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It's that time of year again. We've let enough of the basketball season pass to get a decent idea of how good each team has been. We've rounded up most of the voters from last year, and these guys spent numerous hours weighing the pros and cons of each team's resume.
First, some notes. The Miami that is in Florida is the only one good enough right now to be considered for the rankings. If Miami of Ohio ever gets votes, they will be designated Miami (OH). Also, even though SMU and Syracuse aren't eligible for the postseason, they are eligible for our poll (unlike the Coaches Poll apparently).
So without further ado, here is your first RCT Top 25 of 2016.
Rock Chalk Talk Top 25
Rank | Team | Points | ||
1 | Kansas(8) | 200 | ||
2 | Oklahoma | 184 | ||
3 | Michigan State | 172 | ||
4 | Villanova | 154 | ||
5 | Xavier | 153 | ||
6 | Maryland | 147 | ||
7 | Virginia | 145 | ||
8 | North Carolina | 140 | ||
9 | Miami | 118 | ||
10 | Arizona | 117 | ||
11 | Duke | 112 | ||
12 | Louisville | 106 | ||
13 | Southern Methodist | 103 | ||
14 | Iowa State | 93 | ||
14 | West Virginia | 93 | ||
16 | Purdue | 83 | ||
17 | Providence | 80 | ||
18 | Kentucky | 74 | ||
19 | Iowa | 66 | ||
20 | Texas A&M | 52 | ||
21 | South Carolina | 45 | ||
22 | Butler | 44 | ||
23 | Saint Mary's | 33 | ||
24 | Pittsburgh | 26 | ||
25 | Dayton | 14 | ||
Others Receiving Votes: Indiana 9, California 5, Baylor 4, George Washington 2, Gonzaga 2, Connecticut 1 |
Some interesting tidbits from the poll:
- Kansas is the unanimous #1, but Oklahoma is also the unanimous #2 among voters that actually used their own judgement. (David) and sax solo are both using some sort of formula for their vote.
- The ACC has the most teams in the poll with 6, followed by the Big 12, Big 10 and Big East with 4 each. The SEC was the only other conference with multiple teams with 3 selections.
- The only tie comes between two Big 12 teams.
- If this poll is accurate, the ACC is going to be a beast this year, as they have 5 of the top 12 teams. I'd expect some to drop during conference play, but there is still a very large top tier.
Rank | misterbrain | Hammen | LAHawk | (David) | mikeville | sax solo | brendandzwierzynski | FLJhawk |
1 | Kansas | Kansas | Kansas | Kansas | Kansas | Kansas | Kansas | Kansas |
2 | Oklahoma | Oklahoma | Oklahoma | Louisville | Oklahoma | Villanova | Oklahoma | Oklahoma |
3 | Michigan State | Michigan State | Michigan State | Villanova | Maryland | Oklahoma | Maryland | Maryland |
4 | Maryland | Maryland | Maryland | Purdue | Michigan State | Michigan State | Michigan State | Michigan State |
5 | Xavier | Virginia | North Carolina | Miami | Xavier | Virginia | Arizona | North Carolina |
6 | Villanova | North Carolina | Arizona | Saint Mary's | Arizona | North Carolina | Xavier | Arizona |
7 | North Carolina | Xavier | Virginia | Xavier | Villanova | Xavier | Virginia | Virginia |
8 | Louisville | Providence | Xavier | Duke | North Carolina | Louisville | Providence | Villanova |
9 | Purdue | Kentucky | Villanova | Oklahoma | Virginia | Duke | Villanova | Iowa State |
10 | Virginia | Villanova | Miami | West Virginia | Providence | Purdue | Miami | Xavier |
11 | Southern Methodist | Arizona | Iowa State | Michigan State | Miami | Miami | Iowa State | Providence |
12 | West Virginia | Iowa State | Duke | Southern Methodist | Butler | Southern Methodist | North Carolina | Duke |
13 | Duke | Duke | Providence | Virginia | Louisville | Iowa | Duke | Southern Methodist |
14 | Miami | Southern Methodist | Southern Methodist | Iowa | Southern Methodist | Maryland | Kentucky | Miami |
15 | Iowa State | Miami | West Virginia | Vanderbilt | West Virginia | Arizona | Southern Methodist | West Virginia |
16 | South Carolina | West Virginia | Kentucky | Pittsburgh | Duke | West Virginia | West Virginia | Kentucky |
17 | Arizona | Purdue | Louisville | Texas A&M | Iowa State | Iowa State | Louisville | Louisville |
18 | Iowa | Iowa | Iowa | Kentucky | Kentucky | South Carolina | Texas A&M | Iowa |
19 | Texas A&M | Texas A&M | Butler | North Carolina | Texas A&M | Saint Mary's | South Carolina | Butler |
20 | Saint Mary's | Louisville | South Carolina | Butler | Dayton | Texas A&M | Purdue | South Carolina |
21 | Kentucky | South Carolina | Texas A&M | Michigan | Iowa | Indiana | Butler | Purdue |
22 | Pittsburgh | Butler | Purdue | Florida | Purdue | Kentucky | Iowa | Pittsburgh |
23 | Dayton | Dayton | Pittsburgh | Iowa State | South Carolina | Michigan | California | Texas A&M |
24 | Indiana | George Washington | Dayton | Indiana | Baylor | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh | Baylor |
25 | Butler | California | Gonzaga | Arizona | Pittsburgh | California | Gonzaga | Connecticut |
We are ready to get our rankings ripped to shreds. Just remember that there are plenty of ways to come up with a ranking system, so offer some evidence to back up your assertions.