Seth Davis on why polls matter, from
https://theathletic.com/703559/2018/12/ ... lots-more/
“Last Monday afternoon, Furman coach Bob Richey was sitting in a staff meeting when his cell phone started buzzing incessantly. At first, Richey was concerned something was wrong, but he soon learned that those buzzes represented great news: His team had been installed at No. 25 in The Associated Press poll, the first time in school history the Paladins had been ranked.
Two hours later, Richey met with his players and had each one of them reflect on the journey that led to that moment. “I don’t know if I can accurately describe what this has done for our institution and our university and the city of Greenville,” he told me on Saturday following his team’s 74-60 road win over South Carolina Upstate, which kept the Paladins undefeated and poised to remain ranked for at least one more week. “We’ve had to manage it, to be honest. I thought in the first half today we played with a little bit of pressure. But it has been an affirmation of how we have built this program, and that has been really rewarding.”
It was also an affirmation of the extreme importance of the polls in college basketball. This runs counter to the popular argument that polls are meaningless. I’ve heard people say that we should scrap them altogether, or at least wait a few weeks for the first ranking so voters can have a chance to watch the teams play before setting them in order.
Balderdash, I say. College basketball polls are awesome, and they serve this sport very well. Here are four reasons why:
1. They set the narrative. On Sunday afternoon, Gonzaga played Tennessee on a neutral court in Phoenix. Normally, we wouldn’t expect such a game to garner any attention in the middle of an NFL Sunday, but this contest featured schools that were ranked first and seventh in the AP poll. That lent it a much greater significance, which led a few extra people to check it out while they were channel surfing in search of info about their NFL fantasy teams.
It’s hard for college hoops to get eyeballs during football season, but the polls help to keep casual fans engaged. It lets everyone know the basic storylines in the sport. When we see that there is just one Pac-12 team ranked in the top 25 (No. 20 Arizona State), that tells us something. Nevada is a top-10 team. Maybe people didn’t expect that. Furman is a surprise at No. 25, and Buffalo is rising as well. West Virginia started No. 13, but now it’s unranked. Texas Tech started unranked, but now it’s 13th.
Narratives in sports are just as important as records and stats. Polls aren’t the end-all, be-all, but they do provide a helpful glimpse into the moment.
2. They lend historical context. The computerized model on KenPom.com has become the go-to ranking for good reason, but that site has only been around since 2002. The AP, on the other hand, has been ranking teams as voted on by writers since 1949. So when we say that Furman is ranked for the first time ever in that poll, we are really saying something. Auburn is inching toward a top-five ranking, which if it happens would be the program’s first since January 2000. The polls also give us a way to quantify the long-term dominance of programs such as Duke, Kansas, North Carolina and Kentucky. It’s one thing to know what’s happening right now, but when we can set those events against 70 years of history, that is extremely useful.
3. They stir debate. When Kentucky lost to Seton Hall at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, the initial conversation wasn’t about what’s “wrong” with the Wildcats or whether John Calipari could work his usual March magic. It was whether this team, which entered the game at No. 9 in the AP poll, should be ranked the following week. (You can see my answer below.)
Indeed, few things stir passion like a good argument over a poll ranking. Anyone who follows my Sunday night Twitter troll feeding knows what I’m talking about. (And if you’re not, why are you even on Twitter?) That weekly exercise grew organically out of my desire for transparency. I would tweet out my AP ballot on Sunday nights, and instantly my mentions got lit up with pissed off fans. Kansas partisans are still ticked at me up for ranking the Jayhawks third behind Duke following the Blue Devils’ loss to Gonzaga over Thanksgiving. Many of the comments on these Hoop Thoughts columns have to do with my weekly top 25. Sure, most of them come from people who are ripping me, but that’s OK. I’m just happy they care.
Anything that gets fans arguing is usually good for that sport. Arguments indicate interest. And I love the way a ballot squashes equivocation. You can’t get away with saying a team is “pretty good” or “underrated.” Put everyone in order, so we can see exactly where you stand. Then the fun can begin.
4. They generate attention for programs that need it. Richey marveled to me that each of his team’s games this week was attended by an Associated Press reporter. That meant the Paladins’ game recaps appeared in newspaper sports sections all around the country. Their results are being linked to the “top 25” page on every sports website. And they are included on the ticker scrolls of the all-sports cable channels. A school can’t buy that kind of publicity.
Being on a bottom line ticker might not be a big deal for Duke and Kansas, but for many of the schools fighting for a piece of this prized real estate, it definitely is. Having a number next to your name means a little more attention, which could bring some more fans to your home games, and maybe give you a little boost in landing that next big recruit. Every little bit helps.
The argument that polls are meaningless because they don’t decide anything falls flat. If anything, the opposite holds true. The reason we can have fun arguing about them is that we know that in the end the debates will be settled where they should be – on the court. So for all the carping and caterwauling, we don’t ever have to get really stressed about this stuff. Face it, fans: College basketball polls are our guilty pleasure. We might as well enjoy them to the fullest.”
