We jumped Duke and Wake.
Top Drawer Soccer #1
- Thread starter Dawgg
- Start date
No. There are primarily 2 - United Soccer Coaches and NCAA Top 16 but it's good to see #1 regardless of the poll.
DI Women's Soccer Rankings - United Soccer Coaches | NCAA.com
DI Women's Soccer Rankings - United Soccer Coaches | NCAA.com
I'm sure this has been discussed in previous soccer threads I missed, but how has this coach done what he's done at a school that would have to be considered a backwater on the NCAA soccer scene?
It's pretty incredible.
It's pretty incredible.
No, but it’s a respected poll, like the AP or D1Baseball.
The one the SEC and ESPN uses for the number next to team name is the United Soccer Coaches poll, which comes out Tuesdays.
The NCAA RPI is updated every day or two. We’re sitting at #3 there.
The only true “official” poll is the committee rankings. They gave out a preview poll a couple of weeks ago and we were #4 there, but things have happened since. I don’t know if we’ll get another of those before the actual seedings come out after the SEC Tourney.
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1st weekend is round 1 - We're a lock to host this
2nd weekend is rounds of 32 and Sweet 16 - We're pretty much a lock to host this.
3rd weekend is round 4 (Elite 8) - As of now, we're fairly solid to host this, but could easily fall to a #5-8 seed.
On campus until the Final Four (College Cup). That's in Cary NC, which will be a virtual home field for Wake, Duke and UNC. It's possible even 1 loss could drop us into the 5-8 seed group. ACC is by far the strongest conference. SEC is a distant #2. I doubt they give the SEC 2 top-4 seeds (I also doubt they give the ACC all 4), and if Arkansas wins the SEC tournament, they might grab it from us.
We will host the first round. Probably against the SWAC Champ
The top 16 seeds are in position to host rounds 2 and 3, but have to win the first round game.
The fourth round is hosted by the highest remaining seed (1-4 if chalk holds).
Semifinals and Finals at Cary, NC
A little women's soccer bracketology:
Top 8 (in position to host Rounds 2-3)
1. North Carolina
2. Duke
3. Mississippi State
4. Southern Cal
5. Arkansas
6. Wake Forest
7. Florida State
8. Penn State
9-16 (will host first round, and be third round opponent for top 8)
9. Stanford
10. Iowa
11. Notre Dame
12. Virginia
13. Ohio State
14. TCU
15. Michigan State
16. UCLA
17-32 (second round opponents for 1-16 (not seeded)
Auburn
South Carolina
Vanderbilt
Kentucky
Georgetown
Minnesota
Santa Clara
West Virginia
Virginia Tech
Xavier
Wisconsin
Texas
Utah State
Oklahoma State
Pepperdine
Saint Louis
I figure we will get SWAC Champ in first round, Oklahoma State or Saint Louis in second round, TCU in third round, and one of the ACC teams (Wake, Florida State, Stanford) at Starkville in the Elite 8.
The top 16 seeds are in position to host rounds 2 and 3, but have to win the first round game.
The fourth round is hosted by the highest remaining seed (1-4 if chalk holds).
Semifinals and Finals at Cary, NC
A little women's soccer bracketology:
Top 8 (in position to host Rounds 2-3)
1. North Carolina
2. Duke
3. Mississippi State
4. Southern Cal
5. Arkansas
6. Wake Forest
7. Florida State
8. Penn State
9-16 (will host first round, and be third round opponent for top 8)
9. Stanford
10. Iowa
11. Notre Dame
12. Virginia
13. Ohio State
14. TCU
15. Michigan State
16. UCLA
17-32 (second round opponents for 1-16 (not seeded)
Auburn
South Carolina
Vanderbilt
Kentucky
Georgetown
Minnesota
Santa Clara
West Virginia
Virginia Tech
Xavier
Wisconsin
Texas
Utah State
Oklahoma State
Pepperdine
Saint Louis
I figure we will get SWAC Champ in first round, Oklahoma State or Saint Louis in second round, TCU in third round, and one of the ACC teams (Wake, Florida State, Stanford) at Starkville in the Elite 8.
Good work. Nothing is a sure win (except the SWAC school), but that looks like a pretty manageable draw until the Elite 8. Key is to hold on to that top-4 seed to get that game at home.
We will play 4:30 next Tuesday vs the 8-9 winner (either Kentucky or Georgia vs Alabama or Tennessee). Game on SEC Network.
I'm reading it just about the same way. I would go as far as to say that the Big Ten is on par if not a little better than the SEC top to bottom. The SEC has two overdogs right now, State and Arkansas, that are boosting the rest of the conference, but the Big Ten is thicker when you start looking at the 10-15 best teams in the nation.
In any case, the gap between the ACC and the SEC/Big Ten in soccer is kind of like the gap between the SEC and the ACC/Big 12 in football. Any one of the top 6-7 teams in the ACC could potentially end up as the national champion. It really is a murderer's row: Duke, UNC, Wake Forest, Notre Dame, Stanford, Florida State, and maybe Virginia Tech.
I'd say the ACC is pretty much guaranteed 2 top 4 seeds with a strong likelihood of getting 3 regardless of what happens in their tournament. If we lose to South Carolina on Wednesday, I think we're out of the top 4 unless we win the SEC Tournament or at least get to the championship. If both us and Arkansas are one and done in the SECT, I could see the Big Ten champ coming in and stealing that last spot.
I started a breakdown, but it turned into a wall of text. If anybody wants to look at the formats and RPI ranks of the ACC, Big Ten, and SEC tournaments, click below and knock yourself out.
The ACC only puts their top 6 teams into their conference tournament, which guarantees that no matter what happens in their tournament, they will only have quality wins or quality losses. They still have another day of games on Thursday, so it's not 100% set on who those 6 will be, but if the tournament started today, their 6 seed would be Notre Dame or Stanford, which are the #8 and #11 RPI. Notre Dame currently has the head to head tiebreaker. The only way for a bad RPI team to get into their tournament right now would be if Cal (55) beats Stanford and Notre Dame loses to Pittsburgh in a way that the tiebreakers fall to Cal. Otherwise, their worst RPI team in the tournament would be Stanford at 11 if they win and Notre Dame loses Thursday.
The Big Ten puts their top 10 teams in the tournament. Their regular season is over, so their 10 seed is Penn State, which is #9 in RPI. Their lowest RPI team in their tournament is Rutgers at 39, but they're kind of an outlier. The rest of their field is 27 or above.
The SEC puts their top 12 teams in the tournament. The SEC still has two games to play (State vs SC and UF vs Tenn), so Tennessee could sneak in with a tie or win over Florida. As of right now, the 12 seed would be Missouri or OU. Missouri has the tiebreaker and has a 102 RPI rank. Tennessee could push them out with a win, but then the lowest RPI team in the tournament would be Alabama at 86. Texas is the 3 seed and they have a 28 RPI.
The point of all of that is that the SEC tournament gives a lot more opportunity for a bad RPI loss or a diluted RPI win than the ACC or Big Ten plus the average SEC RPI rank is lower.
The Big Ten puts their top 10 teams in the tournament. Their regular season is over, so their 10 seed is Penn State, which is #9 in RPI. Their lowest RPI team in their tournament is Rutgers at 39, but they're kind of an outlier. The rest of their field is 27 or above.
The SEC puts their top 12 teams in the tournament. The SEC still has two games to play (State vs SC and UF vs Tenn), so Tennessee could sneak in with a tie or win over Florida. As of right now, the 12 seed would be Missouri or OU. Missouri has the tiebreaker and has a 102 RPI rank. Tennessee could push them out with a win, but then the lowest RPI team in the tournament would be Alabama at 86. Texas is the 3 seed and they have a 28 RPI.
The point of all of that is that the SEC tournament gives a lot more opportunity for a bad RPI loss or a diluted RPI win than the ACC or Big Ten plus the average SEC RPI rank is lower.
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I have to assume that those of you who are VERY into women's soccer are probably parents to girls who play, played???
That's a yes for me. I want State to win in everything, so I'd be pulling for them anyway. But having multiple kids into soccer over the years certainly has led me to enjoy and understand it much more than before. It's also great for State to have success in a sport that my daughters feel connected to. My 12 yo won't sit and watch a whole basketball game on TV, but she's enthralled with this team. I'm planning to take her and some friends up for the tournament games.
Sir, we're already putting up the banner, official rankings are irrelevant.
Up to #2 this week on United Soccer Coaches poll (the number that ESPN and the SEC uses). We're right behind Duke and right before Wake Forest, Southern Cal, and Arkansas.
Another fun fact: We've won the most games (15-1) in the Power 4 and are tied with Utah State (15-1-4) for the most wins in all of Division I.
Another fun fact: We've won the most games (15-1) in the Power 4 and are tied with Utah State (15-1-4) for the most wins in all of Division I.