Streaks at stake when Terps meet Blue Devils

Thanks or the update, Liz.

It's time for the Terpsichore to end the Blue Devils streak. And Nolan Smith is butt ugly. Ok, that's not fair...most buts are not nearly as ugly as Nolan Smith.

Regards -

-hgr

Here is a streak I would like us to break next week: Losses against meaningful opponents. It stands at 4.

I know RPI rankings aren't the most significant measure, but how about the fact that the Terps are ranked 90th? We are behind the likes of Belmont, Kent State and Penn State (who we beat at their place. Here are the ACC rankings: 4) Duke 41)UNC 42) BC 45) Miami 70) VTech 72) Fl St 83) NC St 90) Terps 93) Clemson 94) UVA 139) GTech 209) Wake.

The teams we lost to: 6) Pitt 23) Illinois 28) Temple 45) BC. Nova is 14th.

So here is my point: Wins or losses to Duke and Villanova will be meaningful. A win at Wake will be practically meaningless (not that it doesn't count in the standings), but a loss at Wake will be ridiculous. Bottom line, we really need to win two games next week.

Pete,
I would like to end that streak too, but the Terps are a young up and coming team...we lost a ridiculous amount of talent last year to graduation...60% of starters and 65% of scoring....JW is great and he has some good players around him but I dont get too bummed out about losses to ranked teams yet...I sound like a broken record, but I believe Gary will have these kids overachieving in time

Terpfan is right. And Pete, look at our Pomeroy ratings right now: 14th in the nation. We'll get plenty of chances to improve our RPI by tourney time. A win this weekend or next and we shoot up 40-50 spots

Okay I looked at the Pmeroy and it is interesting. Where can I get a breakout of the stats definitions and calculations? I couldn't find it on the Kenpom site.

I'm not going to argue about the make-up of the team and I too expect them to keep getting better. We do have three seniors who started or played a lot last year as well as a junior and sophomore who started last year. We knew that the young PG's would need some time and they are coming around. But this transition is pretty normal, maybe even less than most teams experience. In my humble opinion, if we lose to both Duke and Nova next week we are in a tough spot.

I looked for the methodology as well but couldn't find it. I think it's safe to say margin of victory is a big factor if we are ranked that high, since we've blown out most of the mid majors we've played and kept our losses close.

It seems strange that it is impossible to get this information on the website or through a Google search. I understand not giving away the formulas, but what about defining the elements? Who of any consequence uses the Pomeroy Ratings?

maybe someone pulls the Pome Rankings out of their *ss?

Regards -

-hgr

Hugh, where is all this aggressiveness coming from today? Don't get me wrong, I'm getting a kick out of the Nolan Smith comments and this "pulling them out of their a**. Just wondering what's gotten into you today.

fushezzi, to answer your question: it's Duke Week.

Hugh----------Will the NBA pay more money if Smith is good looking? I have been waiting to see who the terp fans would pick on this year. In the past there has always been a white guard to pick on----Hurley,Wojo,Reddick,Paulus.The frustration must be significant that Duke doesn't have a white guard.

HughG, You have had many great posts, but the one above may be your best. We are now looking at and discussing rankings that we know nothing about. To funny...

Hugh----------Will the NBA pay more money if Smith is good looking? I have been waiting to see who the terp fans would pick on this year. In the past there has always been a white guard to pick on----Hurley,Wojo,Reddick,Paulus.The frustration must be significant that Duke doesn't have a white guard.

Posted by: sportsfan2 | January 7, 2011 7:50 PM | Report abuse

Hey Nerd, what kind of loser goes on another team's blog to talk smack? How shocking you went to Duke.

And yeah, Smith probably will make less money for being ugly. Not from the NBA, but from sponsors.

Liz, thanks for the bb coverage..Living here in carolina i do not get much coverage from the news and observer....They are Pro State and carolina..esp that dematha loser s lowe...word is chairwoman yow wants him gone!!!

wii be at the game right behind the bench...So that all you folks who think i am not a terp I am...How do i change my screen name????

High KenPom ranking for UMD is because of an artificially high FG% (12th in the country). UMD only attempts 3pt shots about 20% of the time, way below the national average. This inflates our FG% because it is easier to make 2's.

See full explanation at http://www.basketballprospectus.com/unfiltered/?p=610

Here is the link on Pomeroy that gives the explanation. You can also get there by look at the ratings page and clicking on "Help" next to the word "Data" just above the years
2002-2011.

http://kenpom.com/blog/index.php/weblog/ratings_explanation/

Bottom line: this guy is a statistical egghead who speaks a language that most of us don't understand.