SBZipfan

Keep it up Zips! I'm currently leading the bracket challenge over at bigsoccer, and I have the Zips going all the way!! (OK, that pick was based more on fandom than rational analysis, but still!)

6-1, FT! Great job Zips! Onward and upward!

5-0 in the 18th!

Pre-game notes: http://www.gozips.com/sports/msoc/2015-16/releases/20151121thjh10 Let's go Zips!

I hope to make it out to the game, but have another engagement in the afternoon that may run over ... Let's meet in Kansas City! I'll bring the Kaena ganache if you bring the haupia ...

Boy I wish he would take bets on that Dartmouth over Syracuse prediction ...

Rutgers beat Indiana on the road 4-1 back in Sept, and tOSU at home 1-0 a month ago. They are a worthy opponent. Complete details of their record from gauchodan: http://rpiupdatemenssoccer.blogspot.com/2015/08/rutgers-2015.html

And they have to dry out. That was a very wet game on a very wet field. Forecast for Sunday: A chance of snow showers. Cloudy, with a high near 33. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

I think the coaches' poll is pretty meaningless. Coaches know something about the teams they've played, but how much time do you want your favorite team's coach to devote to reviewing other teams (that he has not played and will not play) in order to make an informed vote? I think most fans' answer would be zero, and my guess is that's just about how much time most coaches spend on it.

LOL!

WMU was #73 in final RPI. UConn, at #36, was the lowest RPI team to get an at-large bid. NC State, at #34, was left out. So WMU had no chance. Winning one more game would not change RPI rank by very much. Coming back to UNC, I noticed that they played almost all their games at home. This was probably a significant factor in their being seeded below their RPI rank by the committee. FWIW, I believe the committee's choices are essentially random. They go into a room, they can't possibly hold all the relevant data in their heads, they have no particular expertise in statistics, many have no particular expertise in soccer (though this shouldn't even be relevant: do we want the committee making decisions based on their impressions of how good a team is?). So, they basically toss around ideas like, "yeah, but UNC played so many games at home!" and "Akron did beat Georgetown, and we think the Hoyas should get a top-4 seed" and the like, and then come to some consensus, and then go to lunch.

Also pleasantly surprised, especially getting seeded higher than UNC, which had a better record and played a tougher schedule (as measured by the OWP and OOWP components of RPI). So as usual the committee's thinking is inscrutable. But however it happened, Akron now has a great chance to advance deep in the tournament. Let's go Zips!

Akron drops to #5 in final RPI, Georgetown at #4.

Cal State Fullerton takes down UCSB 1-0 in the Big West final. UCLA loses to San Diego State, 1-0 in 2OT.

Creighton over Providence 2-1 Stanford over Cal 1-0 Denver over W. Illinois 4-0

Ooh, those are bad results for the Zips. I think we're going to get an all-ACC top 4. On the plus side, UCSB just beat UC Davis in the Big West semi, 1-0.

Congrats to the Zips on another MAC title! Regarding Laryea's yellow, If I understand the rules correctly, he will have to sit another game if he gets two more yellows (in different games). Not good!

UCLA over Oregon State, 4-1. UCLA outshot Oregon State 23-4, 11-1 on goal.

And speaking of Dan's numbers: Stanford just lost to Washington 2-1, and Akron is back at #4! http://rpiupdatemenssoccer.blogspot.com/search/label/RPI%20Rank

The only difficulty in computing RPI is decoding the bonus amounts, which the NCAA does not make public. The NCAA also does not release their actual RPI numbers, but only the ordered list of teams (on a weekly basis). Still, even tiny changes in the bonus amounts will generally switch at least a few teams rank, and so it's possible to figure out the bonus amounts. So while conceptually, it's not that hard, in practice it's still a lot of work to actually do this.

Stanford wins 2-0. Georgetown over Villanova 2-1. UCSB over UC Davis 1-0.

Georgetown needs OT to beat 0-13-1 Seton Hall at home, 3-2. UCSB tops Sacramento State 2-1.

Now #3 according to Gaucho Dan: http://rpiupdatemenssoccer.blogspot.com/search/label/RPI%20Rank

UCSB loses to Cal Poly, 3-2 in 2OT. Winning Cal Poly goal came in the 104th minute, after UCSB got a red card in the 102nd.

UCSB beats Cal State Fullerton, 2-1 in OT.