LaxPower Back-Up Stick

3 of the 4 games were decided by 4 goals. ESPN is missing the boat not televising the D3 title game. D1 at times is over coached and at times offenses can be a bit cookie cutter, they all run the same offense. Looks like Gulls to me and no idea in hell from the north. Hoping Williams but beating Amherst 3x is asking a lot

Congrats to Amherst, Williams, Salisbury and Cabrini for making it to the finals. I did not think, based on SOS and lack of playing top ranked teams, that Cabrini would be ready and able to compete with York. I was obviously wrong.
Interesting new rankings by Fanlax. I understand the season-long body of work that goes into the calculations, but it seems to me an adjustment to the algorithm should be made to apply more credit to ncaa tournament results. I’m not sure how many points are in question or available per each win, but it looks like Salisbury is a Fanlax lock to remain #1 with their current point total, even if they lose in the semis. Hard not to give the actual tournament winner the #1 ranking. Same thing with other quarter final victors being ranked below the teams they defeated.

PicLax wrote: ↑Thu May 16, 2019 11:57 am Congrats to Amherst, Williams, Salisbury and Cabrini for making it to the finals. I did not think, based on SOS and lack of playing top ranked teams, that Cabrini would be ready and able to compete with York. I was obviously wrong.
Interesting new rankings by Fanlax. I understand the season-long body of work that goes into the calculations, but it seems to me an adjustment to the algorithm should be made to apply more credit to ncaa tournament results. I’m not sure how many points are in question or available per each win, but it looks like Salisbury is a Fanlax lock to remain #1 with their current point total, even if they lose in the semis. Hard not to give the actual tournament winner the #1 ranking. Same thing with other quarter final victors being ranked below the teams they defeated.

But this isn’t the “best team rankings” it’s merely a point structure metric obtained by statistical comparison. The best team can lay an egg and the worst team can play a great game. A one off win does not make the winner “the best team.” It merely makes the winner, the winner.

If the metric is adjusted to reflect the winner of the championship, then it’s not a metric it’s just a bracket.

It will be more useful to compare the unadjusted metric with the tournament results and see how it measures up. It’s working In putting Cabrini ahead of York. Give it time, maybe the others will shuffle out too.

Agreed. Tourney games should be worth more than regular season, even Conference/League Championship games should be worth more. And... This happens organically. In other words, it'd take a lot for a team to win it all and not be ranked #1. Not because they won a big game (which, painting with broad-strokes, is where teams are standing right now) but because they won (at least) 3 big games to be holding the trophy. And how do we know that their games will be big games? Because the teams they're playing are also winning against good teams. In theory, if every game in the Tournament was an upset, the Champion could be #4 or whatever.
But, even then, this 400 Point team would need to play only low-Point teams en route to winning it all (which is highly unlikely) and, if that's how a team won it all, personally, I'd argue that they don't deserve the #1 spot.

The central philosophy of the FanLax Ranking is that you're only as good as the teams you beat and only as bad as the teams you lose to. So if this 400 Point team strangely only played 400 Point teams en route to winning the national title (which I'm not sure is even possible), the computer would not be swayed by the photos on every lacrosse websites homepage of this team celebrating. Which I like.

DeepPocket wrote: ↑Thu May 16, 2019 12:50 pmIt will be more useful to compare the unadjusted metric with the tournament results and see how it measures up. It’s working In putting Cabrini ahead of York. Give it time, maybe the others will shuffle out too.

Deep, I'm curious, too. And no matter what happens, we'll be able to point a finger at a metric within the system (which is 100% understandable) or at a game (which is also 100% understandable) and say, Oh, that's why. e.g. Currently, Cabrini is ahead of teams they probably shouldn't be ahead of but this is because the Wins are normalized to a team's Top Two Wins. This, soon, will be increased and Cabrini will, most likely, fall some. And then Cabrini can say, It should be the Top Two Wins! In other words, at least it'll make sense.

Any predictions for the Semis?

Amherst 15-12 (Williams better team but both great. Amherst attack best in country, can’t beat an even matchup and death rival for 3x times)
Salisbury 14-8, not a particularly close game if Bury plays to their potential.

Spent some time with Cabrini captains last night at a high school game. Talk about a bunch of guys loving life right now. Complete sense of being on coarse to achieving their goals for the year, which ends in Philly. They know they have figured some things out since round 1. Always hard to beat Salisbury and even harder to do it in chicken country. But they absolutely feel like a group that can’t wait to jump over the wall and begin the battle.

Boomakegga wrote: ↑Sat May 18, 2019 10:18 am Spent some time with Cabrini captains last night at a high school game. Talk about a bunch of guys loving life right now. Complete sense of being on coarse to achieving their goals for the year, which ends in Philly. They know they have figured some things out since round 1. Always hard to beat Salisbury and even harder to do it in chicken country. But they absolutely feel like a group that can’t wait to jump over the wall and begin the battle.

Absolutely. My kid’s tot lax coach knows one or two Cabrini guys, and I take his word that they are a great group of young men. I’m pulling for them tomorrow (and that’s from a York guy).

Gulls over Cabrini , love to see Williams over Amherst but I think the Amherst O steps up this time around. Gulls over Amherst in the final. Once again Salisbury’s time of year

Amherst over Williams. Hard to beat a team 3 times in same season. Cabrini over Salisbury in an upset. Shock the world Cavs!!!

5-3 Amherst, early second

Amherst-Williams, 6-6. 7:00 left in the 3rd.

Great game. Bet this goes down to the wire. Great rivalry, and home turf for Williams. I still like Amherst to pull it out, though.

Amherst.

9:22 left in 1st. 3-0 CABRINI

That finish by Krug was nuts (6th goal). Cabrini is looking much better on the small things--GBs, passing, individual athletic plays. Salisbury's SSDMs need to step up, but expect this to be a great game.

9-8 Salisbury at the half. Credit Berkman for getting his men’s heads back in the game.

16-13 Cabrini!

Amherst/ Cabrini NC Game.
Nicely done

Said it earlier in the year after Cabrini beat Lynchburg... Krug is perhaps best player in D3. Certainly 1st team AA, especially now that he has taken them to 1st Championship shot

wow