After Indiana’s second biggest win in a matter of three weeks, many fans and college basketball enthusiasts are already discussing where IU deserves to be ranked.
The team was first ranked in week 6, starting at No. 18. IU is currently 13th in the Associated Press poll, and I expect them to break the top ten after knocking off No. 2 Ohio State 74-70 on Saturday.
Following the game, Doug Gottlieb irritated me so much that I had to write this blog before heading to bed. After the game, the ESPN analyst and radio show host went to twitter saying he’s still not impressed by Indiana. He later went further in-depth on the matter while in the studios with Andy Katz.
Gottlieb argued that winning at home is nice but expected. He thought IU got lucky that Kentucky players didn’t foul, and that they benefited in both games with some officiating calls and lack-thereof.
Even with wins against Kentucky and Ohio State, he sounded reluctant to put the Hoosiers even in the top-20 nationally. He didn’t come out and say specifically where they belong, but it sounded like he thought they just cracked the top-25.
I’m sorry, but that’s ridiculous.
I understand that many analysts and opposing fans want to see a road win because that matters. (Don’t forget Evansville and NC State because those were quality wins because how they won.)
In very challenging conference environments, like the Big Ten, road wins don’t come easy. But they do happen — just look at Wisconsin who lost at home to Iowa of all teams.
Why is there such an interest in rankings? Is it purely for bragging rights? I say enjoy the games and ignore the rankings.
Enjoy the way Indiana is playing and the turnaround they have made. Be thankful for a coach that does things the right way, for players that are class acts and for a fan base that stood with a program through the darkest of days.
Ultimately, people do care. Coaches, players and fans care. They may not admit it, but they do. But don’t read too much into it. Let every team’s performance in March do all the talking.
And don’t even get me started on preseason polls.
I agree with you both about Gottlieb and that the rankings don’t matter. Gottlieb’s comments both during IU’s halftime and during the halftime of the Xavier game that followed were just pure nonsense to the point of being bizarre. He wants to use quality road wins as a measure for IU to be an “elite” team, whatever that means, but doesn’t want to use that same criteria for any other team. Look at the schedules for teams in the top 25 and find a big time road win for any team. I found basically Georgetown beating Louisville on the road as the one and only example of a really big road win this entire year. That includes OSU, Duke, Kansas, Florida, Syracuse, UNC, Kentucky – all of his so called elite teams. Doug really made a fool of himself with those statements and tweets that followed and that’s not even getting into his assertions that the officials basically won the game for IU against OSU and that IU’s win over Kentucky was somehow tainted because KU didn’t play to their potential on that day.
I never really like Gottlieb because he always seemed to be a little anti-IU, but his rants yesterday leaves no doubt that he has something against IU’s program.