The unofficial online home for fans of the Kent State University Golden Flashes. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

I highly doubt last year has any influence on any of the KenPom rankings. If it does, then I won't put much value in that ranking system because that wouldn't make any sense.

Comparing KenPom to ESPN's BPI, BPI has our SoS slightly better (310th on BPI vs. 341st on KP). Vandy is 6-2 but their SoS isn't real strong either (301 KP, 189 BPI). Liberty's SoS is 242 KP vs. 248 BPI. Detroit's SoS is 55th KP vs. 29th BPI but they're sitting at 3-7 so they're not helping our SoS very much because they aren't winning.

Our SoS rank being 300+ isn't surprising. Here's where our current opponents rank on the two systems up to this point.
1. CSU - KP 273, BPI 280
2. Shawnee St - Non D1
3. Liberty - KP 91, BPI 65
4. Alcorn St. - KP 345, BPI 323
5. Savannah St. KP 344, BPI 346
6. Vandy - KP 63, BPI 67
7. Detroit - KP 288, BPI 298
8. Norfolk St. - KP 289, BPI 254
9. Wright St. - KP 144, BPI 160

So we've only played 2 teams that are even close to being top 100 teams.

You are right that by the end of the month our SoS will look better, just because Louisville and Oregon St. are top 100 teams. Louisville is 40 KP and 32 BPI. Oregon St. is 65th KP and 88th on BPI. This is shaping up to be an odd year where or non conference SoS may be worse than our in conference SoS. Currently only 4 of our non conference games are top 100 games (and Liberty could easily fall out outside the top 100) while 6 of our non conference games (including Albany) are outside the top 200 (8 if you include the 2 non D1 games). Right now both Toledo and Buffalo are firmly inside the top 100, Ball St and Akron aren't far from it, and only WMU is outside the top 200 in both systems. A lot will change between now and the end of the season but it's unlikely that teams outside the top 200 right now end up looking solid by then.

The good thing is, we're doing exactly what we should do with a weak SoS... winning.