Purdue won easily Saturday. I suspect UConn will do the same Sunday, at which point both schools will be 15-2 and totally reasonable options to be No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll when it updates Monday.
My opinion: It should be Purdue.
That’s why the Boilermakers are No. 1 in Sunday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, because I simply believe Purdue has the nation’s best body of work. That said, I do get the argument for UConn, an argument that seems mostly based on the fact that the Huskies have won four straight games while Purdue lost just five days ago.
The résumés are similar.
But Purdue’s is clearly better.
Here’s a breakdown: Purdue is 6-2 in Quadrant 1 and 3-0 in Quadrant 2 — or 9-2 in the first two quadrants with no additional losses. UConn is 4-2 in Quadrant 1 and 3-0 in Quadrant 2 — or 7-2 in the first two quadrants with no additional losses. So Purdue has more Quad 1 wins than UConn, more wins in the first two quadrants than UConn and a loss column that matches UConn’s loss column, at least from a quadrant perspective.
Advantage: Purdue.
Beyond that, Purdue has five wins over teams ranked in the top 25 of the NET; UConn only has one. And, if you’re really into computers, you should know that Purdue is ahead of UConn in the NET, at KenPom.com, BartTorvik.com, FaktorSports.com, EvanMiya.com and every other algorithm that exists, including Strength of Record, where Purdue ranks No. 1 nationally.
So what will AP voters do — vote for the team (Purdue) with the best body of work or vote for the highest-ranked team (UConn) that didn’t lose over the past week No. 1? Honestly, I’m not sure. But we’ll find out Monday.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Biggest Movers
6
North Carolina
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Kentucky
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