Xavier vs. Kansas Comparison...We are very disrespected

[MuskiePimp23]

It is kind of funny when I hear talk about the 5 contenders for a #1 seed and Kansas is listed up there and Xavier is not. I think we Can beat Kansas in the tournament, but we'll see if that game happens. The thing I don't understand is most people say we have an outside shot at a #2 seed, where if you look at the #'s, we have just as good of a shot at a #1 seed as Kansas, but are not getting the consideration from so-called experts for name recognition only. See below:

Kansas

26-3 Overall Record RPI: 9 SOS: 69

5-2 vs RPI Top 50 (1 win vs Top 25 team and that team is #25)

13-3 vs RPI Top 100

7-3 Last 10 Games

0 Bad Losses (Against teams below 100 in the RPI)

Xavier

25-4 Overall Record RPI: 6 SOS: 27

6-1 vs RPI Top 50 (1 win vs RPI Top 25 in #16 Indiana)

12-4 vs RPI Top 100

10-0 Last 10 Games

0 Bad Losses

Both teams win on the road. What do you think?

[realxfan]

Plus if you look at Kansas' recent tournament history with their high seeds under Self they have really underachieved. I'd love a shot at them in the elite 8.

[Xman95]

Losing to Miami might be considered a bad loss, even though it is somewhat of a rivalry game. Also, getting pasted by ASU and Temple hurts. Not because we lost, but because of HOW we lost.

We follow X, so we realize that ASU was without Duncan and following the UC game. We know Temple is a talented team, even if the overall record doesn't reflect that. Of our 4 losses, the UT game is probably going to be considered the only "respectable" one by the committee. I'm not sure they'll dig very deep when it comes to comparing two teams when one of the teams has "Kansas" on its jersey. The general public won't question Kansas at #1 or #2, even if XU is at #3 or #4. Unfortunately part of this deal is still reputation.

[Statman]

Compare common opponents:

Kansas St - XU 1-0, KU 1-1
Miami(OH) - XU 0-1, KU 1-0

I agree, there should be more talk of X for a 1 seed, but the one thing working against them is that KU still has Texas A&M and the Big12 Tourney, while X has St. Joes, Richmond and the A10 tourney. KU has a better chance to elevate their resume while X needs to win out to get their name on the ballot.

[muskieman]

Losing to Miami might be considered a bad loss, even though it is somewhat of a rivalry game. Also, getting pasted by ASU and Temple hurts. Not because we lost, but because of HOW we lost.

We follow X, so we realize that ASU was without Duncan and following the UC game. We know Temple is a talented team, even if the overall record doesn't reflect that. Of our 4 losses, the UT game is probably going to be considered the only "respectable" one by the committee. I'm not sure they'll dig very deep when it comes to comparing two teams when one of the teams has "Kansas" on its jersey. The general public won't question Kansas at #1 or #2, even if XU is at #3 or #4. Unfortunately part of this deal is still reputation.

Don't look now but if the season ended today Temple would be #2 in the standings of the league. The A-10 this year has beaten up on each other with the exception of X.

[Ron 68]

You can't look at only the positive numbers. X and Stanford (#17) are the only teams in the top 20 that have three losses to # 51 to 100 teams. I don't think you can ignore that. You could make a case for a 4 seed because of that stat.

[muskieman]

You can't look at only the positive numbers. X and Stanford (#17) are the only teams in the top 20 that have three losses to # 51 to 100 teams. I don't think you can ignore that. You could make a case for a 4 seed because of that stat.

So where does that leave a #1 or #2 touted UCLA with a loss to a 101-150 team?

[Getreal]

You can't look at only the positive numbers. X and Stanford (#17) are the only teams in the top 20 that have three losses to # 51 to 100 teams. I don't think you can ignore that. You could make a case for a 4 seed because of that stat.

I don't think you can ignor the 6-1 record inside the TOP50 either. Only NC has a better win %.

[picknroll]

IMO, the 'disrespect' in question here is based on the author's opinion of the difference between the conferences, not between the teams themselves. It's like he's saying "Xavier has a better record, etc, blah, blah, blah but look at the conference they plan in vs. the Big 12 the Jayhawks play in"

[MuskiePimp23]

Miami is #80 in the RPI and is not a bad loss. Temple is 65 in the RPI and actually is second in the A-10 standings. Tennessee is #1 in the RPI and we blew that game late at home. ASU is #68 in the RPI and has also beaten some very good teams. From reading Dow and Lunardi a so called "bad loss" is to a team below 100 in the RPI. Kansas's best win is Arizona, who is very suspect. They have had some injuries and played the toughest schedule in the country, but that is Kansas' best win. Last week X was 7-1 agains the RPI Top 50 and 13-4 against the RPI Top 100. Also, keep in mind, that teams such as Charlotte, Saint Louis, Duquesne have been in and out of the Top 100. Teams like URI, ud, UMASS and KSU have been in and out of the RPI Top 25, but have lost recently hurting our overall profile.

You cannot ignore our overall profile and teams like Xavier should be rewarded for playing such a tough non-conference schedule. Our conference is not bad either and to win that with 3 games left in the league really should say something about how the team has persevered in league play and bounced back from the Temple loss. Miami also beat Miss. St. and narrowly missed winning against usc, who now appears to be in the tourney, so none of our losses are bad losses. Kansas got worked pretty good the first time they played KSU and beat them by 14 at home. We destroyed them by 26 on a neutral court and it really was not that close...We had our walk ons in with 5 minutes to go and Beasley did not even score a basket until the last minute of the game. No team in the country has held that guy in check like we did.