In his first year at Indiana, Kelvin Sampson has his team playing well. The Hoosiers are 11-4, a respectable record given their tough schedule. Indiana's four losses are to Butler, Duke, Kentucky and Ohio State, and all four games were close, with the seven-point loss to the Buckeyes their largest margin of defeat. Meanwhile, the Hoosiers have beaten some good teams, including Indiana State, Southern Illinois and Michigan State. By any objective measure, the Hoosiers are a good team. The stat guru Ken Pomeroy ranks them as the ninth-best team in the country. Jeff Sagarin ranks them 22nd. Bracketology says they'd be a 6 seed if the tournament started right now.
And yet in the AP poll, just one voter included the Hoosiers on his ballot. That one was Terry Hutchens of the Indianapolis Star, meaning if the home-town guy hadn't chosen the home-town team, Indiana would have been totally shut out of the AP poll.
It really doesn't matter, of course. In basketball, no one really cares about the AP poll because they decide the champion on the court in March, and voters don't have any say in the matter. But it's surprising that a high-profile program having such a good season gets no credit at all from the media outside its own state.
Why New England Town Wants $286,000 Police 'Tank'
Congress Agrees On Payroll Tax Cut, Unemployment Extension
House Dems Walk Out Of Birth Control Hearing
Most Inmates In Honduras Prison Fire Were Not Convicted
'Colbert Report' Abruptly Suspends Production For The Week
WATCH: Fox News Host Makes Shocking Comment About Black Rep.
Pelosi Rips GOP Over Birth Control: I May Be "Moved To Explain Biology To My Colleagues"
Apple Lifts The Veil On Gorgeous New OS X
WATCH: CNN Contributor Compares Sarah Palin To Snooki
RECOVERING THE RECOVERY: A Good Sign For American Jobs
Local Fishers Deliver Invasive Potomac River Menace To Legendary Manhattan Eatery
Steel Beams Crash 40 Stories At WTC Construction Site
Deanna Fei: ASIAN MEN CAN JUMP
The Most Expensive City In The World Is...
Scott Brown: Elizabeth Warren Has Assumed The 'Mantle Of Oppressor'
Putin's First Ride Fail
Allen West Accuses Dems Of Pursuing 'Insidious Form Of Slavery'
Oklahoma Senate Approves 'Personhood' Bill
A Tale Of Dual Tracking: Trying To Modify A Loan As Bank Forecloses
WATCH: Trita Parsi Says There's No 'Military Solution' In Iran Nuclear Standoff
Waters: Boehner And Cantor Are 'Demons'
Relintless: Knicks Run Winning Streak To Seven Games
National Group Seeks To Shape Walker Recall Contest
Jimmy Carter Casts Movement As 'Relatively Successful'
Actress In Controversial China Political Ad Apologizes
