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NCAA College Basketball Power Rankings
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Published: January 24, 2007
There aren't many sports more exciting than college basketball. The games are usually a little more fast paced and the crowds a little more rowdy than any other collegiate sport. Without multimillion dollar contracts or six figure endorsement deals, however, the teams are ultimately playing for pride, a chance to grab a hold of that #1 ranking, and the national championship.
There is perhaps, no greater way to track a team's performance than watching the college basketball rankings.
Seeing the little number next to a team's name can provide a lot of delight in the fans of a ranked team. But who comes up with college basketball rankings? And why should fans care about college basketball rankings?
College basketball rankings are an imprecise science. The two major polls that the media gives credence to for college basketball rankings are the Associated Press Poll and the ESPN/USA Today Poll. Both are completely left to the objectiveness of voters, some of whom may unfairly rank their own favorite teams. However, it is generally agreed that they both do a fairly good job of providing a good idea of the abilities of the programs ranked.
The Associated Press poll started in 1948 as a vote among local sports writers from across the nation as a means to compare talent across the various regions. Today, the AP Poll is comprised of votes from 82 regional sports writers as well as ESPN's Dick Vitale and Sport's Illustrated's Seth Davis.
College basketball rankings are compiled by asking each writer to list what they believe are the top 25 teams in NCAA College Basketball and then to rank them based on various factors like individual talent, coaching, and the relative ease or difficulty of their schedules. The data is then collected weekly, aggregated to form a general consensus among the ballots and then published weekly by the AP.
The ESPN/USA Today Poll was established in 1993, as a sort of response poll to the AP, though they often look very similar. It is conducted by ESPN and USA Today under the supervision of the National Association of Basketball Coaches. The voting board is made up of 31 Division 1A coaches, which is rotated on a year to year basis.
Similar to the AP Poll, college basketball rankings are determined by coaches, who receive weekly ballots on which to rank their top 25 teams. Each team is assigned points based on how many votes they received and the top point getters receive rankings from first to twenty fifth.
The NCAA, unlike in football where the polls are integrated into the bowl selection process, refuses to acknowledge external college basketball rankings as a means of choosing teams to participate in March Madness. The NCAA won't publicly admit to using the polls as a tool for the selection process; however, the AP and ESPN/USA Today top 25 teams nearly always make the NCAA tournament unless they've already been disqualified for NCAA rules violations.
Another type of poll that has become popular with the media is NCAA College Basketball Power Rankings. College basketball power rankings are usually a more informal, less statistically based polling process. They are typically determined by a website or news service polling their own staff to rank teams not based on statistical or schedule superiority, but on whether or not they believe a team could beat the others. College basketball power rankings have become a popular way for media pundits not invited to participate in the national polls to provide their own objective opinions, and some sites even invite readers to participate in their college basketball rankings.
Ultimately, NCAA College basketball rankings have little to no effect on how college basketball is played. Unlike in football, where the rankings play an integral part in selecting bowl teams and awarding their own national championships, the college basketball rankings are largely forgotten by the time a team has won the Final Four. Still as a means of bragging rights and fan pride, college basketball rankings are an integral part to collegiate basketball.
Sources:
"AP Poll." Wikipedia. 21 November 2006. 21 January 2007 < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AP_Poll>.
"Coaches Poll." Wikipedia. 11 January 2006. 21 January 2007 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coaches_Poll#College_ basketball>.
Power 16 Expert Lists. ESPN.com. 18 January 2007. 21 January 2007 < http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=272757 3>.
Coach's Corner. National Association of Basketball Coaches. 15 January 2007. 21 January 2007.
College Poll Voters. AP.org. 21 January 2007. 21 January 2007
There is perhaps, no greater way to track a team's performance than watching the college basketball rankings.
Related Articles
College basketball rankings are an imprecise science. The two major polls that the media gives credence to for college basketball rankings are the Associated Press Poll and the ESPN/USA Today Poll. Both are completely left to the objectiveness of voters, some of whom may unfairly rank their own favorite teams. However, it is generally agreed that they both do a fairly good job of providing a good idea of the abilities of the programs ranked.
The Associated Press poll started in 1948 as a vote among local sports writers from across the nation as a means to compare talent across the various regions. Today, the AP Poll is comprised of votes from 82 regional sports writers as well as ESPN's Dick Vitale and Sport's Illustrated's Seth Davis.
College basketball rankings are compiled by asking each writer to list what they believe are the top 25 teams in NCAA College Basketball and then to rank them based on various factors like individual talent, coaching, and the relative ease or difficulty of their schedules. The data is then collected weekly, aggregated to form a general consensus among the ballots and then published weekly by the AP.
The ESPN/USA Today Poll was established in 1993, as a sort of response poll to the AP, though they often look very similar. It is conducted by ESPN and USA Today under the supervision of the National Association of Basketball Coaches. The voting board is made up of 31 Division 1A coaches, which is rotated on a year to year basis.
Similar to the AP Poll, college basketball rankings are determined by coaches, who receive weekly ballots on which to rank their top 25 teams. Each team is assigned points based on how many votes they received and the top point getters receive rankings from first to twenty fifth.
The NCAA, unlike in football where the polls are integrated into the bowl selection process, refuses to acknowledge external college basketball rankings as a means of choosing teams to participate in March Madness. The NCAA won't publicly admit to using the polls as a tool for the selection process; however, the AP and ESPN/USA Today top 25 teams nearly always make the NCAA tournament unless they've already been disqualified for NCAA rules violations.
Another type of poll that has become popular with the media is NCAA College Basketball Power Rankings. College basketball power rankings are usually a more informal, less statistically based polling process. They are typically determined by a website or news service polling their own staff to rank teams not based on statistical or schedule superiority, but on whether or not they believe a team could beat the others. College basketball power rankings have become a popular way for media pundits not invited to participate in the national polls to provide their own objective opinions, and some sites even invite readers to participate in their college basketball rankings.
Ultimately, NCAA College basketball rankings have little to no effect on how college basketball is played. Unlike in football, where the rankings play an integral part in selecting bowl teams and awarding their own national championships, the college basketball rankings are largely forgotten by the time a team has won the Final Four. Still as a means of bragging rights and fan pride, college basketball rankings are an integral part to collegiate basketball.
Sources:
"AP Poll." Wikipedia. 21 November 2006. 21 January 2007 < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AP_Poll>.
"Coaches Poll." Wikipedia. 11 January 2006. 21 January 2007 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coaches_Poll#College_ basketball>.
Power 16 Expert Lists. ESPN.com. 18 January 2007. 21 January 2007 < http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=272757 3>.
Coach's Corner. National Association of Basketball Coaches. 15 January 2007. 21 January 2007.
College Poll Voters. AP.org. 21 January 2007. 21 January 2007
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