Wichita State is back in the national rankings, and you can see both polls here. The AP writers get the Shockers more than the coaches, and that doesn’t surprise me. I think AP voters had a chance to watch WSU play on Saturday and those who didn’t read about it on Twitter and national Internet sites. Coaches are less likely to be influenced by those factors, probably because they have games to play or prepare for on Saturday.
If you watched WSU dismantle a pretty good team, you saw a team that passes the top 25 eye test. If you look at the score on Sunday, and consider Creighton’s slump, you might not be so taken. On Feb. 6, WSU was ranked on 13 ballots, none higher than No. 18.
After beating Creighton, WSU appeared on 52 ballots, as high as No. 12 on one, and on 12 in the top 20. Clearly, playing so well on ESPN2, with national media members such as Seth Davis and Jason King praising the Shockers, helped a lot.
It’s not a huge disparity (No. 24 in the AP poll and No. 26 in the coaches), so it’s not as if the coaches are ignoring the Shockers. The coaches rank Murray State and Saint Mary’s higher than the writers, so it’s hard to scream about a BCS bias.
Some Shocker AP poll trivia:
- First appearance: No. 11 (tie), Jan. 12, 1954
- Highest rank: No. 1, Dec. 15, 1964
- Total weeks ranked: 80
- Most weeks ranked one season: 12 (1964-65)