CB360 Composite National Rankings #5 (full update)

March 16, 2011
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With full conference play around the corner, the SEC steadily is emerging as the clearcut leader among the nation’s college baseball conferences. SEC teams hold down four of the top-7 spots – #1 Florida, #2 Vanderbilt, #5 South Carolina and #7 LSU – in the most-recent update of CB360’s exlusive Composite Natonal Rankings. front-page photo courtesy of LSU

Florida and Vanderbilt also were 1-2 in the CNR the previous week, while SC has slipped back one position and LSU moved up six spots (from #13) after an impressive sweep of Cal State Fullerton. Elsewhere in the top-10: Oklahoma dropped from #3 to #6 (after a loss to Arkansas-Little Rock) … Florida State bumped up from #5 to #3 … Arizona State dropped from #6 to #8 … Fullerton dropped from #7 to #11 … current #9 Clemson fell one spot … and #9 TCU slipped outside the top-10 (#12). In addition to LSU, Virginia has cracked the top-10 (rising from #11 all the way to #4) while Texas is back in the top-10 (after moving up two spots from #12).

We’re only one month into the 2011 season, but nearly all of the SEC’s 12 teams already have spent at least one week in the CB360 top-50 (all but Kentucky).

The CNR formula now includes Boyd Nation’s “Pseudo-RPI” (with the BN preseason predicted strength-of-schedule dropping out of the criteria). Note that other RPI-type factors (BN’s Iterative Strength Ratings, Warren Nolan RPI and NRPI, and even the official NCAA RPI) will be phased into the CNR formula over the next few weeks (RPI numbers will become more accurate/useful as the sample of games continues to grow).

CLICK HERE & then scroll down for previous CNR releases

The CNR’s current top-10 includes the four SEC teams, plus three from the ACC, a pair of Big 12 teams and the Pac-10’s ASU.

The CNR’s all-inclusive ranking formula – which will expand significantly as the season progresses (adding RPI/power rankings, NCAA projections, etc.) – currently includes seven different “ingredients:” six national polls (coaches, writers, BA, CB, Perfect Game, & CBL) and the aforementioned Boyd’s Nation Pseudo RPI.

Scroll to end of release for detailed description of the CNR, including direct links to current criteria.

CNR Contact: Pete LaFleur (pete@collegebaseball360.com)

CNR TOP-50 CONFERENCE BREAKDOWN (week-5)
SEC (9 … 4 top-10, 5 top-25) – #1 Florida, #2 Vanderbilt, #5 South Carolina, #7 LSU, #18 Arkansas, #27 Auburn, #32 Mississippi, #47 Tennessee & #50 Georgia
Pacific-10 (7… 1 top-10, 5 top-25) – #8 Arizona State, #16 Arizona, #17 Stanford, #21 UCLA, #23 California, #30 Oregon State & #35 Oregon
Big 12 (6 … 2 top-10, 4 top-25) – #6 Oklahoma, #10 Texas, #13 Texas A&M, #20 Baylor, #40 Oklahoma State & #44 Kansas State
ACC (5 … 3 top-10, 5 top-25) – #3 Florida State, #4 Virginia, #9 Clemson, #15 North Carolina & #19 Georgia Tech
Conference USA (5 … 1 top-25) – #22 Tulane, #24 Rice, #38 Southern Mississippi, #42 East Carolina & #46 UCF
2 Each – Atlantic Sun (#37 Stetson & #39 East Tennessee) … BIG EAST (#28 Louisville & #29 Connecticut) … Big West (#11 Cal State Fullerton & #26 UC Irvine) … Mountain West (#12 TCU & #43 UNLV) … Southern (#25 College of Charleston & #48 Elon) … Southland (#34 Southeastern Louisiana & #41 Texas State)
1 Each – Big South (#31 Coastal Carolina) … Big Ten (#49 Michigan State) … Colonial (#45 James Madison) … Missouri Valley (#36 Wichita State)  … Sunbelt (#33 Troy) … Western Athletic (#14 Fresno State)

BIGGEST JUMPS IN THE CNR – Troy #44 to #33 … Baylor #30 to #20 … Tulane #31 to #22 … Oregon State #36 to #30

NEWCOMERS/RETURNERS TO THE CNR – #34 Southeastern Louisiana … #37 Stetson … #38 Southern Mississippi … #39 East Tennessee State … #41 Texas State … #42 East Carolina … #43 UNLV … #47 Tennessee … #48 Elon … #49 Michigan State … #50 Georgia (SE-La., So. Miss and ECU were top-50 teams earlier this season)

DROPPED OUT OF THE CNR TOP-50 – #34 Nebraska … #35 Cal State Bakersfield … #40 Long Beach State … #42 Duke … #42 Creighton … #45 Charlotte … #46 Miami … #47 Mississippi State … #48 Alabama … #49 Florida International … #50 Teas Tech

BIGGEST DROPS IN THE CNR – James Madison #33 to #45 … Oregon #27 to #35 … Wichita #29 to #36 … Rice #18 to #24 … Auburn #21 to #27

College Baseball 2011 Composite National Rankings #5 (CNR)
courtesy of CollegeBaseball360.com;  March 15, 2011

RANKTEAMPOINTSWeek-3Week-2Week-12011 Preseason
1Florida99.411122
2Vanderbilt95.802234
3Florida State95.62561012
4Virginia95.0711131415
5South Carolina94.784579
6Oklahoma93.933355
7LSU92.4313141619
8Arizona State89.0467810
9Clemson85.608897
10Texas84.03121166
11Cal State Fullerton83.69710118
12TCU83.449943
13Texas A&M82.5617151514
14Fresno State81.5419193132
15North Carolina81.1016212330
16Arizona80.9714171718
17Stanford79.4915121213
18Arkansas79.3622262729
19Georgia Tech79.1920252423
20Baylor76.2530313025
21UCLA76.0910411
22Tulane75.4031-4138
23California71.1124202624
24Rice69.0318181817
25College of Charleston65.9126272926
26UC Irvine65.8823222828
27Auburn65.7321232222
28Louisville62.7625302527
29Connecticut59.8528282016
30Oregon State56.2936383944
31Coastal Carolina55.7632352121
32Mississippi53.9037323843
33Troy52.8544-47
34Southeastern Louisiana51.36-34--
35Oregon50.9627161311
36Wichita State50.7729293333
37Stetson49.73----
38Southern Mississippi49.25414546
39East Tennessee48.59----
40Oklahoma State48.443844
41Texas State----
42East Carolina48.35-5047
43UNLV46.39----
44Kansas State46.0139464240
45James Madison45.57334747
45Central Florida45.5741434547
47Tennessee44.97----
48Elon44.70----
49Michigan State44.53----
50Georgia44.15----

COMPOSITE NATIONAL RANKINGS (CNR) CRITERIA:CB360′s 100-point Composite National Rankings formula currently is centered around seven core ingredients but in upcoming weeks will include upwards of 20 different factors – ultimately combining a diverse collection of “experts” (ranging from coaches, various media, computer calculations and projections) – to help provide a preview of teams that could be in the running for the 2011 NCAA Championship field (hypothetically 50 teams, plus 14 others from lower-rated automatic-bid conferences – those teams will be projected in upcoming CNR updates).

Teams receive points based on their standings in each poll/rating/projection (60 pts for #1; 59 for #2, etc.). For polls involving voting points (coaches and CB) and the RPI ratings, the CNR adjusts to reward teams that have larger margins in the voting/point totals (whereas two teams with nearly the same voting-point total will be closer in the CNR allotment for that poll). Note that strength-of-schedule typically is factored into RPI formulations … thus the actual SOS numbers are not used in the CNR when RPI already are in the mix. For the NCAA field projections used later in the season, teams will be awarded CNR points based on their respective seedings, “last in” and “last out,” etc.

Currently, the seven polls/ratings listed below are averaged, with 40 points then are added to each total in order to yield the 100-point benchmark. The CB360 Composite National Rankings will add factors to the formula throughout the 2011 season, with the additions to include various RPI/power rankings, NCAA Tournament projections and a late-season bonus/penalty for record over the past-10 games.

Here are links to the seven criteria currently used in the CNR:
• National Coaches Poll (USA Today/ESPN)
• National Collegiate Baseball Writers poll
• Baseball America poll
• Colllegiate Baseball magazine rankings
• Perfect Game rankings
• College Baseball Lineup rankings
• Boyd’s World “Pseudo-RPI” (this page updated daily)

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