HHS Top 25: Incorporating New Data
One week ago we decided to scrap the ranking and start over, which led to some very significant changes, including five new teams. In this week’s ranking, there were more big changes thanks to upset wins and the incorporation of the recently released Her Hoop Stats Rating.
A good example of how the HHS Rating helps to order teams is with Oregon State and Oregon, who we ranked №2 and №4 this week. The AP Poll ranked Oregon one spot ahead of the Beavers this week, but the HHS Team Comparison Tool shows that Oregon State has an argument for the stronger resume.
The Ducks have played two teams in the top 25 of the HHS Rating, going 1–1 with a loss to Louisville and a win over Oklahoma State, while Oregon State has gone 2–0 in such games. The Beavers have the best and second-best wins of the two, and the strength of their wins are consistently higher than the strength of Oregon’s wins.
Below is the ballot that we submitted to the Sport Tours International/Hoopfeed Top 25 Poll for Week 5, which included games played from Tuesday, December 3 through Monday, December 9. Movement up or down from our Week 4 ballot is denoted in parentheses.
1. Stanford
2. Oregon State (↑1)
3. South Carolina (↑1)
4. Oregon (↑1)
5. UConn (↑4)
6. Baylor
7. Louisville (↓5)
8. Florida State
9. N.C. State (↑7)
10. Texas A&M
11. Maryland (↓4)
12. Indiana (↓1)
13. Arizona (↑6)
14. UCLA (↓1)
15. Gonzaga (↑6)
16. Kentucky (↑2)
17. Mississippi State (↓5)
18. DePaul (↑2)
19. Missouri State (↓2)
20. South Dakota (↑2)
21. Michigan State (↓6)
22. Tennessee (↓8)
23. West Virginia (NR)
24. Michigan (NR)
25. FGCU (↓1)
West Virginia joined the Top 25 this week, debuting at №23 following their win over Mississippi State on Sunday. Michigan also rejoins the rankings at №25 thanks to their win over Syracuse last Thursday. The Wolverines desperately needed the win, as they had looked good all season but lost to Notre Dame in their only other test of the season.
N.C. State was the biggest gainer this week, jumping seven spots to №9 after getting a marquee win over Maryland. The Wolfpack’s resume needed a bit of a boost to convince us they were a top-10 team, and even after the win, their strength of schedule (average opponents winning percentage) is ranked just 247th out of 351 teams.
Tennessee fell eight spots in the ranking, the most for any team this season. The Lady Vols have the weakest strength of schedule in the NCAA and they squandered a chance to prove they are better than their 110th-ranked HHS Rating would suggest when they lost to Texas.
How do you think we did with our ballot? Who did we miss? Who’s too high? Too low? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter (@herhoopstats), and keep an eye out for our rankings on the Hoopfeed website throughout the season.
If you like this content, please support our work at Her Hoop Stats by subscribing for just $20 a year. All stats are compiled from Her Hoop Stats, and all mentioned rankings are from this week’s HHS Top 25 unless otherwise noted.
