BB: Central Region Rankings

[BigPoppa]

My guess as to this week's rankings:

1. Coe-IIAC #1
2. IWU- CCIW #CCIW Co-champ
3. North Park-CCIW Co-champ
4. Buena Vista- IIAC #2
5. Carthage- CCIW #3
6. WashU- "Independent" Pool B

On the outside but with good chances to earn a Pool A bid: Beloit- MWC and Webster- SLIAC

...but since IWU lost a pair last week and JUMPED two spots while Carthage went 6-0 and dropped two spots, I really have no idea what will happen. I would really be surprised if Augustana showed up again in the rankings considering they missed the CCIW post-season. This leaves the SLIAC #1 Webster out of the rankings, but I think the SLIAC is a one-bid conference either way. Webster needs to win the Pool A to get in. It also leaves the Midwest Conference (Beloit/Ripon) out, but I think they are in the same boat as the SLIAC as a one-bid conference this year.

Bubble teams need to cheer against North Central stealing a CCIW bid as well as a team like Wartburg (maybe even BUENA VISTA?)  grabbing the IIAC bid. The regional rankings tomorrow will really make this much more transparent. We should know who is "in" regardless and who needs to "play their way in" over the weekend.

[cubs]

Couldn't agree more.  The system we have for pool C is flawed but fair.  Pool A should be the focus.

Imagine the wailing and gnashing of teeth if we only had 3 Pool C bids, as we did in the early part of the last decade.   

And didn't the Midwest Region get two of the three Pool C bids one season when Oshkosh and Ripon each were at-large teams?

[BigPoppa]

New Rankings from NCAA website:

1 Coe 26-9 29-10 (Thought they'd be #1))
2 Illinois Wesleyan 23-11 25-14 (Thought they's be #2)
3 Carthage 19-7 26-10 (Thought they'd be #5)
4 Buena Vista 26-11 27-13 (Thought they's be #4)
5 North Park 26-7 30-10 (Thought they'd be #3)
6 Augustana (Ill.) 21-12 28-12  (No idea why they are still on this)


This does NOT look good at all for WashU. I cannot remember a team that was unranked in the final published regional poll that was awarded a Pool C bid(and I don't see them getting a Pool B). I guess the biggest surprise once again is Carthage. Last week they were 6-0 and dropped from #2 to #4. This week they go 1-2 and rise to #3?

[mr_b]

New Rankings from NCAA website:

1 Coe 26-9 29-10 (Thought they'd be #1))
2 Illinois Wesleyan 23-11 25-14 (Thought they's be #2)
3 Carthage 19-7 26-10 (Thought they'd be #5)
4 Buena Vista 26-11 27-13 (Thought they's be #4)
5 North Park 26-7 30-10 (Thought they'd be #3)
6 Augustana (Ill.) 21-12 28-12  (No idea why they are still on this)


This does NOT look good at all for WashU. I cannot remember a team that was unranked in the final published regional poll that was awarded a Pool C bid(and I don't see them getting a Pool B). I guess the biggest surprise once again is Carthage. Last week they were 6-0 and dropped from #2 to #4. This week they go 1-2 and rise to #3?

The regional rankings continue defy both logic and gravity.

[izzy stradlin]

New Rankings from NCAA website:

1 Coe 26-9 29-10 (Thought they'd be #1))
2 Illinois Wesleyan 23-11 25-14 (Thought they's be #2)
3 Carthage 19-7 26-10 (Thought they'd be #5)
4 Buena Vista 26-11 27-13 (Thought they's be #4)
5 North Park 26-7 30-10 (Thought they'd be #3)
6 Augustana (Ill.) 21-12 28-12  (No idea why they are still on this)


This does NOT look good at all for WashU. I cannot remember a team that was unranked in the final published regional poll that was awarded a Pool C bid(and I don't see them getting a Pool B). I guess the biggest surprise once again is Carthage. Last week they were 6-0 and dropped from #2 to #4. This week they go 1-2 and rise to #3?

Greg Wallace of Augustana is chair of the committee.  Is this a coincidence?  By the numbers, 1-5 make sense-- although I'd probably swap NPU and Carthage also.  (http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/baseball/d3    click on the link for the central region pdf at the bottom-  I believe they rank teams by W% and SOS then combine the rankings)   U of C, NCC or Washu should be in the last spot. For example U of C has the same W% as Augie, a better SOS and better record vs ranked teams. Something is wrong with this committee.

[wustlfan37]

New Rankings from NCAA website:

1 Coe 26-9 29-10 (Thought they'd be #1))
2 Illinois Wesleyan 23-11 25-14 (Thought they's be #2)
3 Carthage 19-7 26-10 (Thought they'd be #5)
4 Buena Vista 26-11 27-13 (Thought they's be #4)
5 North Park 26-7 30-10 (Thought they'd be #3)
6 Augustana (Ill.) 21-12 28-12  (No idea why they are still on this)


This does NOT look good at all for WashU. I cannot remember a team that was unranked in the final published regional poll that was awarded a Pool C bid(and I don't see them getting a Pool B). I guess the biggest surprise once again is Carthage. Last week they were 6-0 and dropped from #2 to #4. This week they go 1-2 and rise to #3?

Greg Wallace of Augustana is chair of the committee.  Is this a coincidence?  By the numbers, 1-5 make sense-- although I'd probably swap NPU and Carthage also.  (http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/baseball/d3    click on the link for the central region pdf at the bottom-  I believe they rank teams by W% and SOS then combine the rankings)   U of C, NCC or Washu should be in the last spot. For example U of C has the same W% as Augie, a better SOS and better record vs ranked teams. Something is wrong with this committee.

Amen.  There is literally nothing to justify Augustana in this poll, not winning percentage, not wins against regionally ranked teams, not SoS, not head-to-head record. 

Unless there is a reward for being the 5th best team in your conference.  Maybe even the 6th.

[BigPoppa]

I had WashU as my 6th team in the Central Region. WashU not being on the list is as close to a nail in their coffin as anything at this point.

[augie_superfan]

New Rankings from NCAA website:

1 Coe 26-9 29-10 (Thought they'd be #1))
2 Illinois Wesleyan 23-11 25-14 (Thought they's be #2)
3 Carthage 19-7 26-10 (Thought they'd be #5)
4 Buena Vista 26-11 27-13 (Thought they's be #4)
5 North Park 26-7 30-10 (Thought they'd be #3)
6 Augustana (Ill.) 21-12 28-12  (No idea why they are still on this)


This does NOT look good at all for WashU. I cannot remember a team that was unranked in the final published regional poll that was awarded a Pool C bid(and I don't see them getting a Pool B). I guess the biggest surprise once again is Carthage. Last week they were 6-0 and dropped from #2 to #4. This week they go 1-2 and rise to #3?

Greg Wallace of Augustana is chair of the committee.  Is this a coincidence?  By the numbers, 1-5 make sense-- although I'd probably swap NPU and Carthage also.  (http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/baseball/d3    click on the link for the central region pdf at the bottom-  I believe they rank teams by W% and SOS then combine the rankings)   U of C, NCC or Washu should be in the last spot. For example U of C has the same W% as Augie, a better SOS and better record vs ranked teams. Something is wrong with this committee.

Amen.  There is literally nothing to justify Augustana in this poll, not winning percentage, not wins against regionally ranked teams, not SoS, not head-to-head record. 

Unless there is a reward for being the 5th best team in your conference.  Maybe even the 6th.

I understand the frustration at Augustana still being ranked.  I'm very surprised myself but I think it goes to show that there are really only 5 teams worth ranking in the Central region this year.  Augie, Chicago, WashU, NCC are all in roughly the same boat.  Sure, some teams have slightly better numbers than others but in the end, I don't think any of them have the numbers to be competitive in terms of getting a playoff bid so I don't think that it matters much.

In my opinion, it should be Chicago in above any other the otehrs, especially with that 3-0 sweep of Wash U.

Also, Augie is definitely the 5th best team in the conference...would you be implying that Wheaton or Elmhurst is better than them?

[BigPoppa]

Coe has made it unbeaten to the IIAC finals tomorrow. Will face either Luther, Wartburg or Buena Vista. They are in a great spot right now.

[wustlfan37]

New Rankings from NCAA website:

1 Coe 26-9 29-10 (Thought they'd be #1))
2 Illinois Wesleyan 23-11 25-14 (Thought they's be #2)
3 Carthage 19-7 26-10 (Thought they'd be #5)
4 Buena Vista 26-11 27-13 (Thought they's be #4)
5 North Park 26-7 30-10 (Thought they'd be #3)
6 Augustana (Ill.) 21-12 28-12  (No idea why they are still on this)


This does NOT look good at all for WashU. I cannot remember a team that was unranked in the final published regional poll that was awarded a Pool C bid(and I don't see them getting a Pool B). I guess the biggest surprise once again is Carthage. Last week they were 6-0 and dropped from #2 to #4. This week they go 1-2 and rise to #3?

Greg Wallace of Augustana is chair of the committee.  Is this a coincidence?  By the numbers, 1-5 make sense-- although I'd probably swap NPU and Carthage also.  (http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/baseball/d3    click on the link for the central region pdf at the bottom-  I believe they rank teams by W% and SOS then combine the rankings)   U of C, NCC or Washu should be in the last spot. For example U of C has the same W% as Augie, a better SOS and better record vs ranked teams. Something is wrong with this committee.

Amen.  There is literally nothing to justify Augustana in this poll, not winning percentage, not wins against regionally ranked teams, not SoS, not head-to-head record. 

Unless there is a reward for being the 5th best team in your conference.  Maybe even the 6th.

I understand the frustration at Augustana still being ranked.  I'm very surprised myself but I think it goes to show that there are really only 5 teams worth ranking in the Central region this year.  Augie, Chicago, WashU, NCC are all in roughly the same boat.  Sure, some teams have slightly better numbers than others but in the end, I don't think any of them have the numbers to be competitive in terms of getting a playoff bid so I don't think that it matters much.

In my opinion, it should be Chicago in above any other the otehrs, especially with that 3-0 sweep of Wash U.

Also, Augie is definitely the 5th best team in the conference...would you be implying that Wheaton or Elmhurst is better than them?

I haven't seen NCC play, but before they got VERY cold of late, they had a chance to move into the rankings.  Whether or not they are better than Augustana is up for debate, NCC could easily be ranked, perhaps if Coach Fitzgerald were the chair of the regional committee?

I think that with 28 wins and numerous quality wins (that no other team in the conversation has) WashU belongs in the rankings.  They have twice the wins that Chicago has, and have played a third of their games against regionally ranked teams. 

Obviously, I'm just as biased as the next guy - Chicago beat WashU three times, and one can certainly argue that head-to-head record should dictate the rankings.  WashU could have taken their fate into their own hands, but they had one terrible day and dropped 3 to U of C.  However, Chicago has not proven that they can hang with the the strongest teams - Coe, IWU, Scholastica, Case, etc., and WashU has.  Chicago is an extremely talented team, especially at the plate, but has done well over a much smaller sample size.

[wustlfan37]

I'm VERY curious to know how teams would be regionally ranked after this weekend.  Coe, Carthage, and IWU would likely still be on top, but who comes next?  NPU and BVU both made quick exits from their conference tourneys, and Augustana probably didn't belong in the rankings to begin with.

I would be shocked to see only one Pool C come out of the Central - who is in line after IWU?  Assuming NCC doesn't take two from Carthage tomorrow...

[Kohawk Krazy]

Coe has made it unbeaten to the IIAC finals tomorrow. Will face either Luther, Wartburg or Buena Vista. They are in a great spot right now.

Coe plays either Simpson or Wartburg at 2:30 p.m. for the championship.

[BearBaseball]

At the time of the rankings, these were the numbers:
Team               Win%   SOS   Regionally Ranked
Augustana       .636     .516       3-4
Chicago           .636     .530       4-1
WashU            .651     .528        5-8
North Central   .625     .522       3-7


To say North Central and Augustana are "in the same boat as" WashU and Chicago is not supported by anything. Not only do they have better winning percentages but the SOS aren't even close. If the difference between .516 and .530 is as big as the D3baseball.com numbers make them appear, Augustana would have to jump about 60 teams nationally to get to .530. How can that be close? Especially with Buena Vista and North Park falling early in their conference tournaments, they will all be very close to getting playoff bids. If they wanted to put Chicago and their 14 wins ahead of us, I would understand. They beat us pretty bad on one day. But, as of last week, NCC and Augustana didn't deserve to be in the conversation.

[BigPoppa]

At the time of the rankings, these were the numbers:
Team               Win%   SOS   Regionally Ranked
Augustana       .636     .516       3-4
Chicago           .636     .530       4-1
WashU            .651     .528        5-8
North Central   .625     .522       3-7


To say North Central and Augustana are "in the same boat as" WashU and Chicago is not supported by anything. Not only do they have better winning percentages but the SOS aren't even close. If the difference between .516 and .530 is as big as the D3baseball.com numbers make them appear, Augustana would have to jump about 60 teams nationally to get to .530. How can that be close? Especially with Buena Vista and North Park falling early in their conference tournaments, they will all be very close to getting playoff bids. If they wanted to put Chicago and their 14 wins ahead of us, I would understand. They beat us pretty bad on one day. But, as of last week, NCC and Augustana didn't deserve to be in the conversation.

If you are going to bring up conference tourney results as part of the argument, I'd have to ask how WashU did in the UAA tourney? 

[mr_b]

... Especially with Buena Vista and North Park falling early in their conference tournaments, they will all be very close to getting playoff bids...

If you are going to bring up conference tourney results as part of the argument, I'd have to ask how WashU did in the UAA tourney? 

Oh, snap!