Good job Lady Owls.

It's getting to be crunch time. After facing FIU on Friday, the Owls will play what are probably the two best teams in C-USA in FAU on Sunday and North Texas in the season finale next weekend. Right now, Rice stands 63rd in Division I RPI. The Golden Panthers should be no problem, and a split of the final two at least will boost the postseason resumé (and a sweep really would). Beating the Burrowing Owls would add the bonus of a top 50 RPI win on the road (FAU is 32nd in RPI right now). Of course, winning the C-USA tournament would give Rice an automatic NCAA tournament berth, but a solid showing in the final three games and advancing to the C-USA tournament final might be enough for an at-large bid even if the Owls fail to win the tournament.

It seems like FAU is the only CUSA team with much of a chance for an at large bid to the tournament this year. Even they could be left out if they don't finish the regular season well and they lose early in the CUSA tournament. I think that Rice is several (likely five; maybe four) wins away from at large consideration.

We’re up 3-0 at FIU early in the 2nd half (55’)

(10-25-2019 07:16 PM)owl at the moon Wrote:  We’re up 3-0 at FIU early in the 2nd half (55’)

But it’s not the 80+ minute mark yet???

4-0 final. FIU has some really crappy teams in various sports.

FAU beat UNT. Rice moves into second place in conference. They will finish the regular season no worse than forth place. Two tough matches remaining.

FWIW, Syracuse WSOC is 3-10-2 this season.

(10-25-2019 09:50 PM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  FWIW, Syracuse WSOC is 3-10-2 this season.

And LSU is 2-11-3.

Do all conferences use the same point method as CUSA (3 points for a win, 1 for a tie)? It seems odd to me that Rice is 6-0-2 (the only conference team not to have lost a match), and is in 2nd with 20 points to a Charlotte team that they beat (Charlotte is 7-1). I could see that scoring method being fair if the conference season had matches against everyone else, but with only 10 conference matches and 14 conference teams, obviously that isn't the case. Rice is going to have to play all of the other top teams in CUSA (Charlotte, FAU and UNT), whereas Charlotte only plays Rice (and as I said, lost that match).

ETA - in looking through some other conferences, the ACC uses the same scoring system as CUSA, but it appears the Pac 12 standings is based strictly on win-loss percentage (Rice would be leading CUSA in that type of system).

(10-25-2019 10:01 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  Do all conferences use the same point method as CUSA (3 points for a win, 1 for a tie)? It seems odd to me that Rice is 6-0-2 (the only conference team not to have lost a match), and is in 2nd with 20 points to a Charlotte team that they beat (Charlotte is 7-1). I could see that scoring method being fair if the conference season had matches against everyone else, but with only 10 conference matches and 14 conference teams, obviously that isn't the case. Rice is going to have to play all of the other top teams in CUSA (Charlotte, FAU and UNT), whereas Charlotte only plays Rice (and as I said, lost that match).
ETA - in looking through some other conferences, the ACC uses the same scoring system as CUSA, but it appears the Pac 12 standings is based strictly on win-loss percentage (Rice would be leading CUSA in that type of system).

3-1-0 is the standard FIFA method used in international competitions and in most national leagues, so it makes sense for CUSA to use it. It used to be 2-1-0 but teams were satisfied to play for too many ties, so FIFA changed it.

Under the FIFA system, one win and one loss is better than two ties. There is nothing inherently unfair about it.

Our seeding in the conference tournament hardly matters. Most likely, the only way Charlotte or Rice make it to the NCAAs is to win the conference tournament.

(10-25-2019 09:52 PM)dragon2owl Wrote:  

(10-25-2019 09:50 PM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  FWIW, Syracuse WSOC is 3-10-2 this season.

And LSU is 2-11-3.

In addition to an improved record, the play of the Owls looks a lot better this year. So far, it certainly looks like Rice came out on top in this round of coaching changes. It will be interesting to see how the team evolves once Coach Lee has his own recruits.

(10-26-2019 06:52 AM)temchugh Wrote:  Under the FIFA system, one win and one loss is better than two ties. There is nothing inherently unfair about it.

That was FIFA's intent. Too many people were content to take ties, and FIFA wanted to encourage them in a 50/50 situation to go for the win at the risk of taking the loss.

Quote:Our seeding in the conference tournament hardly matters. Most likely, the only way Charlotte or Rice make it to the NCAAs is to win the conference tournament.

I find it interesting that the conversations about women's sports are all about rankings and making it to the NCAAs, while the conversations about football are whether we will win a game

(10-26-2019 06:52 AM)temchugh Wrote:  Under the FIFA system, one win and one loss is better than two ties. There is nothing inherently unfair about it.

That was FIFA's intent. Too many people were content to take ties, and FIFA wanted to encourage them in a 50/50 situation to go for the win at the risk of taking the loss.

I've wondered about a different approach. Each match is worth 3 points, if it ends in a draw, each team gets one point, and you go to penalty goals for the third point.

Quote:Our seeding in the conference tournament hardly matters. Most likely, the only way Charlotte or Rice make it to the NCAAs is to win the conference tournament.

I find it interesting that the conversations about women's sports are all about rankings and making it to the NCAAs, while the conversations about football are whether we will win a game

Goals last night in the 5’, 8’, 35’, and 82’
Glad to see the early scoring out of the gate!

(10-26-2019 06:52 AM)temchugh Wrote:  Under the FIFA system, one win and one loss is better than two ties. There is nothing inherently unfair about it.

Our seeding in the conference tournament hardly matters. Most likely, the only way Charlotte or Rice make it to the NCAAs is to win the conference tournament.

I'm not saying it's unfair for NCAA purposes. I also realize the only way we'll make the NCAA's (in soccer - not so in volleyball) is to win the conference tournament. But the conference regular season champ is going to get a banner and/or ring, and is it truly fair for Charlotte to be the regular season champs because they had a significantly easier schedule than the other top 3 teams?

In FIFA, are there scheduling scenarios where a team gets to avoid playing the other top challengers? Charlotte will likely win its last two matches and win the conference regardless of what Rice does (they host a 3-5 UTEP team and a 3-3-2 ODU team the last two games). So they will be conference champs with an 0-1-0 record against the 2-4 seeds.

Even if Rice wins at FAU tomorrow and then defeats UNT next week (neither task will be easy), they would still finish in 2nd in the regular season to Charlotte at 8-0-2 under the scenario I described above. So potentially Rice is 2nd, despite being 3-0 against the top 3 teams in the conference, and not having lost a conference match all season.

I guess there's no point in worrying about that now, and instead just concentrate on the final two, tough matches. But I still wonder if this system works in a league where not everyone is playing each other.

If Rice beats FAU and UNT and wins a game or two in tourney, we might have a shot at an at-large... Our RPI stood at #63 before this week.

(10-26-2019 07:46 AM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  is it truly fair for Charlotte to be the regular season champs because they had a significantly easier schedule than the other top 3 teams?

Unbalanced schedules are an inherent part of conference play in many sports. I don't think that prioritizing a balanced schedule would be worth sacrificing other goals such as having a reasonable balance between the number of conference and non-conference matches.

Depending on the situation, either the harder conference schedule or the weaker conference schedule can be an advantage. As ExcitedOwl points out, if Rice wins the next two matches plus one or two conference tournament games, we might be in a position for an at large bid. If Rice went 9-1 or 8-0-2 with Charlotte's conference schedule, this would almost certainly not be the case. So, in this case, having the stronger conference schedule appears to provide more pathways to the NCAA tournament.

(10-26-2019 07:01 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  I find it interesting that the conversations about women's sports are all about rankings and making it to the NCAAs

And about hosting NCAA tournament games (volleyball).

(10-26-2019 07:01 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  while the conversations about football are whether we will win a game

Careful, some folks don't approve of references to mens sports in womens sports threads.