This is, well, interesting in the way ESPN schticks are.
They're ranking programs based on the past 24 seasons (since the NCAA tourney expanded to 64 teams).
It's not opinion based, it's completely based on a numbers formula (but then, so is Hollinger's cuntastic life).
Here's their formula:
This will be interesting because, among other things, it's going to spark plenty of opinion-based comments from UM fans and MSU fans about their team ranking too low or the other team rankings too high, how they shouldn't have gone that far back, how their point system was bad, etc.• National title … 25
• Title game loss … 20
• National semifinal loss … 15
• Elite Eight loss … 10
• Best record in conference's regular season … 5
• 30-plus wins in a season … 5
• Sweet 16 loss … 5
• Conference tournament title … 3
• AP first-team All-American … 3
• Losing in NCAA second round … 3
• Player in top 10 of NBA draft … 2
• NCAA first-round win as a 12-16-seed … 2
• NIT title … 2
• AP second-team All-American … 2
• 20-29 wins in a season … 1
• NCAA tournament berth … 1
• Postseason NIT berth … 1
• AP third-team All-American … 1
• NCAA first-round loss vs. 12-16-seed … -2
• Losing season … -3
• Ban from NCAA tournament … -3
>> Minimum 15 seasons in Division I
** Ties are broken by overall winning percentage since the 1984-85 season
^^ Teams are listed by their current conferences
Using the 15-season minimum, 41 current D-I schools won't qualify, giving us exactly 300 schools.
Anyhow, they have released the the rankings so far for 41-300.
To keep it relative, I'll reveal the Big Ten teams that have been ranked so far.
45. Wisconsin (UxKa is going to go nuts)
49. Iowa
68. Minnesota
185. Penn State (tie)
290. Northwestern (tie)
That means the conference has 6 teams in the top 40 (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Purdue).
I haven't done the math to see how many points Michigan will end up with, but I'm sure the formula and how it takes into account penalties will be much debated.
I'm also sure State fans will argue that 15 points isn't enough for a "Regional Championship" (though I prefer ESPN's terminology, calling it a "National Semifinal loss"). Either that, or, if State is in the top 5 UM fans might say it's a crock and that's too many points.
Regardless, it's probably more interesting than Titletown and that got 3 pages.
Stay tuned as they release 31-40 tomorrow.
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