John Knight writes:
 
>      This is why there is never a good answer to the age old argument
>
>      Coaches/Press Polls Vs. Computer Generated Rankings
>
>      Yes Press/Coaches Polls can be subjective and biased, but can they be
>      buffaloed by pure numbers the way a computer can be.
 
Of course, the KRACH rating just posted ranks the MAAC teams 28 and
below.  Choosing an appropriate statistical ranking is a different
issue than whether we should ignore all numbers and let subjective
polls fill the tournament.
 
This year is an exceptional case because you've got six teams (the
eligible 3/4 of the MAAC) whose schedule is almost entirely
disconnected from everyone else's.  The selection committee recognized
this going in and added language about "conference equity" to give
them an escape clause and prevent essentially meaningless numbers from
handing Quinnipiac a bye.
 
>      I am sure that in time the MAAC will be a equal and competitive
>      conference as compared to the existing four.  However as of today they
>      are light years away.  To see teams from that conference ranked in the
>      top 10 and 20 is ludicrous.  Their record, their opponents record and
>      their opponent opponents record is inbred, they only play each other
>      once you remove the games against DII and DIII opponents.  Sure, some
>      have played existing DI teams, but I doubt the whole conference has
>      played 10 games total against teams from the existing four
>      conferences.
 
The total number of games scheduled this season between MAAC teams and
members of the four established conferences is zero.  That's a huge
part of the problem.
 
>      This poll reflects a statistical anomaly.
 
1. Statistical ranking != "poll"
 
2.  The RPI (and PWR, which is even more skewed because the "Last 16"
and "record vs TUC" criteria involve raw winning percentage) is
problematic this year because of a scheduling irregularity.  To use
this anomaly as a basis to belittle all statistical methods of seeding
a tournament in favor of subjective opinion is misguided.
 
                                          John Whelan, Cornell '91
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                                     http://www.amurgsval.org/joe/
 
"We've got a whole mess of penalties"  -- Cornell PA Announcer
   Arthur Mintz, after the Cornell-Union brawl 1998 December 4
 
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