First time ever! Second week at #1

#2
#2
Well this is the first time we've ever been ranked #1 for consecutive weeks, right? Not bad!

Interesting that Michigan State didn't move down in the AP poll after their loss yesterday. I guess voters didn't feel like other teams were worthy of jumping ahead of them.
 
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#3
#3
I’m really excited because it will be my wife and sons first Tennessee Basketball game! His excitement that we’re #1 going into SC has made me smile all weekend! Even my wife is super excited... which is rare.

She paid her bet with my son and shot a hand gun (9mm) at the range for the first time ever. (Backstory: He bet her around Christmas that if they were #1 going into the game she had to shot a gun)
 
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#4
#4
ThatVolGuy said:
Well this is the first time we've ever been ranked #1 for consecutive weeks, right? Not bad!

Interesting that Michigan State didn't move down in the AP poll after their loss yesterday. I guess voters didn't feel like other teams were worthy of jumping ahead of them.
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I read that it had to do with 2 factors. 12-3 against top 100 Kenpom and they weren’t favored to win going into the game. No one below them has a better resume.
 
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#6
#6
I am proud for the team. One question about that elbowing foul called on Admiral. Did his arm even move in that guys direction when he flopped back like he had just been shot? Maybe it's just me, but I would love to see an obvious flop rule that warrants immediate no questions asked ejections. Bout the stupidest play I have seen in sports
 
#7
#7
SolidRockGolf said:
I read that it had to do with 2 factors. 12-3 against top 100 Kenpom and they weren’t favored to win going into the game. No one below them has a better resume.
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Yep, makes sense. I have to say, I'm not opposed to the idea that a loss doesn't ALWAYS mean you have to fall in the polls. There's obviously a recency bias with the AP poll, but Michigan State is certainly deserving of a #6 ranking when you look at their resume.

Additionally, I didn't realize they weren't favored against Purdue. Before watching the game yesterday, I thought the Boilermakers had really fallen on rough times this season, but they're in really good shape. They're 7-2 in conference now and could cause problems for both Michigan and Michigan State (though they've already split the season series with MSU).
 
#8
#8
SolidRockGolf said:
I’m really excited because it will be my wife and sons first Tennessee Basketball game! His excitement that we’re #1 going into SC has made me smile all weekend! Even my wife is super excited... which is rare.

She paid her bet with my son and shot a hand gun (9mm) at the range for the first time ever. (Backstory: He bet her around Christmas that if they were #1 going into the game she had to shot a gun)
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Great to hear about your story. Enjoy the game, and enjoy the ride wherever the rest of the season takes us.
 
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#10
#10
I tweeted the guy who voted us 5th (no one else voted us lower than third. Here's his response:

I try to vote "best" not "most deserving," while knowing reasonable people can disagree on what should be done here. UT's not loved as much by predictive rankings, which look at every possession and not just W/L results. 6 KenPom, 6 Torvik, 5 Sagarin, 5 BPI, 6 Team Rankings.
 
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#11
#11
TNnative said:
I am proud for the team. One question about that elbowing foul called on Admiral. Did his arm even move in that guys direction when he flopped back like he had just been shot? Maybe it's just me, but I would love to see an obvious flop rule that warrants immediate no questions asked ejections. Bout the stupidest play I have seen in sports
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He swung his elbows but from the replay in slow motion didn't touch the guy from the angle I saw. Must have been the wind....
 
#14
#14
ThatVolGuy said:
Well this is the first time we've ever been ranked #1 for consecutive weeks, right? Not bad!

Interesting that Michigan State didn't move down in the AP poll after their loss yesterday. I guess voters didn't feel like other teams were worthy of jumping ahead of them.
Click to expand...

As soon as we lose a game, the pollsters will drop us like a rock. The bluebloods get special treatment.
 
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#16
#16
JohnD13 said:
I tweeted the guy who voted us 5th (no one else voted us lower than third. Here's his response:

I try to vote "best" not "most deserving," while knowing reasonable people can disagree on what should be done here. UT's not loved as much by predictive rankings, which look at every possession and not just W/L results. 6 KenPom, 6 Torvik, 5 Sagarin, 5 BPI, 6 Team Rankings.
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The computer rankings serve a purpose. But they’ll never be perfect. The ap and coaches poll should evaluate qualitative and other variables that can’t be assessed by the computers. Tennessee certainly has an ‘it factor’ this year. I think teams true ranking are generally a combination of human and computer polls.
 
#18
#18
JohnD13 said:
I tweeted the guy who voted us 5th (no one else voted us lower than third. Here's his response:

I try to vote "best" not "most deserving," while knowing reasonable people can disagree on what should be done here. UT's not loved as much by predictive rankings, which look at every possession and not just W/L results. 6 KenPom, 6 Torvik, 5 Sagarin, 5 BPI, 6 Team Rankings.
Click to expand...
The per-possession metrics don't do much for you if you've blasted most of your opponents by so much that late game possessions become meaningless.
 
#19
#19
golfballs said:
The computer rankings serve a purpose. But they’ll never be perfect. The ap and coaches poll should evaluate qualitative and other variables that can’t be assessed by the computers. Tennessee certainly has an ‘it factor’ this year. I think teams true ranking are generally a combination of human and computer polls.
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The computer rankings will remain kind. But human polls generally favor what humans are used to being good.
 
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#21
#21
JohnD13 said:
I tweeted the guy who voted us 5th (no one else voted us lower than third. Here's his response:

I try to vote "best" not "most deserving," while knowing reasonable people can disagree on what should be done here. UT's not loved as much by predictive rankings, which look at every possession and not just W/L results. 6 KenPom, 6 Torvik, 5 Sagarin, 5 BPI, 6 Team Rankings.
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Ha! I saw your tweet.

Jesse Newell - the guy who voted us fifth and has consistently been our lowest vote - will not move Tennessee up if the predictive ranking models don't support it. I think they're valuable, but I have a slight hunch that Tennessee could win the national championship and be placed outside of first on his ballot if KenPom didn't have them at #1 as well. :)
 
#22
#22
ThatVolGuy said:
Ha! I saw your tweet.

Jesse Newell - the guy who voted us fifth and has consistently been our lowest vote - will not move Tennessee up if the predictive ranking models don't support it. I think they're valuable, but I have a slight hunch that Tennessee could win the national championship and be placed outside of first on his ballot if KenPom didn't have them at #1 as well. :)
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So why does he even have a vote? If he’s just going to mimic a computer? Even KenPom himself will acknowledge that teams deserve to be ranked higher or lower compared to his rankings
 
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#23
#23
JohnD13 said:
I tweeted the guy who voted us 5th (no one else voted us lower than third. Here's his response:

I try to vote "best" not "most deserving," while knowing reasonable people can disagree on what should be done here. UT's not loved as much by predictive rankings, which look at every possession and not just W/L results. 6 KenPom, 6 Torvik, 5 Sagarin, 5 BPI, 6 Team Rankings.
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And to an extent I actually get this...on a neutral court I’m not sure Tennessee would be favored over the other Top 5 teams.

I would have Tennessee #1 due to their whole resume, but if they are 23-1 and go to Rupp and get beat by double digits I wouldn’t be shocked to see them fall down to 5th or so.
 
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#24
#24
JohnD13 said:
He swung his elbows but from the replay in slow motion didn't touch the guy from the angle I saw. Must have been the wind....
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You're absolutely right. I replayed it on my DVR and there was space between his elbow and the other guy's face and he also "mistimed" his flop. He didn't fall backwards immediately
 
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#25
#25
Not being an avid basketball fan at all outside of March Madness, I actually caught some of the Vandy and WV games. Very impressive.
 
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