Rankings are a measuring tool for the selection commitee. You see their are about 32 automatic qualifiers and about 32 play-in “at large” qualifiers. If you are within the top 25 and are from a BCS conference you are going to get an invite to the field of 64.

Other then that not so much, but if you are a member of a BCS conference and you don’t win your league, then surely being ranked in the top 25 is the evening gown or swimsuit in a high stakes invitation to the party. College football is the ultimate beauty contest, but don’t think for a second that college basketball ins’t either with the way they select teams for the field of 64. They don’t always go with the best 64, sometimes they go with the contestent who sports the best evening gown or looks rock solid in the bathing suite.

I’m not going to sweat the basketball rankings right now. The rest of the country is understandably skeptical of the Huskies after the last 2 years, the loss to Portland to start the season and the clown-stomping at the hands of Kansas.

If the Huskies are a legit top-25 team, they’ll keep winning and moving up in the polls. The ranking to worry about is RPI, as that will be far more influential on getting into the tournament and if so, how high we’re seeded.

… is all about perception. The Big 10, particularly Penn State, Ohio State, and Michigan will get the approval rating regardless if they’ve earned it on the field. Your argument is based on everything I just said. Yes it’s wrong, but what are you going to do about it? People want to see Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, USC, Ucla, Washington, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Texas, Florida State, Miami, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, and LSU prosper. When these programs are good then everybody tunes in to watch. Even with a sub par schedule based upon perception they get the benefit of the doubt. This is exactly what non BCS school fans have a legit gripe about.

It is the perception of the BCS schools and the bigger program you have within the BCS, the more and more you get the benefit of the doubt. And I don’t care what anybody thinks, I clearly didn’t think a Big 12 representative should’ve been invited to the BCS championship game (OU or Tex.). I think the Big 12 is inflated with mediocre teams and no one plays championship level defense [see Big 12 bowl victories]. And on a different note: Their are probably more media types who have aliances to Ohio State and Penn State back East then an up and comer program out west in the Pac 10. But make no mistake- perception is what triggers an East Coast Bias.