hmmm wrote: ↑Wed Mar 13, 2024 4:08 pm
My mostly uninformed Top 20(totally subject to change at any moment):
1. Northwestern - While they haven't played all that well so far, they still have the best team and I have no doubt come NCAA time they'll be the team to beat
2. Maryland - They have better wins than BC does. Simple as that.
3. UVA - They also have better wins than BC does. Now I think BC is a better team than UVA, but rankings are supposed to be based on season to date, not potential. They are also #1 in RPI
4. BC - Yeah, you can only play who is on your schedule as Larry says, but AWW makes the schedule and until they beat a team that's even close to a top 20 team I can't put them in top 3. There's a reason their current RPI is 28th
5. Loyola - Undefeated with wins over Hop and Florida who are both top 10 in RPI. Again, this is based on right now. Loyola only has 2 tough matchups left on their schedule, 3 if you want to count Navy(I don't), so they won't end up this high.
6. JMU - They beat UNC and lost to MD. Nothing else to really judge them on with the rest of the teams they've played. Eye test says their defense isn't what it's been lately but offense is still humming
7. UNC - When they're playing well they can beat anyone. When they aren't playing well they can lost to anyone. Story of this season for a lot of teams
8. ND - I just don't trust them. I've seen them play several times and you wouldn't even know it's the same team from game to game. They beat #1 and UNC so they have to be in the top 10
9. Michigan - Really curious to see them play a top offense. Really good win against Denver but Denver doesn't scare anyone on the offensive side of the field.
10. Florida - Big win against MD and beat a scrappy Princeton team today. Only play one more tough game this season so assume they'll hang around this spot all year
11. Penn - They're well coached and have talent at all positions. I'm not sure they're better than the 4 teams below them on these rankings but they beat one of them in a strange game....
12. Hopkins - By RPI, their two losses are to #2 and #3 in games they could have won. We'll see if they can keep things close this weekend in Evanston
13. Denver - Idk. They're not the same team as last year but I thought it was a bit of a mirage last year too. One good win against SB, but it was SBs second game in 3 days with quite a bit of travel in between. Can't really rank them below SB though 2 days after beating them
14. Stony Brook - Ruined their chances for a home NCAA game in the span of 3 days after celebrating like they won something after beating a 3-2(at the time) Syracuse team.
15. Syracuse - Yes, I think they're a top 10 team, but I can't rank them there at 4-3 with only one good win. Kayla has been outcoached in a couple games this year(MD and SB) and with 4 tough games on the schedule(UVA, Cuse, UNC, BC) not sure they're going to have the kind of regular season they expected to
16. Yale - Idk about the Ivy but they beat Stanford, who I think is better than most and they beat Princeton. At this point in the rankings you could throw a dart at the dartboard. Couple tough OOC games against Rutgers and BC coming up will tell us more.
17. Stanford - Flying under the radar with an RPI of 9. They could make me look stupid in their next 2 games against Colorado and Denver but they're really talented. Not a fan of the coach but finally getting Jordyn Case healthy after 2 lost years is a boost as is Polisky assuming she can control her temper and cut down on the TOs. No good wins yet, but neither does anyone else down at this part of the rankings
18. Princeton - Going by the eye test, Princeton has talent. They beat Rutgers and PSU which is more than I can say for teams that aren't ranked here. OOC they still have Loyola and MD on schedule so they'll have a chance to make a statement.
19. USC - They're 6-2 but who have they beaten? They don't really have anyone left on their schedule other than Stanford, and I guess Colorado. If they don't win both those games are they even an NCAA tournament team?
20. Clemson - I can't rank them higher than this until they beat a top 20 team at some point. With their weak schedule, unless they beat BC, Cuse or ND I doubt they make the NCAAs even with a 11-5 record in regular season.
In terms of tiers:
Tier 1: Northwestern
Tier 2: MD, UVA, BC, Loyola, JMU, UNC, ND, Michigan, Florida, Penn, Hopkins, Denver, Stony Brook, Syracuse (I truly believe any of these teams can beat the others which has made this season great so far)
Tier 3: Yale, Stanford, Princeton, USC, Clemson, Navy, Harvard, Brown, Duke, Rutgers, PSU, Colorado, Va Tech, Drexel
Tier 4: Everyone else