Welcome

If you’ve been following my college football rankings this fall, you already know the drill of how these rankings work. Basically, I have wanted a way to combine subjective views towards teams with an objective component. It is essentially a ranking of the resumes of teams, plus a sprinkle of subjectivity (not my personal opinion, but the general consensus opinion of the media/other rankings, etc.). If I were to come up with a snazzy name for this system, it would be the BOW+ rankings - or the Bodies Of Work (+ subjectivity) rankings.

Within the context of college football, I have tinkered with my formula over the seasons and have what I think is a pretty decent way to compare bodies of work of different teams. For the first time ever, I am attempting to apply this approach to college basketball teams. It may provide valuable insight into which teams are favored by the tournament selection committee, or it could crash and burn. Who knows! Consider this season a test run for applying my rankings approach to college basketball. This is NOT a sophisticated algorithm, and should not be treated the same way as Sagarin, KenPom, or other computer rankings found in places like the Massey Ranking Composite. The rankings should also not be used to predict future games; my rankings should be considered a snapshot of how a team’s body of work has been up to this point. Even though it is not the most complicated ranking system ever created, I think its simplicity can be a positive thing.


Basic Idea

The approach is identical to what I do for football. Speaking of which, you can find all of my football rankings and previous basketball rankings here: (http://rpubs.com/ditrapani4)

I will not go into detail here about how these rankings are calculated, but I will describe the basic concept. Like I mentioned above, these rankings combine subjective and objective features. The subjective component drives the whole process. Every team is placed by me into a bin. There are seven general bins, ranging from -3 to 3. A basic idea of what each bin represents is:


If a team seems to be somewhere in between two of these categories, they can be binned as a “0.5”, “1.5”, etc.

This is the subjective part of the process. I make the final call which bin a team falls into, but I try to inform myself as much as possible of the consensus of a given team. For example, for a team to be “borderline ranked” (bin 1), they need to at least appear in the “Other Receiving Votes” area of the AP and Coaches polls. I try to make the bins representative of the nationwide media consensus of a given team. Still, there is definitely subjectivity involved.

The objective element of the rankings gives and takes away points from a team depending on the bins of that team’s opponents. For example, beating a team from bin 0 at home by a “non-blowout score” (less than 21 points) rewards that team 0.5 points, and so on. This is the part of the process that I have tinkered with over the years. A team of course loses points for losing a game, depending on the opponent, where the game was played, and whether it was a blowout or not.

So the basic idea of the system is that we have an idea as fans which “bin” a team falls into. Once we determine that, we can get an obective idea of how a team’s resume is depending on the bins of that team’s wins and losses. The final “Score” of the ranking is simply a sum of the bin you are in and the amount of points you have gained/lost from wins and losses.


3/11

To keep pace with all of the games, these rankings will be updated daily with all of the previous day/night’s games. This will keep the rankings up-to-date as the season nears an end. I won’t be posting these updates onto Facebook daily, but you can find the daily pages here: (http://rpubs.com/ditrapani4). I also will be adding the mid-major conference champions into the rankings if they were not in the rankings before winning their tournaments. From yesterday, welcome UMBC, NC Central, Marshall, Montana, Stephen F Austin, Texas Southern, and CS Fullerton into the power rankings. All bolded teams represent conference champions.

This includes all games through Saturday, March 10th. It will updated throughout Sunday to reflect new results:

Rank Team Score Record Conf Prev Rank
1 Virginia 17.5 31-2 (20-1) 1
2 Villanova 10.5 30-4 (17-4) 2
3 Kansas 9 27-7 (16-5) 7
4 North Carolina 7 25-10 (14-8) 9
5 Michigan State 6.25 29-4 (17-3) 4
6 Purdue 6.25 28-6 (17-4) 6
7 Xavier 5.75 28-5 (16-4) 3
8 Duke 5.75 26-7 (14-6) 5
9 Michigan 5 28-7 (17-5) 8
10 Tennessee 3.25 25-7 (15-5) 12
11 West Virginia 3 24-10 (13-8) 15
12 Gonzaga 2.75 30-4 (20-1) 10
13 Cincinnati 2.75 29-4 (18-2) 11
14 Texas Tech 2 24-9 (12-8) 13
15 Clemson 0.25 23-9 (12-8) 14
16 Ohio State -1 24-8 (15-4) 17
17 Kentucky -1.75 23-10 (12-8) 19
18 Auburn -2 25-7 (13-6) 16
19 Houston -2.75 26-6 (16-4) 22
20 Miami -3 22-9 (11-8) 18
21 Arizona -3.5 27-7 (17-4) 24
22 Wichita St -3.5 25-7 (15-5) 20
23 Kansas State -4 22-11 (11-9) T29
24 NC State -5.5 21-11 (11-8) 21
25 TCU -5.75 21-11 (9-10) 26
26 Rhode Island -6 25-6 (17-3) 31
27 Florida -6.25 20-12 (11-8) 23
28 St Marys -6.25 28-5 (17-3) 28
29 Seton Hall -6.25 21-11 (10-9) 25
30 Arkansas -7 23-11 (12-9) 37
31 Florida State -7 20-11 (9-10) 27
32 Virginia Tech -7.25 21-11 (10-9) T29
33 Texas AM -7.25 20-12 (9-10) 33
34 Creighton -7.5 21-11 (10-9) 32
35 Butler -7.5 20-13 (10-10) 39
36 Texas -7.5 19-14 (9-11) 38
37 Oklahoma -7.75 18-13 (8-11) 35
38 St Bonaventure -8 25-7 (15-5) 34
39 Providence -8.5 21-13 (12-9) 53
40 New Mexico St -8.75 28-5 (15-2) 41
41 Nevada -8.75 27-7 (16-4) 36
42 Nebraska -8.75 22-10 (13-6) 45
43 UCLA -9 21-11 (12-8) 43
44 Baylor -9 18-14 (8-11) 40
45 Louisville -9.25 20-13 (10-10) 46
46 OK State -9.25 19-14 (9-11) 47
47 South Dakota St -9.5 28-6 (16-1) NA
48 Marquette -9.75 19-13 (10-10) 42
49 Murray St -9.75 26-5 (18-2) 50
50 Loy Chic -10 28-5 (18-3) 48
51 Mississippi St -10.75 22-11 (10-10) 51
52 Syracuse -11 20-13 (9-11) 52
53 Mid Tennessee -11.75 24-7 (16-3) 44
54 Arizona St -11.75 20-11 (8-11) 49
55 Missouri -12.75 20-12 (10-9) 54
56 Notre Dame -12.75 20-14 (10-11) 56
57 UL Lafayette -13 27-6 (17-3) 55
58 USC -13.5 23-11 (13-7) 61
59 Penn State -13.5 21-13 (11-10) 62
60 Alabama -13.5 19-15 (10-11) 60
61 Maryland -13.75 19-13 (8-11) 63
62 Boise St -14 23-8 (13-6) 57
63 Utah -14 19-11 (11-8) 59
64 Montana -14.25 26-7 (19-2) NA
65 Vermont -14.75 26-7 (16-2) 58
66 Stephen F Austin -14.75 28-6 (17-4) NA
67 Old Dominion -15.5 25-7 (16-4) 64
68 Boston College -15.5 18-15 (9-12) 67
69 UNC Greensboro -15.5 27-7 (17-3) 70
70 BYU -15.75 24-10 (13-8) 65
71 Oregon -16 22-12 (12-9) 66
72 Charleston -16 26-7 (17-4) NA
73 Buffalo -16 26-8 (18-3) 72
74 Davidson -16.25 20-11 (15-5) 74
75 Georgia -16.25 18-14 (9-11) 68
76 LSU -17.25 17-14 (8-11) 69
77 Washington -17.5 20-12 (10-9) 71
78 W Kentucky -17.5 24-10 (16-5) 73
79 ETSU -17.75 25-8 (16-4) 77
80 San Diego St -18.5 22-10 (14-7) 80
81 South Carolina -19.25 17-16 (8-12) 75
82 UCF -19.25 19-13 (10-10) 76
83 Bucknell -19.5 25-9 (19-2) NA
84 Marshall -19.5 24-10 (15-6) NA
85 Stanford -19.75 18-15 (12-8) 78
86 Indiana -19.75 16-15 (9-10) 81
87 St Johns -20.25 16-17 (5-15) 83
88 Wisconsin -20.5 15-18 (8-12) 85
89 Lipscomb -20.75 23-9 (13-4) 86
90 Tulsa -21 19-12 (12-7) 79
91 Temple -21 17-15 (9-11) 84
92 Georgetown -21.5 15-15 (5-14) 82
93 Colorado -21.75 17-15 (9-11) 88
94 Wright St -22.25 25-9 (17-4) NA
95 Iowa State -22.25 13-18 (4-15) 89
96 Fresno St -23 21-11 (11-8) 87
97 SMU -23.5 17-16 (7-13) 90
98 Northwestern -23.5 15-17 (6-13) 92
99 UMBC -23.5 24-10 (15-4) NA
100 Memphis -24 21-13 (12-9) 91
101 UNLV -25.75 20-13 (9-11) 93
102 Oregon State -26.5 16-16 (8-12) 96
103 Minnesota -26.5 15-17 (4-15) 98
104 Vanderbilt -26.5 12-20 (6-13) 94
105 CS Fullerton -26.75 20-11 (13-6) NA
106 Uconn -27.5 14-18 (7-12) 95
107 Georgia Tech -28 13-19 (6-13) 97
108 Radford -28 22-12 (15-6) 100
109 Iowa -28.5 14-19 (5-15) 102
110 Illinois -29 14-18 (4-15) 105
111 Wake Forest -29.25 11-20 (4-15) 99
112 VCU -29.75 18-15 (10-10) 104
113 Ole Miss -30.25 12-20 (5-14) 101
114 DePaul -30.25 11-20 (4-15) 103
115 Rutgers -31 15-19 (5-16) 107
116 Iona -31.25 20-13 (14-7) 108
117 St Josephs -32.25 16-16 (11-9) 106
118 Saint Louis -35.5 17-16 (10-10) 110
119 Dayton -35.5 14-17 (8-11) 109
120 Tulane -36.25 14-17 (5-14) 111
121 G Mason -36.75 15-16 (9-9) 115
122 Washington St -38 12-19 (4-15) 114
123 G Washington -39 16-18 (9-12) 112
124 La Salle -39 13-19 (7-12) 113
125 Duquense -39.75 16-16 (7-12) 116
126 Texas Southern -41 15-19 (15-6) NA
127 Pittsburgh -42.25 8-24 (0-19) 117
128 NC Central -42.75 19-15 (13-7) NA
129 LIU Brooklyn -44.5 18-16 (13-8) NA
130 Richmond -45.5 12-20 (10-10) 118
131 Umass -47 13-20 (6-14) 119
132 California -48.75 8-24 (2-17) 120
133 E Carolina -49 10-20 (4-15) 121
134 S Florida -54 10-22 (3-16) 123
135 Fordham -54.75 9-22 (4-15) 122



Conference Ranks


Rank Conf Avg
1 Big 12 -5.15
2 ACC -9.35
3 Big East -9.525
4 SEC -11.9643
5 Big 10 -14.1607
6 Other -18.6397
7 Pac 12 -20
8 Amer -23.25
9 A10 -33.2143



Next are the rankings within every conference, as well as each team’s national ranking:

ACC

Rank Team Score Record Conf NatlRank
1 Virginia 17.5 31-2 (20-1) 1
2 North Carolina 7 25-10 (14-8) 4
3 Duke 5.75 26-7 (14-6) 8
4 Clemson 0.25 23-9 (12-8) 15
5 Miami -3 22-9 (11-8) 20
6 NC State -5.5 21-11 (11-8) 24
7 Florida State -7 20-11 (9-10) 31
8 Virginia Tech -7.25 21-11 (10-9) 32
9 Louisville -9.25 20-13 (10-10) 45
10 Syracuse -11 20-13 (9-11) 52
11 Notre Dame -12.75 20-14 (10-11) 56
12 Boston College -15.5 18-15 (9-12) 68
13 Georgia Tech -28 13-19 (6-13) 107
14 Wake Forest -29.25 11-20 (4-15) 111
15 Pittsburgh -42.25 8-24 (0-19) 127


Big 10

Rank Team Score Record Conf NatlRank
1 Michigan State 6.25 29-4 (17-3) 5
2 Purdue 6.25 28-6 (17-4) 6
3 Michigan 5 28-7 (17-5) 9
4 Ohio State -1 24-8 (15-4) 16
5 Nebraska -8.75 22-10 (13-6) 42
6 Penn State -13.5 21-13 (11-10) 59
7 Maryland -13.75 19-13 (8-11) 61
8 Indiana -19.75 16-15 (9-10) 86
9 Wisconsin -20.5 15-18 (8-12) 88
10 Northwestern -23.5 15-17 (6-13) 98
11 Minnesota -26.5 15-17 (4-15) 103
12 Iowa -28.5 14-19 (5-15) 109
13 Illinois -29 14-18 (4-15) 110
14 Rutgers -31 15-19 (5-16) 115


SEC

Rank Team Score Record Conf NatlRank
1 Tennessee 3.25 25-7 (15-5) 10
2 Kentucky -1.75 23-10 (12-8) 17
3 Auburn -2 25-7 (13-6) 18
4 Florida -6.25 20-12 (11-8) 27
5 Arkansas -7 23-11 (12-9) 30
6 Texas AM -7.25 20-12 (9-10) 33
7 Mississippi St -10.75 22-11 (10-10) 51
8 Missouri -12.75 20-12 (10-9) 55
9 Alabama -13.5 19-15 (10-11) 60
10 Georgia -16.25 18-14 (9-11) 75
11 LSU -17.25 17-14 (8-11) 76
12 South Carolina -19.25 17-16 (8-12) 81
13 Vanderbilt -26.5 12-20 (6-13) 104
14 Ole Miss -30.25 12-20 (5-14) 113


Big 12

Rank Team Score Record Conf NatlRank
1 Kansas 9 27-7 (16-5) 3
2 West Virginia 3 24-10 (13-8) 11
3 Texas Tech 2 24-9 (12-8) 14
4 Kansas State -4 22-11 (11-9) 23
5 TCU -5.75 21-11 (9-10) 25
6 Texas -7.5 19-14 (9-11) 36
7 Oklahoma -7.75 18-13 (8-11) 37
8 Baylor -9 18-14 (8-11) 44
9 OK State -9.25 19-14 (9-11) 46
10 Iowa State -22.25 13-18 (4-15) 95


Pac 12

Rank Team Score Record Conf NatlRank
1 Arizona -3.5 27-7 (17-4) 21
2 UCLA -9 21-11 (12-8) 43
3 Arizona St -11.75 20-11 (8-11) 54
4 USC -13.5 23-11 (13-7) 58
5 Utah -14 19-11 (11-8) 63
6 Oregon -16 22-12 (12-9) 71
7 Washington -17.5 20-12 (10-9) 77
8 Stanford -19.75 18-15 (12-8) 85
9 Colorado -21.75 17-15 (9-11) 93
10 Oregon State -26.5 16-16 (8-12) 102
11 Washington St -38 12-19 (4-15) 122
12 California -48.75 8-24 (2-17) 132


American

Rank Team Score Record Conf NatlRank
1 Cincinnati 2.75 29-4 (18-2) 13
2 Houston -2.75 26-6 (16-4) 19
3 Wichita St -3.5 25-7 (15-5) 22
4 UCF -19.25 19-13 (10-10) 82
T5 Tulsa -21 19-12 (12-7) 90
T5 Temple -21 17-15 (9-11) 91
7 SMU -23.5 17-16 (7-13) 97
8 Memphis -24 21-13 (12-9) 100
9 Uconn -27.5 14-18 (7-12) 106
10 Tulane -36.25 14-17 (5-14) 120
11 E Carolina -49 10-20 (4-15) 133
12 S Florida -54 10-22 (3-16) 134


Big East

Rank Team Score Record Conf NatlRank
1 Villanova 10.5 30-4 (17-4) 2
2 Xavier 5.75 28-5 (16-4) 7
3 Seton Hall -6.25 21-11 (10-9) 29
4 Creighton -7.5 21-11 (10-9) 34
5 Butler -7.5 20-13 (10-10) 35
6 Providence -8.5 21-13 (12-9) 39
7 Marquette -9.75 19-13 (10-10) 48
8 St Johns -20.25 16-17 (5-15) 87
9 Georgetown -21.5 15-15 (5-14) 92
10 DePaul -30.25 11-20 (4-15) 114


A10

Rank Team Score Record Conf NatlRank
1 Rhode Island -6 25-6 (17-3) 26
2 St Bonaventure -8 25-7 (15-5) 38
3 Davidson -16.25 20-11 (15-5) 74
4 VCU -29.75 18-15 (10-10) 112
5 St Josephs -32.25 16-16 (11-9) 117
T6 Saint Louis -35.5 17-16 (10-10) 118
T6 Dayton -35.5 14-17 (8-11) 119
8 G Mason -36.75 15-16 (9-9) 121
T9 G Washington -39 16-18 (9-12) 123
T9 La Salle -39 13-19 (7-12) 124
11 Duquense -39.75 16-16 (7-12) 125
12 Richmond -45.5 12-20 (10-10) 130
13 Umass -47 13-20 (6-14) 131
14 Fordham -54.75 9-22 (4-15) 135


Other

Rank Team Score Record Conf NatlRank
1 Gonzaga 2.75 30-4 (20-1) 12
2 St Marys -6.25 28-5 (17-3) 28
T3 New Mexico St -8.75 28-5 (15-2) 40
T3 Nevada -8.75 27-7 (16-4) 41
5 South Dakota St -9.5 28-6 (16-1) 47
6 Murray St -9.75 26-5 (18-2) 49
7 Loy Chic -10 28-5 (18-3) 50
8 Mid Tennessee -11.75 24-7 (16-3) 53
9 UL Lafayette -13 27-6 (17-3) 57
10 Boise St -14 23-8 (13-6) 62
11 Montana -14.25 26-7 (19-2) 64
12 Vermont -14.75 26-7 (16-2) 65
13 Stephen F Austin -14.75 28-6 (17-4) 66
14 Old Dominion -15.5 25-7 (16-4) 67
15 UNC Greensboro -15.5 27-7 (17-3) 69
16 BYU -15.75 24-10 (13-8) 70
T17 Charleston -16 26-7 (17-4) 72
T17 Buffalo -16 26-8 (18-3) 73
19 W Kentucky -17.5 24-10 (16-5) 78
20 ETSU -17.75 25-8 (16-4) 79
21 San Diego St -18.5 22-10 (14-7) 80
T22 Bucknell -19.5 25-9 (19-2) 83
T22 Marshall -19.5 24-10 (15-6) 84
24 Lipscomb -20.75 23-9 (13-4) 89
25 Wright St -22.25 25-9 (17-4) 94
26 Fresno St -23 21-11 (11-8) 96
27 UMBC -23.5 24-10 (15-4) 99
28 UNLV -25.75 20-13 (9-11) 101
29 CS Fullerton -26.75 20-11 (13-6) 105
30 Radford -28 22-12 (15-6) 108
31 Iona -31.25 20-13 (14-7) 116
32 Texas Southern -41 15-19 (15-6) 126
33 NC Central -42.75 19-15 (13-7) 128
34 LIU Brooklyn -44.5 18-16 (13-8) 129