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The final AP poll of the season was stupid, just like the rest of them

There is almost no correlation between a team's ranking and it's actual ability, as illustrated by Murray State's rise and fall.

By Joel D
Don't worry Cam *throws on shades* I feel your Payne *YEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH*
Don't worry Cam *throws on shades* I feel your Payne *YEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH*
Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

Here is the final AP poll before Selection Sunday:

AP Top 25

Rank School Record Points Prev
1 Kentucky Wildcats (65) 31-0 1,625 1
2 Duke Blue Devils 28-3 1,544 3
3 Virginia Cavaliers 28-2 1,454 2
4 Villanova Wildcats 29-2 1,444 4
5 Arizona Wildcats 28-3 1,360 5
6 Wisconsin Badgers 28-3 1,344 6
7 Gonzaga Bulldogs 30-2 1,229 7
8 Maryland Terrapins 26-5 1,103 10
9 Kansas Jayhawks 24-7 1,040 9
10 Northern Iowa Panthers 30-3 1,037 11
11 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 26-5 1,026 12
12 Wichita State Shockers 28-4 797 8
13 Iowa State Cyclones 22-8 786 17
14 Louisville Cardinals 24-7 780 16
15 Oklahoma Sooners 21-9 772 15
16 Baylor Bears 23-8 701 14
17 Utah Utes 23-7 587 13
18 West Virginia Mountaineers 23-8 525 20
19 North Carolina Tar Heels 21-10 406 19
20 SMU Mustangs 24-6 339 22
21 Arkansas Razorbacks 24-7 300 18
22 Butler Bulldogs 22-9 287 21
23 Georgetown Hoyas 20-9 223 33
24 Davidson Wildcats 23-6 99 32
25 Boise State Broncos 24-7 82 27
Others receiving votes: Oregon 69, Providence 63, Ohio State 40, BYU 18, Michigan St 15, LSU 8, Iowa 7, St. John's 6, San Diego St 3, Stephen F. Austin 2, Valparaiso 1, Dayton 1, North Florida 1, Purdue 1

Last week, 28 voters thought Murray State was one of the 25 best teams in the nation. Then they lost by one point to Belmont, while playing away from home, on a shot that was so ridiculously conceived and so improbably executed that it beggars belief. Check it out:

A fadeaway three from two steps behind the arc so hotly contested that the shooter seemingly released it from behind his head is the difference between the NCAAs and the NIT for Murray State. It's also the difference from having nearly half the AP voters rank you - some as high as 19th - to not pulling a single vote. That one shot dropped Murray State from 25th to somewhere below the 39 teams that received at least one vote in the latest poll.

If that shot rims out, they're still ranked. If that's not enough to convince you that the polls are not just meaningless but probably actively counterproductive, I'm not sure what is. There are dozens of better ways to judge teams than the AP poll; it's time we take this anachronistic device out behind the shed and do the decent thing.

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