Smoke and Mirrors- Two Overrated College Basketball Teams

College basketball is in full swing. As the season goes on and as the Associated Press rankings inevitably fluctuate, teams will slowly either be exposed or praised for proving the college basketball audience right or wrong. This article lists two teams that shouldn’t even be on anyone’s radar, listed in no particular order.

Petre Thomas, USA TODAY Sports

1. Mississippi

Mississippi (Ole Miss), in their first Southeastern Conference game, proved to everyone that their previously undefeated record was a result of an easy schedule. Over that early-season stretch, their point differential was +7.0, signifying one of two things: a difficult schedule, or a team scraping by inferior opponents. In Mississippi’s case, it was the former rather than the latter. Mississippi’s Strength of Schedule rating rests in the bottom 40% of the nation, as they rank 219 out of 362 teams, according to the widely used KenPom rating system. Entering SEC play, Mississippi will quickly drop in both the NET Rankings and the AP Poll, as a tougher schedule will prove impossible to handle for Chris Beard’s team.

Rob Gray, USA TODAY Sports

2. Brigham Young University

Currently ranked at number 18 in the most recent AP Poll and sitting at 0-2 in Big 12 conference play, the Brigham Young University Cougars are making a beeline for a first-round exit in March. For comparable reasons to Ole Miss, Brigham Young shouldn’t be drawing as much attention as they have. Statistics, unfortunately, play a big part in Brigham Young’s success in both the NET Rankings and the AP Poll. Though the Cougars boast a 3-point percentage of 37.1(second in the Big 12), and a seemingly high-powered offense- scoring 87.1 points per game- the team ranks 241/362 in strength of schedule and 309/362 in non-conference strength of schedule. Don’t have this team making it far in your brackets, whether in March Madness or in the Big 12 Tournament.