Legion1818 Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 First, the end of the regular season: http://slubillikens.cstv.com/sports/m-socc.../102906aaa.html A couple notes: 1- Clinch A-10 regular season title with ZERO conference losses, meaning they secure the #1 seed in the conference tourney, and a first round bye. 2- Extends the team's 10-game unbeaten streak, ending the regular season with a 12-3-2 record. Second, from the A-10, the conf. tourney pairings: http://atlantic10.cstv.com/sports/m-soccer.../102906aaf.html Now, in regards to the post season, I think it is safe to say that SLU has a very good chance of getting in the tournament, even if they do not win the A-10 conference tournament. Obviously, this is most important... just getting in, especially after 2 years away from the NCAA's. However, if SLU fans and Legion 1818 want to see the team at home again, the Billikens need to win the tournament, which I believe is a very good possibility. Unfortunately, SLU has not seen the likes of Richmond or Charlotte all season, and we controversially "tied" Xavier earlier this season. Take a look at the pairings though... an interesting tidbit about host Charlotte playing in the 7:30pm game on Friday, regardless of seed... don't know how they got to do that. When SLU wins the conf. tourney, it will still be up in the air how many home games SLU will get. One would hope for two, but depending on results, we may get into the tourney, and play on the road the whole time, hopefully returning to Hermann Stadium for the College Cup by Dec. 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
courtside Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 This was my post on the other thread earlier. SLU won the regular season A-10 men's soccer title with 3-1 win over Rhode Island. Step one for SLU this year was to get better results in the tougher non-conference games. This they did with solid results. Good results, not great results. Good enough. Quality results against Indiana, UCONN, ND...not so much against Santa Clara, UIC, SMU. Step two was to dominate a weaker A-10 conference and not settle for ties or road losses. SLU had zero losses and one tie in conference. Getting several tight road wins makes a huge difference, and those results frankly were expected against the lesser competition. Step three is to win the conference tournament to gain 1-2 home games in post-season. If SLU fails to win the conference tournament they will not receive any post-season home games, period. However, their results to this point should make them a lock for an NCAA invite. As of right now they would open up on the road. Winning the conference tourney should get them at least one home game in NCAA, and if they are lucky, two home games. Then it will be on the road against top quality opponents to try to advance further in the tournament. Wouldn't shock me one bit if SLU won conference tourney and received only one home game and possibly none. Likely I see them getting one and an outside shot of two with conf tourney title. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legion1818 Posted October 30, 2006 Author Share Posted October 30, 2006 Also of equal importance to the A-10 Conference Tournament is the NCAA RPI ranking, which SLU is currently ranked #19 in the nation. While the independent polls all base themselves on results (Soccer America, College Soccer News, NSCAA/adidas), the NCAA RPI bases itself on results AND strength of schedule. Thus, SLU is hurt in this regard due to the somewhat weak opponents in the A-10. What this means is somewhat easy to explain though: The NCAA tournament is a 48-team field, with 16 teams getting a first round bye, while the other 32 teams play in the first round. SLU, currently at the #19 spot in the RPI, would NOT get a bye if the NCAA tournament started today. However, if SLU wins the A-10 tournament (or just does well enough), they can move up in the rankings, and the winning streak they've been on lately doesn't hurt either. Also, #17 San Fransisco lost TWICE this week, so they will surely lose ground. Furthermore, teams #15 and #16 (Towson & Old Dominion) are both from the Colonial Athletic Association, so... since it is impossible for two teams to win a single conference tournament, one of those two teams will surely falter, AGAIN helping SLU's chances of gaining a first round bye AND playing at home in the tournament. Now we just have to see how all the conference tournaments play out. Should get really interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gister Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 Question...I thought the NCAA was releasing the RPI rankings just twice this year, once about 3 weeks ago and again at the end of the season. They were ranked #9 in the first release. So, did the NCAA release another in-season RPI ranking? If not, where is the #19 ranking coming from? Did I miss something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legion1818 Posted October 30, 2006 Author Share Posted October 30, 2006 While I personally do not know if the NCAA is ONLY releasing two RPI ratings, they have already released two. Whether another one is upcoming, I do not know. And yes, a few weeks ago, SLU was #9 in the RPI, but has since moved down 10 spots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
courtside Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 Obviously keep in mind that selection and seeding has a lot more to it than just NCAA RPI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legion1818 Posted October 30, 2006 Author Share Posted October 30, 2006 >Obviously keep in mind that selection and seeding has a lot >more to it than just NCAA RPI. Of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago Billiken Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 If I remember correctly SLU had the same deal as Charlotte (hosting the 7:30 p.m.) game last year when they hosted the tournament. Must be one of the benefits of hosting the toruney. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legion1818 Posted November 1, 2006 Author Share Posted November 1, 2006 I hope you're right, because otherwise, the A-10 is just nuts. PS- SLU's highest recent ranking in the polls puts them at 8th in the country, from the NSCAA/adidas rankings. They are 12 and 13 in the other two major polls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.