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Posted on 2/3/20 at 10:24 pm to Bigbens42
So Purifoy is #6 in 2FG% the SEC. I wish he would be more aggressive driving the lane. He looks awkward as hell finishing but he has a soft touch putting it in
Posted on 2/3/20 at 10:27 pm to GenesChin
quote:
He looks awkward as hell finishing but he has a soft touch putting it in
Posted on 2/4/20 at 6:12 am to rbWarEagle
Poll Attacks: Why one AP voter omitted 19-2 Auburn from ballot after win over Kentucky
LINK
quote:
By Gary Parrish 7 hrs ago
Somebody, somewhere, nearly every week, tweets me or texts me or contacts me in some form to ask if I'll focus my soon-to-be-published Poll Attacks column on Jesse Newell's latest ballot. This season, to date, I've just ignored the requests -- mostly because Jesse has developed his own system for ranking teams, a system he's explained many times. And though I disagree with his approach completely, for reasons I'll explain momentarily, it's kind of a waste of time to detail why an AP voter's ballot is nonsensical when the AP voter in question will simply reply by explaining that his nonsensical ballot is actually very sensible, according to his system, even if his system is undeniably ridiculous.
So, again, right or wrong, I've just ignored the requests to date.
But enough is enough.
Because, on Monday, Jesse was the only AP voter, out of 65 AP voters, who didn't rank Auburn even though Auburn is 19-2 with a win over Kentucky. Bruce Pearl's Tigers are now 2-2 in Quadrant 1 opportunities and 9-2 in Quadrant 1/Quadrant 2 opportunities with zero losses outside of the first quadrant. As somebody who ranks teams literally every morning, let me just tell you, it's impossible to sensibly find 25 teams more deserving of a national ranking than Auburn. And yet Jesse left Auburn completely off of his ballot this week because, best I can tell, there are some predictive models that say Auburn doesn't belong.
It's a great example of somebody trying to be smart while being dumb.
And Jesse isn't dumb.
He's an obviously smart and talented guy, a Kansas beat writer whose work I enjoy. But his approach to ranking teams each week is MADDENING because it cares so little about who wins and loses games. It cares so little about results.
And shouldn't results matter most?
In what world, practically speaking, should the results of games not matter much when it comes to ranking teams? In fact, the Associated Press specifically asks voters to "pay attention to head-to-head results," which, by extension, means voters should, well, pay attention to results. Not predictive formulas. Results. And if you pay attention to results, very few teams in the country have better results than Auburn right now.
In a season in which bad losses happen daily, there are only 12 teams that have zero losses outside of the NCAA's first quadrant. Auburn is one of them. That's not worth nothing. But Jesse treats it like it's nothing. And when he was asked specifically on Monday why he has an Auburn team that's 19-2 unranked, he referenced KenPom and Torvik which, at the time, had Auburn ranked 33rd and 37th, respectively.
Again, those are both predictive models.
They're not result-oriented.
So, in my opinion, they should not be the end-all and be-all reference points because, for the millionth time, the results of the games should matter. But, for the sake of the argument, let's rely on them momentarily. Then why does Jesse have Kentucky ranked 25th on his ballot even though UK is 35th at KenPom and 35th at Torvik? Neither number is close to the top 25. So when did Jesse decide to stop trusting computers? And did you realize Saint Mary's is 10 spots higher than Kentucky at KenPom, and five spots higher than Kentucky in Torvik, but still unranked on Jesse's ballot? To be clear, I do not personally believe Saint Mary's should be ranked higher than Kentucky on an AP ballot right now; UK has the better resume, undeniably. But if you're going to use KenPom and Torvik as justification to not rank Auburn, like Jesse did, you can't ignore the exact same algorithms and rank Kentucky over Saint Mary's when Saint Mary's is better in both.
Bottom line, this inconsistent points-per-possession approach to ranking teams isn't smart. It's dumb. And Jesse isn't even following it loyally, which makes any defense of his ballot laughable. Teams win games. Teams lose games. So Jesse, like most of the rest of us, should credit the teams that win and punish the teams that lose.
Ignoring the results of games is goofy.
It's time to stop being goofy.
LINK
Posted on 2/4/20 at 6:31 am to jangalang
Irony is Jesse Newell was attacked last year for having Auburn way too high 
Posted on 2/4/20 at 6:55 am to GenesChin
That was before we throttled his Jayhawks.
Posted on 2/4/20 at 7:03 am to GenesChin
quote:
Irony is Jesse Newell was attacked last year for having Auburn way too high
I don’t know if he is just trying to be a douche that just wants his name out there, or if he’s just lost. He could be motivated in the same manner of the douche that screwed up Derek Jeter’s unanimous vote into HOF. We did rub our nutsacks over his team in sweet 16 after all.
Or
He could be someone that wouldn't understand his silly argument if someone else advanced it to him. Sometimes people get lost in their own philosophies and need to be herded back to the point that made him a qualified voter.
I am on record saying we are not really a top ten or FF4 team, but when we are 19-2 after beating Kentucky and still left out of top 25, there should be a long look into credentials pulling.
Posted on 2/4/20 at 8:16 am to jangalang
quote:
a Kansas beat writer
all I needed to see. Still butthurt about that sweet 16 huh Jesse?
Posted on 2/4/20 at 8:39 am to jangalang
quote:Can you bold the parts we should read? Otherwise TLDR. No disrespect.
jangalang
Posted on 2/4/20 at 9:22 am to auzach91
Kansas was round of 32. Railing on an AP voter and can't get this minor detail correct...smh
Posted on 2/4/20 at 9:25 am to autodd03
Really long Athletic piece on Pearl, his background, his time at Auburn, etc.
Posted on 2/4/20 at 9:28 am to autodd03
E, I wouldn’t know which part of the article to bold. I only bold the important stuff in recruiting or something because I hate context filler. The whole article in this instance destroyed a writer’s snub of Auburn.
Posted on 2/4/20 at 9:42 am to auburnnyc94
quote:
Really long Athletic piece on Pearl, his background, his time at Auburn, etc.
Author?
Posted on 2/4/20 at 9:43 am to JamalSanders
Dana O'neil
Posted on 2/4/20 at 9:44 am to auburnnyc94
quote:
Dana O'neil
What does Dana say. I can only afford so much. Already have to cut back to steel reserve to fill my appetite for insiders that don’t know shite
Posted on 2/4/20 at 9:46 am to jangalang
“I think the atmosphere was terrific. It was our best scene of the year for sure." @ReceDavis
Bammer knows who is boss.
Bammer knows who is boss.
Posted on 2/4/20 at 9:51 am to jangalang
Spends most of the time detailing Pearl’s iffy past (and drawing comparisons to other bball coaches who don’t get the same level of vitriol) and Auburn’s cruddy past, and how Pearl and the team have to work their tails off to get any credit for what they’ve accomplished.
Good read.
Good read.
Posted on 2/4/20 at 9:55 am to TheSandman
I mean I'll copy and paste it if that's acceptable around here
Posted on 2/4/20 at 10:18 am to auburnnyc94
Nah that’ll get Chicken in trouble
Posted on 2/4/20 at 10:30 am to autodd03
thats right...all of those bluebloods we ran thru just mixed together. unc was 16. 
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