2021 Women's D1 Soccer Talk - NEW THREAD!!!!!
- Thread starter gkrent
- Start date
Lightning Red
GOLD
Does anybody have a breakdown by NCAA D1 Conference how many So Cal players are in each?
eastbaysoccer
GOLD
SMC battling CAL and they appear to be no fluke.
eastbaysoccer
GOLD
If the WCC can win some big games and get wins from the bottom half maybe they get 4 teams in. Gonzaga has always been 4th best but has not broken thru yet. What SMC has done in such a short period of time has been very impressive. CAL/SMC was a close game until they went one person down. Pacific lost in 2OT and was right there vs. the MTN west favorite. USD was in the game vs.a Seattle team that just tied SC.
This is the strongest I've seen the WCC as a whole in a long time IF it holds.
SMC may be kicking themselves at the end of the year for not scheduling tougher. They have a good team as evidenced by the tie at Cal. But their schedule will sink their RPI. They will have to win the WCC and the automatic qualifier. Its still a 2 or 3 horse race to the NCAAs unless they find a way to win in Provo or Malibu. Santa Clara at home might be a tough ask.
Let me mark this as the first post of the new season from someone who does not understand the RPI calculation.
Okay. Question for you: who on their non-conference schedule besides Cal helps their RPI? All I see are RPI sinkers.
Sac State
Cal Poly
SDSU
Riverside
Fresno St.
Bakersfield
CBU
Davis
Nevada
If you schedule tough teams and lose to them all, those are the real sinkers.
...and you won't know who will help your RPI until you know THEIR records.
Word of advice…..avoid the quagmire the magoo (espola) will pull you into. It’s just not with it.
RPI is not a quagmire -- it's a simple mathematical formula (plus some semi-secret bonuses and penalties at the end of the season).
I am aware of at least three NCAA sports that use RPI, and they all do it differently.
{facepalm}
Ok good point, that would mean you have a weak team and don't belong in the tournament.
On the flip side if you schedule too weak, you hurt your RPI, and you have no chance to beat any top 50 teams because you didn't schedule them.
And if you schedule hoping for Nevada, Sac State, Fresno State, Bakersfield, Riverside, etc. to have strong winning records, then I advise you not to hold your breath.
In looking at all WCC schedules, BYU, USF, SCU, and Pepp all scheduled for NCAA Tournament berths. These are the only teams with a shot of an at large if they don't win the league outright.
eastbaysoccer
GOLD
Well if gonzaga or SMC are able to win 2 of 3 from the big 3 and the WCC kicks ass non conference then who knows. I think you are assuming the big three runs the table. This is a year someone could be beat.
Exactly. They would need to run the table in the preseason to have an RPI high enough to crack the bubble, then beat two of the big three. Not impossible.
But they didn't build an out of conference schedule to give themselves a chance outside of that.
How do you know that?
At the beginning of a season, everyone is 0-0-0. Pick winners from that 2 or 3 years in advance.
Near the end of a season, when teams' records have been better established, there may come a game where winning the game reduces the winner's RPI, but those are unusual.
It's my assumption based on recent history. I would assume that's how coaches build their schedules. Not by thinking everyone is 0-0-0 and hoping for teams that have never won to all of a sudden win.
Half or more of the schedule is set by conference requirements. Non-conference games are often scheduled years in advance to satisfy home-and-home arrangements. Some games are scheduled against nearby non-conference schools to limit travel costs.