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(02-07-2018 11:41 AM)bearcatlawjd2 Wrote:  The only question I have about this season will be how does the committee value the composite computer rankings versus the RPI based tier based wins.

I also believe that politics does play a role in the committee but mostly in the final selections and less so in seeding.

Regarding UC, we will learn a lot this Sunday. Anything lower than 12 or 13 would be a concern going forward because the Cats have 2/3 seed resume at the moment.

The Big Ten, PAC-12, and A-10 are all really down this season. This helps as the American is now viewed as the 7th best or lowest ranked power conference versus being grouped with A-10, WCC, and Mountain West as mid-major.

I still think 16-2, 30-4 will earn UC a 3 seed this season, while anything better is a 2 seed and anything worse is a 4 seed. If UC is the outright champion of the American that is also no worse than a 4 seed.

I'm skeptical that there is any hidden agenda/politics involved in selection, though I think the composition of the committee inevitably plays some sort of role, but a role that is hard to account for. That doesn't change the fact that the selection process is pretty easy to figure out because there are clear objective criteria the committee repeatedly uses every year. I think sometimes at the end a team might get a closer look because of an advocate on the committee or maybe get overvalued for the same reason, but I don't think the committee pushes some hidden agenda because the process is open and when you understand the process the decisions they make almost universally make sense through an understanding of that process.