-Listed below is my Merit List Rankings. It is not a ranking of who I deem the best teams to be at this point in the season like your typical Top 25. It is merely a ranking of who I think has done the most on the court.
I don’t think VCU is the #3 team in the nation. I don’t think UC Santa Barbara is the #5 team in the nation. I don’t think Louisville, , Kentucky and Ohio State are completely outside the Top 25 (or Top 30). However, in looking simply at merit, none of those teams have done anything yet.
-What is the basis for these rankings?? Merit. Nothing more. Nothing less. How do I determine merit?? It’s how good I think their wins and losses will look on a team’s NCAA Tournament resume. That’s why Louisville and Kentucky are nowhere to be found. They’re both very good teams, but have nothing of quality on their resumes at this point in time.
RANKINGS
- KANSAS – Neutral floor win against Duke
- MICHIGAN STATE – Neutral floor win against Kentucky
- VCU – Road win against Virginia
- BYU – Road win against Stanford. Home win against Weber State
- UC SANTA BARBARA – Decisive road win against UNLV
- WISCONSIN – Neutral win against Saint John’s. Home win against Florida (FL not at full strength).
- OREGON – Neutral floor win against Georgetown
- UCONN – Neutral floor win against Maryland
- BAYLOR – Neutral floor win against Colorado. Home win against South Carolina
- MANHATTAN – Road win at La Salle. 2-0 road record.
- NORTHERN COLORADO – Road win at Kansas State
- OKLAHOMA – Neutral floor win against Alabama
- SAINT MARY’S – Home wins against Louisiana Tech and Akron
- XAVIER – Home win against Tennessee
- CALIFORNIA – Home win against Denver
- KENT STATE – Road win against Temple
- UMASS – Neutral floor win against Boston College. Home win against LSU
- UCLA – Home win against Drexel
- CINCINNATI – Home win against NC State
- NEBRASKA – Home win against FGCU
- TEXAS – Home win against Mercer
- RICHMOND – Home win against Belmont
- DUKE – Home win against Davidson
- GONZAGA – Decisive home wins against Bryant and Colorado State
- PROVIDENCE – Home win against Boston College
- USC UPSTATE – Road win against Virginia Tech
- SAINT FRANCIS U – Road win against Miami
- HARVARD – Neutral floor win against Holy Cross
- ORAL ROBERTS – Road win against Tulsa
- WICHITA STATE – Home win against Western Kentucky
I love the merit ranking idea. But I’ll take Wisconsin over BYU or UCSB at this stage…and frankly I’d take Oregon over both of them as well.
I agree in terms of overall strength. But remember, it’s strictly merit. Wisconsin beat an average Saint John’s team on a neutral site and a short handed Florida team at home. BYU beat a better Stanford team (I think) in a true road game.
We talked about how we thought Vegas was a fringe tournament team, and how tough they are at home. I don’t think UCSB is a better team than Wisconsin or Oregon (I think Oregon is better than Wiscy), but UCBS beat a tournament caliber team badly on the road. Oregon beat a similar team, but not as badly and it was on a neutral floor.
I wouldn’t put UConn top 8 in Connecticut, and there’s only 7 teams.