USA/NFCA Softball Poll is Out

[RaginFan2]

_ In baseball, it certainly does matter ... because your assumption in bold is not true.

In softball, it may not matter ... it depends on the regional sites for which you (and the other potential #2/#3 seeds) would be geographically qualified to participate. If there was only one such regional (and two possible teams for these slots), then it does not matter. If there was more than one regional and/or more than two possible teams, it may matter.

I think this year, it does not matter. Given the selected regional sites, it was either Austin (vs. Houston) or College Station (vs. LSU). Syracuse could have been slotted in either College Station or Austin ... but College Station was chosen to better balance that bracket (Syracuse has an RPI ranking of 26 ... LSU 25 ... while A&M is a bubble #1 seed). A strong #2 seed resume (stronger than Houston or LSU) would still have resulted in the Cajuns playing one of those teams. But again, #2/#3 would not have mattered.

Brian _

Thanks, Brian! Yes, I was referring to softball, not baseball.

[J-Town Cajun]

Not that it really matters but you guys think UL is the #3 seed.

The way the bracket is laid out I believe UL is the #2 seed. If you look at each region, the team in each bracket that is placed the furthermost away from the national seed is the obvious #2 seed. UL is furthermost from Texas in it's bracket so I have to believe UL is the #2 seed.

[GoneGolfin]

_ Not that it really matters but you guys think UL is the #3 seed.

The way the bracket is laid out I believe UL is the #2 seed. If you look at each region, the team in each bracket that is placed the furthermost away from the national seed is the obvious #2 seed. UL is furthermost from Texas in it's bracket so I have to believe UL is the #2 seed. _

If you mean on this interactive bracket, UL is not furthermost from Texas in the regional box. The order is Texas, Texas State, La.-Lafayette, Houston.

Besides, this hypothesis does not make sense for several other regionals. For example, Illinois-Chicago is not the #2 seed in Louisville. Louisville is the #2 seeed. I also think that Long Beach State is the #2 seed in Tempe, not San Diego State. There is also a decent chance that UAB is the #2 seed in Athens, not Florida State. The Seminoles were likely one of the last few teams in the field. Finally, Nebraska is the #2 seed in the Stanford regional, not Fresno State.

Note that the Top 15 RPI teams were #1 seeds. Stanford is the only #1 seed not in the Top 16 RPI (at #19). The odd team out was Nebraska (at #16).

Brian

[GoneGolfin]

_ We agree that scheduling and winning is the only cure, but there have been awful large number of high RPI programs in the mid-west region on the past years. LOL!! _

This is the result from the emphasis on geography. Instead of a bias towards seeding the entire field in a national context, the bias is towards seeding in a regional context ... once the best at-large teams are selected to the field.

Brian

[J-Town Cajun]

_ If you mean on this interactive bracket, UL is not furthermost from Texas in the regional box. The order is Texas, Texas State, La.-Lafayette, Houston.

Besides, this hypothesis does not make sense for several other regionals. For example, Illinois-Chicago is not the #2 seed in Louisville. Louisville is the #2 seeed. I also think that Long Beach State is the #2 seed in Tempe, not San Diego State. There is also a decent chance that UAB is the #2 seed in Athens, not Florida State. The Seminoles were likely one of the last few teams in the field. Finally, Nebraska is the #2 seed in the Stanford regional, not Fresno State.

Note that the Top 15 RPI teams were #1 seeds. Stanford is the only #1 seed not in the Top 16 RPI (at #19). The odd team out was Nebraska (at #16).

Brian _

No it is the printable bracket not the interactive bracket. Now I can't find the link where I got it from but it is from the NCAA and it seems obvious that that the team furthermost away is the #2 seed.

[J-Town Cajun]

Brian go to the live interactive bracket then hit printable bracket or try this link:

http://www.ncaa.com/sites/default/fi...allbracket.pdf

[sportsfanatic21]

_ Brian go to the live interactive bracket then hit printable bracket or try this link:

http://www.ncaa.com/sites/default/fi...allbracket.pdf _

According to that bracket, it DOES look like we are the 2 seed.

[GoneGolfin]

_ No it is the printable bracket not the interactive bracket. Now I can't find the link where I got it from but it is from the NCAA and it seems obvious that that the team furthermost away is the #2 seed. _

Playing devil's advocate (looking at the printable bracket) ...

How do you explain Florida State (30-26, #49) being the #2 seed and UAB (38-17, #38) being the #3 seed in Athens, GA? I think that it is quite likely that Florida State does not make the field if they do not win the ACC automatic bid. There were several teams higher in the RPI that did not receive at-large bids, including #41 Illinois (27-22) and #42 North Carolina (34-21).

You can also make a strong case that Fordham (41-17, #37) is the #2 seed in the University Park, PA regional. Penn State (29-22, #47) had to be one of the last few teams in the field. If I am not mistaken, only one other team with a lower RPI was selected as an at-large (Memphis #48).

Brian

[Turbine]

Reality check ... for me: If UL had not played those 10 detrimental games would they really be a much better team than they are now?

Flip that: Lets say Arizona State had the time to play 10 more games at the end of the season, and they played the same teams that brought UL down. Does anyone think they would be less "worthy" of being a #1 overall seed?

RPI would say Arizona State was a much worse team for it.

To me it seems there is the flaw in not recognizing if a team does what it is suppose to do to an opponent. Like RH, they didn't give up 20 runs in any game the rest of year, much less lost by 20.

[wcd35]

Well yeah, but no one ever said the RPI was a good thing or accurate in determining the best team necessarily. That doesnt mean you shouldnt use it to your advantage where possible.