Second MDIA Div. B Top 25 poll is out (3/10/05)

[Sonny]

LINK:
http://www.uslia.com/news.php?action=fullnews&id=58

[naptownlax]

looks like things are starting to consolidate and shape up in division b. i'd say this poll has things starting to look more accurate, at least in the top 10. below that, there are still so many teams that haven't played many games. i'm really lookin forward to seeing how things shape up out west this week between the pncll, rmll, and wcll. should be fun and educational. oh, and a bit of an aside here - props go out to ft. lewis for scheduling such a monster road through the early season, 4 top 10 teams in a row. impressive, no matter what the outcomes. keep us all posted on how things are goin out there. fun things goin on.......lacrosse - what a beautiful thing.

[cjwilhelmi]

Did the voters not look at results? How is Texas Arlington still ahead of Harding when Harding beat them 13-8? That doesn't make sense at all. I don't think the voters did their homework.

Sorry I just had to voice my dissagreement and dissapointment with the voters.

[Kyle Berggren]

I am a voter, and know a few others, but it's people's opinions. Sometimes teams just don't move as far as you'd think. We beat PLU a couple weeks ago, and we are placed right behind them. Heck, last week we were 15, and now we recieved a first place vote. People are still feeling out their polls a bit as things settle out, I wouldn't be suprised if its similar next time. I know my poll had a few big movers. A lot of looking at these polls needs to remember that every voter should have their own poll they adjust, not the final one that comes out. I use excel and make notes as games occur, then move my poll around the day before. I'm pretty sure a lot of guys do it the same way.

As far as schedule goes, you do have to congratulate teams for scheduling like that. PLU also scheduled very tough, I hope people aren't looking at their record alone.

Oregon, SFU, Washington, Oregon State (lost to SFU by 1), WWU (2 times), UPS (2 times), UVSC, Linfield, Montana, Boise State

[Dr. Jason Stockton]

Did the voters not look at results? How is Texas Arlington still ahead of Harding when Harding beat them 13-8? That doesn't make sense at all. I don't think the voters did their homework.

Sorry I just had to voice my dissagreement and dissapointment with the voters.

As a voter I can speak personally and say that I do plenty of homework. It took over 3 hours (of homework) for me to put my poll together this week. I know most other poll voters take their job very seriously and try as hard as they can to be thorough and accurate.

Head-to-head games are a huge factor, but not the only factor that determines a ranking. PLU beat Linfield, Linfield beat UPS, UPS beat PLU. . .so you have to take into consideration several other factors. And in the case of Harding and UTA - Texas Arlington started the season in the top 5, and Harding was outside the top 10 - one team falls and the other climbs. . .early in the season it is difficult until each team has 6 or 7 games played.

It's not easy to get everything right - but it isn't because we aren't doing our homework.

[cjwilhelmi]

And in the case of Harding and UTA - Texas Arlington started the season in the top 5, and Harding was outside the top 15 - one team falls and the other climbs. . .early in the season it is difficult until each team has 6 or 7 games played.

It's not easy to get everything right - but it isn't because we aren't doing our homework.

If you actually did your homework you would know that Harding was 12 in the preseason poll and UTA was 5. In the 1st regular season poll Harding was 15 and UTA was 9. You might want to look this up, in fact I am providing the links for your ease. Preseason Poll - http://forums.uslia.com/viewtopic.php?t=3 1st regular season poll - http://forums.uslia.com/viewtopic.php?t=600

As far as games played Harding and UTA have both played 6.

I am sure that you take your job seriously but some more careful looking at the whole picture would be nice.

Just so Coach Robinson and the UTA guys know, I'm not complaining or saying anything against them. I think their a quality program. I just think that the polls are flawed.

[Dr. Jason Stockton]

Sorry, it was after the pre-season poll that Harding fell three spots into a tie for 15th after losing to Lindenwood and Creighton. UTA also fell a few spots after losing to St. John's.

And yes, I realize both teams have played six games. . .but several top 25 teams haven't played that many, and a couple have played one or less. If you read more carefully what I wrote you will realize that was my point.

Anyway, you note that the polls are flawed. No news there. But it is as good of a system as you will find, and complaining without offering up solutions really seems pointless to me.

. . .and for the record I have Harding in the top 10.

[jessexy]

. . .and for the record I have Harding in the top 10.

funny.....i have Harding in Arkansas!

[Chris Larson]

The division B poll is a great discussion point, but for 2005, it has no discernable bearing on Nationals other than arranging seeds. I think most people involved will agree that seeding in this year's tournament will be a total crapshoot and probably won't reflect a true heirarchy until future seasons when there is more consistent interconference play.

This assumes that all the eligible conferences are able to send their B division champion to Minnesota. Should any conferences fail to do so, the poll will indeed have a great say in participation.

[MinesGoallie45]

Im having a hard time figuring out how Ft. Lewis is still a top 20 team after getting blown out in thier first 2 games....not just beaten, but blown out...and then there are other teams that should be higher, but its still early in the season and this will all change once there is more games to look at.

[Choppy49er]

That is one of the most scattered set of first place votes I have seen in a while. 7 different teams is quite a bit.

Also, good job to Davidson- getting pretty high up there in the rankings, holding it down for the SELC.

[Dan Wishengrad]

Whitman is not ranked, and got only 2 pts (most likely a lone 24th place vote). This may be understandable based on losing to Montana 9-6 to open the season. EVERY year Whitman starts slow, and usually gets beaten by somebody in their first game. But the Missionaries always wind up in April in contention because Dave Schmitz is a very good lacrosse coach and they usually get enough talent. This says alot at a school with only about 500-600 eligible male undergrads. After winning a couple road games in Oregon, Whitman shut out Albertson 12-0 last week. This surprised me not even a little.

Our annual game against Whitman is Saturday, and as usual it scares me to death. If we win a close game, or heaven forbid lose AGAIN to WC our visit to the Top 25 is guaranteed to be a brief one -- thanks for stopping by, UW, don't let the door hit you on the way out! HAS a ranked A team lost yet to an unranked B team? Doubtful, and hopefully we won't be the first. But if there are 25 better B teams out there than Whitman, I've got to stop scheduling games against these guys. Whitman is always one of our toughest games, and I expect nothing less in 2005. I'm looking forward to watching #11 (Sadler) take the field for the fourth and final time against us. Heckuva player...

[Kyle Berggren]

As far as Ft. Lewis goes... I would guess some voters voted early, because they needed to make the deadline. If that is the case, they could move down in the next poll, but who knows.

[Maple Leaf]

having seen ft. lewis in action, despite their loses, i beleive they still have a strong team. they have some highly skilled players and it is still early in the season for them. it will be interesting to see how they do the rest of the season, and what that says about the relative strength of the conferences.

[Andy Sharp]

#7 Creighton and #9 Puget Sound getting 1st place votes, what?

I saw San Diego play last night and feel good about my 1st place votes these past two polls.

I could still see why Fort Lewis was as high as they were in the past and agree that one should not write them off, injuries heal. I don't think they should drop any more than they have.