Duke #1 Again…Is It Deserved?

I don’t know who Matt Jones is. All I know is that he just wrote an article that landed on CBS’ college basketball page.

As you’ll see, Jones isn’t happy that the coaches poll put Duke back at number one.

"Yes they would. For reasons only known to the underlings in the athletic departments who made the list, the coaches picked Duke to be the No. 1 team in America. Ignoring every bit of logic or reason that exists, the coaches went with the one indefensible pick for the top spot."

Of course, the media poll also put Duke number one too (maybe Jones wrote his little piece before the AP released their poll).

Anyhow, he calls this decision “indefensible.” Really? I can understand why someone doesn’t think Duke deserves the top spot, but is it really indefensible?

First, Duke is first in Ken Pom’s RPI, while others tend to put them sixth in CBS’ RPI.

Second, while Duke scheduled a monster non-conference schedule this year against top five teams like Michigan State and Kansas State (as well as top-15 Butler), those teams have failed to live up to the hype. Couple that with a down-year in the ACC and Duke’s SOS (which often lives in the top-10) is barely in the top-40.

Now compare them to Kansas (who is 9th in SOS) and you have a good argument for the Jayhawks, even though officially Kansas has only played one more top-50 opponent than Duke (Kansas is 7-2, Duke is 6-2).

However, it’s not like the rest of the potential number one’s are blowing Duke out of the water with their SOS. San Diego St is 34th. Ohio State is 26th, while Pittsburgh is just 24th despite playing in what Jones feels like is a brutal Big East.

Yet if SOS is so damn important, then why can’t I find any articles from Matt Jones defending Duke’s number one seed last year based on their #3 rated SOS.

Anyhow, later Jones goes on to justify other teams’ loses.

Ohio State:

"Two losses, both to teams who are perfect at home on the season."

Kansas:

"The two losses is to a fellow Top 5 team"

Yet, he acts like Duke’s two loses were against local YMCA league teams.

Jones points out:

"The Blue Devils were embarrassed at St. John’s (contrast that with how Pittsburgh played the Johnnies this week)"

First, I didn’t know college basketball was now the BCS where margin of victory (or defeat) now matter.

Second, I didn’t know we’re allowed to contrast results from common opponents? In that case…

Duke beat Kansas State in Kansas City by 14 (back when the Wildcats were ranked in the top-10). Kansas was embarrassed by the same Kansas State team by 16. Ouch.

The fact is, Duke lost two games, both on the road and neither defeat should have been too shocking. They lost to Florida State in a tight one (something nearly everyone who actually watches college basketball predicted would happen).

Sure St. John’s beat Duke by 15, but is it that shocking that Duke, who shot 1-22 from three, lost on the road to the same team that has beaten West Virginia, Notre Dame, Connecticut, Georgetown and even Pittsburgh at home?

The Johnnies are ranked #12 in the RPI. Is Duke’s defeat to them that indefensible? They could end up a top-four seed with the wins they are raking up.

Finally, let’s look at those other teams…

Ohio State certainly has a legit argument to being number one, but you simply can’t put a team that has dropped two of their last three the top spot, no matter who “good” those defeats were.

Kansas didn’t just lose this week, they were crushed by a team that has nine loses. That in itself is not that big of deal. However, while Kansas may have the 9th best SOS, Kansas only has two wins all season long over a top-25 team (Arizona #16 and Missouri #24).

As for Texas, Jones’ points out that despite the fact the Longhorns have four loses, they’ve been playing the best ball, so they deserve a top spot. Okay, maybe. However, if they really are playing the best ball, then how do you explain a loss to Nebraska? It would be like Duke losing to Clemson. I wouldn’t put Duke #1, no matter how great they’ve been playing lately, if they just lost to Clemson.

If anyone has a good argument, it’s Pittsburgh. I agree with Jones that the Panthers are painfully too low at sixth (in the coaches poll). They’ve beaten some solid teams and they’re the only one of the elite teams that have actually beaten another elite team (Texas).

The fact is, it doesn’t really matter too much for the Panthers. As long as they don’t fall off the cliff here at the end, Pittsburgh is still going to end up the top seed in the East, while Duke (if they win both the ACC regular season and conference title), they’ll end up as the number one seed in the South.

Here are my final thoughts…I’m not saying Duke definitely deserves to be number one. The fact is, six teams (Duke, Kansas, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Texas and even San Diego State) have legit arguments to being number one.

I just don’t get why Duke is the ONLY one that is indefensible. He can certainly disagree that Duke deserves it. He can make (and did make) legit arguments for other teams, but to pretend like Duke has no business being in the discussion doesn’t make any sense.

Clearly, Jones values a team’s resume (i.e. strength of schedule). Fair enough.

Here is my question, what if Duke ends the season with the most wins (and most impressive record) against top-50 teams, does Duke then deserve to be number one?

Kansas is 7-2 against the top-50 and they’ll have two more before seasons end. That’s 11 total.

Ohio State is 8-2 against top-50, with two more top-50 opponents left (for 12 total).

Texas is 7-3 against the top-50, but they only face one more. That’s 11 total.

Pittsburgh is 10-3, with three more on the books left to face. The Panthers will end up with the most top-10 opponents at 16 total.

San Diego State is 7-1 against top-50. They only have one left, so they’ll have the least with nine total.

As for the Blue Devils, their final four opponents are all against top-50 teams. If Duke wins all four, they’ll be 10-2 against the top-50. Will that be impressive enough for Matt Jones?