Where should Davidson be ranked?
Here's a question for y'all: when the final USA Today coaches' poll rankings are released, after the NCAA Tournament ends, where should Davidson be ranked?
I think it's pretty obvious that the top 4 teams from the final regular-season poll will remain the same, in whatever order, in the post-tournament poll. After all, they all made it to the Final Four. But after that, then what? Who else, if anyone, should be ranked ahead of the Wildcats?
Davidson, which was ranked #23 in that final poll, knocked off #26 Gonzaga, #8 Georgetown, and #5 Wisconsin en route to the Elite Eight, and damn near beat #4 Kansas. And that's on top of almost beating North Carolina, Duke and UCLA in the regular season, and going 20-0 in their conference.
Admittedly, Davidson did have three "bad losses" during the regular season: at Western Michigan, at Charlotte, and at N.C. State (the latter was once counted as one of their "near-wins" over a big-name opponent, but now that we're judging them against other elite teams, I think losing to a sub-.500 ACC team has to count as a bad loss).
Overall, though, I daresay their body of work compares favorably to just about anyone outside of the Top 4. And they certainly pass the elusive "eye test" after their NCAA Tournament run. I could see maybe Texas finishing ahead of them, and perhaps Tennessee and/or Louisville and/or Xavier. But I think Davidson has to be somewhere in that #5-9 range... preferably closer to #5 or #6. Am I wrong? Certainly, I think they're a Top 10 team.
Possibly relevant precedent: in 2006, George Mason jumped from unranked -- receiving zero votes, in fact -- to ranked #8. Davidson didn't go as far as Mason did in the tournament, but their regular-season resume was better, their weren't blown out in their final game*, they have less of a hill to climb because they were ranked to begin with, and their success was less baffling to "eye test" practitioners than George Mason's (because of Stephen Curry).
*This isn't really fair to Mason, considering that -- as I mentioned in comments yesterday -- being blown out by Florida in 2006 was not exactly a badge of shame. However, it is what it is.
But they play in a pathetic conference, with lackluster opponents. Good nonconference teams they beat straight up means nothing.
They are a horribly overrated excuse for a basketball team.
(This parody of national commenters about the Memphis Tigers brought to you by a somewhat smug die-hard fan.)
At any rate, I certainly think Davidson should deserve some reasonable consideration for the Top 15.
Posted by: Jay Johnson | Mar 31, 2008 4:48:11 PM
Jay,
Calipari whined ALLLLLLL year about how they were underrated. He's such a bitch. The lowest they were ranked all year was 3!!
If Memphis wins the championship I bet Calipari finds somethign to cry about.
If Curry stays another year then they should be ranked in the top 20...if he comes out for the draft they shouldn't be in the top 25. The entire offense revolved around him...of course he is going to score points when he has like 25+ attempts a game.
Posted by: Marty West | Mar 31, 2008 4:57:32 PM
Suggestion:
Go back and recast the season. For each week replace Duke with Davidson all the way to the end of the regular season. Then raise that by one position.
Posted by: Mindsurfer | Mar 31, 2008 5:39:20 PM
Top 10, easy.
Posted by: David K. | Mar 31, 2008 5:57:56 PM
Definitely in the top 10. And Curry is definitely coming back next season. He says himself that he's not ready yet for the NBA. They lose Richards (assist leader), Meno and Saunders. Curry will probably run the point next year which will be good preparation for the NBA. Should be another great year for them and they'll have a tough nonconference schedule again as well. Go Wildcats! You were a breath of fresh air this year. Real student-athletes who could play basketball too.
Posted by: tennismama | Mar 31, 2008 6:40:21 PM
Marty, I'm talking about their ranking in the final coaches poll THIS year, not their ranking in next year's preseason poll.
Posted by: Brendan Loy | Mar 31, 2008 8:07:36 PM
Well in that case they should be in the top 10 obviously.
Posted by: Marty West | Mar 31, 2008 8:12:49 PM
credible sources say that mike brey is close to leaving for indiana.
Posted by: yea | Apr 1, 2008 9:21:02 AM
April Fools?
Posted by: Brendan Loy | Apr 1, 2008 9:59:24 AM
yea... too bad this thread wasnt up top.
Posted by: yea | Apr 1, 2008 11:09:37 AM