Several teams wrapped up their non-conference schedules this past week, including the entire Big Ten.
That is really why I started keeping track of these standings a few years ago. As a power conference like that starts playing internally, it’s easy to lose sight of where they stand relative to others. The Patriot League is already showing how much they love beating each other regardless of who “should” win.
Without much further ado, let’s take a look!
|
Conference |
Record |
% |
+/- |
|
Big Ten |
38-14 |
0.731 |
0.042 |
|
ACC |
27-11 |
0.711 |
-0.047 |
|
Big East |
31-16 |
0.660 |
-0.015 |
|
Ivy League |
24-16 |
0.600 |
0.000 |
|
Patriot |
23-19 |
0.548 |
-0.020 |
|
America East |
23-24 |
0.489 |
0.012 |
|
NEC |
22-25 |
0.468 |
0.024 |
|
CAA |
22-29 |
0.431 |
-0.010 |
|
MAAC |
16-30 |
0.348 |
-0.024 |
|
SoCon |
12-36 |
0.250 |
0.000 |
|
Independent |
4-23 |
0.148 |
-0.026 |
We have a new winner! The Big Ten had been climbing for the past few weeks, but this week finally put them over the top. They went 6-1 for the week, while the ACC was 2-3 and the Big East was 3-1. Let’s take a closer look at what put the Big Ten over the top.
Their seven out of conference games were as follows:
- Hopkins over UVA
- Rutgers over Delaware
- Michigan over Notre Dame and UMBC
- Maryland over UNC
- Penn State over Cleveland State
- Ohio State loses to Notre Dame
The Ohio State loss and Michigan win essentially cancel each other out for the Big Ten/ACC comparison. That gives us a net of 5 wins, no losses for the Big Ten, and 1 win with 2 losses for the ACC. Both of those remaining losses by the ACC were to Big Ten schools (Hopkins and Maryland). The only remaining non-conference win for the ACC was UVA over Dartmouth.
Since the Ivy is a non-factor for this comparison right now, that win helps very little much like Rutgers’ win over Delaware and Michigan over UMBC. They’re helpful only in that they’re positive, but they do not “steal” a win from the ACC or Big East.
With the Big Ten going 3-1 vs. the ACC, that hurts the ACC more than it helped the Big Ten due to the number of games. Before this week, the Big Ten was 32-13 (.711) while the ACC was 25-8 (.758). That 3-1 record put the Big Ten up to only .714 from .711 while dropping the ACC to .703 from .758. Much bigger hit. Had those games been completely reversed, the ACC would have increased their lead at the top by going from .758 to .757 (yes, the percent dropped), because the Big Ten would have dropped to .673 from .711. But, that’s not what happened. And where do we go from here?
With the Big Ten now done with out of conference play, it’s up to the Big East and ACC to try to leapfrog them. What would that take for each?
ACC
UNC has no non-conference games left. UVA has 3, Duke 2, Syracuse 4, and Notre Dame has 2. If they manage to win all 11 of those games, they will go to .776 and likely be in first place. But, they can only afford to lose 2 games.
At two losses, they go to .735 (.004 above the Big Ten), and at three, they hit .714 (.017 below). The toughest one is Syracuse with Cornell left, but not many of the games left are gimmes. Most like Colgate, Marquette, and Army are all capable of an upset.
Big East
Marquette has two non-conference games left, both against the ACC. Villanova none, Denver none, St. John’s one, Providence one, and Georgetown with two. If they win all six of those games, they cap out at .698. They can’t catch the Big Ten, but could jump over a four loss or greater ACC to claim second.
So that sets the table for the month of April, which starts this weekend. All eyes are on the ACC with very little room for error. Let’s see what they can do!
