Tag: Kenpom

March finally arrives: Where is Duke in KenPom’s efficiency margin as the month starts?

With the famous month finally upon the college basketball world, see which peers Duke is ahead of and behind in KenPom’s efficiency ratings.

It’s finally here. We’ve finally made it to March.

With the sun rising on college basketball’s most famous month and the titular NCAA Tournament just weeks away, here’s a glance at where Duke sits in KenPom’s adjusted efficiency margin.

The Blue Devils are currently eighth in the national rankings as of March 1. They’re once again the highest-ranked team in the ACC with a narrow lead over rival North Carolina, who sits ninth.

The high ranking should reassure those in Durham, as a grand majority of the past dozen national champions ended the regular season as one of the site’s top 10 teams.

Duke has boasted a top-10 offense for much of the season, and KenPom currently measures the Blue Devils with 1.224 adjusted points per possession, the eighth-best mark in the country.

The Duke defense has come along as well, with the Blue Devils now up to 25th in adjusted defensive efficiency.

Houston holds a dominant lead on the top overall spot, with Purdue, Connecticut, Arizona, and Tennessee rounding out the rest of the top five.

Duke’s Saturday opponent, a feisty Virginia squad right on the tournament bubble, is 63rd in the national rankings but boasts the 10th-best defense.

Wisconsin basketball continues to plummet in national rankings

Do you have any hope for a run in March?

Wisconsin basketball’s disastrous month of February came to a crashing conclusion Tuesday night with a 74-70 loss at Indiana.

The fire alarm-induced extensive delay midway through the second half played a role in the loss. But it was a loss to one of the worst teams in the Big Ten and ESPN Basketball Power Index’s No. 104 team in the nation.

The result closed a 2-6 month for the Badgers, one which saw the team drop from first place in the Big Ten standings to fifth, No. 6 in the AP Poll to unranked and from a borderline 1-seed in NCAA Tournament bracketologies to a 5-seed.

Related: Wisconsin basketball social media reacts to the arena evacuation, Wisconsin’s loss to Indiana

Wisconsin’s steep slide in the standings has coincided with a sharp drop in most national metrics.

First, the team is down to the No. 23 team in KenPom — with the No. 17 offense and No. 53 defense. The Badgers were comfortably within the top 10 earlier this season.

Second, the Badgers are down to No. 22 in ESPN BPI. They remain the fourth-best Big Ten team in the metric, but distance is growing between them and the top of the conference.

Finally, Greg Gard’s group sits No. 22 in the NCAA NET Rankings — with a 6-6 record in Quad 1, 6-4 in Quad 2, 2-0 in Quad 3 and 4-0 in Quad 4 contests.

Wisconsin has three games remaining before postseason play continues: vs No. 13 Illinois, vs Rutgers and at No. 2 Purdue.

It’s a good thing March has begun given the program’s slide throughout February, but that doesn’t things will get any easier for the Badgers. The level of play must quickly improve, as the stakes will only rise as the month continues.

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Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes, and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

Duke drops one spot in KenPom after loss to Wake Forest

Duke slips one spot in KenPom after loss to Wake Forest. Where do they rank now, and did they stay ahead of UNC?

The Duke Blue Devils dropped one spot from eighth to ninth in KenPom’s adjusted efficiency margin after their 83-79 loss to Wake Forest on Saturday.

It was, of course, the rival North Carolina Tar Heels who replaced the Blue Devils at the eighth overall spot in the rankings.

Duke remains the second-highest-ranked team in the ACC, according to KenPom’s metrics. The Demon Deacons are the next-closest, remaining 20th in the rankings after the statement win.

The Blue Devils average 1.22 adjusted points per possession, good enough to rank seventh in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency and the best mark of any ACC team.

Duke’s defensive metrics have them ranked 26th in adjusted defensive efficiency, which is third-best in the conference behind UNC and Virginia.

The Blue Devils sit at 21-6 on the season, and they are now second in the ACC standings at 12-4, one game behind the Tar Heels.

Florida slips in KenPom rankings after Vanderbilt home win

The Gators remain a top-30 team in KenPom despite dropping a spot.

Florida basketball continued its Southeastern Conference schedule on Saturday afternoon inside the O’Connell Center with a comfortable 77-64 victory over the visiting Vanderbilt Commodores, improving the team to 19-8 overall with a 9-5 mark in SEC play.

Following the win, the Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings dropped the Orange and Blue a spot from our previous update to No. 28 overall, putting them between the No. 27 Dayton Flyers and No. 29 Colorado State Rams.

The Pomeroy rankings use adjusted efficiency margin — the difference between adjusted offensive efficiency and adjusted defensive efficiency — to rank all teams.

Golden’s gang now has a margin of plus-18.23 (down 0.27 points) which means the team is expected to score 18.23 more points than the average opponent. They fell three spots to 14th in adjusted offensive efficiency (119.6) but gained seven spots in adjusted defensive efficiency, ranking at 83rd (101.4).

KenPom also has Florida’s overall strength of schedule rated at plus-8.62, which is 37th in the nation; its non-conference schedule rating received a score of plus-1.40 which puts the Gators at No. 129.

The Gators remain in the O’Connell Center for their next game against the visiting Missouri Tigers, who come to town on Wednesday, Feb. 28. Tipoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Where Wisconsin basketball ranks in key metrics entering the final stretch of Big Ten play

What will Wisconsin’s record be in its final four Big Ten games?

Wisconsin basketball returns to the court Tuesday night in Bloomington, Indiana for a crucial road test against the Indiana Hoosiers.

The Badgers will have been idle for a full week in between its games against Maryland and Indiana. The restful period precedes a gauntlet final stretch of their Big Ten schedule: at Indiana, vs No. 12 Indiana, vs Rutgers and at No. 3 Purdue.

Related: Updated game-by-game predictions for Wisconsin basketball after its big win over Maryland

Things appear to have stabilized since the program’s early February nosedive. The Badgers have now won two of three, with the only loss coming at the buzzer in overtime at Iowa.

Greg Gard’s team still has work to do as it prepares for postseason play. But despite its recent struggles, the team is still viewed favorably by most major metrics.

Here is a round-up of where Wisconsin ranks in each ranking system entering the final stretch of its season:

Duke above UNC and firmly within KenPom’s top 10 after Miami blowout victory

After a 29-point win over Miami, the Blue Devils are a top-10 team in adjusted efficiency…and they’re finally ahead of North Carolina.

The Blue Devils ripped Miami apart last night, shooting more than 50% from the floor and 45% from long-range in an 84-55 victory.

The full-court domination provided Duke’s largest margin of victory in conference play so far this season, and KenPom’s advanced metrics were clearly impressed by the victory.

The Blue Devils moved up to eighth in the nation in the site’s adjusted efficiency margin after the win, now the highest-ranked team in the ACC after they moved two spots above North Carolina.

Duke’s offense has consistently been one of the best in the country, and the Blue Devils are seventh with almost 1.21 adjusted points per possession.

However, the Duke defense really stepped up over the past few weeks, especially against Miami. The Blue Devils held one of the better offenses in the ACC to 55 points, including keeping star forward Norchad Omier to just nine points, and they’re now up to 22nd in the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency.

The Blue Devils now only rank below Houston, Purdue, Connecticut, Arizona, Auburn, Alabama, and Tennessee.

No changes in KenPom for Florida basketball after Alabama OT loss

Florida didn’t lose any ground in KenPom following Wedensday night’s tough overtime loss in Tuscaloosa.

Todd Golden and the Florida Gators put up a valiant effort in Tuscaloosa on Wednesday night but were unable to capitalize on a halftime lead, ultimately falling in overtime, 98-93, to the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Following the loss, the Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings kept the Orange and Blue right where it sat in our previous update at No. 27 overall, putting them between the No. 26 Clemson Tigers and No. 28 Colorado State Rams.

The Pomeroy rankings use adjusted efficiency margin — the difference between adjusted offensive efficiency and adjusted defensive efficiency — to rank all teams.

Golden’s gang now has a margin of plus-18.50 (up 0.23 points) which means the team is expected to score 18.50 more points than the average opponent. They fell two spots to 11th in adjusted offensive efficiency (120.0) and dropped the same distance to 90th in adjusted defensive efficiency (101.5).

KenPom also has Florida’s overall strength of schedule rated at plus-9.35, which is 23rd in the nation; its non-conference schedule rating received a score of plus-1.46 which puts the Gators at No. 126.

The Gators return home on Saturday, Feb. 24, to host the Vanderbilt Commodores inside the O’Connell Center. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

How Auburn’s loss to Kentucky affects its KenPom ranking

Auburn takes a massive hit in one analytical category following its Saturday loss to Kentucky.

No. 12 Auburn basketball suffered its first home loss of the season last Saturday by dropping a 70-59 contest to No. 20 Kentucky at Neville Arena.

Auburn shot just 31% in the game while allowing Kentucky to shoot 44%. The Wildcats also led the game in three-point percentage, free-throw percentage, rebounds, points in the paint, and points off turnovers.

The Tigers also suffered another tough loss on Saturday, as forward [autotag]Jaylin Williams[/autotag] exited the game with a knee injury. He will not need surgery to repair the injury but will miss a few games to recover.

Auburn has five games remaining in the regular season before heading to Nashville to compete in the SEC Tournament. How much did Auburn’s loss to Kentucky affect its KenPom ranking? The Tigers suffered minimal damage in most categories while taking a giant blow in one important slot.

Here’s where Auburn stands in the KenPom ahead of this week’s college basketball action.

Florida climbing back up KenPom rankings thanks to UGA win

Gators gained some ground in KenPom’s rankings courtesy of the road win on Saturday.

Todd Golden’s team is hitting its stride at just the right time, now having won seven of its last eight Southeastern Conference matchups and three in a row with the road victory over the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday.

Following the win, the Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings saw the Orange and Blue rise two spots from our previous update to No. 27 overall, putting them between the No. 26 Wake Forest Demon Deacons — who beat Florida earlier his season — and No. 28 Colorado State Rams.

The Pomeroy rankings use adjusted efficiency margin — the difference between adjusted offensive efficiency and adjusted defensive efficiency — to rank all teams.

Golden’s gang now has a margin of plus-18.27 (up 0.38 points) which means the team is expected to score 18.27 more points than the average opponent. They still ranked ninth in adjusted offensive efficiency (119.7) but fell to 88th in adjusted defensive efficiency (101.4).

KenPom also has Florida’s overall strength of schedule rated at plus-8.51, which is 32nd in the nation; its non-conference schedule rating received a score of plus-1.58 which puts the Gators at No. 123.

Florida travels to Tuscaloosa for its next matchup on Wednesday, Feb. 21, against the Alabama Crimson Tide. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Wisconsin basketball is no longer one of the best teams in the Big Ten

Thoughts on the last few weeks of Wisconsin basketball?

The Wisconsin Badgers fell at the overtime buzzer to the Iowa Hawkeyes Saturday in Iowa City.

The loss was the Badgers’ fifth in their last six tries and dropped the team to 17-9 on the season and 9-6 in Big Ten play. In 18 days, Wisconsin has dropped from the clear conference leader to tied with Michigan State for third, 3 1/2 games behind first-place Purdue.

The standings tell the story. The Badgers are in the midst of an incredible collapse.

ESPN BPI and KenPom’s ratings also tell the story effectively. Each has Wisconsin as the distant fourth-best team in the conference.

  • KenPom: Purdue (No. 3 overall), Illinois (No. 8), Michigan State (No. 15), Wisconsin (No. 19)
  • ESPN BPI: Purdue (No. 2 overall), Illinois (No. 10), Michigan State (No. 16), Wisconsin (No. 20)

Remember, Wisconsin was alone at No. 2 in the conference behind Purdue entering the month of February.

Not only have the Badgers dropped from a top seed in NCAA Tournament projections to clinging to a 4-seed, the team is falling further and further from the top of the Big Ten.

Time still allows for Wisconsin to turn it around and return to its early season form. Up next is a home game against Maryland (14-12) before a finishing at Indiana, home against Illinois, home against Rutgers and at Purdue.

The Badgers need to turn things around before it’s too late.

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Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.