#50: 2007 Ohio
State 388.4 [35-4] – this Buckeyes team was SBPI #3 in the 2007 season
and went on to reach the championship game before the Florida Gators capped off
their back to back titles beating OSU.
Florida that season was just #9 in SBPI, and considering the Gators were
going for back to back championships it was surprising for certain that UF won
that championship game by 9 points.
#49: 2014
Wisconsin 388.9 [30-8] – the Badgers appear a lot on the list of Top
100 teams of the last 12 years which may surprise some folks – but check out
these SBPI rankings starting in 2003 thru last season: 8, 2, 8, 10, 63, 10, 22,
16, 14, 15, 7, 5. The Badgers have only one bad season over 12 years which is
why Bo Ryan continues to be one of the best coaches in America. Back to this team, they were SBPI #5,
suggesting a #2 seed and a contender for the Final Four according to SBPI; they
wound up earning that #2 seed & reaching the Final Four before losing to
SBPI #8 Kentucky by just 1 point.
#48: 2012 Michigan
State 389.0 [29-8] – the 2012 Spartans were SBPI #4 & did earn the #1
seed we projected they earned. However,
they lost in the Sweet 16 to #4 seed / SBPI #12 Louisville by 13 points in a
surprising outcome, especially when taking into account the margin of victory. That Louisville team went on to the Final
Four before falling to SBPI #2 Kentucky, who went on to win the national title.
#47: 2009
Louisville 389.8 [31-6] – Ville was SBPI #7 in 2009 but earned a #1
seed rightfully so by winning not only the Big East regular season but also the
Big East Tournament. In a reversal of
fortunes to the above game they would go on to face SBPI #3 Michigan State in
the Elite 8 & dropped a 12 point decision.
The SBPI higher rated team (MSU) won the game & they would go on to
lose versus SBPI #4 North Carolina in the championship game.
#46: 2005 Illinois
390.0 [37-2] – this Illini team, led by the dynamic backcourt of Dee
Brown & Deron Williams, was their 2nd best over the last 12
years according to SBPI (#6 in ’05 vs. #5 in ’06). They reached the national championship game
before falling to SBPI #1 North Carolina by 5 points. After finishing in the SBPI Top 13 each year
from ’04-’07 the program has fallen on hard times just once finishing inside
the SBPI Top 30 over the last 7 seasons (#14 in ’13).
#45: 2012 Kansas
390.0 [32-7] – this is the 3rd best Kansas team of the last
12 seasons, and all 3 have AT LEAST reached the national championship game (1-2
in championship games with only win coming with their best team [2008] – see
below). These Jayhawks were SBPI #3
& lost to SBPI #2 Kentucky in the championship game.
#44: 2013 Duke
390.4 [30-6] – this version of the Blue Devils were SBPI #3 but earned
a #2 seed in the tournament. They went
on to reach the Elite 8 before falling to #1 seed / SBPI #1 Louisville by 22
points; as mentioned above that Pitino team went on to win the championship the
following week.
#43: 2009 UCLA
391.8 [26-9] – this was clearly the last solid UCLA team checking in at
SBPI #6 (from ’06 to ’09 they were SBPI ranked 6, 1, 1, 6) but received an
extremely low seed & tough draw which led to an early dismissal. In the five seasons since UCLA has been
ranked by the SBPI (starting in 2010) 135, 64, 47, 51 & 21 last
season. Despite the SBPI #6 they only
received a #6 SEED for the NCAA Tournament AND they were forced to play SBPI #8
Villanova (#3 seed) on their home court – talk about getting jobbed. They won their opener but really got beat up
against Villanova falling by 20 points.
#42: 2003 Arizona
391.9 [28-4] – this is Arizona’s second best team over the last 12
seasons (2014 was their best) as they checked in at SBPI #4 & rightfully so
earned a #1 seed in the tournament. They
would go on to reach the Elite 8 before falling to SBPI #2 Kansas by just 3
points. Kansas was a #2 seed, perhaps a
line low according to SBPI, but when you reach the Elite 8 you have to expect
to face great teams, and Arizona was just narrowly outdone this time out. Lute Olson would go on to reach one more Elite
8 in 2005 before stepping down following the 2007 season.
#41: 2005 Michigan
State 392.2 [26-7] – this Tom Izzo team was SBPI #5 yet only earned a
#5 seed in the NCAA Tournament, suggesting a bullish run was possible. Sparty did not disappoint as they reached the
Final Four that season before falling to SBPI #1 North Carolina in the
semifinal round; UNC would go on to win the title 2 nights later over Illinois.
#40: 2012 Kentucky
393.0 [38-2] – this version of Big Blue was SBPI #2, earned a #1 seed
and went on to win the national title over SBPI #3 Kansas. The 2012 season saw the Top 3 teams in SBPI
reach the Final Four, with SBPI #12 Louisville rounding out the group. It also saw 5 of the top 6 & 6 of the top
8 in SBPI reach at least the Elite 8.
#39: 2011
Pittsburgh 393.0 [28-6] – this version of the Panthers checked in at
SBPI #5 & on the heels of a Big East Regular Season Championship earned a
#1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Once
again the Panthers would bow out early, this time in the 2nd round
to the Butler Bulldogs, who as a #8 seed were in line with their SBPI #29. While this was another early flame-out for
Pitt they did lose to a Butler team that would go on to their 2nd
straight appearance in the national championship game only to lose once again,
this time to UConn.
#38: 2011 Kentucky
393.1 [29-9] – UK was SBPI #4 in 2011 yet only earned a #4 seed, once
again suggesting this was a team to watch for a potential deep run in the
NCAA’s. They did not disappoint reaching
the Final Four where they fell to SBPI #10 UConn, who would go on to win their
3rd national title under Jim Calhoun.
#37: 2008 West
Virginia 394.2 [26-11] – this was the 3rd best WVU team over
the last 12 seasons & started an impressive SBPI run by the Mountaineers
since Bob Huggins took over in 2007.
Their SBPI starting in 2008 thru 2012 (5 seasons) were in order: 6, 2,
2, 9, 7. This West Virginia team was SBPI #6 yet managed to only received a #7
seed from the committee which was surprising on many levels – not only the SBPI
but WVU finished the Big East regular season in the 5th spot &
reached the Big East Tournament semifinals before bowing out to #1 seed
Georgetown. They would reach the Sweet
16 before falling by 4 points to #4 seed Xavier that was SBPI #17.
#36: 2009
Pittsburgh 396.5 [31-5] – this Panthers team finally performed well in
the NCAA Tournament as a #1 seed, in line with their SBPI #5. They would go on to reach the Elite 8 versus
Big East rival Villanova (SBPI #8) before dropping a 2 point decision on
Scottie Reynolds’ driving floater with no time left on the clock, capping one
of the best Regional Final games we have seen in the last decade plus.
#35: 2014
Louisville 396.9 [31-6] – the Cardinals of 2014 checked in at SBPI #4
yet only earned a #4 seed. They would
advance to the Sweet 16 where they faced in-state rival Kentucky and the
youngsters from UK, ranked SBPI #8 yet only seeded #8 beat Louisville for the 2nd
time that season. Both of these teams
were woefully under seeded as Kentucky went on to reach the national
championship game as a #8 seed only to fall to UConn in the title game.
#34: 2005 Oklahoma
State 398.3 [28-8] – the Cowboys of ’03, ’04 & ’05 finished the
SBPI ranking 26, 6, 4 respectively but have yet to secure a finish higher than
SBPI #26 over the last 9 seasons. The
Boys reached the Sweet 16 before falling to SBPI #18 Arizona by 1 point. Arizona would go on to blow that monster lead
late in their Elite 8 game vs. Illinois, matching the deepest Arizona went
under Lute Olson since his 2001 team lost in the title game to Duke.
#33: 2008 North
Carolina 398.6 [36-3] – this season saw 4 of the top 5 SBPI teams reach
the Final Four including UNC, who checked in at SBPI #5 (lone outlier was SBPI
#3 Duke). The Tar Heels of ’08 earned a
#1 seed and lost in the semifinals to eventual champion SBPI #2 Kansas, losing
to the better team according to SBPI.
#32: 2014
Tennessee 400.3 [24-13] – on one hand these Vols seem an outlier of
sorts since they tied #99 Arizona for the most losses by any team in the Top
100; on the other hand they won their first three games of the NCAA Tournament
by double digits beating Iowa by 13 in the “play in game”, taking care of #6
seed UMass by 19 in the first round followed by a 20 point hammering of Mercer
in the 2nd round. Having
reached the Sweet 16 they would face SBPI #16 Michigan, who was a #2 seed
coming off losing in the national championship game of 2013. This game would come down to the wire with
the Wolverines winning by 2 points, but the Vols covered the number just as the
SBPI suggested they would.
#31: 2003 Oklahoma
404.5 [27-7] – the Sooners only Top 10 SBPI season was ’03 where they
checked in at #3 under Kelvin Sampson (they did finish in the Top 33 each
season from ’04 to ’09 (including another Elite 8 appearance in 2009) but since
have yet to post a Top 25 finish although they have improved in each of the
last four seasons topping out last year at #26). This team earned a #1 seed rightfully so and
advanced to the Elite 8 before falling to #3 seed / SBPI #14 Syracuse by 16
points. That 2003 Syracuse team would go
on to win the national title.
#30: 2010 Kansas
405.2 [33-3] – these Jayhawks checked in at SBPI #4, rightfully seeded
on the #1 line. However, they did not
see the “juggernaut” that Northern Iowa was, falling in the 2nd
round to the #9 seed / SBPI #45 (this was UNI’s 2nd best team of the
L12 years according to SBPI; the best was the 2006 version [’10 rating was
306.1 vs. ’06 rating was 306.4] who earned an at-large, was a 10 seed, and fell
to Georgetown in the first round by just 5 points). UNI lost to Michigan State in the Sweet 16
who would go on to reach the Final Four.
That Jayhawks team lost before the Sweet 16 for only the 2nd
time in the last 8 years (other time being last season to Stanford).
#29: 2005 Duke
406.3 [29-7] – the Blue Devils were SBPI #3 for the 2005 season earning
a #1 seed in the process. They would
advance to the Sweet 16 where they would fall to SBPI #5 Michigan State in a
highly entertaining game that had a 2 point margin late before MSU scored the
final 10 points. That was too early a
matchup of these heavyweights who both ranked inside the SBPI Top 5.
#28: 2011 Duke
407.6 [32-5] – just like team directly above them this Duke team was
SBPI #3 & earned a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. But this time although they earned that #1
seed they were shipped to the Anaheim regional and lost in the Sweet 16 to SBPI
#26 Arizona in a largely ‘Zona red atmosphere.
Arizona would go on to lose a 2pt game to UConn in the Elite 8; the Huskies
went on to win the national title.
#27: 2014 Arizona
407.7 [33-5] – the ’14 Wildcats were nip & tuck with the Florida
Gators for the SBPI #1 spot all season, settling in at #2 eventually following
a late season swoon of sorts. They were
rightfully awarded the #1 seed and reached the Elite 8 before falling to SBPI
#5 Wisconsin by 1 point. Keep in mind
this team lost one of its key pieces in Brandon Ashley early in the conference
season, or who knows how far they could have gone.
#26: 2008 Memphis
407.9 [38-2] – the John Calipari & Derrick Rose led ’08 Memphis
team is the highest finish for any non-power conference team as that season
they were SBPI #4, rightfully earning a #1 seed; they were also the first team
from a non-power conference since 1998 Utah to reach the championship game, where
they faced SBPI #2 Kansas. Many of us will
remember this one since it was one of the most exciting championship games in
recent memory as the Tigers blew a late lead and Kansas was able to win the
title in OT. This team will also be
remembered for having all their wins removed from NCAA records following the
investigation into the eligibility of star PG Derrick Rose. Rose would bolt for the NBA & John
Calipari would hang around for just one more season before leaving to coach
Kentucky.
The Top 25 will be released early next week.
Please feel free to reach out with any questions, whether
specific or in general about the SBPI.
Email me directly: boss@thesportsboss.com
Visit my website: www.thesportsboss.com
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