Of all the polls which is the most accurate

[The Dawgs]

Folks I'll tell you what. All of a sudden we have all these polls related to college tennis rankings. It's great for creating interest in the sport we love. I'd like to hear some of your opinions as to which might be the most accurate. Basically there are two different kinds. Those governed by statistics and mathematical formulas, and one in which so called experts are asked to turn in a ballot and decide the rankings. Here are the polls I am aware of, if you know any others please add them.

Formulated polls
1. ITA rankings - actual poll of the governing body of college tennis
2. TRN/Slam.Tennis - produced by TRN
3. Universal Tennis - not exactly a poll but teams are ranked on what is called their Power 6 ratings
4. Massey Ratings - they can be found at masseyratings.com

Rankings by "Experts"
USTA College Tennis Poll - based on the ballots of 8 experts in the field.

I'll start things off by listing the one I have the most confidence in and that would be the Massey Ratings. I'm sure some of you have never even heard of them, but they have been around for a long, long time. I'm selecting the Massey Ratings for no other reason then they always appear to be the most accurate in my eyes. Sure all of the ranking systems have there good and bad points, but this one seems to get it right most of the time. Rarely can you find something like what happens with the ITA rankings, where Auburn(women) can be ranked #12 in the Nation and yet they are the #10 seed at the SEC tournament this week.

I'm anxious to hear what you guys think and which poll you feel is most accurate.

 

[NoChance]

The polls don't particularly matter to me. I imagine that most of them can define the good, the bad, and the ugly, within a range of places. In the end, the NCAA tournament includes enough teams to determine who is the best of the best.

 

[Deacon Drive]

I like having all the polls, as I agree it increases interest in college tennis. I was not aware of the Massey Ratings - thanks for pointing out that site. In general, I like data driven polls, as there is no voter bias. However, the problem with them is they typically do not account for injuries, suspensions, etc. For that reason, I think the USTA College Tennis poll might be the most responsive, and therefore, the best.

 

[Nacho]

I don't study the polls too much except to get a good idea, and the only time I care is when it comes time to pick seedings for the tournament. But, they are polls, not always accurate and will never be a perfect measure. Best measure is the NCAA tournament, at least the winner fights for it