FORUM: Comment
LINK: D1 Men’s Lacrosse – The Week of 04.16.18
As the NCAA season has progressed, objectivity in our ability to judge which wins or losses are better or worse has become increasingly more difficult. Obviouslt we can say a win over PSU is a better win than a win over Notre Dame but this doesn’t make the statement an objective truth. And, as our goal from pre-season until today hasn’t changed, to create a better, more objectively accurate ranking, we’re trying a different system. The main problem is that the rankings change dramatically (1) if you value good wins over bad losses or vice-versa and who is to say that a good win is more important than a bad loss or vice-versa and (2) there is a ripple effect every team has a win or loss. i.e. The movement of a team causes other teams to move. And, when these teams move, it causes the value of each teams quality wins and losses to move and… The movement never stops. By definition, if the wins and losses of teams are circular, then the rankings are circular. i.e. If A beat B who beat C then, by definition, A, B, and C could each be #1, #2, or #3. so… we want to try something different. If using numbers results in a circular loop, then maybe we need to use a different ranking format. So, at least for this week, we’re trying something different with the hope that the change will spur a process where we move towards a better, more objectively accurate ranking.
As an aside, we are aware that even creating this graph involves using subjective metrics to decide what constitutes a Best W vs. a Worst W and a Best L vs. a Worst L. None the less, we’re trying to see if moving in this direction helps with minimizing subjectivity.
FORUM: Comment
LINK: D1 Men’s Lacrosse – The Week of 04.16.18
