I get it. Duke is good, was good, and, at least for the foreseeable future, will always be good. Duke has won their first two games by a combined score of 55-18. So making them #1 in the D1 Rankings only makes sense. But it doesn’t. Sports are meant to be a meritocracy. That means, by definition, you can’t be ranked #1 when you haven’t even played a game yet. I know, across all college sports, that’s what we do. But that doesn’t make it right. As for 55-18, first, they beat Air Force (0-2), High Point (0-1 and play G’town today), and Jacksonville (who beat an 0-2 Navy). While calling these teams “your little sister” is too strong a sentiment, the point still stands. If I beat up my little sister a little and you beat up your little sister a lot, does that really make you a better fighter? I know, across all college sports, we move teams higher up in rankings that win by a lot than teams that win by a little. But that doesn’t make it right. Unless a runner is trying to break a World Record, a runner will race focusing on the forest, not the trees. When they race, they race to win, not to win by a lot. I know, across all college sports, every player gives 110% for 110% of the game 110% of the time and… This is complete and utter nonsense. Runners run to win. Players play to win. This doesn’t mean that they slow to a jog once they have a lead. But it does mean that it is not unheard of to downshift. And, when the Usain Bolt’s of the world look over their shoulder and downshift, this says little to nothing about their standing as the best sprinter in the world. What matters is not how much you win by. What matters is who crosses the finish line first. So, with this said, how do the current rankings make sense?
Albany and Yale haven’t played yet and they’re, respectively, #4 and #5 in the nation while UVM is 3-0 and they’re not even in the Top 20? Maryland beats Marist to go 1-0 and they’re the #2 team in the country? That Denver hadn’t played a game yet and they were #2 in the nation is already nonsensical. But then they beat Air force 11-5 to go 1-0 and they drop to #3? Not coincidentally, Duke beat Air Force 18-4 the week before so… 11-5, 18-4, Duke must be better! That Denver played Air Force in a snow storm, which one can safely assume had an impact on the score, aside, winning by more against the same opponent does not make you a better team. None the less, somehow, Presto! Duke is better than Denver. The current NCAA Polls and Rankings suck.
We don’t need to have a Pre-Season Poll as the starting point for this race to to the top. We don’t need to guess which teams and which are not in order to pretend we know each team’s strength of schedule. We don’t need to have a linear format with one number 1, one number 2, one number 3, etc. Especially so early in the season when so few games have been played and so few teams have matched up against each other. The Current NCAA Poll should look like the rankings below. Do I think UVM is better than Maryland? I do not. But rankings should not be based on what I think. Rankings should be based on wins and losses and who those wins and losses were against. Period. So, on February 13th, 2018, UVM (who is 3-0 vs. Furman, Mercer, and Fairfield) is better than Maryland (who is 1-0 vs. an 0-2 Navy). Do I think UVM will still be ahead of Maryland on March 13? No. I do not. But it’s not March 13.
(Italicized teams play today)
Tied for 1
Duke NC John Danowski 3- 0- 0
Vermont VT Chris Feifs 3- 0- 0
Tied for 3
Bucknell PA Frank Fedorjaka 2- 0- 0
Lehigh PA Kevin Cassese 2- 0- 0
North Carolina NC Joe Breschi 2- 0- 0
Ohio State OH Nick Myers 2- 0- 0
Rutgers NJ Brian Brecht 2- 0- 0
Tied for 8
Army NY Joe Alberici 1- 0- 0
Colgate NY Mike Murphy 1- 0- 0
Delaware DE Ben DeLuca 1- 0- 0
Denver CO Bill Tierney 1- 0- 0
Johns Hopkins MD Dave Pietramala 1- 0- 0
Maryland MD John Tillman 1- 0- 0
Michigan MI Kevin Conry 1- 0- 0
Notre Dame IN Kevin Corrigan 1-0-0
Sacred Heart CT Jon Basti 1- 0- 0
Syracuse NY John Desko 1- 0- 0
UMBC MD Ryan Moran 1- 0- 0
Villanova PA Mike Corrado 1- 0- 0
Virginia VA Lars Tiffany 1- 0- 0
Wagner NY Matt Poskay 1- 0- 0
FORUM: Comment
