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

The highest-ranked MAC teams, in order, are now Kent(23), Ball State(75), WMU(81), CMU(86), Miami(92), and Marshall(99). Toledo is close at #109.

Hey! Come on MAC. What is this 23rd and then 75th. We need help. BTW, the 23rd is not inflated. I believe that we are deeper and more athletic than last year. Losing big Nate will hurt us a lot, but it will force us to use that depth. Our "rebuilding year" is coming along just fine, thank you. :D

GFlash,
It was my comment on the MAC board that our Sagarin rating is inflated. I said that because it is literally true--it was not a judgment or opinion.
At this point in the season there have not been enough games played to fully link all the teams in the country, therefore Jeff Sagarin factors in partially last year's end rating. So our rating is based in part on the accomplishments of last year's team. Same holds true for Maryland, for example--their current rating is slightly inflated due to last year's performance.
It wasn't meant to be a knock at our Flashes, just an objective statement. Nobody is more optimistic about this year's team than I am! Really, though, considering who we have played so far, even at 5-0, it's hard to justify 23. If we win the next three, it should be even better, though, and by January, the stats will have linked and Sagarin's rating will be fairly accurate, like it always is. I'm hoping for better, eventually!

I do understand the theory of power ratings as I in developed and implemented one of the first power rating systems in the late 60's. In theory, a teams rating is in constant flux and never really reaches a teams true rating. It just tries to get there. You are correct in that it gets more true as more games are input to the system. My statement was merely my feeling that our team is truely in its present range and as the ratings have more input, it is my opinion that we will not drop. So therefore, the present rating is not inflated. If you look at the present team, you will see that an oponent can not really focus on any one player and benefit tremendously. Which position on the team is a real liabiltiy? Can this team go to the bench for 2-3 players and not suffer? Will they play as a team? Will they play defense and rebound? If your answers are favorable to these questions, you have a top 25 team no matter where you play. In my observation, I have favorable answers. Just one persons opinion. :D

I agree that all ratings and polls are just flawed attempts at trying to quantify the unquantifiable. As is the NCAA tourney, for that matter. Many may agree that the winner is the best team in college basketball that year, but it's not necessarily so--they did win the tourney, but we'll have a hard time getting knowledgeable people to agree, for example, that NC State and Villanova were truely the best teams in college basketball the years they won the NCAA. They won their last 6 games. That you can say for sure.

As to the Flashes, we seem to be talking apples and oranges--you were expressing your opinion of their talent and I was expressing my problems with a rating system that is less accurate than it will be as more numbers are thrown into the mix and last year's numbers--which Sagarin is still using to some degree--thrown OUT of the mix. If those numbers were out now, KSU rating would be lower, hence it's not a great measure of this year's performance so far.
I agree with what you say about them. One caveat though: I want to see them play better opposition to see how the mix holds up under greater pressure than they have seen so far. Like I said before, if they get through the next 3 games, no doubt will they deserve to be top 25 by ANY measure.