Tax Day 2010 Lacrosse Bracketology

Submitted by Tim on
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I gave a bit of insight into my methodology in the last lacrosse bracketology, so I'll spare that discussion. This time, I'm going to compare resumes rather than going by the polls, to try to figure out what the committee will do when seeding the teams.

Don't forget, the Wolverines play Purdue this Saturday at 7PM in Oosterbaan Fieldhouse (Preview Here). It's their fourth and final home game of the year, so I encourage anyone who can make it to do so. It's the perfect post-spring game activity!

Bracketology

The loss to Colorado over the weekend, thankfully, will not be enough to bump Michigan out of the number one spot. As long as they take care of business for the rest of the year (and hopefully the loss can be a motivating factor to do so), the top line is locked up.

The next few weekends have some very important games between ranked teams that could radically alter the way the field looks. Take this post as a snapshot in time right now, not a prediction for the future. There are enough games left to be played that the field can look very different from what it would be if selected today. The resumes will be much easier to shake out at that time as well.

When I did the first Bracketology post, I wasn't aware that Buffalowill would also be doing his Bubble Watch bi-weekly on CollegeLax, but that's the case, so check his out for more info.

The Bracket

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Last 2 in: UC Santa Barbara, Florida

First 2 out: Simon Fraser, Loyola Marymount

New since last time: Illinois, UC Santa Barbara

Out from last time: Lindenwood, Loyola Marymount

Next Bracketology: April 29, 2010

The Explanation

There are a few distinct groups right now, with a solid top 3 of Michigan-Colorado State-Chapman, A few schools who will only get in by winning their conference's autobid in Texas and Illinois, a group of BYU-Arizona State-Duluth-Florida State-Oregon that are all in the tournament barring complete disaster, and then a muddled middle. I compared resumes within those groups to end up with the seeding as I did.

The Illinois/Lindenwood switcheroo from last Bracketology post was based solely on the fact that the Illini have fewer losses at this time. Either way, the winner of the conference tournament is in, and the other is out. One of the SELC teams could miss out as well. I would guess Florida misses the tournament unless they, at the very least, make it to the finals in their conference tournament.

The top group is still volatile, with Michigan State playing a key role. They play Colorado, Colorado State, and Michigan, with two of those squads vying for the #1 overall seed and the Buffaloes trying to play their way back into the tournament field.

The WCLL, GRLC, and PCLL bids are still too close to call definitively. Once conference tournaments are over, I'll know who's in for autobids, and fill in the remaining six slots much more easily. The next bracketology will come April 29th, before the CCLA conference tournament that weekend.

Etc.

If you're interested in learning a bit more about lacrosse (particularly the riding game), or finding out what went wrong against Colorado last week, check out the comments of my previous lax post. Lots of knowledgeable people, including the awesome "laxalum" are more than willing to educate some fools.

Comments

Sac Fly

April 15th, 2010 at 1:01 PM ^

for another championship for us this year, but even tho im not a hawkeye fan i can't help but wonder how their not ranked. they haven't played the caliber teams like Illinois has; beating missouri and florida, but their 7-1. and i also don't know how simon frasier is ranked 17th with a 5-6 record.

Tim

April 15th, 2010 at 1:17 PM ^

It's a in the schedule. Iowa has played a horrible one (they're in the GRLC 1-AA and lost to freakin' Kansas), while Simon Fraser has played a brutal one (their losses are to 5 of the top 6 teams in the nation(!) and a talented-but-struggling Colorado team that still might make some noise.

IOwa hasn't even played, much less beaten anyone that's even sniffing the rankings, while Fraser's beaten a couple top-10 teams in Arizona State and BYU.

laxalum

April 15th, 2010 at 2:07 PM ^

for the shout out Tim. phjhu89 brings a lot of knowledge as well. I just think it's awesome to even have this forum to talk about Michigan lacrosse. Nobody was covering the team a couple of years ago. Now they are all over the place.

I wish I could be there Saturday. Coaching HS lacrosse makes it tough to ever get out to see my boys play live. Thank God the MCLA final four is on TV.

Stump13

April 15th, 2010 at 4:45 PM ^

I want to 2nd laxalum's comment and offer a big shout out to Tim. Coverage is expanding and that's great, but having someone post their MCLA bracketology, that's HUGE! I think Tim's pretty close and on the mark regarding games this weekend. My guess is MSU is going to move a number of spots, one way or the other, after this weekend. It's great to see the coverage that the team and staff deserve. Looking forward to a strong finish and a successful tournament run. Keep up the good work Tim!