Gonzaga Number 1

I don't get too twisted off over who is No. 1 in the early season polls. But all things equal I always prefer being No.1 . But the main reason I wanted to move to No. 1 was so Self could tie Roy for weeks at No. 1. Since Self took over at Kansas, KU has dominated North Carolina overall in the polls with the exception of weeks at No. 1. Roy has been in the No. 1 slot 28 times and Self 27. I really would like to at least tie. I do think ESPN and the pollsters are having a love affair with the Duke Freshmen. It seems that ESPN has become thew Duke Blue Devil website. Last season it was Trae Young, this season it is Zion and the Duke frosh. I get that it is all about marketing so it doesn't bug me other tan mile annoyance. In some world that understands true accomplishment there would be a page dedicated to KU's run of 14 straight Big 12 titles. Now that is a true accomplishment.

As for No. 1, since Self took over at Kansas, there have been 290 polls. 5 teams have been in the top spot for 153 of those polls or more than half. You can see the table below.

With all the drama from the FBI and NCAA, I don't really mind "laying low" until March. We'll be top ten if not top five no doubt.

--RC

I don't think that any true fan with knowledge of the game is ever going to get hung up on a ranking in November, and all would agree that those rankings start to get important when tournament seeding comes around, and of course the FINAL ranking where #1 actually counts for something.

I also agree with Bay that with all of the Adidas crap still floating around, I'm just fine avoiding the spotlight, working hard, and quietly racking up wins and a solid resume.

The only level where this IS psychologically a little annoying is that it seems as if we've been slighted, and lends credence to the idea that in the "popularity contest" among the press and general public, Duke and Kentucky are perceived as "bluer" bloods than KU. It comes off as disrespect. "Duke beat Kentucky so they must be the BEST and then Gonzaga beat Duke, so now THEY must be the best" seems to be the thinking rather than "KU beat TWO top 10 teams on neutral courts". At least we're #1 in ESPN's power rankings. To their credit, Gonzaga has also beat Illinois and Arizona (neither ranked but not cupcakes), and Duke beat #8 Auburn and of course Kentucky who was #2 at the time (now #10). Still, Michigan State is now #9 (up one from when we played them) and Tennessee has fallen to #6. By appearances, therefore, the "popularity contest" is still in effect.

Keep in mind, however, that KEEPING your ranking isn't easy. Here's what's ahead for each of the top 3 in the next couple weeks:
Gonzaga: @Creighton, Washington,#6 Tennessee, @ #11 UNC.
KU: Stanford, Woffard, New Mexico State, #23 Villanova (all in AFH)
Puke: Indiana, Stetson, Hartford, Yale (all at Cameron)

Looking forward, Duke stays at home and faces no ranked teams. They'll likely win all 4 games.
KU has the 2nd easiest road: all games at home, with the only ranked team being Villanova who's NOT the same team we faced last year in the FF.
Finally, the Zags have the toughest road. Two road games, and 2 opponents in the top 15. If they beat Tennessee and win at UNC, I think they'll have absolutely earned the #1 ranking.

P.S.: this isn't a 3 horse race. Virginia, Nevada, Michigan, K-State and several other good teams make up the dozen undefeated teams in the top 25. I'm particularly interested to see KSU play at Marquette on Saturday to see how they stack up against this common opponent of ours.