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How is Michigan (Basketball) NOT Top 25?
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With college football's regular season coming to a close you may not have noticed college basketball is in full swing. In that case you certainly would not know that Michigan has been excluded from the most current top 25 poll. At 6-2 this isn't unfathomable until you take a closer look and when you do I think you won't be able to do anything else but scratch your head.
I have no love for Michigan Sports, C-webb blowing the national finals for the Maize and Blue didn't bother me one bit. That being said certain things in sports don't make sense to me and this is one of them.
Michigan as I stated is currently 6-2. Who have they lost to? At a neutral site to Duke who is 8-1 and the current number 7 team in the nation and on the road at Maryland a fellow fringe top 25 team. So neither of them were particularly bad loses.
So no bad loses how bout big wins? How does winning their second meeting with Duke who was in the top 5 at the time sound? How about a neutral site victory versus the then top 5 and current number 15 ucla bruins? Those sound like pretty nice wins to me.
So they have no big loses and a couple big victories, but that doesn't mean much if the rest of the top 25 can also make that case. They can't. Take number 25 Kansas their only loss was a neutral site loss to Syracuse who is currently number 13, so not a bad lose even if 'Cuse was unranked at the time. However who's their biggest win against? Washington? not an awful team, but not great either or maybe Kent State? New Mexico State?
Or how about number 24 Marquette who's 7-1 as well, and beat a very quality team in Wisconsin. However they also lost to Dayton, not a pushover, but not a borderline top 25 team either.
I could go on but I'll just add one more team they could easily be ahead of… UCLA. I know that's silly after all UCLA is much better right? But uh UCLA lost to Michigan, UCLA lost to Texas and you know who UCLA has beaten? NO ONE. I think everyone knows UCLA will end the season ahead of Michigan and yes early season rankings don't matter but I don't understand how they deserve a top 25 spot and Michigan doesn't.
