'Sometimes KenPom Is Full Of Shit' - Kevin Willard Had Enough Of Analytics And Facts Trying To Tell Him Maryland Is Playing A Bunch Of Nobodies
Ah, yes. A time old tradition where a grumpy college basketball coach takes it out on these analytic nerds - at least in their eyes. It is funny that he uses Manhattan beating Fordham. I mean, hey, any time you can brag about the 167th ranked team (who beat his old team) you gotta do it. Might as well bring up that Manhattan also lost to FDU. I'm sure that just slipped his mind though.
I get it though. It's a big year for Kevin Willard. He has to win. He has Derik Queen and people expect an NCAA Tournament and even a win. Not sure why looking at his record, but that's what people are expecting. But we can also look at facts here. Maryland has played Manhattan, Mount St. Mary's, Marquette, Canisius and Florida A&M so far. They lost to the one good team they've played. They lost to the one team that people know of so far. Oh and the rest of their nonconference? Powerhouses like Bucknell, Alcorn State, Saint Francis and Maryland Eastern Shore. Sure, they have Nova - the same Nova where we have a pool of when Kyle Neptune is getting fired. He's getting fired March 17th by the way:
The other nonconference game is Syracuse. Fine, whatever there. The fact is KenPom has their schedule ranked as 344th in the country. Those are just facts. You can justify playing these teams, you want some easy wins and can run up the score to help your NET. But everyone in the world agrees Maryland is playing nobodies. This isn't Archie Miller or someone like that attacking Joe Lunardi's bracketology like we've seen. These are just facts. You can't come out sounding like Mac in It's Always Sunny calling science is a liar, sometimes.