Fansided

5 college basketball takeaways: Mick Cronin is angry

By Joseph Nardone

CINCINNATI, OH - JANUARY 29: Mick Cronin, head coach of the University of Cincinnati Bearcats, reacts to a call during the first half of the game against the University of South Florida at Fifth Third Arena on January 29, 2017 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Bobby Ellis/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH - JANUARY 29: Mick Cronin, head coach of the University of Cincinnati Bearcats, reacts to a call during the first half of the game against the University of South Florida at Fifth Third Arena on January 29, 2017 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Bobby Ellis/Getty Images) /
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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – MARCH 19: Head coach Gregg Marshall of the Wichita State Shockers reacts in the second half against the Kentucky Wildcats during the second round of the 2017 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse on March 19, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – MARCH 19: Head coach Gregg Marshall of the Wichita State Shockers reacts in the second half against the Kentucky Wildcats during the second round of the 2017 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse on March 19, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Data Hungry People Are Thrilled

Wichita State is the unofficial team of advanced-stats nerds. KenPom loves them on an annual basis, college basketball writers have to change their undergarments each time the program is brought up, and the switch to the AAC has a chance to solidify the program as one of the legit big boys of shooty hoops.

Heading into this season, there was a pocket of media members who believed the Shockers to be one of the four or five best teams in the country. This was largely based off data, and many were shoehorned into those projections even after Wichita State loss to Notre Dame while being without a (then) too brutal non-conference schedule (Marquette and Cal are NOT good wins).

Those people are currently thrilled that the Baylor Bears Baylor’ed all over itself on Saturday. In what was not an entertaining game, outside of the score being close, the Shockers were able to escape with a victory.

In turn, through magic I suppose, this is meant to legitimize the claims of Wichita State being a top-5 team in the country. That beating a Baylor team, that lost to Xavier the game before, proves all the experts right well before the fatman breaks in our houses to leave us presents.

Aside: What a creepy tradition we celebrate. Who thought it was cool to celebrate and old white men breaking into the house of children to give them presents? In context, doesn’t that sounds worse than a van outside a school? Santa doesn’t even need to lure children anywhere. He literally comes to them.

Eh, I digress.

Let me be clear: I, too, believe Wichita State to be one of the better teams in the country. At the same time, I believe Baylor to be slightly overrated and refuse to use a single game in early December to announce the Shockers as having arrived.

With only a surprisingly impressive Oklahoma Sooners team left before Gregg Marshall leads his players against a weirdly misshaped in strength AAC schedule, Wichita State should finish this season with yet another impressive win-loss record.

Oddly enough, what the move to the AAC was meant to fix, might remain an issue. We might hit March asking the same question we’ve asked of the program for the last six years — who, exactly, did they beat?