I’m a bit upset about getting these out late, not only because I don’t like being late (actually I don’t really care) but the fact that I missed out on 4/20 Power Rankings jokes. We could have given a few teams that 420Boost, but alas, we are at a regular day now, so that means regular power rankings. Since these are late and I know you just want to view the rankings, let’s get to business. By the way, the Recruiting Hub will launch next week, so get pumped. Okay, Rankings.
Yea, read em and weep. ASouth, OUT.
OK, so let’s see.
Brandeis (#22) beats Case (#13) at UAA’s. Let’s say that moves Brandeis up 5 (to #17) and Case down 5 (to #18). Case falls below Hopkins, moving Hopkins up one spot to #16. Bates goes up a few spots too, based on their win over Brandeis earlier in the year.
That would mean that CMU’s best win is over the #16 team (Hopkins), and that win probably doesn’t happen if Buxbaum doesn’t get hurt up 4-0 in the third set. If you exclude the Hopkins win then CMU’s best win is still its win against Case, who in this scenario is now at #18, and possibly even lower if Bates moves ahead of them.
Seems to me that CMU would then drop at least two spots (below Redlands and P-P) to #13 and possibly even lower.
Have I missed something? If not, what is the argument, if any for CMU to get the last Pool C spot?
I won’t speak for the other bloggers, but I think after this weekend, CMU’s chances have dwindled significantly. They have lost decent resume wins with Case falling to Brandeis and Mary Wash falling to Christopher Newport. I am sure this will all be discussed in the next bracketology.
A thought to also consider is P-P’s best win is Case. Plus a loss to Whitman. Their strength of resume drops too.
Redland’s best win is P-P. If P-P’s resume drops, so does their resume.
Williams best wins are over those two teams whose strength was built in many regards both directly and indirectly with wins over Case.
Thus Case losing changes things on multiple fronts, which will make things really interesting.
Never underestimate the power of UAA bias on the ranking committee. To me, there has been little justification for CMU’s ranking for the past several ranking periods. Looks like you’re working from our power rankings, but the NCAA rankings are ultimately what matter. What will probably happen:
1. Case will drop to #15
2. Brandeis will jump to like #18
3. Hopkins, currently ranked #21, will hold steady there as Brandeis moves up and UMW moves down
4. Mary Washington will fall to 21-30 range
How will this affect CMU? I’m not sure. Williams’ resume was already unequivocally better than the Tartans’, but the Ephs were ranked behind CMU then, and I don’t know if the ranking committee will move them ahead of CMU just because they almost beat a bunch of NESCAC teams. A win over Amherst makes all this conversation moot, but there might be some very aggrieved folks in Williamstown at the end of the season if the rankings hold.
If Williams doesn’t beat any of the NESCAC top 4 (Midd, Bowdoin, Wesleyan, Amherst) before the NCAA tournament, they don’t deserve to make the tournament, period. In this scenario, the most fair option would probably be to give the final Pool C spot to Carnegie Mellon and let the Tartans take on the 4th best team in the NESCAC.
I would love to hear your argument for CMU over Williams as opposed to a Stephen A. Smith-style sound bite.
If Williams beats Amherst, then this is a moot point, but Williams has a direct loss to UChicago, the 3rd place team in the UAA, and (hypothetically) could have losses to Midd, Bowdoin, Wesleyan, and Amherst.
Carnegie Mellon has fallen to Emory, WashU, and UChicago this year, but hasn’t played any of the upper-echelon NESCAC teams. Williams had its opportunity to defeat a good UAA team (UChicago) and lost.
To me, it seems pretty clear that Williams would be no better than 4th in the UAA. However, it’s unclear that CMU would necessarily be the 5th best team in the NESCAC (where Williams is currently ranked). Given this uncertainty, CMU should have the opportunity to take on the 4th place NESCAC team in the NCAA Tournament.
I hear what you’re saying, but would you agree that looking just at the wins and losses, Williams’ record is more impressive than CMU’s?
CMU, after all, has just two victories over Case, a (perhaps a little lucky) win over Hopkins, a narrow victory over Kenyon, and a 5-4 win over a depleted Mary Washington squad that just lost to CNU.
Williams has wins over PP, Redlands, and Tufts, which, to me, are all better than CMU’s best win.
Either way, I would agree that both teams have had plenty of chances to cement their spot in the tournament (and Williams has two more remaining), and whoever misses the tournament will have nobody to blame but themselves.
UMW culture will continue until AD intervenes. No starting seniors or juniors left.
I think it’s funny that you told a current UMW player to “move on” but you can’t seem to move on. Stop coming back here to hate on the current team when the player you are defending quit. Leave them be and to figure out their own stuff. So, I’ll suggest that you move on.
What other seniors and juniors were there other than BG that would have started this year? I can’t think of any. Also, what specifically is wrong with the culture?