Glitches in Laxpower rankings?

by **Albert Man** on Sun Mar 13, 2005 4:38 am

Laxpower is a great resource for getting scores that are organized by team. Very convenient. Also it's kinda fun to see what a computer would do just with numbers ala the BCS. The actual ranking doesn't have a vote in our poll's like a few years ago.

I'm not sure how much poll voters are putting stock into the actual rankings, but there are a few things that I have noticed scanning through, looking for scores which may effect the "calculations" and possibly indirectly relative perceptions. I was wondering if other people noticed them too, or am I the only one that spends too much time trolling for scores around the nation. Someone'd probably have to email laxpower directly to see if it's a just display error or if these things are actually affecting the rankings. We're right around the time when the laxpower ratings would start to "be more representative" because more games have been played, so I thought I'd throw this out there.

1) sometimes there are double listings in the quality win factor... so if a team beat another ranked team, they get "bonus points". sometimes that bonus is displayed duplicate for the next game they play, regardless of who it is and regardless of if it is a win or loss. Not sure if they are giving extra bonus when they shouldn't be or if this is just a display error.

2) Laxpower used to rank Div A and Div B teams on one big list, but now it looks like the Division B Laxpower Rating is one group and Div A laxpower rating is another, calculated independently. So a Div A team with a 70ish rating in Div A is completely different than a Div B team with a 70ish rating in the Div B pool (which would probably be rated around 50 if it was one big list). However several Div A teams play Div. B teams. In calculating what is supposed to happen in these games, Laxpower seems to be mixing 2 completely seperate pools. The effect of this is that a Div. A team (say rated 70ish in the A group) that whips a top rated Div B team (rated 70ish in the B pool) is getting rewarded like they had whipped a Div. A team (rated 70). It also looks like it's messing with the strength of schedule rankings where teams playing top Div B teams get a higher average.

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by **Danny Hogan** on Sun Mar 13, 2005 11:24 am

If i'm not mistaken, the laxpower vote in our poll the last few years was from the guy who runs the laxpower site that is pretty knowledgeable about our league.

Also the div A / Div B scenario you brought up causes even mor problems when a 70 something NCAA d3 school beats an 80 something USLIA school, its apples and oranges.

by **WaterBoy** on Mon Mar 14, 2005 8:11 am

I think you bring up a good point, which would actually explain a lot of the questions that were coming to bear in my mind regarding some SOS rankings. I notice that it does list teams as being in the B division, but I don't see any indication that their strength of schedule is adjusted.

It's also a shame that the Laxpower site doesn't get a vote. I see the Tritons are under-ranked according to the computer, and I think after this weekend's performances it will be a difficult conclusion with which to disagree.

Best of luck on locking that cherished AQ. I'm pulling for you.

by **Albert Man** on Tue Mar 15, 2005 2:17 pm

Yes the past weekend games were great. Both AZ schools play with alot of heart and are classy teams. Thanks for pulling for us the rest of the season. I think our remaining schedule is tough enough so that if we perform, the voters will see it.

Looks like Laxpower fixed the duplicate quality-win bonus points. The Div A, B, III fix may take a little longer.