Five of the top-10 teams in CB360 exclusive Composite National Rankings (CNR) have remained in their same spots from the previous week, but there’s plenty of movement in the bottom of the CB360 top-50 – with eight teams entering/re-entering the top-50.
The top-3 teams (Florida, Vanderbilt and Oklahoma) remain unchanged in the CNR, while current #4 South Carolina, #5 Florida State and #6 Arizona State all have bumped up one position. Cal State Fullerton (#10 to #7) made the biggest jump within the top-10 while #8 Clemson and #9 TCU holds the same spots as the previous week. UCLA – after dropping a classic series at Nebraska (all three games went to extra-innings – has plunged from #4 to #10, two weeks removed from holding the top position in the CB360 Composite National Rankings.
The CNR’s current top-10 includes the same conference breakdown as the previous week, led by three Southeastern Conference teams, plus two teams each from the ACC and Pac-10 conferences.
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 a small potential bonus, based on preseason projected strength-of-schedule.
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-4)
SEC (9 … 3 top-10, 6 top-25) – #1 Florida, #2 Vanderbilt, #4 South Carolina, #13 LSU, #21 Auburn, #22 Arkansas, #37 Mississippi, #47 Mississippi State & #48 Alabama
Big 12 (8 … 1 top-10, 3 top-25) – #3 Oklahoma, #12 Texas, #17 Texas A&M, #30 Baylor, #34 Nebraska, #38 Oklahoma State, #39 Kansas State & #50 Texas Tech
Pacific-10 (7… 2 top-10, 5 top-25) – #6 Arizona State, #10 UCLA, #15 Stanford, #14 Arizona, #24 California, #27 Oregon & #36 Oregon State
ACC (7 … 2 top-10, 5 top-25) – #5 Florida State, #8 Clemson, #11 Virginia, #16 North Carolina, #20 Georgia Tech, #42 Duke #46 Miami
Big West (3 … 2 top-25) – #7 Cal State Fullerton, #23 UC Irvine & #40 Long Beach State
Conference USA (3 … 1 top-25) – #18 Rice, #31 Tulame & #41 UCF
2 Each –BIG EAST (#25 Louisville & #28 Connecticut) … Missouri Valley (#29 Wichita State & #42 Creighton) … Sunbelt (#44 Troy & #49 Florida International)
1 Each – Atlantic-10 (#45 Charlotte) … Big South (#32 Coastal Carolina) … Colonial (#33 James Madison) … Independent (#35 Cal State Bakersfield) … Mountain West (#9 TCU) … Southern (#26 College of Charleston) … Western Athletic (#19 Fresno State)
BIGGEST JUMPS IN THE CNR – James Madison #47 to #33 … Long Beach State #49 to #40 … Kansas State #46 to #39 … Oklahoma State #44 to #38
BIGGEST DROPS IN THE CNR – Miami #19 to #46 .. Oregon #16 to #27 … Alabama #39 to #48
NEWCOMERS/RETURNERS TO THE CNR – #31 Tulane … #34 Nebraska … #35 Cal State Bakersfield … #42 Duke .. #42 Creighton … #44 Troy … #47 Mississippi State … #49 Florida International (Tulane and Troy were in the top-50 earlier this season)
DROPPED OUT OF THE CNR TOP-50 – #33 San Jose State … #34 Southeastern Louisiana … #36 Washington State … #40 Virginia Tech … #41 Southern Mississippi … #42 LMU … #48 St. John’s … #50 East Carolina
College Baseball 2011 Composite National Rankings #4 (CNR)
courtesy of CollegeBaseball360.com; March 8, 2011
| RANK | TEAM | POINTS | March 1 | Feb. 22 | 2011 Preseason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida | 98.64 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 2 | Vanderbilt | 97.09 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 3 | Oklahoma | 95.39 | 3 | 5 | 5 |
| 4 | South Carolina | 93.22 | 5 | 7 | 9 |
| 5 | Florida State | 91.80 | 6 | 10 | 12 |
| 6 | Arizona State | 90.36 | 7 | 8 | 10 |
| 7 | Cal State Fullerton | 90.32 | 10 | 11 | 8 |
| 8 | Clemson | 90.04 | 8 | 9 | 7 |
| 9 | TCU | 89.60 | 9 | 4 | 3 |
| 10 | UCLA | 88.57 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 11 | Virginia | 88.16 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| 12 | Texas | 87.59 | 11 | 6 | 6 |
| 13 | LSU | 85.65 | 14 | 16 | 19 |
| 14 | Arizona | 84.17 | 17 | 17 | 18 |
| 15 | Stanford | 84.06 | 12 | 12 | 13 |
| 16 | North Carolina | 80.44 | 21 | 23 | 30 |
| 17 | Texas A&M | 80.13 | 15 | 15 | 14 |
| 18 | Rice | 77.79 | 18 | 18 | 17 |
| 19 | Fresno State | 75.81 | 19 | 31 | 32 |
| 20 | Georgia Tech | 73.49 | 25 | 24 | 23 |
| 21 | Auburn | 70.07 | 23 | 22 | 22 |
| 22 | Arkansas | 66.10 | 26 | 27 | 29 |
| 23 | UC Irvine | 64.01 | 22 | 28 | 28 |
| 24 | California | 63.43 | 20 | 26 | 24 |
| 25 | Louisville | 62.15 | 30 | 25 | 27 |
| 26 | College of Charleston | 61.44 | 27 | 29 | 26 |
| 27 | Oregon | 60.90 | 16 | 13 | 11 |
| 28 | Connecticut | 59.68 | 28 | 20 | 16 |
| 29 | Wichita State | 59.46 | 29 | 33 | 33 |
| 30 | Baylor | 56.43 | 31 | 30 | 25 |
| 31 | Tulane | 54.66 | 41 | 38 | |
| 32 | Coastal Carolina | 52.73 | 35 | 21 | 21 |
| 33 | James Madison | 51.17 | 47 | 47 | – |
| 34 | Nebraska | 49.50 | - | - | - |
| 35 | Cal State Bakersfield | 47.97 | - | - | - |
| 36 | Oregon State | 45.21 | 38 | 39 | 44 |
| 37 | Mississippi | 44.71 | 32 | 38 | 43 |
| 38 | Oklahoma State | 44.28 | 44 | ||
| 39 | Kansas State | 43.29 | 46 | 42 | 40 |
| 40 | Long Beach State | 42.33 | 49 | 43 | – |
| 41 | Central Florida | 42.18 | 43 | 45 | 47 |
| 42 | Duke | 41.87 | - | - | - |
| 42 | Creighton | 41.87 | - | - | - |
| 44 | Troy | 41.55 | 47 | – | |
| 45 | Charlotte | 41.23 | 45 | 47 | – |
| 46 | Miami | 41.20 | 24 | 19 | 20 |
| 47 | Mississippi State | 40.81 | - | - | - |
| 48 | Alabama | 40.42 | 39 | 34 | 37 |
| 49 | Florida International | 40.41 | - | - | - |
| 50 | Texas Tech | 40.18 | 37 | - | - |
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, teams will be awarded CNR points based on their respective seedings, “last in” and “last out,” etc.
Currently, the six polls listed below are averaged, with a maximum of 3.0 points able to be added based on projected strength-of-schedule (37 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 through 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)
• Nat’l Collegiate Baseball Writers poll
• Baseball America poll
• Colllegiate Baseball magazine rankings
• Perfect Game rankings
• College Baseball Lineup rankings
• Boyds World Projected Strength-of-Schedule