Kentucky #1 in both polls, but not in ESPN’s Power Rankings
Kentucky is the new number one team in the country according to the AP and Coaches Poll, but ESPN has a different team in the top spot of its power rankings: Indiana. The 4-0 Hoosiers, ranked third in the AP Poll and fifth in the Coaches Poll, are the best team in the land according to — you guessed it — Jeff Goodman.
“Big Blue Nation isn’t going to be happy, but the Indiana Hoosiers are more deserving of the top spot,” Goodman writes. “Remember, the preseason power rankings were based on paper. Now, the rankings change dramatically due to on-court results. Indiana’s victory in Hawaii over a top-5 Kansas team is far more impressive than Kentucky’s easy win over a Michigan State club that lost to Arizona and nearly dropped one at home Sunday night to Florida Gulf Coast.”
Goodman’s top ten:
1. Indiana
2. Kentucky
3. Villanova
4. Kansas
5. Duke
6. Louisville
7. North Carolina
8. Xavier
9. Gonzaga
10. Creighton
After noticing how tan Crean was during the Armed Forces Classic in Hawaii, I was all set to photoshop him on a turkey ala Kramer from “Seinfeld,” but @Mike_Idle beat me to it:
@mike_idle
19 Comments for Kentucky #1 in both polls, but not in ESPN’s Power Rankings
You guys aren’t going to like this, but I agree with Goodman with regard to UK’s available data set. Uk hasn’t really beat anyone yet. They’ve beat some teams by A LOT of points, but they haven’t played a good experienced team with talent yet.
I’m not agreeing that Indiana is better, but his argument about UK is pretty accurate.
But following this logic, you don’t have to go too far to see how he immediately lets his bias overpower his flimsy rational by picking UofL #6 who’s only wins are over powerhouses like Wm & Mary, Long Beach St, & Evansville. UNC, Creighton & Xavier all have much better wins and zero losses. He’s just a chipmunk ass clown.
Funny thing…Goodman picked Michigan State to beat Kentucky, then writes off the 20 point win as “not impressive.”
His disdain for Kentucky is approaching Pat Forde territory.
And his opinion is equally irrelevant.
“…The reason Wildcats fans won’t be happy is because Goodman picked UK to lose to in-state rival Louisville at Louisville on Dec. 21.
Here is what he said about that game:
Kentucky at Louisville, Dec. 21: This is now the best rivalry in college hoops, largely due to the fact that there seems to be more pure hatred between the programs — and the coaches aren’t exactly buddies. John Calipari brought in another stellar freshman class, but don’t sleep on Rick Pitino’s Cards. They are deep, balanced — and talented enough to pull off the win at the Yum! Center.
To make matters worse, he also says the Wildcats will lose to North Carolina in Las Vegas four days before the game with the Cardinals.”
It’s November…it doesn’t matter…none of these polls matter…we can breathe…
Screw Goodman. He’s one of those sensitive journalists who thinks he can chide Kentucky till they agree to schedule IU again. It’s early in the season and he knows he can get away with it. Besides his 15 minutes should have been up years ago.
For years, Louisville railed for Kentucky to play them every year.
Careful what you wish for, IU.
This will all be cleared up when we play IU in a few weeks… wait. What?
Never mind.
We schedule better, more relevant teams. They need us more than we need them.
Lol, that boob picked Michigan St to beat us just last week, This is simply another plot to stir the pot…..no news here
Totally agree with the idea that’s he’s click mongering too…
The ONLY reason he picked IU #1 is to draw attention to HIMSELF by riling BBN.
Now how am I going to eat any turkey this week?
Thanks a lot!
I dont get it? Since when is Goodman’s meaningless poll considered ESPN’s Power Rankings? Isn’t that basically a poll of ALL the basketball writers/analysts there?
Who gives a crap about rankings ….. let us worry about Championships!!!!
Goodman needs to smoke some pot, not try to stir it.
IU will have a banner and ring ceremony at their next home game to commemorate this crowning achievement. T-shirts are on sale today.
This is a nonstarter. We will lose some and IU will definitely lose more. The #1 spot will change teams often this year. My money is on UK being better in march than IU and if Goodman was honest he would have to agree.