The Vitale Cup: Bleacher Report leads at the final turn
With only two weeks left before the final AP Top 25 is released the Vitale Cup standings have undergone a major shakeup. VCU and UCLA entering the top 25 caused some movement, as did Creighton and Minnesota moving into the 'also receiving votes' category. The contest has been led by Jon Rothstein and NBC Sports since the initial release a month ago, but now Bleacher Report takes over, with Mike DeCourcy of the Sporting News just a point back.
As a reminder, this is a contest to see who had the worst pre-season top 25 prediction. Points are awarded for each correct team predicted in the pre-season. Additional points are awarded for accuracy. Points are subtracted for incorrect predictions, and further damage is done on teams who are not only out of the poll, but also out of the 'also receiving votes' category. The worst score wins the Vitale Cup. And it's called the Vitale Cup because he represents the spirit of the competition. The lesson we should all learn from Vitale is that you should combine your expertise and your passion, but do it without taking yourself so seriously.
Regardless, heading into the homestretch, here is where we stand:
| Points | |
| b/r | 11 |
| Mike DeCourcy | 12 |
| CBS Sports | 12 |
| Jon Rothstein | 13 |
| Dick Vitale | 13 |
| NBC Sports | 14 |
| Yahoo! | 14 |
| Rush the Court | 14 |
| Blue Ribbon | 14 |
| Sheridan Hoops | 15 |
| ESPN | 15 |
| SB Nation | 15 |
| Midwest Sports Fans | 17 |
| Run the Floor | 17 |
| Sports Illustrated | 21 |
| Team Rankings | 28 |
@ULhothot That's a hilariously cynical exercise. "Here's who's worst at predicting what would happen with teams they hadn't seen! BURN."
@ULhothot Forde once interviewed me for a column about the AP poll when I was a voter and that's basically what I said.
@BDawsonRivals I will say, it doesn't surprise me b/r, DeCourcy, Rothstein & Vitale are leading the poor preseason prediction pack.
@BDawsonRivals Exactly why I love it. I bet there's certain trends if we looked at some folks' preseason rankings over a larger sample size.
