100 Days: ESPN BPI...No XU in their Top 100

[LutherRackleyRulez]

As the article points out,

this metric bases its preseason ratings on four factors:


· Quantity of experience on roster.

· Quality of that experience.

· Recruiting rankings for incoming freshmen, with an extra emphasis on five-stars.

· Coach's past performance.




http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/24199936/kansas-jayhawks-gonzaga-bulldogs-lead-espn-college-basketball-bpi-2018

[STL_XUfan]

As the article points out,

this metric bases its preseason ratings on four factors:


· Quantity of experience on roster.

· Quality of that experience.

· Recruiting rankings for incoming freshmen, with an extra emphasis on five-stars.

· Coach's past performance.




http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/24199936/kansas-jayhawks-gonzaga-bulldogs-lead-espn-college-basketball-bpi-2018







An early season reminder that ESPN's BPI metric is hot garbage and absolutely no one relies on it.

[MITTENMUSKIE16]

Marquette is number 4... overall... in the BPI, so I'm going to take it with a larger than doctor recommended grain of salt.

[BandAid]

Does this mean we’re going to sneak up on people again?!

[drudy23]

Does this mean we’re going to sneak up on people again?!

Yes.

[Lloyd Braun]

Are there any other first year head coaches in the top 100?

[GIMMFD]

Are there any other first year head coaches in the top 100?

Highly doubt that..


we have a first year head coache, not a good recruiting class coming in for us, and probably dock points on the experience of the roster due to them being transfers, not even remotely surprised we didn't crack the top 100. It won't have any reflection on us as a team, I think we'll be fine, it's a rebuilding type of year, and working out the kinks with Steele in which our roster still has potential if everything comes together well.

[xu82]

Who would NOT be willing to bet the farm that we finish in the top 100?

[GIMMFD]

Who would NOT be willing to bet the farm that we finish in the top 100?

If we don't finish in the top 100, this board will be in shambles.

[IM4X]

One of the truly beautiful things about being an "X" graduate/fan is that we get to skim through any college basketball article very quickly to see if it's even worth reading.

[xu82]

If we don't finish in the top 100, this board will be in shambles.

Did Jay Bilas vote on this? Let’s all race to our pitchforks!

And if he didn’t....well, let’s all race to our pitchforks! I just want to see someone poke that arrogant Dookie.

[XUFan09]

If we don't finish in the top 100, this board will be in shambles.

Oh yeah, definitely lol. In the two worst years in recent memory (2013 and 2005), Xavier was ranked 78th and 81st, respectively, in Kenpom. Those years sucked, yet the teams were well within the top 100.

[IM4X]

Did Jay Bilas vote on this? Let’s all race to our pitchforks!

And if he didn’t....well, let’s all race to our pitchforks! I just want to see someone poke that arrogant Dookie.

Now-now. Let's be completely fair here about JB.

He is also a pompous, condescending, self-absorbed, narcissistic, obscenely-biased blowhard.

[Xuperman]

Ok, not going to be a good PRESEASON for X in any national rankings. Big deal. This year will be all about BE play. This conference is going to be crazy! With a depleted Nova, the parity from top to bottom is the best it's been since we arrived. I would not be surprised to see SJU, GU or PC win it AND the reality is, X will be as good as any of those 3! I don't see expectations for this season any different than they were after the FSU game, just replace Gates with Welage. With CS hired from within the system, the coaching change will be seamless. I put the o/u at 22 wins.

[X-man]

Highly doubt that..


we have a first year head coache, not a good recruiting class coming in for us, and probably dock points on the experience of the roster due to them being transfers, not even remotely surprised we didn't crack the top 100. It won't have any reflection on us as a team, I think we'll be fine, it's a rebuilding type of year, and working out the kinks with Steele in which our roster still has potential if everything comes together well.

Dayton is in the top 100 with an unproven 2nd year coach, and a roster both less talented and less experienced than ours. ESPN sucks, period.

[GoMuskies]

Dayton doesn't have an unproven second year coach. They've got a coach with about 10 years of experience whose proven to be kinda shitty.

[webxu]

Dayton doesn't have an unproven second year coach. They've got a coach with about 10 years of experience whose proven to be kinda shitty.

Fits in with their program in general..

[whopper]

I agree on the Big East and every game will be up for grabs. We have been spoiled with our great team (who sadly had feet of clay at season's end) but now we have largely a blank slate. I am optimistic about Hankins, Welage, Castin and the incoming class. As a non baseball fan and mediocre football fan(2 girls will pull you away) I can't wait for basketball again.

[Masterofreality]

Does this mean we’re going to sneak up on people again?!

Yup. Put your errrrr, sneakers on.

[GIMMFD]

Ok, not going to be a good PRESEASON for X in any national rankings. Big deal. This year will be all about BE play. This conference is going to be crazy! With a depleted Nova, the parity from top to bottom is the best it's been since we arrived. I would not be surprised to see SJU, GU or PC win it AND the reality is, X will be as good as any of those 3! I don't see expectations for this season any different than they were after the FSU game, just replace Gates with Welage. With CS hired from within the system, the coaching change will be seamless. I put the o/u at 22 wins.

I wouldn't necessarily use "depleted" as the adjective to describe Nova. Yes they lost some big time contributors with incredible experience on their roster, they secured a monster class in Quinnerly (5*), Swider (who we went after hard), Slater who were all basically top 50 recruits, and then got Saddiq Bey who we were after hard as well recently. Pascall, Boothe, Gillespie and Roundtree will bring back some decent experience as well and can contribute. I think Nova rightfully will be ranked #1 for pre-season Big East, and we gotta prove we can beat em first.

[Xuperman]

I wouldn't necessarily use "depleted" as the adjective to describe Nova. Yes they lost some big time contributors with incredible experience on their roster, they secured a monster class in Quinnerly (5*), Swider (who we went after hard), Slater.

Hey, I dig....but you got to admit they are vunerable and X is the defending champs. Gillespie is gonna rake for sure BUT.....is there a better PG than Q? I mean anywhere in D1.....he is a 12/8 ready to happen w/ BE POY potential PLUS we got the Marshall..... I, for one, am giddy!!!

[Xuperman]

Gillespie is gonna rake for sure BUT.....is there a better PG than Q!!!

Oops.....is Ponds a PG? If so, disregard and get the POY award ready. At least Q should have no problem being motivated..... :theking:

[GIMMFD]

Hey, I dig....but you got to admit they are vunerable and X is the defending champs. Gillespie is gonna rake for sure BUT.....is there a better PG than Q? I mean anywhere in D1.....he is a 12/8 ready to happen w/ BE POY potential PLUS we got the Marshall..... I, for one, am giddy!!!

No I do agree with the vulnerability thing, they definitely aren't clearly cut and dry above the rest of the league like the past few years, it's a transition year, but they still have a lot of talent, it's really going to depend on how those Freshman handle those roles and how they mesh. But still should be a very tough team to beat.

As for Q being the best point guard in the country might be a little ambitious, but also is how you define point guard, do you mean a true point guard, or any guy that's a combo guard as well since basketball these days are transitioning from set positions to versatility, I'm not going to count any of the Freshman coming in, because that's foolish considering they haven't established themselves yet, but Jaylen Hands from UCLA is pretty good and raw, Lindell Wiggington from Iowa State had a great Freshman year campaign, Frank Howard from Syracuse has potential to be a monster, Ky Bowman from Boston College was really impressive last season, Carsen Edwards at Purdue etc.

I'm not discrediting Q in any way, shape, or form. He is definitely an excellent point guard to have on our roster, but he has short comings just like everybody else, I do think he has all Big-East potential, but not Player of the Year potential. The 12 ppg I could see, but the 8 assists will be very hard, he'll be sharing court time with Scruggs, Castlin, etc. who also will be getting assists, and the NCAA leader in APG last season was Tre Young with 8.7, in second place was Emmet Naar with 7.9, that's a slight reach on a statistic. However, I'm very happy Q is on our roster, I think he has great talent, and leadership qualities to make us tick, and make this year transitioning with all the transfers a little more bearable. I think we have a lot of potential, and could be a top 25 team at some point, but I don't want to count any chickens before they hatch.

[XMuskieFTW]

https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2018-08-02/college-basketball-can-villanova-win-another-title

At least Andy Katz picked us to finished 9th in the Big East this season. LOL

[scoscox]

His blurb/explanation is one of the most confusing things i've ever read. makes absolutely no sense. "there shouldn't be a huge drop-off", but they'll probably go from first to 9th. haha wtf

[AviatorX]

His blurb/explanation is one of the most confusing things i've ever read. makes absolutely no sense. "there shouldn't be a huge drop-off", but they'll probably go from first to 9th. haha wtf

I guess I get the appeal of St. Johns and Marquette and why pundits who don't watch a ton of BE are high on them...but those are just not winning teams/programs at the moment. I'm confident they'll under perform.

[scoscox]

I guess I get the appeal of St. Johns and Marquette and why pundits who don't watch a ton of BE are high on them...but those are just not winning teams/programs at the moment. I'm confident they'll under perform.

I also just don't see any way we'll finish lower than seton hall, creighton, or georgetown. Crazy town.

[AviatorX]

I also just don't see any way we'll finish lower than seton hall, creighton, or georgetown. Crazy town.

Mostly agree - haven't taken a close look at everyone's roster for this season, but Seton Hall should be wayyyy down this year I would think. And why is Butler better positioned than X?

I think it will be bumpy at times, but I love love love the core of Q/Naji/Scruggs.

[scoscox]

I should say that I think Marquette will be better than they were last year and could finish anywhere from 2nd to 6th or so. 4th is kinda high for St. John's if Heron isn't eligible, but it's impossible to project them until that decision goes through.

[Xuperman]

At least Andy Katz picked us to finished 9th in the Big East this season. LOL

This is LUNACY....Goodwin/Scruggs are the best guard combo in the league. Marshall is the best returning second year player AND arguably the top SF! Then there's Mr. Jones....X is gonna be just fine!!! REPEAT!!!

[GIMMFD]

Mostly agree - haven't taken a close look at everyone's roster for this season, but Seton Hall should be wayyyy down this year I would think. And why is Butler better positioned than X?

I think it will be bumpy at times, but I love love love the core of Q/Naji/Scruggs.

I'm only assuming, but I don't think Katz watched a lot of Big East/Xavier games to really understand our roster. I think they just see the production that's left, coupled with a brand new head coach that hasn't coached a single game as a head coach, and just assume we're going to be down. Couple that with having to take a bunch of grad transfers and on paper to the naked eye it looks like we're reeling bad. However, we on this board know the talent of our roster, and that guys have the ability to step up and fill larger roles. If this is the case, it's poor research. Either way, who gives a shit what people think, I like us in the underdog role, we're more hungry, and traditionally do well from it.

[bjf123]

I expect us to be down compared to last year, but 9th in the league? That’s just plain stupid.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Xuperman]

I don't think Katz watched a lot of Big East/Xavier games to really understand our roster.

This has to be the case. There are not 4 better returning BE players on any BE roster than our core 4. That said, can Welage get 8-10 FGA in Coach Steele's offense? I think so. Can Hankins be productive enough to log 18-20 MPG? Again it looks like a yes. Can we get anything out of the 2 frosh and Harden. Probable at least 1 will emerge. I guarantee X will not be "sneaking up" on anyone in conference. The coaches and returning players all know what we have!!

[Lloyd Braun]

I think it’s a testament to the strength of the conference that X could be picked 9th. That said, barring injury, I think Katz is out of his mind on this.

[hydmuskie]

I think we go .500 in conf.... which would be a decent year for us given all the 'newness' of the team....

[Muskie]

I suppose if the new pieces don't come together that it could be a long year. I don't think that will be the case though.

[paulxu]

I sure hope he's wrong. One of you guys keeps the score on our consecutive years of .500 or better in conference.
I think we lead the nation with something like 30 or 35.
If we come in 9th in the BE, that record is way gone.

[bjf123]

I sure hope he's wrong. One of you guys keeps the score on our consecutive years of .500 or better in conference.
I think we lead the nation with something like 30 or 35.
If we come in 9th in the BE, that record is way gone.

I definitely want that streak to continue. I think it’s up to 37 or 38, but I’m sure someone on here knows the number.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[GIMMFD]

I have 36 if I'm not mistaken, next year would be going for 37. Anybody else can confirm?

[paulxu]

Wiki agrees with you.

[noteggs]

Being .500 in the league has worked out well for us...

The last two produced an Elite 8 and Sweet 16.

[paulxu]

From Katz' article:


There is no Power Five in college basketball. The Big East (and the AAC) have blown that up

That maybe true, but the AAC hasn't blown anything up. In the 5 years since the formation, the A10 leads the AAC in NCAA bids 18-15.

[bobbiemcgee]

X will surprise our BE friends, as usual.

[noteggs]

I agree on the overall success (or lack there of) from AAC conference. Maybe he was referring to UConn’s championship in 2014? Possibly giving Katz too much credit... One could say the BE and AAC won 3 of the last 5 championships.

[GIMMFD]

I agree on the overall success (or lack there of) from AAC conference. Maybe he was referring to UConn’s championship in 2014? Possibly giving Katz too much credit... One could say the BE and AAC won 3 of the last 5 championships.

I think it's a mixture of giving over credit, name recognition of sUCks, Wichita State, and then thinking traditionally good programs like UCONN and Memphis will be back to glory under new coaches. Memphis has a lot of potential with Penny Hardaway due to him being a stand out in the NBA, not to mention he has Mike "Meth" Miller on staff who won a few rings with LeBron, I'm sure he'll be able to recruit well especially with his connections in the AAU circuit (see James Wiseman), and UCONN should be optimistic with Hurley taking over, as he won 113 games in 6 years at Rhode Island, the north east is his stomping grounds, so he knows the area well, and UCONN has tradition/prestige, etc.

As of this day, yes the AAC has underperformed and has not been a good conference, but if those 4 teams are all good at once, then I could see his argument being made that they belong in the same conversation, but to be honest, as of right now, they don't.

[sirthought]

Yeah UCONN winning it all carries a lot of water. I view the current AAC as stronger teams over the A10. It doesn't really matter that much though, so why cry that he brought them up? Both conferences are in positions where they don't get well scheduled as much as they should.

The AAC is heading in a strong direction, just like the Big East.

I'm actually concerned that parity in the Big East is going to hurt in the long run like it did in the A10. That's why strong non-conference matchups are so important.

[XUFan09]

From Katz' article:



That maybe true, but the AAC hasn't blown anything up. In the 5 years since the formation, the A10 leads the AAC in NCAA bids 18-15.

The Big East has had 28 bids in that time.

ACC: 37
B1G: 30
B12: 34
SEC: 24

Obviously, all conferences but the Big 12 have more members than the Big East. The ACC has 15 teams (14 in the first year), the Big 10 has 14 teams, and the SEC has 14 teams.

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[GIMMFD]

The Big East has had 28 bids in that time.

ACC: 37
B1G: 30
B12: 34
SEC: 24

Obviously, all conferences but the Big 12 have more members than the Big East. The ACC has 15 teams (14 in the first year), the Big 10 has 14 teams, and the SEC has 14 teams.

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I thought we were the second best conference last year, with the Big 12 slightly edging us out, and the ACC a close third. I think the Big East has established themselves as a powerful conference, especially with Nova going on those two championship winning runs in the tournament. I think we have some damn good coaching as well, and should be here to stay for a while. Unfortunately, I think this will be a down year for the conference, but 28 bids with less members is nothing to scoff at, Fox Sports is probably pumped they got the Big East contract when they could, not to mention they cover a decent amount of Big 12 games too, since football is affiliated with them.