With yesterday’s update to the AP Top 25, Gonzaga, Duke, and Kansas are the top three college basketball teams in the nation. Ken Pomeroy, creator of the sport’s most popular efficiency metric, really disagrees with one of those three.
Pomeroy, who runs KenPom.com, thinks the poll is pretty accurate on the Blue Devils and Jayhawks. Both are also in his top three.
Gonzaga is the one he takes umbrage with. He has the Bulldogs down at No. 9 in his overall adjusted efficiency metric, ranking the team No. 3 in offense, but just No. 62 in defense.
Pomeroy’s numbers have Duke at No. 1, followed by Kansas and Michigan State. The Spartans rank first in offensive efficiency through their first 15 games of the season.
Here is how KenPom‘s top 10 looks as of today:
- Duke (No. 5 offense, No. 3 defense)
- Kansas (14, 2)
- Michigan State (1, 26)
- Ohio State (11, 6)
- Butler (27, 5)
- Louisville (15, 15)
- Dayton (4, 48)
- Maryland (20, 11)
- Gonzaga (3, 62)
- Baylor (30, 9)
Compared to the Associated Press Top 25, released Monday.
- Gonzaga
- Duke
- Kansas
- Baylor
- Auburn
- Butler
- San Diego State
- Michigan State
- Oregon
- Florida State
There are some pretty large disparities there, beyond Gonzaga. The AP is much higher on Baylor, and lower on Michigan State, but both find themselves in both college basketball Top 10 lists.
From KenPom’s list, Ohio State has fallen to No. 11 in the AP Top 25 after a recent skid. Louisville is down at No. 13, Dayton still isn’t getting the respect it probably deserves, at No. 15. Maryland isn’t too far from its KenPom ranking, at No. 12.
Pomeroy has No. 5 Auburn ranked 11th, No. 7 San Diego State at 16, No. 9 Oregon at 15, and No. 10 Florida State at 14. That’s actually a pretty standard difference going from the metrics to the poll.