2016-17 Preseason Basketball Polls

[stever20]

Just looking- last years ap/coaches preseason top 25- only 1 team from that didn't make the tournament- LSU. Also looking 9 teams in the final AP poll weren't in to start the season. But of those 9, 6 were in the top 7 of also receiving votes section. Really only Xavier, Seton Hall, Iowa came out of the blue- and Xavier and Iowa had some votes preseason.

Well, crap. I didn't realize that. Kinda shoots down what I was saying about the preseason not mattering.

I used to always compare the last poll to the preseason poll, and in a typical year between seven and nine preseason top 25 teams missed the tournament, and one of them was almost always a top ten team. On top of that, right around half finished the season outside the top 25. I haven't done that in a few years though, and if you look at last year's bookend polls at the beginning and the end of the year, they're closer to the same than what I would have guessed.

But, I still can't help but think that it doesn't matter where you start. The polls are fluid, and if you belong on the top ten then you'll end up in the top ten even if you don't receive a single preseason vote. I also think that the polls are like comets (to borrow a phrase from the Requiem of the Big East documentary). They're a big deal in the moment, but once you drop out of them no one even remembers that you were there. I'd probably have to remind people that LSU was even in the rankings last season, for instance. And, on the flip side, you'd have to remind people that Xavier wasn't ranked when the season started.

But, yeah. i can't deny that most of the preseason top 25 from last season ended up doing pretty well.

Definitely don't think it matters where you start from an actual team perspective. If DePaul goes 25-6 this year, they are going to be ranked at the end of the year. Period. It may take a while for voters to become believers, but still, eventually it's going to happen.

I do think though that polls can matter in terms of conferences. I remember 3 years ago now how little respect the Big East got early, and it just reverberated thru the season. Might have had something to do with PC having to win the BET to just get into the tourney- and Xavier being the next to last team in the tourney.

[stever20]

just looked. the '15-'16 preseason coaches poll was released last year on Oct 15. Thursday. So that would be 8 days from now for this years first poll.

[BEX]

Here's another. This one is from Jon Rothenstein. He now works for FanRag Sports

http://www.todaysu.com/around-the-u/rot ... n-edition/

1. Duke
2. Villanova: The Skinny: No Omari Spellman, no problem.
3. Kansas
4. Xavier: The Skinny: Edmond Sumner is a volcano just waiting to erupt.
5. Kentucky
6. Wisconsin
7. Oregon
8. Virginia
9. North Carolina
10. Indiana
11. Michigan State
12. Louisville
13. Arizona
14. Gonzaga
15. UCLA
16. Syracuse
17. Purdue
18. West Virginia
19. UConn
20. Cincinnati
21. Dayton
22. Rhode Island
23. Virginia Tech
24. Cal
25. Colorado

Five on the cusp:
Saint Mary’s
Notre Dame
Creighton: The Skinny: Greg McDermott may have the Big East’s best back court in Maurice Watson and Kansas State transfer Marcus Foster.
Michigan
Seton Hall: The Skinny: Kevin Willard has the most underrated defensive team in the sport, but who steps in for Isaiah Whitehead?

Evan Daniels tweet:

Went by the Cintas Center this afternoon to watch Xavier practice. It's clear Chris Mack has one of the best backcourts in the country.

[stever20]

from ESPN:
Nova 4
Ryan Arcidiacono and Daniel Ochefu were the heart-and-soul leaders throughout Villanova's remarkable 2016 national title run; replacing them was always going to be impossible. A big part of Jay Wright's plan for post-Ochefu life took a big hit in September, when the NCAA ruled five-star freshman forward Omari Spellman ineligible for 2016-17. The good news? Kris Jenkins, Jalen Brunson, Phil Booth and destined-to-be-underrated POY candidate Josh Hart will ensure the Wildcats still wield a devastating, floor-spreading attack, while sophomore Mikal Bridges might just thrive as a two-way smallball center. This is still a repeat threat, in other words, even if the odds feel longer at the margins than they did even three weeks ago.
Xavier 9
In the past two seasons, guard Myles Davis, a 3-and-D combo guard and eminently willing passer, has been one of Chris Mack's most reliable perimeter fixtures. Davis' indefinite suspension casts a fair bit of uncertainty over the 2016-17 Musketeers' rotation. Assuming he does eventually return, Xavier will remain the biggest threat to Villanova's ongoing Big East hegemony. But Mack has so many talented guards and wings (Trevon Bluiett, Edmond Sumner, JP Macura) that even the worst-case scenario still looks pretty promising.
Creighton 18
One of the sneaky almost-but-not-quite bubble teams of the 2015-16 season will get a major talent boost in the form of Kansas State transfer Marcus Foster, who burst onto the scene as a freshman and averaged double-figures for two straight years before an epic falling-out with K-State coach Bruce Weber. Assuming everyone gets along in Omaha, Nebraska, Foster's addition is a promising one to Greg McDermott's impressively ready-made foundation.
Honorable Mention
Seton Hall

[David G]

Here's another. This one is from Jon Rothenstein. He now works for FanRag Sports

http://www.todaysu.com/around-the-u/rot ... n-edition/

1. Duke
2. Villanova: The Skinny: No Omari Spellman, no problem.
3. Kansas
4. Xavier: The Skinny: Edmond Sumner is a volcano just waiting to erupt.
5. Kentucky
6. Wisconsin
7. Oregon
8. Virginia
9. North Carolina
10. Indiana
11. Michigan State
12. Louisville
13. Arizona
14. Gonzaga
15. UCLA
16. Syracuse
17. Purdue
18. West Virginia
19. UConn
20. Cincinnati
21. Dayton
22. Rhode Island
23. Virginia Tech
24. Cal
25. Colorado

Five on the cusp:
Saint Mary’s
Notre Dame
Creighton: The Skinny: Greg McDermott may have the Big East’s best back court in Maurice Watson and Kansas State transfer Marcus Foster.
Michigan
Seton Hall: The Skinny: Kevin Willard has the most underrated defensive team in the sport, but who steps in for Isaiah Whitehead?

Evan Daniels tweet:

Went by the Cintas Center this afternoon to watch Xavier practice. It's clear Chris Mack has one of the best backcourts in the country.

THAT MUST HAVE BEEN ONE HELL OF A PRACTICE!!!

I don't necessarily think he's wrong. X's backcourt will probably be awesome. It's just that it sounds kind of funny to declare that after seeing one practice in early October.

[whiteandblue77]

THAT MUST HAVE BEEN ONE HELL OF A PRACTICE!!!

I don't necessarily think he's wrong. X's backcourt will probably be awesome. It's just that it sounds kind of funny to declare that after seeing one practice in early October.

lol, AI would surely agree with you

[Jet915]

Coaches poll is out:

#3 Villanova
#8 Xavier
#23 Creighton
#32 Seton Hall
#38 Butler

http://sportspolls.usatoday.com/ncaa/basketball-men/polls/coaches-poll/2016/1/

[Hall2012]

Coaches poll is out:

#3 Villanova
#8 Xavier
#23 Creighton
#32 Seton Hall
#38 Butler

http://sportspolls.usatoday.com/ncaa/basketball-men/polls/coaches-poll/2016/1/

For anyone interested, Greg McDermott has this year's Big East vote.