2021 Bracketology

[Cuse All-In]

A 6-5 team at the #6 seed?
Sort of reminds one of the favoritism for Hopkins in the past. "Hey, they gots lots of quality losses."

As much as we Cuse fans have suffered through some horrible losses this year, there is a reasonable case to be made that Maryland and all the battle tested ACC teams should be your top 6.
It is a fact that we beat UVA twice and that we lost by a goal to Duke and were actually leading Duke with about 5 minutes left. It is also a fact that our losses have been to the #'s 2, 3. 4 and 11 teams in the current media poll. I get it - we have had epic meltdowns against ND and UNC and it is hard to see us addressing our weaknesses to make a deep run.

Beyond Maryland and the ACC teams, there are a lot of question marks around Denver, Georgetown, Rutgers, Lehigh etc. The "eye test" is a nice concept but it is also a fact that Denver, Lehigh, Georgetown and Rutgers (2 losses to Maryland) either have not demonstrated an ability to beat the big boys, or haven't had the opportunity to play the big boys.

It has been a bizarre season for so many reasons and the playoff seedings are subject to many different and valid opinions. Cuse's lopsided losses have just added to the confusion to say nothing of the huge stress for Cuse Nation!!

 

[Powellfan]

Powellfan, I'm honored that you have posted my bracketology projection here for discussion.

My current seeding of Syracuse 6th has nothing to do with quality losses or the eye test - both of which I think are nonsense.

Assuming that Syracuse beats Robert Morris this weekend, I think they're almost a lock for a seed of some kind. I could see them falling behind some combination of the Big East champion, the Patriot League champion, and/or Big Ten champion Rutgers - but I think it would take a perfect storm for a 7-5 Syracuse to not be seeded in some capacity.

I challenge anyone who has an issue with Syracuse being #6 seed right now because "they don't look good or "they've gotten killed in 3 games" to really sit down and compare their résumé to that of Virginia. They're more similar than you probably expect, yet no one really questions that Virginia is likely either the #4 or #5 seed.

Of course! You clearly spend a lot of time and energy on this, and have certainly done your research, and that absolutely deserves to be awarded/recognized.

I did a double take when I saw 'Cuse at the 6 seed, but when you dig into the resumes of other teams, who deserves it more? I think Cuse All In summed it up nicely, but to go a step further, Army just lost to Navy, Lehigh was definitely due for a seed but just lost to Villanova (handily) - a bubble out team, Georgetown just lost to Loyola - another bubble team, Denver lost to Duke and got boat raced by UNC, just like SU and doesn't have a win that comes close to UVAx2. If Rutgers win the Big 10 tourny against Maryland, they will certainly deserve a look, but again, they haven't beaten a team with a winning record. The fact of the matter is nothing on anyone else's resumes comes close to two top five victories, which Syracuse owns. Maybe they get dinged a spot for the way they've lost some of these games, but they shouldn't tumble down the bracket because of it.

 

[Hoo's That]

Rumor posted on our board -

1st round sites have been picked - UVa, UMD, UNC, Denver.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Rumor posted on our board -

1st round sites have been picked - UVa, UMD, UNC, Denver.

Denver makes absolutely no sense but it's the NCAA so I'm not surprised

 

[Hoo's That]

Denver makes absolutely no sense but it's the NCAA so I'm not surprised

I agree. Two teams would have had to fly no matter what, most probably to Denver and ND. This would put it to 3, Denver's opponent and ND's opponent who would have had to fly anyway and now they're adding ND as the third flying team.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Our Picks: Who's Winning the Men's DI Conference Tournaments?

(Inside Lacrosse Photo: Myles Tintle)Eight automatic qualifiers are up for grabs over the next week. With the Patriot League Quarterfinals

www.insidelacrosse.com

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Men's Lacrosse Bracketology: Beware of Bid Thieves

Can Michigan or Johns Hopkins play spoiler? Both teams have a chance in the Big Ten tourney.

www.uslaxmagazine.com

It would not be a good idea for Syracuse to lose to Robert Morris on Friday. Considering the Colonials played Duke tough for more than three quarters and were tied with Virginia with 10 minutes left, it’s not an outlandish possibility. …

Hempstead, N.Y., quarterfinal
(1) North Carolina vs. METRO ATLANTIC/Manhattan
(8) Army vs. Rutgers

Notre Dame, Ind., quarterfinal
(5) Notre Dame vs. COLONIAL/Delaware
(4) Virginia vs. AMERICA EAST/UMBC

Notre Dame, Ind., quarterfinal
(3) Duke vs. SOUTHERN/Richmond
(6) BIG EAST/Denver vs. Syracuse

Hempstead, N.Y., quarterfinal
(7) Georgetown vs. PATRIOT/Lehigh
(2) BIG TEN/Maryland vs. NORTHEAST/Saint Joseph’s

Last three included: Army, Rutgers, Syracuse
First three on the outside: Navy, Drexel, Villanova

 

[OrangeXtreme]

And Denver is projected to host

Hmmmm...

 

[JeremyCuse]

Men's Lacrosse Bracketology: Beware of Bid Thieves

Can Michigan or Johns Hopkins play spoiler? Both teams have a chance in the Big Ten tourney.

www.uslaxmagazine.com

It would not be a good idea for Syracuse to lose to Robert Morris on Friday. Considering the Colonials played Duke tough for more than three quarters and were tied with Virginia with 10 minutes left, it’s not an outlandish possibility. …

Hempstead, N.Y., quarterfinal
(1) North Carolina vs. METRO ATLANTIC/Manhattan
(8) Army vs. Rutgers

Notre Dame, Ind., quarterfinal
(5) Notre Dame vs. COLONIAL/Delaware
(4) Virginia vs. AMERICA EAST/UMBC

Notre Dame, Ind., quarterfinal
(3) Duke vs. SOUTHERN/Richmond
(6) BIG EAST/Denver vs. Syracuse

Hempstead, N.Y., quarterfinal
(7) Georgetown vs. PATRIOT/Lehigh
(2) BIG TEN/Maryland vs. NORTHEAST/Saint Joseph’s

Last three included: Army, Rutgers, Syracuse
First three on the outside: Navy, Drexel, Villanova

I could be wrong but it seems unlikely to me the committee is matching Denver up with SU in the first round. It's also highly unlikely both Denver and G-town will be seeded for obvious reasons (one is going to lose this week).

 

[Powellfan]

Second prediction of a Denver-Syracuse matchup this week, with Denver getting the seed. I can't help but think with so much uncertainty about this process, there are going to be a lot of surprises when the final bracket is released.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Second prediction of a Denver-Syracuse matchup this week, with Denver getting the seed. I can't help but think with so much uncertainty about this process, there are going to be a lot of surprises when the final bracket is released.

Assuming they won't give us a 1st round rematch, the only choices are Maryland, Denver or Lehigh.

We have no kick coming.

 

[Hoo's That]

Based on that bracketology, you guys are just going to have to go out and beat Denver and Maryland so we can have an all-ACC Final 4.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[Powellfan]

 

[Powellfan]

To reiterate a point from earlier in the week: Syracuse would be wise to beat Robert Morris on Friday, which is far from a sure thing. Without chaos, the Orange will probably get in on the strength of its sweep of Virginia, but that’s about all it has going for it. Conference tournament surprises could change that calculus.

 

[HtownOrange]

To reiterate a point from earlier in the week: Syracuse would be wise to beat Robert Morris on Friday, which is far from a sure thing. Without chaos, the Orange will probably get in on the strength of its sweep of Virginia, but that’s about all it has going for it. Conference tournament surprises could change that calculus.

TEST:
A) Rutgers snaps defeat from the jaws of victory.

B) Rutgers gonna Rutgers.

C) Rutgers stinks.

D) All of the above.

 

[JeremyCuse]

To reiterate a point from earlier in the week: Syracuse would be wise to beat Robert Morris on Friday, which is far from a sure thing. Without chaos, the Orange will probably get in on the strength of its sweep of Virginia, but that’s about all it has going for it. Conference tournament surprises could change that calculus.

What conf tournament surprises? The only potential bid stealer is Hopkins. Colgate has zero chance of winning 2 more games and the other conferences besides the BE and Patriot* are all one bid leagues and Denver and Gtown are pretty much locks at this point. Lazy update.

On second glance I guess he is referencing the Patriot. Even then Loyola would have to win out and Lehigh and Army are both likely in with wins today.

 

[Powellfan]

Another Army rematch predicted. I would like that matchup a lot, past blowout notwithstanding, but dont like the idea of playing UNC in the second round.

 

[fieldystick]

What conf tournament surprises? The only potential bid stealer is Hopkins. Colgate has zero chance of winning 2 more games and the other conferences besides the BE and Patriot* are all one bid leagues and Denver and Gtown are pretty much locks at this point. Lazy update.

On second glance I guess he is referencing the Patriot. Even then Loyola would have to win out and Lehigh and Army are both likely in with wins today.

I'm not going to speak for Patrick, but I'll give my thoughts on something here. It's sort of related to what you're talking about - but I don't personally think it has much to do with Syracuse's case.

Pretty much the only reason I haven't called Georgetown a lock yet and the only reason I'm keeping Loyola alive for a potential at-large bid is if the comparison for the last spot somehow comes down to those two teams. Loyola has the head-to-head on that one.

Syracuse is probably the team that my views on where they stand has varied the most from the others who do bracketology updates. I have a feeling that they're projecting on the committee's stated "eye test" approach. Whereas I'm projecting how the committee has traditionally worked. It's my view that Syracuse pretty clearly has the 6th best résumé right now.

 

[Powellfan]

I'm not going to speak for Patrick, but I'll give my thoughts on something here. It's sort of related to what you're talking about - but I don't personally think it has much to do with Syracuse's case.

Pretty much the only reason I haven't called Georgetown a lock yet and the only reason I'm keeping Loyola alive for a potential at-large bid is if the comparison for the last spot somehow comes down to those two teams. Loyola has the head-to-head on that one.

Syracuse is probably the team that my views on where they stand has varied the most from the others who do bracketology updates. I have a feeling that they're projecting on the committee's stated "eye test" approach. Whereas I'm projecting how the committee has traditionally worked. It's my view that Syracuse pretty clearly has the 6th best résumé right now.

Thanks for the further clarification. I found this comment from the committee chair in Stevens' article interesting:

The RAC, which has a representative from each Division I conference, had its last call with the selection committee Wednesday.

“They have been tremendous,” Leonard said. “The coaches have probably been more engaged on the RAC calls than ever before, at least in the time I’ve been on the committee. They want to make sure this thing gets done right. I think the committee has been more engaged with the coaches. Not that we’ve ever not been, but I think we’re all realizing that we need, ‘Hey, tell us about the eye test.’ In years past, we tried to eliminate as much subjectivity as possible and just make it all as objective as possible. There’s going to be a lot of subjectivity involved this year, and that’s just the reality of it.”

So, sounds like they will use the eye-test more, but it's impossible to tell how much. That obviously doesn't work well for Syracuse as they have four big losses on their resume.

 

[Powellfan]

Brent disagrees with me about Army. Not sure they are the last team I'd want to face in the tournament. I think Georgetown, Lehigh, Denver, Rutgers, Army and Loyola all look pretty similar to me, all have big wins but all have some surprising losses. Denver, just based on preseason accolades would probably scare me the most, as well as the other teams with strong face-off crews, but all of them are pretty equal in mind.

I think Syracuse would fare better against Army a second time around - in their first matchup Army had already played two games and had an extra two weeks of practice on the Orange. And I know he has struggled in some matchups this Spring, but Wykoff I think would matchup better with Nicthern than Kennedy (Wykoff didn't play that game).

 

[DoctahLexus]

Brent disagrees with me about Army. Not sure they are the last team I'd want to face in the tournament. I think Georgetown, Lehigh, Denver, Rutgers, Army and Loyola all look pretty similar to me, all have big wins but all have some surprising losses. Denver, just based on preseason accolades would probably scare me the most, as well as the other teams with strong face-off crews, but all of them are pretty equal in mind.

I think Syracuse would fare better against Army a second time around - in their first matchup Army had already played two games and had an extra two weeks of practice on the Orange. And I know he has struggled in some matchups this Spring, but Wykoff I think would matchup better with Nicthern than Kennedy (Wykoff didn't play that game).

Wycoff's game 1v1 has never been the issue. Even in the Notre dame rout last week Kav was doing very little against him off the dodge. Gray didn't do all that much either. He has been great for us in the 1v1. The D issues are with literally everything else. I'm sure Wycoff would do a great job on Nichtern.

 

[MD Cuse Fan]

Wycoff's game 1v1 has never been the issue. Even in the Notre dame rout last week Kav was doing very little against him off the dodge. Gray didn't do all that much either. He has been great for us in the 1v1. The D issues are with literally everything else. I'm sure Wycoff would do a great job on Nichtern.

Exactly. Wycoff has taken some pretty bad heat online this season and I think it's mostly been unfair. He's played D3 the past 4 seasons, transfers to Syracuse and then gets asked to cover everyone's #1 attackmen (some of which are the best players in country). Not his fault Syracuse clearly underestimated their defensive talent this season.

 

[Cuse All-In]

Having watched a bunch of games in the last couple of days, it appears that a lot of other teams with no more talent than Cuse (and many with less talent) are managing to play solid defense, win some face-offs using multiple fogos, and move the ball well on offense. I think the players have taken too much of the heat including Wykoff, the defense corps, Porter and Phaup/Varello. Why do other coaches seem to be able to prepare the players better, manage personnel and make in-game adjustments??

 

[Cuse All-In]

As for the playoff seedings etc., the NCAA continues to de-legitimize the process by putting in conference winners from weak conferences in the name of growing the game, diversity...
Bubble teams are clearly superior to MACC winner, SoCon winner and on down the list.
A team like Villanova typically loses out to these teams. The winner of the MAAC conference should be satisfied with their conference title. Why keep up the charade and play against Duke or UNC in the first round? It goes against everything that competitive sports is about - token playoff positions should be kept to non-elite levels.