Preseason Poll (B Div.) - Who will be ranked in the Top 10?

[LAX SAMURAI]

Two OOC games were "required," but if you won your division you were automatically in, thus nobody really had or has any real incentive to fulfill this requirement. From what I can gather they do this for the potential of at large bids, however, we all know the Div. B dynamic, and how that works so techinically yes, but in reality no.

[usdlax8]

like laxsamurai said, the ooc games were made a pretty big deal and it seems that every team has scheduled for three of these games in most of their schedules. in reality, those ooc games have no point right now other than meshing of different conferences because the div b hasn't said that they will allow for at-large bids. basically, ooc games only have one purpose, to show how teams in various conferences stack up (unless of course there is a quick change on the part of the national committee to allow aq's that is).

[usdlax8]

by aq's i mean at-large bids, woops.

[Pinball]

Two OOC games were "required," but if you won your division you were automatically in, thus nobody really had or has any real incentive to fulfill this requirement. From what I can gather they do this for the potential of at large bids, however, we all know the Div. B dynamic, and how that works so techinically yes, but in reality no.

To be eligible for the UMLL tournament you must have at least 2 OOC games

[lil lady lax fan]

I sympathize with ya'll about the OOC snafu. I'm sure it is/was frustrating for many of the top conference teams who were vying for a spot to Nationals. I think where it DID help was with the rankings during the season(prior to Nationals--those were off IMO) . It gave the pollsters a chance to see how the top teams did against outside competition.

Hopefully with all nine conferences meeting the requirements for inclusion in the National competition they'll have at least one at-large bid to make the field an even number of teams. I think three (12 total) would be optimal for a first round of at-large bids. I think the EB must have watched Schoolhouse Rock once too often--Eight may be a magic number but in this instance I think we need a few more slots.

[lil lady lax fan]

OOPS! My Bad. THREE is the magic number.

You're great with Figure Eight (and yes, I'm paraphrasing ).

[Kyle Berggren]

So with all of this talk, how do we rank the conferences in B? We've seen a few games OOC and have an idea of how the conferences stacked up at the tournament last season.

[usdlax8]

that is a good question. i don't think the conferences themselves will get ranked but every year it seems that it is apparent that there is a conference that stands above the rest (like in div a where rmlc and wcll had stood at a higher level for sure). i think the only way to see is once the spring ooc games are played. every team in fall ball has a lot of confusion such as missing players, study abroad students, kinks with coaches working out, and an overall "lax" feel to fall ball. once spring gets going and teams realize this is the, for lack of a better word, real season the competition is much more intense. i think once the polls start coming out they will still be based a little on estimation. the ooc games do really help with the polls and rankings though.

[lil lady lax fan]

All right, how it's looking this year based off last year's stats and comments made on the board...

WCLL has 2-4 very strong teams in their ranks with the perennial powerhouses Claremont and San Diego leading the way (Sorry Toreros but I gotta give my team top billing!!). UC Irvine and Pepperdine will also be in the mix with Santa Cruz a mysterious unknown. Santa Cruz had a respectable showing at Laxtoberfest last weekend. UNLV is also a new team in the B division. Saw them play against Claremont last April. This year they will probably be in the mid ranks of the league.

The CCLA has 2, maybe three teams vying for the top spots in their conference with at least two already strong in the polls. IUP sounds like they have a lot of depth in their roster. Calvin has lost some of their key players but I wouldn't discount them too quickly. They have a sharp coach and a lot of determination to make it back to Nationals in May. Ferris State had a pretty young team last year and did have a good showing against Calvin in Fall Ball.

The PNCLL and the SELC both have two teams in the top ten (3 and 8, and 9 and 10 spots respectively). PLU and Montana both did well in Fall Ball. Montana State also looks strong. The PNCLL has a pretty strong B division in their conference. There've also been good things posted about App. State and Davidson's current rosters and their prospects. Emory was also in the top twenty last year and were working pretty hard during Fall Ball.

The GRLC has a pair of strong contenders in the guise of Harding and Creighton. Creighton had a good showing in Fall Ball. Harding's new coach seems to be doing a good job, with lots of compliments flying their way about their performance in the Ozark Tournament a few weeks ago. WIU only lost two starters so they might give Creighton and Harding a run for their money.

UMLL's SJU should make the top five (IMO) with UST slapping them around for the top spots. I look forward to seeing how these two teams stack up against the powerhouses in the West this February. To give the event a plug, UC Irvine is hosting the President's Day Shootout Feb. 18-20th. If you're going to be in town, there should be some pretty hot games going on that weekend with St. John, St. Thomas, Pacific Lutheran, Northern Colorado and possibly Calvin coming into town to mix it up with the WCLL crew. With the Div. A OOC teams included there will be participants from five conferences (WCLL, PNCLL, UMLL, RMLC, and LSA). Talk about variety!!

UVSC is looking good in the RMLC. Definitely top five material there. Ft. Lewis had a pretty strong team the year before last. Not sure how they're doing this year.

LSA has the least depth in their ranks of the eight conferences that have participated in Nationals, with Southwestern the top contender in their B division for a spot in the top twenty. In all fairness lacrosse is just starting to gain in popularity in Texas and the surrounding states. They have some strong teams in the A division, hopefully with the advent of OOC games the B teams will see a marked improvement in their rankings in the polls.

And then there's the PCLL. They have Framingham State picked as the top team in their B division. With so many fine players coming out of New England they may do better than some folks think. Anyone know who they're playing OOC??

How does that sound for a sum-up? I know this isn't complete, so feel free to make corrections/comments/complaints/etc.

[brick15]

Ball State got moved to the A division I think.

[LaxRef]

Ball State got moved to the A division I think.

IIRC, they are too big for division B but competed there last year (and thus could play in the regular season but not make the playoffs).

[lil lady lax fan]

I removed the reference to Ball State and added PLU to the list of participants in the UCI President's Day Shoutout. Apologies to PLU for my lapse.

Didn't mean to leave the PCLL out of the mix. I've added a blurb about them.

[Andy Sharp]

The CCLA has 2, maybe three teams vying for the top spots in their conference with at least two already strong in the polls. IUP sounds like they have a lot of depth in their roster. Calvin has lost some of their key players but I wouldn't discount them too quickly. They have a sharp coach and a lot of determination to make it back to Nationals in May. Ferris State had a pretty young team last year and did have a good showing against Calvin in Fall Ball.

For the CCLA I believe there are at least two that suffered from new team syndrome last year: Indiana Univ. of Pennsylvania and Grove City. IUP went undefeated up until the championship game and Grove City only lost by one 14-13 last year to the eventual champion. Now we have another new team that should not be overlooked: University of Dayton. Dayton appears to have a motivated coaching staff and with all the HS talent in Ohio, they could be stronger than feared. You've made note of Ferris State and I'd agree, then there is Grand Valley State, a strong team from last year who without some key injuries and tough road trips would have been more in the mix. This year GVSU has got two East Grand Rapids players who've returned from Colorado State. Oh, and don't forget about Taylor University. Trust me, a Calvin 4-peat is not a sure thing, the CCLA is a conference full of contenders.

[Zeuslax]

I would definitely agree with Dayton being the big X factor in the CCLA this year. They take on Michigan early in the season, this should
tell us something about them. Could be another season were if you catch a team on the right day, anyone could win.

[jdmyway]

i think that maybe a few teams from the GRLC will sneak in there. Harding has a fairly easy schedule, all things considered, but also I think that Western Illiniois and Creighton have a shot if they bring their A-game all season.