on the bubble line
The Big Ten has around 11 teams in or on the bubble line
The Big 12 has around 9 teams in or on the bubble line
The ACC has around 6 teams in or on the bubble line
The Big East has around 5 teams in or on the bubble line
Just remember back in 2013?
The Big East was a true power league and was the best league. The ACC was up there with the Big East. The Big Ten was solid top to bottom. The Big 12 was great. The SEC wasn't trying at all along with the Pac 12. The old Missouri Valley had some great teams too. But it's really just concentrated so many teams in better leagues. When a league like ours doesn't perform, the only teams left are SEC, Big 12, and Big Ten teams.
The Cards are ranked 22nd. in the Coaches Poll, 25th. in the AP! Very good folks....just keep winning. Just behind UK now in one Poll. If the Cards continue to win (hopefully win out in the regular season), they stand a real good chance of being top 18 or 20! Wow, that would be amazing. My last prediction, UK to lose at least 3 of their last 6 regular season games. For those who care....
If we do end up as the #2 seed we would likely have to beat Clemson again and Dook which should really impact our NCAA seed. Maybe a 3 more likely a 4.
If UofL wins out AND beats Clemson and Duke in the ACC Tournament, they will warrant at least a 4 seed.
Yes. That’s the best case scenario. And the best part is the ACC title is Saturday night and likely the last thing the committee will watch.
Yes that is accurate Dan, but I am not sure that is a fair assessment when ranking UL, as we both know the schedules are mapped out years in advance. Punishing any team, like UL, based on the performance of the teams they are forced to play, is not always an indication of their worthiness.
There are always other ways to justify where a particular team is judged. For example, Duke played 16 of their 26 games (thus far) against the same ACC teams as UL. It should be noted that two (2) of Duke’s three (3) losses came against UL opponents, specifically UK and Clemson.
Duke lost to UK by about the same margin as UL did, yet UL defeated the same Clemson team that beat Duke. If one confines their assessment of UL to that comparative metric ……. I am not sure there is that much difference between top 5 Duke and UL, at this point in time. UL may very well have an opportunity to avenge each of their losses, as they could meet either Duke, UK, Tennessee or Ole Miss in the upcoming tournaments. I think UL has a fair shot at beating any one of those four in a rematch if played in a neutral site.
Just to be Devil’s Advocate, IU football this past season comes to mind in the scheduling argument. In the PO they did not look that good.
I do totally agree on the Duke argument. And the tournament will show if they may be this years version of IU football.
The ACC Tournament is when our star rises.
Anxiously awaiting that week but I'm gonna enjoy what we got left of this group over the next 3 weeks.
Anxiously awaiting that week but I'm gonna enjoy what we got left of this group over the next 3 weeks.
I do agree about Duke's resume being suspect.
I think it comes down to them not having a bad loss. Arizona and Auburn are 2 very good wins. The Georgia Tech loss did really hurt us, because we were #21 right before that loss. Had we won that, we'd be on a 14 game winning streak and I bet we'd be top 10 in the AP poll now.
But overall, Duke isn't that amazing and I dare say our non conference was tougher. But we have some bad losses that weigh us down, the 2 early losses to Tennessee and Ole Miss by 20 do weigh us down combined with the terrible loss to GT. Whereas, Duke has some bigger wins and all of their losses were close and none were at home either.
Duke getting a tough tournament draw might be the remedy.
I have to disagree the Cards early losses to ranked teams should have much effect at all on where to rank Louisville today. Those games were before Louisville started their winning ways.
I think if Louisville was not some shocking development and were their usual top level status, they would be top 15 today. But the program was at rock bottom and most voters don't believe in such a fast turnaround. There has to be a reason and the weak ACC must be it.
There are several examples of top tier teams getting multiple benefits of the doubt in the rankings. Kansas is the most obvious as was Uconn who was finally removed from the top 25.
Louisville's one loss to GT in a 15 game stretch is not enough to have the Cards barely in the top 25. Clemson lost at home to GT the very next game and now they're 17th. Louisville beat Clemson by 14.
Louisville just isn't receiving the benefit of the doubt and it's mostly due to the horror show of the past two seasons. But like all Cards fans, I believe when the tournaments start, this perception will vanish.
I think if Louisville was not some shocking development and were their usual top level status, they would be top 15 today. But the program was at rock bottom and most voters don't believe in such a fast turnaround. There has to be a reason and the weak ACC must be it.
There are several examples of top tier teams getting multiple benefits of the doubt in the rankings. Kansas is the most obvious as was Uconn who was finally removed from the top 25.
Louisville's one loss to GT in a 15 game stretch is not enough to have the Cards barely in the top 25. Clemson lost at home to GT the very next game and now they're 17th. Louisville beat Clemson by 14.
Louisville just isn't receiving the benefit of the doubt and it's mostly due to the horror show of the past two seasons. But like all Cards fans, I believe when the tournaments start, this perception will vanish.
Actually, my post was not so much about whether Duke is overrated, but rather about how underrated, or under appreciated that UL is by the polls.
There was a time when early struggles were quickly dismissed when a team was “on a roll”, like winning 10 in a row. Despite injuries, UL is worthy of more consideration when you see a first year HC and complete new roster overcoming early losses to top ranked teams.
As Jay Bilas stated several weeks ago, UL is one of a few underrated teams that no one wants to play in the tournament.
There was a time when early struggles were quickly dismissed when a team was “on a roll”, like winning 10 in a row. Despite injuries, UL is worthy of more consideration when you see a first year HC and complete new roster overcoming early losses to top ranked teams.
As Jay Bilas stated several weeks ago, UL is one of a few underrated teams that no one wants to play in the tournament.
Similar threads
