After an embarrassing loss on Thursday at Minnesota, which hadn’t won since Dec. 16, Maryland ended a two-game slide with an 86-82 win over Michigan on Sunday at Xfinity Center.
Just filed my AP top 25 ballot - left Maryland out entirely. Didn't plan to. But there are 25 teams more deserving, playing better hoops.
— Graham Couch (@Graham_Couch) February 22, 2016
“I never sit there and think, ‘I’m going to make a point of this team this week,'” Couch said Monday of his voting methodology.
When Couch fills out his ballot each week, he looks at his own ballot from the previous week, not the actual top 25. He then creates a series of lists based on that week’s results of teams that should probably move up, teams that should probably move down and teams that should probably move out. Depending on how much he’s seen of a team, he’ll use RPI or KenPom research to inform his rankings. Recent performance matters. While Maryland wasn’t on Couch’s original ‘moving out’ list, the Terps, who were No. 12 on his ballot last week, ultimately didn’t make the cut.
That didn’t sit well with some Maryland fans, despite the fact that college basketball polls are mostly meaningless. Couch, who in January wrote a column explaining why he was the only voter to vote Oklahoma No. 1 after the Sooners’s triple-overtime loss at Kansas, doesn’t shy away from the criticism, including from those who suggest he’s a Michigan State homer.
“That’s just who fans are,” Couch said. “It’s amazing how personal they take it.”
One team is playing terrific & unified hoops. The other is a talented, dysfunctional mess many nights. https://t.co/Qm9XUk5sXN
— Graham Couch (@Graham_Couch) February 22, 2016
Yep. Maryland isn't the best team in the Big Ten - I'd put Iowa, MSU, Indiana, Purdue and Wisconsin ahead of them. https://t.co/WnNpLgxVSM
— Graham Couch (@Graham_Couch) February 22, 2016
Um, or the opposite. Overrated much of the season by folks not watching the Terps play. https://t.co/hMjp6yOMVb
— Graham Couch (@Graham_Couch) February 22, 2016
On Sunday, Couch engaged in a friendly back-and-forth with ESPN anchor and Maryland fan Scott Van Pelt.
@notthefakeSVP Double-digit home loss to Badgers, too, struggled to put away U-M, NW at home. Minnesota worse than Penn State.
— Graham Couch (@Graham_Couch) February 22, 2016
@Graham_Couch "I think there are 25 teams better than the team tied for second in the B1G." That's what you're saying. Ok. Cool.
— Scott Van Pelt (@notthefakeSVP) February 22, 2016
@Graham_Couch Thank goodness the standings are based on outcomes of games not Graham's quality of play paradigm.
— Scott Van Pelt (@notthefakeSVP) February 22, 2016
@Graham_Couch @notthefakeSVP Come on Graham if there r 25 better teams than the Terps we r very lucky in college hoops
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) February 22, 2016
Like many pundits, Couch was extremely high on Maryland in November. He voted the Terps No. 1 in the preseason poll and ranked them higher than their actual ranking in eight of the next 11 weeks. After Maryland’s loss to Wisconsin, Couch dropped the Terps from No. 3 to No. 12 in last week’s poll, the lowest ranking of Maryland by any voter.
“I’ve always thought they’re maybe the most athletically gifted team in the Big Ten, but they just don’t seem to fit each other,” said Couch, who has watched quite a bit of Maryland this season. “… You just kind of gave them a pass early on. I watched the Northwestern game [a 62-56 Maryland overtime win] at home and thought, ‘this team is not playing well.’ Sometimes you have teams that for whatever reason don’t really work. I think I maybe overrated them a little bit until they proved me wrong.”
Don't fret, Maryland fans - other AP voters haven't seen your team play much. Terps at No. 10 in the poll. MSU 6, Iowa 8, IU 18, Purdue 20.
— Graham Couch (@Graham_Couch) February 22, 2016
Maryland could still figure things out — and jump back into Couch’s top 25 — but they haven’t looked like a top 10 team for a while now.
“I could easily see them get bumped in a 4-13 matchup right away, but I’ve also seen teams get it together in March,” Couch said. “They have a whole lot of talent, but usually in late February when you’re struggling like this, it’s not an ideal sign.”