A first look at the rankings.
March 8, 2018 by Charlie Eisenhood in News with 0 comments
Yesterday, USA Ultimate announced their first official rankings of the 2018 college regular season. Below is a look at the current rankings, the implied bid allocation, and the significance of what we’ve seen so far.
Men’s Division
Implied Bid Allocation
Atlantic Coast: 4
Great Lakes: 1
Metro East: 1
New England: 2
North Central: 3
Northwest: 31
Ohio Valley: 1
South Central: 2
Southeast: 2
Southwest: 1
Early Winners
- Atlantic Coast: The AC is currently sitting on four bids on the strength of strong performance across the board, plus some residual float from high relative connectivity to undefeated UNC and UNC-Wilmington. Every AC squad earning a bid had two or more tourneys on their ledger, so their results will have some staying power, and most will look to defend their bid in the regular season finale, Easterns, on their home turf.
- Southeast: A popular pick for a one-bid affair is currently a two-seat ride. Florida is the last team in and seems to have passed the eye test while the jury is still out on 13-2 Georgia Tech, who, despite their #13 spot, couldn’t even qualify into Easterns. GT has serendipitously struck bid-gold and are likely to remain in position barring a run of bad results.
On The Fence
- South Central: If it weren’t for Texas State’s 16-0 record in their remarkably large and uncannily isolated connectivity bubble (that has floated them all the way to #9), the SC would be starting at one bid for the first time in recent memory. Centex this weekend should be telling, as the Texas State bubble will be connected to rest of the division and Colorado State will retake the field for the first time since January.
Early Losers
- Southwest: After middling Stanford Invite performances from Cal Poly, Stanford, and California, the SW is sitting on a single bid, despite having four teams in the top 25. Classic. Not all hope is lost, however, as USC and Stanford retain reasonable ranking malleability and will have an opportunity to use a point-rich NWC field to improve their prospects.
- Great Lakes & Metro East: The GL and ME stay losing. Illinois carries the flag for the GL at #29 despite being pushed around at Pres Day, while Cornell is pacing the ME from all the way down at #60.
Women’s Division
Implied Bid Allocation
Atlantic Coast: 2
Great Lakes: 1
Metro East: 1
New England: 3
North Central: 1
Northwest: 3
Ohio Valley: 3
South Central: 2
Southeast: 1
Southwest: 3
Early Winners
- Ohio Valley: Technically, the OV has four bids right now due to an unconnected 4-0 Oberlin checking in between #9 and #10. But even if you discount that, the remaining three bids take a lot of the drama out of what might have been a brutal game of musical chairs between Pitt, Ohio State, and West Chester.
- Chalk (mostly): No region seems to be vastly under- or over-earning its share of bids.
Early Losers
- Southwest: They technically have three bids right now, but after the clear top two of UCSD and Stanford, things are murky. It’s looking like UCSB will have to fight off four legit contenders to hold on to their bid. The Southwest boasts seven teams in the top 31, and challenges will come from left and right from perennial powers UCLA, USC, and California, in addition to upstart Cal Poly SLO.
- Northwest: Like their southern counterparts, the NW also currently holds three bids, two of which are easy to reserve for UBC and Oregon. Past that, the trifecta of Whitman, Western Washington, and Washington (all top 21) will have to duke it out for the final spot if that remains the status quo.
D-III Men’s
Implied Bid Allocation
Atlantic Coast: 3
Great Lakes: 1
Metro East: 1
New England: 2
North Central: 1
Northwest: 2
Ohio Valley: 2
South Central: 2
Southeast: 1
Southwest: 1
D-III Women’s
Implied Bid Allocation
Atlantic Coast: 1
Great Lakes: 1
Metro East: 1
New England: 1
North Central: 2
Northwest: 3
Ohio Valley: 3
South Central: 2
Southeast: 1
Southwest: 1
D-III discussion will appear after next week’s rankings.
If BYU does not compete at Sectionals, the Northwest would lose their third bid, which would go to the South Central. ↩
