This Wednesday marks the start of my final examination period. Accordingly, posting will be light (if existent) over the next two weeks. You, as one of ten dedicated readers of this notebook, have three options:1. Wait patiently;
2. Bug Dave Pearson to write more material; or
3. Leave a note informing me that you would like to pen material for this notebook.
If you choose to explore the final option, I do require that you have at least a remedial understanding of the English language. (Read: state school flunkies need not apply.) I've been thinking about bringing somebody on board to blog Syracuse news and this might be an excellent opportunity for a trial run.
Virginia Number One, World Spins on Axis
For what seems like the umpteenth week in a row, the Virginia Cavaliers have been tapped as the nation's top lacrosse team in both the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll and the USILA/STX Coaches Poll.
Inside Lacrosse Media Poll
Like every edition of the Media Poll this season, the press release from Inside Lacrosse is short and to the point:
1. Virginia (24)Virginia kept rolling and retained the top spot in this week's Inside Lacrosse media poll. The Cavaliers received all 23 first-place votes.
Hofstra remained in second place while Maryland, Georgetown and Cornell each moved up a spot to third, fourth and fifth, respectively. Navy, which was ranked third in last week's rankings, dropped into a sixth-place tie with Johns Hopkins.
For the first time this season, no teams ranked in last week's rankings dropped out of the poll this week. The biggest drop came from Loyola, which fell from No. 14 to No. 20 this week. The biggest gain came from Hopkins, which was tenth in last week's poll.
The Inside Lacrosse media poll comes out every Monday and features voters from media outlets across the country.
2. Hofstra
3. Maryland
4. Georgetown
5. Cornell
6. Navy
7. [Hate] Johns Hopkins
8. Syracuse
9. Princeton
10. Massachusetts
11. Pennsylvania
12. Towson
13. UMBC
14. Denver
15. Notre Dame
USILA/STX Coaches Poll
They're overglorified gym teachers and they vote in a poll. And they overvalue a Johns Hopkins victory over Navy.
1. Virginia (10)
2. Hofstra
3. Maryland
4. Cornell
5. Georgetown
6. [Hate] Johns Hopkins
7. Princeton
8. Navy
9. Syracuse
10. Pennsylvania
11. Massachusetts
12. Towson
13. UMBC
14. Denver
15. State Penn
Pointless NCAA Speculation
After this weekends' incredible slate of upsets and last second victories, there have been some minor yet notable changes in my prognostications for May's Field of 16. As usual, I have utilized the multi-step selection criteria devised by the NCAA selection committee to create what appears below.
Automatic Bids
America East Conference: University of Maryland-Baltimore County
Colonial Athletic Conference: Hofstra
Great Western Lacrosse League: Denver
Ivy Group: Cornell
Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference: St. Joseph's
Patriot League: Navy
At-Large Bids
America East Conference: None
Atlantic Coast Conference: Maryland; Virginia
Colonial Athletic Conference: Towson
Eastern Colleges Athletic Conference: Georgetown; Massachusetts
Great Western Lacrosse League: None
Independents: Johns Hopkins; Syracuse
Ivy Group: Harvard, Pennsylvania; Princeton
Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference: Get Fucking Real, Douchebag
Patriot League: None
Seedings
1. Virginia
2. Hofstra
3. Cornell
4. Maryland
5. Georgetown
6. Navy
7. Johns Hopkins
8. Syracuse
Bubble Watch
The calendar reads late April and that means only one thing: the NCAA tournament bubble is getting crowded. From now until selection day, I will highlight those teams that could play themselves into or out of the tournament field. The table is organized with the most deserving team placed highest on the chart with the least deserving of the bubble teams placed the lowest.
| 2006 NCAA "Bubble Watch" | ||||||||
| Team | Record | RPI | SOS | Good Wins | ||||
| Harvard | 6-4 | 16 | 6 | Stony Brook; Pennsylvania; Denver | ||||
| Stony Brook | 8-4 | 10 | 15 | State Penn; Denver | ||||
| Colgate | 11-2 | 21 | 43 | Navy | ||||
| State Penn | 7-4 | 20 | 17 | Massachusetts | ||||
| Delaware | 10-4 | 24 | 39 | None | ||||
| Notre Dame | 8-4 | 12 | 27 | State Penn | ||||
If Dave doesn't do it (which I don't think he has since his curling exploits) I can try.
Brian -
Send me an email at mdglaude-at-hotmail.com. I'll need your email address to give you access to Blogger.