The Sock 'Em, Bust 'Em Board Because that's our custom

Seventh almost heaven

July 14, 2016 by Mike Casazza

First off, that’s a cool way to reveal the poll. Second, West Virginia finished seventh in the poll. Thirdly, what a poll.

Let’s begin with the Mountaineers and forget all that chatter about indicators. They’ve now finished second, eighth, eighth, sixth and seventh in the poll. But again, this is a weird poll.

For starters, there were just 26 voters. (Disclosure: I did not vote.) There have been 41, 43, 56 and 42 before. How many Texas schools are there? Ooookaaaay.

If you’re hung up on No. 7, consider that Baylor, which finished fourth, received 156 points. WVU received 126. That’s 30 points, and when a fourth-place vote is worth seven points and a seventh-place vote is worth four — and when Baylor quite likely had a lot of thirds and lot of sixth, or some wide variance — that’s not a lot of points.

It reminds me of the 2013 poll, when six teams got a first-place vote and the top four spots were separated by 28 points.

This year, Oklahoma is the runaway favorite with 24 first-place votes and two second-place votes. The other two first-place votes went to TCU. That’s the largest percentage of first-place votes since WVU has been a member, and it’s earned when you consider Oklahoma’s roster and the rest of the league’s levels of transition, from TCU (no more game-changing from Boykin) to Kansas (still Kansas).

I thought there was a chance this could have been unanimous, but I also can’t imagine a preseason poll outside of UConn women’s hoops being unanimous. I’m also a little surprised TCU is a clear second and that Oklahoma State wasn’t closer.

Speaking of Kansas and large percentages, the Jayhawks got the last-place vote on 25 of 26 ballots, which is miserable. They have to go 0-9. Pity the team and coach that makes it 1-8. And staying within the Sunflower State borders, Kansas State cozily finished in eighth place, the lowest the Wildcats have finished in WVU’s time in the league. They’re 38 points behind the Mountaineers and 29 ahead of Iowa State.

More and more, it’s difficult to envision 2016 being successful for the Mountaineers if they don’t beat Bill Snyder in the Big 12 opener for both schools.