NCAA Tournament talk

[Pat Coleman]

Alright, so the teams are announced and the bracket is posted. Thoughts?

... other than teaching the NCAA how to pronounce UW-Eau Claire, that is!

[Pat Coleman]

Here's a link to the bracket.
http://www.d3sports.com/playoffs/2008womenssoccerbracket.pdf

[(509)Rat]

Don't know much about soccer but I'm no stranger to Whitworth getting snubbed...did the Whitworth women deserve to get in? Hopefully someone who knows something about soccer can shed some light.  I know they had more d3 and in-region wins than about 6 of the pool C's and were ranked higher than Redlands in the regional rankings for most if not all of the season...so why didn't they get in?  There could be a very resonable explanation I just have no idea what it is.

[wildcat11]

Don't know much about soccer but I'm no stranger to Whitworth getting snubbed...did the Whitworth women deserve to get in? Hopefully someone who knows something about soccer can shed some light.  I know they had more d3 and in-region wins than about 6 of the pool C's and were ranked higher than Redlands in the regional rankings for most if not all of the season...so why didn't they get in?  There could be a very resonable explanation I just have no idea what it is.

(509),

Maynard was on the selction committee.

[Pat Coleman]

Well, hard to really tell from looking at just the schedule and results, not knowing the OWP and OOWP in women's soccer. The one thing that stands out is that Redlands does have a 1-0-1 record in regional games against teams ranked in another region (in this case, the Central, with a tie of Wash U and a win against St. Ben's). Not sure if this became more of a factor in the final analysis than it would've been earlier.

[Casperdog]

Wow.  Wartburg gets snubbed at 17-2-2 with the only losses at Washington U St. Louis and second game of the year OT lost at St. Bens.  Sweet 16 team last year.   Only ties were first game of the year and the conf. tourney final, which went to pks.

[Pat Coleman]

Ouch. What were the key wins?

[Just Bill]

I guess he didn't like your question, Pat. He pulled up stakes and left.

[Casperdog]

I didn't mind the question.   I left because there is a software problem and will come back and stay if it can get sorted out.

Not many quality wins - that must have been the problem.  They beat Loras and Augustana.  They beat a DII team - does that get considered?  They tied Concordia (MIAC runner up) and lost to St. Ben's.  I think they needed one or both of those.  I'm not defending them - they had plenty of opportunities to with the Conf. tourney, including by winning the shootout.   The rest of the Iowa Conf. is weak - that doesn't help.

How many 17 win - 2 loss teams don't make it?  Is there an issue with the field being too small if it happens too much? 

[(509)Rat]

The one thing that stands out is that Redlands does have a 1-0-1 record in regional games against teams ranked in another region (in this case, the Central, with a tie of Wash U and a win against St. Ben's). Not sure if this became more of a factor in the final analysis than it would've been earlier.

So they may have been penalized for not traveling out of the region?  Doesn't that bring into question some ethical concerns as to how criteria may favor wealthier programs? Also, do they not stress in-region winning percentage like they do in football?  From the Whitworth website...

Against common opponents, Whitworth is 2-1 while the Bulldogs are 1-1.

I'm guessing that 1-1 should read 1-1-1, but I may be wrong.

[Pat Coleman]

No, not at all -- I'm wondering that if in the national picture that national results are looked at more closely, even though they are all part of the primary criteria. They are still in-region games, as I said.

Casper -- there isn't a software problem. If you are unclear about how your email address is displayed, the Terms of Service should help you.

http://www.d3boards.com

[DIIIdad]

Wow.  Wartburg gets snubbed at 17-2-2 with the only losses at Washington U St. Louis and second game of the year OT lost at St. Bens.  Sweet 16 team last year.   Only ties were first game of the year and the conf. tourney final, which went to pks.

This didn't help Augustana - one of their 4 losses was to Wartburg. 

[tylercooney]

What about Sewanee?  There overall record wasn't superior at 10-6-1, but they beat two teams that got bids and tied one that got a bid. This includes a 3-0 shut out of Rhodes College who also got a bid.  It is completely ridiculous Sewanee isn't going. Thoughts?

[WLCALUM83]

Most interesting first-round match-ups (rankings per NSCAA 11/04/08)

#13 Union-NY vs. #18 Springfield-MA

#10 VA Wesleyan vs. #23 Richard Stockton

(By the way, the "Eau" in Eau Claire is pronounced like the letter "O")

[pabegg]

What about Sewanee?  There overall record wasn't superior at 10-6-1, but they beat two teams that got bids and tied one that got a bid. This includes a 3-0 shut out of Rhodes College who also got a bid.  It is completely ridiculous Sewanee isn't going. Thoughts?

Not even close. There might be 20-30 schools with a better case than Sewanee. They needed two fewer losses than they ended up with.