Sagarin B1G MBB rankings

Zstatman

Zstatman

Well-Known Member
As we head into full conference play and with a good body of work behind all teams, I thought it might be fun to see where all the B1G teams stand in the Sagarin ratings. Maybe that will give us an idea of where we can expect the Hawks to finish.

Here they are:

4 89.32 Mighigan St
7 89.01 Ohios St
11 88.29 Maryland
14 87.30 Michigan
18 86.75 Iowa
20 86.51 Penn St
30 85.16 Wisconsin
33 85.00 Minnesota
37 84.57 Purdue
42 83.65 Indiana
49 82.60 Rutgers
52 82.26 Illinois
122 75.49 Nebraska
130 74.86 Northwestern
 
If someone were to ask me if I would take a 5th place finish right now, I'd say yes.

It also says the Iowa/PSU game Saturday at the Palestra should be a good one.
 
ssckelley said:
That seems really low for Indiana.
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If you look at the raw score, there’s not much difference between 4th and 12th and then a huge drop off to the bottom 2. As balanced as the league is, the 1 plays and 2 plays will really be a factor.
 
Crazy as it sounds, ESPN BPI has the Penn State game as a toss up and then has Iowa going 6-1 the rest of the month.
 
I was pondering whether playing at the Palestra was a 'home' game for PSU? Yes, there will be lots of fans locally in the area and a good number of them might go. But there will be Hawk fans in attendance. Frank Garza will be there probably with the rest of the fam. Fran's brother is a sportswriter in Philly. Joe T's fam will likely come from NYC. DC Hawk fans will show, maybe NYC. I think we'll have a good representation. I like it as a toss up. Plus our guys are pretty good and will play hard.
 
mopkins said:
Crazy as it sounds, ESPN BPI has the Penn State game as a toss up and then has Iowa going 6-1 the rest of the month.
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I had mentioned in an earlier thread that we have a real legit shot at getting to 7-3 at the midway point of the conference. We only have 1 true road game (NW) in our next 7. If we can take care of home court, we can get off to a great start.
 
Zstatman said:
I was pondering whether playing at the Palestra was a 'home' game for PSU? Yes, there will be lots of fans locally in the area and a good number of them might go. But there will be Hawk fans in attendance. Frank Garza will be there probably with the rest of the fam. Fran's brother is a sportswriter in Philly. Joe T's fam will likely come from NYC. DC Hawk fans will show, maybe NYC. I think we'll have a good representation. I like it as a toss up. Plus our guys are pretty good and will play hard.
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This will be a better home court advantage for PSU than playing the game in Happy Valley. Bryce Jordan Center would be better for Iowa.

There are Iowa fans at every away game.
 
hawkation said:
This will be a better home court advantage for PSU than playing the game in Happy Valley. Bryce Jordan Center would be better for Iowa.

There are Iowa fans at every away game.
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Not sure I agree with that. Home court advantage has a lot to do with not having to travel or pack/load your things. Also your familiarity with the court, stands, and the locker rooms. Also being in your normal routine and staying at your own place. Philly is a 3 hour drive from happy valley so the PSU players might even travel the day before and stay in a hotel just like Iowa will.

From a fan perspective they will absolutely have more fans there still.
 
hawkation said:
This will be a better home court advantage for PSU than playing the game in Happy Valley. Bryce Jordan Center would be better for Iowa.

There are Iowa fans at every away game.
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Maybe I'm reading your first paragraph wrong, but are you saying this arena will somehow be more of a home court advantage than their actual home court??
 
I've thought from time to time that if PSU could just recruit the top Philly high school talent, they ought to be pretty good. But with 5 top programs in the city; Penn, St Joseph's, Temple, LaSalle, Drexel, that's some tough recruiting challenges. I'd think playing a game in the city and getting good exposure would be a good thing for PSU.

I do think it's a slight advantage for the Hawks but only 1-2 points.
 
In looking at the ratings, just like every year, any road win will be a good win. And, you have to protect home court, nothing new there either.
 
Rest assured, there won't be very many nights off in the conference this year period. Take out NW and Nebraska, anybody can beat anyone anywhere. I haven't scrutinized schedules, but this is the type of year where the conference winner has 6 or 7 losses if not more, and there will be a bunch of teams from 9-11 to 11-9. And the tournament will be wide open.

For us, we have 3 games left with the 2 worst teams in the league. I would be stunned if we dont win these.

We then have 5 games left with the 4 teams above us, 3 at home and 2 on the road. Great opportunities for meaningful wins.

Then, we have 10 games against all the teams just like us and are toss ups.
 
Stanzi said:
Maybe I'm reading your first paragraph wrong, but are you saying this arena will somehow be more of a home court advantage than their actual home court??
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mopkins said:
Not sure I agree with that. Home court advantage has a lot to do with not having to travel or pack/load your things. Also your familiarity with the court, stands, and the locker rooms. Also being in your normal routine and staying at your own place. Philly is a 3 hour drive from happy valley so the PSU players might even travel the day before and stay in a hotel just like Iowa will.

From a fan perspective they will absolutely have more fans there still.
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I am saying Philly will provide more rowdy PSU fans then playing in Bryce Jordan + advantage PSU. I have never been to Bryce Jordan but it's not good when you can 1 single fan screaming on tv.

Anyone remember IA vs CO in Sioux Falls last year? Advantage = Iowa & it wasn't close.
 
Zstatman said:
I've thought from time to time that if PSU could just recruit the top Philly high school talent, they ought to be pretty good. But with 5 top programs in the city; Penn, St Joseph's, Temple, LaSalle, Drexel, that's some tough recruiting challenges. I'd think playing a game in the city and getting good exposure would be a good thing for PSU.

I do think it's a slight advantage for the Hawks but only 1-2 points.
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Duh, Villanova not Drexel makes up the Big 5 in Philly basketball.
 
It was definitely a "home game" for the Lions. In fact a much better arena for them than that morgue on campus they call their home court.
 
hawkation said:
I am saying Philly will provide more rowdy PSU fans then playing in Bryce Jordan + advantage PSU. I have never been to Bryce Jordan but it's not good when you can 1 single fan screaming on tv.

Anyone remember IA vs CO in Sioux Falls last year? Advantage = Iowa & it wasn't close.
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You have plenty of company. Few people have been to Bryce Jordan, especially PSU fans. Lots of empty seats in that barn.
 
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