OT: NCAA disrespecting UConn field hockey

[UConn990411]

So the two-time defending champs just steamrolled through everyone this year en route to a 20-0 season...and the #4 seed in the NCAA tourney.

You can argue in favor of one-loss Cuse and two-losd UNC getting the top two seeds, but somehow a five-loss Virginia team got rated higher than UConn.

The great thing about tourneys, though, is there's always the chance to prove people wrong.

 

[Icebear]

Just take it as motivation.

 

[Frodo]

So the two-time defending champs just steamrolled through everyone this year en route to a 20-0 season...and the #4 seed in the NCAA tourney.

You can argue in favor of one-loss Cuse and two-losd UNC getting the top two seeds, but somehow a five-loss Virginia team got rated higher than UConn.

The great thing about tourneys, though, is there's always the chance to prove people wrong.

When I saw the seedings last night I was pretty shocked as well, so I went out and looked at the schedules for all four top seeds. Syracuse and UNC can each make a case for their seedings, but, you're right, Virginia's seeding is a joke. UConn and Virginia had 5 opponents in common, Quinnipiac, Boston College, Old Dominion, Princeton and Drexel. Uconn beat Quinnipiac 7-0, Virginia beat them 2-0; UConn beat BC 2-1, Virginia lost 5-4; UConn beat Old Dominion twice, 1-0 and 4-3, Virginia lost 3-2; UConn beat Princeton 4-1 while Virginia beat them 4-3 and both teams beat Drexel 6-0. When you add in the records 20-0 to 14-5 it doesn't even come close to a #2 for Virginia and a #4 for UConn.

Having said that I'm less interested in the absurdity of the seeding and the fact that UConn will use it as motivation, but I am interested in what motivated the tournament committee and that's where it gets interesting. My initial reaction was that they might be trying to impede UConn's attempt at a 3-peat, but realistically if UConn was a #3 they still probably have to go through UNC and Syracuse to win it all, so that's probably not it. So maybe they were trying to ensure two ACC teams in the championship, but I don't think that fits either, since they have 3 of the top 4 seeds. The only answer that seems to really fit is they've gone out of their way to try to enhance UNC's chances of winning.

I'd like to think I'm wrong and the committee seeded teams without bias, but geez the records just don't show Virginia as a #3 and UConn a #4.

 

[EricLA]

There's a pretty big difference between the 4 and 3 seeds - 4 faces 1 in the semis (if seedings hold) and 3 faces 2. Not a fair draw for sure. Oh well...

 

[ctfjr]

It's good bulletin board material

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

There's a pretty big difference between the 4 and 3 seeds - 4 faces 1 in the semis (if seedings hold) and 3 faces 2. Not a fair draw for sure. Oh well...

But I can tell you guys don't follow these sort of sports so much (we do softball and volleyball). RPI is a huge factor in seeding - for example determining who hosts in Softball. Arizona in Volleyball was ranked around 20, but got seeded (16 teams with right to host 1st 2 rounds with unseeded opponents) as they were RPI #14 IIRC.

Virginia had RPI #3, UConn had RPI #9 in the final Field Hockey rankings. Regardless of how folks feel about RPI, and how better or worse it does or doesn't measure performance in these types of sports - and whether or not it is "brain dead" - it is a very significant factor when you look at past tournament seedings in the sports that we follow and most likely in Field Hockey. I'm sure it is what pushed Virginia into a top 4 seed, while UConn got the seeding because they had no losses.

FYI, in the final Coaches Poll, UConn ws 2nd Virginia 5th.

 

[UConn990411]

But I can tell you guys don't follow these sort of sports so much (we do softball and volleyball). RPI is a huge factor in seeding - for example determining who hosts in Softball. Arizona in Volleyball was ranked around 20, but got seeded (16 teams with right to host 1st 2 rounds with unseeded opponents) as they were RPI #14 IIRC.

Virginia had RPI #3, UConn had RPI #9 in the final Field Hockey rankings. Regardless of how folks feel about RPI, and how better or worse it does or doesn't measure performance in these types of sports - and whether or not it is "brain dead" - it is a very significant factor when you look at past tournament seedings in the sports that we follow and most likely in Field Hockey. I'm sure it is what pushed Virginia into a top 4 seed, while UConn got the seeding because they had no losses.

FYI, in the final Coaches Poll, UConn ws 2nd Virginia 5th.

Using RPI as a major factor is fine, but it doesn't justify the seedlings. Especially when (as Frodo pointed out) UConn and Virginia shared about a quarter of their respective opponents, and UConn performed light years better.

At some point, actual real-life results should be taken into consideration. And when that happens, there is no objective measure that would lead to Virginia getting a higher seed.

This is clearly the work of a biased committee.

 

[billnaples]

I don't have a clue who the members of the committee that reated the seedings. That might provide some clue as to the motives involved.

What is a more interesting take is why is UNC still a fully eligible institution to participate in NCAA events at all. Apparently 18 years of academic fraud is not as bad as SMU and boosters throwing around cash to get recruits. Didn't take the NCAA 5 years to hit them with the death penalty. So which is worse now? The fraud at UNC or the failure of the NCAA to hit them with serious penalties?

 

[triaddukefan]

But I can tell you guys don't follow these sort of sports so much (we do softball and volleyball). RPI is a huge factor in seeding - for example determining who hosts in Softball. Arizona in Volleyball was ranked around 20, but got seeded (16 teams with right to host 1st 2 rounds with unseeded opponents) as they were RPI #14 IIRC.

Virginia had RPI #3, UConn had RPI #9 in the final Field Hockey rankings. Regardless of how folks feel about RPI, and how better or worse it does or doesn't measure performance in these types of sports - and whether or not it is "brain dead" - it is a very significant factor when you look at past tournament seedings in the sports that we follow and most likely in Field Hockey. I'm sure it is what pushed Virginia into a top 4 seed, while UConn got the seeding because they had no losses.

FYI, in the final Coaches Poll, UConn ws 2nd Virginia 5th.

Well if its any consolation to the posters complaining about the NCAA and UVA.... they (UVA) got knocked out today by Duke.

 

[UConn990411]

Well if its any consolation to the posters complaining about the NCAA and UVA.... they (UVA) got knocked out today by Duke.

Nah, it's more confirmation about how ridiculous it was that UVA got a 3 seed. Inexcusable, to be more precise.

 

[DobbsRover2]

But I can tell you guys don't follow these sort of sports so much (we do softball and volleyball). RPI is a huge factor in seeding - for example determining who hosts in Softball. Arizona in Volleyball was ranked around 20, but got seeded (16 teams with right to host 1st 2 rounds with unseeded opponents) as they were RPI #14 IIRC.

Virginia had RPI #3, UConn had RPI #9 in the final Field Hockey rankings. Regardless of how folks feel about RPI, and how better or worse it does or doesn't measure performance in these types of sports - and whether or not it is "brain dead" - it is a very significant factor when you look at past tournament seedings in the sports that we follow and most likely in Field Hockey. I'm sure it is what pushed Virginia into a top 4 seed, while UConn got the seeding because they had no losses.

FYI, in the final Coaches Poll, UConn ws 2nd Virginia 5th.

I can tell you how I feel about RPI, or as it is sometimes known, Really Pile-of-poop Idiocy. But I know that some on the BY swear by it. I myself usually just swear, "Go RPI yourself."

But for UConn's field hockey, who cares? For the least couple of years they've been underrated by the good-old-girls system with its ACC bias, and they have crunched their way through to the NC title over those hapless ACC opponents. Other than getting that motivational gift from the seeding committee, this just gives more fuel to the debate about which sport's ruling body is most brain-challenged, and NCAA field hockey seems to be well out in front of the field.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

I can tell you how I feel about RPI, or as it is sometimes known, Really Pile-of-poop Idiocy. But I know that some on the BY swear by it. I myself usually just swear, "Go RPI yourself."

But for UConn's field hockey, who cares? For the least couple of years they've been underrated by the good-old-girls system with its ACC bias, and they have crunched their way through to the NC title over those hapless ACC opponents. Other than getting that motivational gift from the seeding committee, this just gives more fuel to the debate about which sport's ruling body is most brain-challenged, and NCAA field hockey seems to be well out in front of the field.

Detail seeding by RPI is just stupid. Sometimes, forget stats, an eye test tells the answer.

But I stick by my statement that, in what we call the "non-revenue" or "Olympic" or whatever sports, whereby only the top teams are seeded, they over-rely on RPI. I have seen it in Softball and Women's Volleyball. In both cases that I know of, it favored "my" team, but the reality is you are only fooling yourself if your record is mediocre and your seeding high. Last year, Arizona was knocked out of the WVB tourney at home by an unseeded team that made it to the championship game. An eye test revealed that the team that beat us should have been a seed, but because they played in a mid-major did not have the RPI to attract the seeding.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Beat BC today 1-0

 

[DobbsRover2]

Beat BC today 1-0

That's all that counts. And UConn sticksters have made a habit of 1-0 or occasionally 2-0 wins the last few years. Big D.

 

[MilfordHusky]

The Huskies ran their record to 22-0 today and will play 'Cuse in Ann Arbor on Friday in the national semifinals. Duke and UNC are the other semi-finalists.

Shots on goal today were 14-0. Nice defense, indeed!

Meanwhile, the women's soccer team beat Sienna 5-0 today in the NCAA tourney. They face a strong Notre Dame team in Piscataway on Friday.

Go Huskies, keep it going!!

 

[Bayareahusky]

Bad thing is that nobody is accountable for their rationale...... look how long it took for div 1 football to be somewhat accountable with the rationale for the rankings..... and that is with an emphasis on the "somewhat"

UConn will prevail .... they will show them.... go Huskies