LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Not every poll has Indiana ranked
as the Number One college basketball team in the nation. In fact, only the two
human polls rank Tom Crean's team on top as the Hoosiers prepare to play Tubby
Smith and Minnesota in Minneapolis Tuesday night.
(Pat Doney and I are scheduled to travel to Minnesota
Tuesday morning. We'll file reports for WDRB and WDRB.com.)
There are two votes for IU – the AP writers' and USA Today
coaches' polls.
There are two votes for Florida – the computer formulas
created by Jeff Sagarin and Ken Pomeroy.
And one vote for Duke – the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI)
formula created by the NCAA.
What I like to do every week is take the five polls, blend
the results and then rank the top 16 teams in the nation – in groups of four,
NCAA regional style. It's my way of identifying the top seeds for the NCAA
Tournament, using a mixture of human and computer polls.
Here goes (with poll results that do not include the results
from Monday games):
ONE SEEDS
Indiana (13 combined points) – The Hoosiers' improved road
play actually began a year ago when they handled Minnesota by 19 in Williams
Arena.
Duke (17) – Judging the Blue Devils is risky until Ryan
Kelly returns, perhaps within the next week or so (March 5).
Florida (20) – Now the already thin Gators are waiting for
Michael Frazier to heal from a concussion.
Gonzaga (22) – The Zags are poised to move to Number One in
the human polls if Indiana slips.
TWO SEEDS
Michigan (30) – The Wolverines have survived the daunting
portion of their Big Ten schedule.
Kansas (32) – I'll still never understand how the Jayhawks
lost to TCU – and I watched a good chunk of that game.
Louisville (33) – The Cards need somebody to topple
Georgetown – twice.
Miami (40) – A 15-point loss to Wake Forest stopped the
Hurricanes' love fest.
THREE SEEDS
Michigan State (52) – Back-to-back losses to Indiana and
Ohio State have created questions about the Spartans' point guard play.
Syracuse (54) – Back-to-back losses to Georgetown and
Marquette have created a Must Win situation for the Orange against Louisville Saturday.
Georgetown (56) – Otto Porter locked up the Big East player
of the year award Saturday at Syracuse. It's over.
Arizona (65) – The best in the Pac-12 is no longer worth a
spot in the Top 10.
FOUR SEEDS
Wisconsin (71) – The amazing Badgers are positioned to run
the table in Big Ten play.
Ohio State (74) – DeShaun Thomas is finally getting some
help from the Buckeyes' sophomores.
Oklahoma State (89) – Travis Ford might have the best
freshman guard in America in Marcus Smart.
New Mexico (94) – Steve Alford's team looks more dangerous
this season than the Lobos were a year ago.
Copyright 2013 WDRB News. All Rights Reserved.
Tom Crean's Indiana team is ranked first by the human polls, but not by the three leading college basketball computer formulas.
