by Power Sports
Thursday, Dec 31, 2020Every week, I like to take a look at the AP & Coaches Polls in College Basketball and compare them to my own Top 25 power ratings. It’s always fun (and instructive!) to spot which teams the pollsters and I aren’t necessarily in agreement on.
As we get ready to turn the calendar to 2021, here are three teams that I feel are overrated by the pollsters. All are ranked in the Top 25, but none of them SHOULD be. We’ve got one from the SEC, a conference I covered extensively in my underrated College Basketball teams column. The other two are from the Big 10.
1. Missouri - The Tigers are ranked #12 in the country, but I flat out disagree with that assessment as I’ve got a number of SEC teams rated above them. I had no issue laying a short number against the Tigers, in Columbia, when they faced Tennessee in a battle of unbeatens Wednesday. Sure enough, the Volunteers crushed the Tigers 73-53. Up next for Mizzou is a date with Arkansas, a team that made my underrated list. A loss there and the Tigers could tumble out of the Top 25.
2. Michigan State - I bet a lot of you wish I would have written this column prior to Monday as that was when Sparty suffered a humiliating 81-56 defeat in Minnesota. It was their third consecutive defeat, all of those coming in Big 10 play. That’s dropped Tom Izzo’s team down to #17, but my power ratings say they shouldn’t even be ranked. Their best win is the lone time I played them (vs. Duke), but Duke is another team that has no business in the Top 25. Neither the KenPom ratings nor my own consider Michigan State a top 50 team in the country right now.
3. Northwestern - Get ready to “sell high” on the Wildcats. Their current #19 ranking is the program’s highest this “late” in the season since 1969! It’s only the 7th time they’ve ever been ranked! After opening Big 10 play with three consecutive upsets (Mich St, Indiana, Ohio St), N’western lost at Iowa (by 15) on Tuesday. Look for that to start a downturn. The upcoming schedule is BRUTAL with the next four games all against legit Top 25 competition.
1. Missouri - The Tigers are ranked #12 in the country, but I flat out disagree with that assessment as I’ve got a number of SEC teams rated above them. I had no issue laying a short number against the Tigers, in Columbia, when they faced Tennessee in a battle of unbeatens Wednesday. Sure enough, the Volunteers crushed the Tigers 73-53. Up next for Mizzou is a date with Arkansas, a team that made my underrated list. A loss there and the Tigers could tumble out of the Top 25.
2. Michigan State - I bet a lot of you wish I would have written this column prior to Monday as that was when Sparty suffered a humiliating 81-56 defeat in Minnesota. It was their third consecutive defeat, all of those coming in Big 10 play. That’s dropped Tom Izzo’s team down to #17, but my power ratings say they shouldn’t even be ranked. Their best win is the lone time I played them (vs. Duke), but Duke is another team that has no business in the Top 25. Neither the KenPom ratings nor my own consider Michigan State a top 50 team in the country right now.
3. Northwestern - Get ready to “sell high” on the Wildcats. Their current #19 ranking is the program’s highest this “late” in the season since 1969! It’s only the 7th time they’ve ever been ranked! After opening Big 10 play with three consecutive upsets (Mich St, Indiana, Ohio St), N’western lost at Iowa (by 15) on Tuesday. Look for that to start a downturn. The upcoming schedule is BRUTAL with the next four games all against legit Top 25 competition.
