Polls

[Seacoaster(1)]

1. Northwestern- Dominant win over OSU. Odds on favorite to lift the trophy again. Defense is starting to click.
2. Syracuse- Clinched the ACC Regular Season title. Still think there is a question mark in goal that is covered up nicely by their dominance on the draw.
3. Notre Dame- Pummeled poor Virginia Tech (what happened to them? Say what you want about Sung, but they were beating Duke and going to the tournament with him at the helm). Can they perform in post season?
4. Michigan- Dominant second half against JHU. Final 4 weekend for them or bust. Guess we will need to see how the bracket shakes out.
5. UVA- The duke game is the single most perplexing game of the year sans the NW vs PSU game. Definitely a final 4 contender. When the GK is on, they are good, when the GK is off, they wont make it.
6. BC- No show in the first half against UVA, got it to OT, but a team with THAT much talent, the amount of losses they have had is difficult to wrap your head around.
7. Loyola- Smacked Princeton around. There is an argument that they should be top 5.
8. Maryland- Loss to PSU. This team is very average. No excuses to lose to a Penn State team that beat Vandy by 1.
9. Florida- A tight game vs JMU turned into a blowout in the second half. Sneaky good offense and the goaltending has been figured out
10. Yale- Excited to see them play Denver in a few weeks.
11. JHU- tough week for them, but can’t drop them much losing to two top 8 teams
12. SBU- Beat Rutgers and Drexel this week. The team is starting to click and I wouldn’t want to play them come tournament time.
13. Denver- Beat up on Marquette, Has 3 games that are wins coming up before a date with Yale in the back half of the month.
14. JMU- outside that UNC game at the beginning of the season, their second best win is Temple? Two more wins coming up vs Vanderbilt and Old Dominion
15. Princeton- Ugly loss to Loyola where they weren’t competitive. I get that the numbers say the Ivy is a 3 bid league, but I would say that Duke/Clemson/Louisville /VT from the ACC would compete with this team and most Big 10 program would beat them. Best win is Penn State team that choked against them and Penn who is on the downswing and lost to them on the road in driving rain.
16. UNC- Beat Pitt. Interesting game vs Duke coming up, they will need some save which has been hard to come by.
17. Stanford- Nice win over USC and headed towards the #1 seed in the PAC 12 tournament. Closer game than one would think
18. Penn- Beat Cornell in cold/grey Ithaca. Down early, but righted the ship for a 4 goal win. Might have peaked to early this season, but anything can happen
19. Penn State- This team is incredibly frustrating.
20. Harvard- Loss to Yale (not really close at all)
21. Clemson- Loss to Cuse (not really close at all)
22. Navy- Win vs Army (How Army has fallen this year)
23. Duke-Win vs Louisville (6 seed in the ACC tournament)
24. Drexel- Loss to SBU and almost lost to Towson
25. Fairfield- Keeps chugging along

RV: USC, Richmond, Temple, Brown

Good poll, as usual flushlax77. I just am a skeptic about UVA, and don't think Maryland (yes, they have some wins) belong in the top ten. And I cannot get a bead on how good Loyola really is.

I don't think the Ivy necessarily gets three teams into the tournament. The Penn-Loyola (4:00 PM) and Maryland-Princeton (7:00 PM) games tomorrow may loom large for their chances if Ivy is limited to two teams.

[Womenslaxxfan]

We will see, but I think the ivies are going to be a three and maybe 4 bid league. Yale is going for sure. And Penn and Princeton are near locks given Penn beat Maryland (a top 10 rpi team), and Princeton beat Penn and Penn state (who will be a tourney team if they remain above 500). I don’t think brown and Harvard have done enough to get in (ie, so far this season neither of them has beaten a team that’s going to the tourney), but that could change in the next few games.

[spidey44]

We will see, but I think the ivies are going to be a three and maybe 4 bid league. Yale is going for sure. And Penn and Princeton are near locks given Penn beat Maryland (a top 10 rpi team), and Princeton beat Penn and Penn state (who will be a tourney team if they remain above 500). I don’t think brown and Harvard have done enough to get in (ie, so far this season neither of them has beaten a team that’s going to the tourney), but that could change in the next few games.

PSU will be .500 or better no matter what happens the rest of the way. So they will be eligible. The MD win gets them in for sure (just needed that .500 record and that's a top 10 win to add to the resume - whether or not you think MD should be top 10).

[Relax77]

We will see, but I think the ivies are going to be a three and maybe 4 bid league. Yale is going for sure. And Penn and Princeton are near locks given Penn beat Maryland (a top 10 rpi team), and Princeton beat Penn and Penn state (who will be a tourney team if they remain above 500). I don’t think brown and Harvard have done enough to get in (ie, so far this season neither of them has beaten a team that’s going to the tourney), but that could change in the next few games.

PSU will be .500 or better no matter what happens the rest of the way. So they will be eligible. The MD win gets them in for sure (just needed that .500 record and that's a top 10 win to add to the resume - whether or not you think MD should be top 10).

Super inconsistent yes. But that and NU win gets them in most definitely.

[hmmm]

We will see, but I think the ivies are going to be a three and maybe 4 bid league. Yale is going for sure. And Penn and Princeton are near locks given Penn beat Maryland (a top 10 rpi team), and Princeton beat Penn and Penn state (who will be a tourney team if they remain above 500). I don’t think brown and Harvard have done enough to get in (ie, so far this season neither of them has beaten a team that’s going to the tourney), but that could change in the next few games.

PSU will be .500 or better no matter what happens the rest of the way. So they will be eligible. The MD win gets them in for sure (just needed that .500 record and that's a top 10 win to add to the resume - whether or not you think MD should be top 10).

Super inconsistent yes. But that and NU win gets them in most definitely.

I agree, but the numbers aren't necessarily in their favor if they were to lose to Hopkins Thursday and then lose to them again in Big Ten tourney to finish 8-8. It would depend on what happens with Navy, Duke, Drexel, USC/Colorado, Ivies, etc. If Siena were to upset Fairfield in the MAAC tourney, Fairfield probably still gets in. If Clemson beats Notre Dame in the ACC quarters, they would get in ahead of PSU as well. USC could very well finish 14-5. Would the committee take a 5th Big Ten team over a second Pac-12 team? If Drexel gets two wins over Hofstra before losing to SB in the CAA finals they'd get in over PSU(higher RPI and head to head win). If Navy makes the Patriot finals and finishes 15-4, is the committee keeping them out? If Brown were to beat Penn and Cornell in their last 2 games, they're probably in even with a loss to Yale in Ivy semis. Those at-large spots go away quickly.

Lot of moving parts still. PSU has a couple bad losses, OSU (RPI 56) and Colorado(RPI 27 now but will likely slip into 30s unless they beat USC).

It will be interesting what happens the next few weeks.

[NULax2]

We will see, but I think the ivies are going to be a three and maybe 4 bid league. Yale is going for sure. And Penn and Princeton are near locks given Penn beat Maryland (a top 10 rpi team), and Princeton beat Penn and Penn state (who will be a tourney team if they remain above 500). I don’t think brown and Harvard have done enough to get in (ie, so far this season neither of them has beaten a team that’s going to the tourney), but that could change in the next few games.

PSU will be .500 or better no matter what happens the rest of the way. So they will be eligible. The MD win gets them in for sure (just needed that .500 record and that's a top 10 win to add to the resume - whether or not you think MD should be top 10).

Super inconsistent yes. But that and NU win gets them in most definitely.

I agree, but the numbers aren't necessarily in their favor if they were to lose to Hopkins Thursday and then lose to them again in Big Ten tourney to finish 8-8. It would depend on what happens with Navy, Duke, Drexel, USC/Colorado, Ivies, etc. If Siena were to upset Fairfield in the MAAC tourney, Fairfield probably still gets in. If Clemson beats Notre Dame in the ACC quarters, they would get in ahead of PSU as well. USC could very well finish 14-5. Would the committee take a 5th Big Ten team over a second Pac-12 team? If Drexel gets two wins over Hofstra before losing to SB in the CAA finals they'd get in over PSU(higher RPI and head to head win). If Navy makes the Patriot finals and finishes 15-4, is the committee keeping them out? If Brown were to beat Penn and Cornell in their last 2 games, they're probably in even with a loss to Yale in Ivy semis. Those at-large spots go away quickly.

Lot of moving parts still. PSU has a couple bad losses, OSU (RPI 56) and Colorado(RPI 27 now but will likely slip into 30s unless they beat USC).

It will be interesting what happens the next few weeks.

As long as PSU is eligible (8-8) they are in, The ONLY teams with 2 or more top 5 wins are NU, Penn and PSU. (as of now)

[flushlax77]

Agreed that Penn State is in no matter what. Disagree that the pac 12 is a 2 bid league. Too many dumb losses (USC to Dartmouth who resides in the bottom 2 of the Ivy) and too low of SOS with both being in the low 30’s. I would take Drexel over either of those 2.

[hmmm]

We will see, but I think the ivies are going to be a three and maybe 4 bid league. Yale is going for sure. And Penn and Princeton are near locks given Penn beat Maryland (a top 10 rpi team), and Princeton beat Penn and Penn state (who will be a tourney team if they remain above 500). I don’t think brown and Harvard have done enough to get in (ie, so far this season neither of them has beaten a team that’s going to the tourney), but that could change in the next few games.

PSU will be .500 or better no matter what happens the rest of the way. So they will be eligible. The MD win gets them in for sure (just needed that .500 record and that's a top 10 win to add to the resume - whether or not you think MD should be top 10).

Super inconsistent yes. But that and NU win gets them in most definitely.

I agree, but the numbers aren't necessarily in their favor if they were to lose to Hopkins Thursday and then lose to them again in Big Ten tourney to finish 8-8. It would depend on what happens with Navy, Duke, Drexel, USC/Colorado, Ivies, etc. If Siena were to upset Fairfield in the MAAC tourney, Fairfield probably still gets in. If Clemson beats Notre Dame in the ACC quarters, they would get in ahead of PSU as well. USC could very well finish 14-5. Would the committee take a 5th Big Ten team over a second Pac-12 team? If Drexel gets two wins over Hofstra before losing to SB in the CAA finals they'd get in over PSU(higher RPI and head to head win). If Navy makes the Patriot finals and finishes 15-4, is the committee keeping them out? If Brown were to beat Penn and Cornell in their last 2 games, they're probably in even with a loss to Yale in Ivy semis. Those at-large spots go away quickly.

Lot of moving parts still. PSU has a couple bad losses, OSU (RPI 56) and Colorado(RPI 27 now but will likely slip into 30s unless they beat USC).

It will be interesting what happens the next few weeks.

As long as PSU is eligible (8-8) they are in, The ONLY teams with 2 or more top 5 wins are NU, Penn and PSU. (as of now)

They're also the only team in the RPI top 34 with 3 or more losses outside the top 20. I think they're most likely in too, but don't think it's 100%. Lax Reference had them in the "Work to do" column for a reason. There's quite a few scenarios that they'd find themselves left out. If they find themselves on the bubble with Drexel and Colorado can you put them in over 2 teams they lost to?

[hmmm]

Agreed that Penn State is in no matter what. Disagree that the pac 12 is a 2 bid league. Too many dumb losses (USC to Dartmouth who resides in the bottom 2 of the Ivy) and too low of SOS with both being in the low 30’s. I would take Drexel over either of those 2.

The Pac12 is a 2 bid league if USC wins it. Stanford will get in regardless. Their RPI is 11 right now.

[hmmm]

Point is, there are only 14 at-large bids:
In no particular order assuming Cuse, NU, Loyola, Florida, Yale win their conferences:
1. Notre Dame
2. BC
3. UVA
4. UNC
5. Maryland
6. Michigan
7. Hopkins
8. JMU
9. Penn
10. Princeton

Those 10 are all locks leaving only 4 spots for:
Navy
PSU
USC
Drexel
Duke
Clemson
Brown
Harvard
Colorado
Holy Cross

If PSU were to finish 8-8, they'd have a far worse record and a lower RPI than most those teams. And that's assuming Fairfield wins the MAAC, Denver wins the Big East, Stony Brook wins the CAA, etc. PSU was the last team in last year by most accounts with an 11-6 record and a win over MD and fewer bad losses.

[BigRedChant]

If that is the list for who gets the final 4 spots … I would say an 8-8 PSU is a lock (I’d feel pretty good if I was Navy, USC, and Drexel too)

[flushlax77]

USC has by far the worst loss of that group to Dartmouth. I would say Duke should feel okay with the best win vs UVA.

[hmmm]

If that is the list for who gets the final 4 spots … I would say an 8-8 PSU is a lock (I’d feel pretty good if I was Navy, USC, and Drexel too)

Like I said, I think they get in. But you're assuming Brown doesn't beat Penn and Cornell(if they do they're in most likely with a top 20 RPI). You're assuming Clemson doesn't beat Notre Dame(first game went to 2OT and if Clemson wins they'd get in over PSU). You're assuming Duke doesn't beat UNC(combined with their win over UVA they'd get in over PSU. In fact, the numbers have them ahead of PSU even if both teams lose their last 2 games). You're assuming Colorado doesn't get a win over USC to finish regular season 12-4 with a win over PSU but then USC beats CU in the Pac12 tourney meaning both USC and CU probably get in. You're assuming Siena doesn't beat Fairfield in the MAAC championship. If Holy Cross beats Army, their numbers are better than PSU. The list goes on and on.

It doesn't take all those things to happen. Navy is probably already in assuming they don't trip up in their last 3 easy games. Drexel is pretty close. Duke may be ahead of PSU already. All I'm saying is there's plenty of scenarios that make things very difficult on PSU if they don't win one of their next two games. Committee likes wins over other teams in tournament. Currently those 2 great wins are the only wins they have which are also canceled out by 2 bad losses when it comes to significant wins/significant loss criteria. Throw in the head to head losses to CU and Drexel and things can get dicey.

The committee also has a habit of trying to spread out the bids amongst conferences and geographically whenever possible. A 5th Big Ten team on the east coast doesn't accomplish that.

I would love LaxReference to weigh on on this so that I don't sound crazy.

[hmmm]

USC has by far the worst loss of that group to Dartmouth. I would say Duke should feel okay with the best win vs UVA.

Dartmouth RPI is 34.

PSU lost to RPI 56 OSU.

[flushlax77]

USC has by far the worst loss of that group to Dartmouth. I would say Duke should feel okay with the best win vs UVA.

Dartmouth RPI is 34.

PSU lost to RPI 56 OSU.

I have PSU squarely in. Northwestern won alone. I was more looking at the other group.

[thedisciple516]

Maybe Virginia ahead of Michigan? Notre Dame, BC and JMU is quite the trio of impressive wins. Michigan's best win is.. Denver? After that it's a bunch of W's over mediocrity

[hmmm]

Maybe Virginia ahead of Michigan? Notre Dame, BC and JMU is quite the trio of impressive wins. Michigan's best win is.. Denver? After that it's a bunch of W's over mediocrity

Right now UVA (RPI 7) and Michigan (RPI 6) would probably both be seeded.

Not sure I'd classify wins over Penn and Hopkins as wins over mediocrity unless top 8 RPI teams fit your definition.

Virginia Top 20 Wins:
ND - RPI 9
Stanford - RPI 10
BC - RPI 12
Princeton - RPI 13
JMU - RPI 17

Bad Losses (RPI 21+):
Duke - RPI 32

Michigan Top 20 Wins:
Penn - RPI 4
Hopkins - RPI 8
Denver - RPI 16

Bad Losses: None

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

NCAA Division I Women's Top 20
Week 11

1 Notre Dame
2 Northwestern
3 Boston College
4 Syracuse
5 Virginia
6 Maryland
7 Michigan
8 Loyola
9 Yale
10 Florida
11 Penn
12 Penn State
13 Johns Hopkins
14 Denver
15 Stony Brook
16 Princeton
17 James Madison
18 North Carolina
19 Stanford
20 USC

Also considered (alphabetical order): Brown (9-5), Colorado (10-5), Drexel (11-4), Duke (10-7), Fairfield (15-1), Harvard (10-3), Navy (13-3)

[spidey44]

NCAA Division I Women's Top 20
Week 11

1 Notre Dame
2 Northwestern
3 Boston College
4 Syracuse
5 Virginia
6 Maryland
7 Michigan
8 Loyola
9 Yale
10 Florida
11 Penn
12 Penn State
13 Johns Hopkins
14 Denver
15 Stony Brook
16 Princeton
17 James Madison
18 North Carolina
19 Stanford
20 USC

Also considered (alphabetical order): Brown (9-5), Colorado (10-5), Drexel (11-4), Duke (10-7), Fairfield (15-1), Harvard (10-3), Navy (13-3)

Couple personal observations. As a MD fan, I can admit they are ranked WAY too high. Also, not sure Penn State is 12, I will eat crow as I had no good things to say about them a few weeks ago (although I did say it wouldn't surprise me if they beat the Terps lol). I will continue with my Duke hate however. One good win.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

1 Northwestern (17)
2 Notre Dame
3 Boston College
4 Syracuse
5 Michigan
6 Virginia
7 Maryland
8 Yale
9 Loyola
10 Florida
11 Penn
12 Denver
13 Stony Brook
14 North Carolina
15 Johns Hopkins
16 Penn State
17 James Madison
18 Princeton
19 Stanford
20 Navy
21 USC
22 Fairfield
23 Colorado
24 Duke
25 Harvard

First place votes in parentheses