NCAA: Basketball power index update

The landscape of men’s college hoops has officially formed. How are things looking so far?

With plenty of games left, we have still seen enough college hoops to have a good idea of which teams are contenders and which still have a way to go. There is no perfect way to rank NCAA teams. Records are not enough, with the strength of opponents varying greatly in addition to other variables.

So, BPI (Basketball Power Index) is not an end-all-be-all system, but it does factor in important aspects. BPI focuses on what to expect from teams going forward, based on their past performances and upcoming schedule. The ranking occurs based on where a team falls compared to an “average” squad.

We don’t have to get into the math - just know that it is a handy tool for assessing top college hoops teams.

As of early Thursday, February sixth, Duke is at the top of the BPI rankings. Mike Krzyzewski’s Blue Devils are 19 and 3 with many of their most difficult matchups already in the rearview. Gonzaga is unsurprisingly near the top at number two. Next are Kansas, Michigan State, Baylor, Lousiville, Arizona, and Dayton.

Michigan State and Arizona do not have poor records, but at 16-7 and 15-6 respectively, they show some of the curious nature of BPI rankings. Losses to top squads and relatively soft schedules going forward propel them to their spots.

Ninth on the list is San Diego State, who deserves plenty of praise for being the last undefeated Division I team left standing at 23-0. West Virginia rounds out the top ten.

The BPI naturally gives favor to traditional power conferences. Plenty of Big 10 and Big East teams make up the next grouping of squads on the list. Again, not a bad overview for analysis, but not a perfect measurement.

The best way to determine the strongest teams in college ball is to see them for yourself. Smaller programs are still made up of excellent players that can upset the big dogs in any given game. Just tune in and see for yourself as the college season gets serious.

For more on NCAA hoops as well as all other levels of the sport, stay tuned right here to The Basketball Movement.

Probably too early NCAAM BPI rankings

The NCAA men's college basketball season is just under 100 days away, but predictions are already being formulated.

Recently, ESPN released some summertime BPI rankings for guy's college hoops. Yes, we are a long way out, but as they mention, the October rankings are pretty predictive, so it's reasonable to think that some August numbers may be telling as well.

BPI rankings are unique, and take into account some in-depth factors that may look a little funny without some explanation. Here is a description of what it takes into account:

“The preseason rankings are based on the following categories: the quality and quantity of the returning players on the team, including transfers and players who missed last season because of injury; recruiting rankings, both overall and the number of five-star prospects; and coaches’ past performances on offense and defense.”

— Jeff Borzello, ESPN Staff Writer

It is important to note that the rankings are weighted on returning talent when examining the below list. This means that Kentucky and Duke in particular will be shown lower here than any other ranking list you will find. For the sake of consistency, they are left where they are to purely show BPI numbers.

A few other team that have surprising rankings are Marquette, West Virginia, Syracuse, and Wisconsin. The model likes Marquette and WV's offense and coaching style. Wisconsin and Syracuse seem to be based largely on returning talent. Below is the top 25 of the list, taken directly from ESPN:

As mentioned, we are a long way out from college basketball season. It is fun to play the guessing game on where everyone will wind up, and there are a lot of numbers behind the above list. BPI doesn't account for everything such as Duke's massive influx of young talent, so things are certainly subject to change.

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