T-290

thanks to a reader for pointing this out. espn.com has ranked every college basketball program, and we are pretty damn close to being dead-last on the list...

T-290. Morgan State, MEAC
T-290. Northwestern, Big Ten
292. Prairie View A&M, SWAC
293. Duquesne, Atlantic 10
T-294. Columbia, Ivy
T-294. Virginia Military Institute, Big South
296. Chicago State, Independent
297. New Hampshire, America East
T-298. Army, Patriot
T-298. Bethune-Cookman, MEAC
T-298. Maryland-Eastern Shore, MEAC


here is the criteria used to "scientifically" determine the rankings. i don't have a problem with their method, but it will be interesting to see how the top 10 turns out. surprisingly, Murray State is #30.

• National title … 25
• Title game loss … 20
• National semifinal loss … 15
• Elite Eight loss … 10
• Best W-L record in conference's regular season … 5
• 30+ wins in a season … 5
• Sweet 16 loss … 5
• Conference tournament title … 3
• AP first team All-American … 3
• Losing in NCAA second round … 3
• Player in top 10 of NBA draft … 2
• NCAA first-round win as a 12-16 seed … 2
• NIT title … 2
• AP second team All-American … 2
• 20-29 wins in a season … 1
• NCAA tournament berth … 1
• Postseason NIT berth … 1
• AP third team All-American … 1
• NCAA first-round loss to a 12-16 seed … -2
• Losing season … -3
• Ban from NCAA tournament … -3


here are a few different ways to look at it...
• teams ranked 161 and below finished with a negative total score
• last in the Big Ten - next best was Penn State at 185 and then Minnesota at 68
• seven of the eight Ivy schools scored better than us
• last in the Big Six conferences - next best was Baylor at 266 then Oregon State at 241


i have neither the time nor the inclination to determine exactly what NU's score is, but just after a quick glance, i figure we get 2 points for Eschmeyer's second team All-America, 2 points for NIT berths in '99 and '94, and that might be it. all the rest would be negative points, and those minus-3's for losing seasons will add up quickly.