2016-17 Preseason Basketball Polls

[milksteak]

but lost to both Cal and Stanford back to back. Nothing that screams top 5 to me. Not while putting Nova below them.

Nothing really shameful about losing to Cal last year. They had a really nice team.

[stever20]

Oregon #2? Oregon? Really? Is Phil Knight slipping $100 bills in the writers pockets?

I don't know if I'd have Oregon at #2, but I think they're definitely top five. I don't think having them at #2 is all the way off base. They won thirty games last year, won the Pac Twelve Tournament, won 11 straight to end the season before losing in the Elite Eight, and they have five of their top six players back along with a very good freshman point guard. Oregon is going to be pretty damn good.

They play in a weak power conference only decent OOC win was against Baylor and they lost to both UNLV and Boise St. They beat Duke in the NCAA's but lost to both Cal and Stanford back to back. Nothing that screams top 5 to me. Not while putting Nova below them.

Oregon did well in conference though. beat Arizona and Utah twice each. And Cal not a bad loss by any stretch. Also at least last year, the Pac 12 was stronger than the Big Ten. #4 conference overall. Maybe 2015 it was, but definitely not last season.

And I do think we're going to see some voters with apprehension on Nova to start the year- asking how Nova will replace the seniors.

[David G]

Oregon #2? Oregon? Really? Is Phil Knight slipping $100 bills in the writers pockets?

I don't know if I'd have Oregon at #2, but I think they're definitely top five. I don't think having them at #2 is all the way off base. They won thirty games last year, won the Pac Twelve Tournament, won 11 straight to end the season before losing in the Elite Eight, and they have five of their top six players back along with a very good freshman point guard. Oregon is going to be pretty damn good.

They play in a weak power conference only decent OOC win was against Baylor and they lost to both UNLV and Boise St. They beat Duke in the NCAA's but lost to both Cal and Stanford back to back. Nothing that screams top 5 to me. Not while putting Nova below them.

Look at your original post. It's one thing to say that you personally don't feel Oregon is that good, but your original post seems to think that it is utterly outrageous for anyone to rank them #2 in the preseason.

Most people who do preseason rankings look at three things; how good a team was the year before, what they have coming back, and what new players they have. Last year Oregon earned a #1 seed, and made the Elite Eight, and has five of their top six players back, and has a really good freshman PG coming in. It makes complete and total sense that someone would rank them that high. It's one thing to not agree with it, but it's another thing to not even understand why someone would rank them that high. I don't think they'll start off the season ranked #1, but I do think they'll get a few #1 votes in both the AP and coaches' polls.

[stever20]

saw a post from NBC Sports about the Blue Ribbon top 25....
In fact, if there is an outlet that does not have this top five in some order, then you probably need to stop reading that outlet.

So not outrageous at all for this top 5.

[NJRedman]

I don't know if I'd have Oregon at #2, but I think they're definitely top five. I don't think having them at #2 is all the way off base. They won thirty games last year, won the Pac Twelve Tournament, won 11 straight to end the season before losing in the Elite Eight, and they have five of their top six players back along with a very good freshman point guard. Oregon is going to be pretty damn good.

They play in a weak power conference only decent OOC win was against Baylor and they lost to both UNLV and Boise St. They beat Duke in the NCAA's but lost to both Cal and Stanford back to back. Nothing that screams top 5 to me. Not while putting Nova below them.

Look at your original post. It's one thing to say that you personally don't feel Oregon is that good, but your original post seems to think that it is utterly outrageous for anyone to rank them #2 in the preseason.

Most people who do preseason rankings look at three things; how good a team was the year before, what they have coming back, and what new players they have. Last year Oregon earned a #1 seed, and made the Elite Eight, and has five of their top six players back, and has a really good freshman PG coming in. It makes complete and total sense that someone would rank them that high. It's one thing to not agree with it, but it's another thing to not even understand why someone would rank them that high. I don't think they'll start off the season ranked #1, but I do think they'll get a few #1 votes in both the AP and coaches' polls.

It's pretty easy to understand how utterly outrageous it is to put them at #2. Once again they beat very few quality teams last year and lost to UNLV and Boise State. Not world beaters by any stretch. Their best OOC win was Baylor and Bama was the only other power conference win in their OOC. So they didn't test themselves at all before conference play and lost to the two of the three MWC teams they played. Then they won a suspect Pac-12. Yes, high conference RPI but those #'s are easy to manipulate like the MWC used to do.

Here is a link to their schedule last year. Does that tell you that they are easily a top 5 team? Not to me it doesn't.

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basket ... /year/2016

Now look at schedules from last year of other top flight teams.

Duke

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basket ... /year/2016

Oklahoma

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basket ... /year/2016

Michigan State

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basket ... /year/2016

Even a fellow Pac school like Utah!

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basket ... e/_/id/254

They didn't test themselves won a bunch of games they should have and lost a few they should have won and now they get pre-season love. Now before you say blah blah blah #1 votes just look at football and those who voted for OU and Notre Dame to be top teams. Seems ludicrous now to think they are top 5 teams.

[stever20]

a lot of it is the fact that they beat the crap out of Duke in the tourney in a way that few teams have in the tourney. Like it or not, tournament performance matters to people who do preseason ratings/polls. Wisconsin is going to get a lot of love this season because they beat Xavier in the tournament. Villanova was underrated last year at first because of the previous years tournament performances. Remember they started at 11 in the polls.

And you say Duke didn't get punished in the poll, so how is that consistent? Well, Duke has one of the best recruiting classes in a long time coming in- and has Grayson Allen back for another year.

[David G]

Again, you're missing the point.

It's one thing to think that Oregon isn't that good and shouldn't be ranked that high. It's another thing entirely to actually be SURPRISED that they start off ranked that high, which you seemed to be. It's not a surprise at all. It was obvious at the end of last season that Oregon was going to likely start off ranked in the top five just because of how the preseason polls typically work. Them being ranked #2 is hardly unexpected. They were #6 in the final poll last year after the tournament ended. They have five of their top six players back. Of course they're going to start off in the top five, and they may even be as high as #2. Not that it means anything because the rankings are fluid from week to week, but that's where they're going to start and it's not surprising at all.

How about this, when was the last time a team a team finished the previous season in the top ten and had four starters returning that did not start the next season ranked in the top five?? If it's so utterly outrageous for them to be ranked that high in the preseason, then can you name one other example where a top ten team from the previous year did not start off top five the next year with pretty much everyone back?

[NJRedman]

Again, you're missing the point.

It's one thing to think that Oregon isn't that good and shouldn't be ranked that high. It's another thing entirely to actually be SURPRISED that they start off ranked that high, which you seemed to be. It's not a surprise at all. It was obvious at the end of last season that Oregon was going to likely start off ranked in the top five just because of how the preseason polls typically work. Them being ranked #2 is hardly unexpected. They were #6 in the final poll last year after the tournament ended. They have five of their top six players back. Of course they're going to start off in the top five, and they may even be as high as #2. Not that it means anything because the rankings are fluid from week to week, but that's where they're going to start and it's not surprising at all.

How about this, when was the last time a team a team finished the previous season in the top ten and had four starters returning that did not start the next season ranked in the top five?? If it's so utterly outrageous for them to be ranked that high in the preseason, then can you name one other example where a top ten team from the previous year did not start off top five the next year with pretty much everyone back?

Not missing the point. I am surprised, so hence it is a surprise. I've pointed out why they shouldn't be that high. Hype isn't an actual argument for them to be that high, they are hyped...I am surprised. You disagree? Great! Doesn't change my mind or my surprisal.

[David G]

Again, you're missing the point.

It's one thing to think that Oregon isn't that good and shouldn't be ranked that high. It's another thing entirely to actually be SURPRISED that they start off ranked that high, which you seemed to be. It's not a surprise at all. It was obvious at the end of last season that Oregon was going to likely start off ranked in the top five just because of how the preseason polls typically work. Them being ranked #2 is hardly unexpected. They were #6 in the final poll last year after the tournament ended. They have five of their top six players back. Of course they're going to start off in the top five, and they may even be as high as #2. Not that it means anything because the rankings are fluid from week to week, but that's where they're going to start and it's not surprising at all.

How about this, when was the last time a team a team finished the previous season in the top ten and had four starters returning that did not start the next season ranked in the top five?? If it's so utterly outrageous for them to be ranked that high in the preseason, then can you name one other example where a top ten team from the previous year did not start off top five the next year with pretty much everyone back?

Not missing the point. I am surprised, so hence it is a surprise. I've pointed out why they shouldn't be that high. Hype isn't an actual argument for them to be that high, they are hyped...I am surprised. You disagree? Great! Doesn't change my mind or my surprisal.

I agree that hype is not an argument, but it is an explanation. In fact, teams that are hyped are always highly ranked in the preseason, and #1 seeds who made the Elite Eight and return five of their top six players will always be hyped. Hence the high ranking. How is that a surprise?? It makes complete sense that they would be even if they really shouldn't be.

At no point last season did I ever think Maryland was a top ten team, but having said that I completely understand how they got ranked as high as #2 simply because I know how the rankings typically work.

[milksteak]

Parrish updated his 25+1. Dropped Butler.

http://www.cbssports.com/college-basket ... ng-begins/

1. Duke Blue Devils (Previous ranking: 1)
2. Kentucky Wildcats (Previous ranking: 2)
3. Kansas Jayhawks (Previous ranking: 4)
4. Villanova Wildcats (Previous ranking: 3)
5. Xavier Musketeers (Previous ranking: 5)
6. North Carolina Tar Heels (Previous ranking: 7)
7. Oregon Ducks (Previous ranking: 6)
8. Michigan State Spartans (Previous ranking: 8)
9. Virginia Cavaliers (Previous ranking: 9)
10. Indiana Hoosiers (Previous ranking: 10)
11. UCLA Bruins (Previous ranking: 11)
12. Wisconsin Badgers (Previous ranking: 12)
13. Arizona Wildcats (Previous ranking: 13)
14. Saint Mary's Gaels (Previous ranking: 14)
15. Gonzaga Bulldogs (Previous ranking: 15)
16. Louisville Cardinals (Previous ranking: 20)
17. Texas Longhorns (Previous ranking: NR)
18. Rhode Island Rams (Previous ranking: 16)
19. UConn Huskies (Previous ranking: 17)
20. Purdue Boilermakers (Previous ranking: 18)
21. Syracuse Orange (Previous ranking: NR)
22. California Golden Bears (Previous ranking: 21)
23. Creighton Bluejays (Previous ranking: 22)
24. Iowa State Cyclones (Previous ranking: NR)
25. West Virginia Mountaineers (Previous ranking: 19)
(And one) Wichita State Shockers (Previous ranking: 25)