Trey’s MCLA Rankings: Chapman’s on the map again
Trey’s MCLA D1 Rankings — Week 5
A quiet week in the game schedule also meant a quiet week in the polls. Not much has changed since last week, but there are some new faces in the rankings at the back end, as well as some shake-ups in the top 10. The biggest story of the week was the reigning champs, as Chapman headed into Colorado and came away with a split. These ranks will come out every week, and belong to me — all changes listed (+/- number) are in relation to my poll last week, not the coaches poll.
- Georgia Tech (8–0) —
2. Cal (9–0) —
3. Grand Canyon (5–1) —
4. Colorado (7–2) —
This grouping is pretty self-explanatory. Same top 4 as last week, they all won. Colorado gains a little bit of ground on the #3 spot thanks to a win over Chapman, but the GCU head-to-head win still has them at a comfortable advantage in this race. GT got the win over FSU to further solidify their #1, but Cal is still close.
5. BYU (8–2) +2
6. Cal Poly (8–2) -1
7. Florida State (9–1) -1
This shift occurs thanks to FSU’s drop, which boosted BYU up just behind Cal Poly and when I’ve got two teams that close, I’m gonna honor my commitment to the head-to-head evaluation. So BYU gets a leap thanks to some other factors (as well as their win over SFU). Couldn’t drop FSU any more than 1 because a loss to the top team in the country isn’t that damning of a result, particularly when the next three teams behind the Noles each have four losses.
8. Chapman (6–4) +3
Another big jump for the Panthers…and they deserve it. They went into Colorado, grabbed a win over CSU and played to a 2-goal shootout with the Buffs. They’re back in the driver’s seat for an at-large spot and at this point, you have to imagine they’ve got to be one of the favorites to take home the SLC crown.
9. Arizona State (6–4) —
10. Colorado State (5–4) -3
So this one was tricky, because I just mentioned the head-to-head as an important tiebreak for me…but ASU is miles above the Rams right now in terms of their complete résumé, so the Sun Devils own this spot. However, CSU is close thanks to the head-to-head win.
11. Boston College (0–0) -1
12. UC Santa Barbara (5–3) —
13. Oregon State (9–1) +1
14. Utah (5–2) -1
15. Oregon (5–2) —
Nothing much to see here. OSU gets slight boost thanks to the win over Boise State, Utah drops to accommodate for it. I hate continuing to drop BC, because this is a team that was in the quarterfinals a year ago and a team that we haven’t yet seen in 2017 action…but it’s hard not to reward teams playing games. Fortunately the Eagles start things up this weekend against a UNH team that’s receiving votes in the MCLA coaches’ poll, so we’ll get an early chance to decide what they’re made of as early as next week.
16. Michigan State (4–2) +2
17. UNLV (3–4) -1
18. UConn (1–1) -1
The Spartans crushed Pitt, who entered the ranks, and get a jump because of it. Meanwhile, UConn’s win over Davenport takes a hit in value as the Panthers exit the rankings, and UNLV takes a 14–8 loss to GCU at home. MSU earned the #16 spot, but it remains to be seen if they can break through that ceiling into the top 10.
19. Virginia Tech (6–3) —
20. South Carolina (5–0) +3
21. Arizona (4–6) —
22. San Diego State (6–4) +3
The big jumpers on the back end, South Carolina and SDSU, mostly benefit from the lackluster performances in this crop last week. Liberty and Davenport both exiting the polls meant some teams were due to make a rise out of it. Zona stays wedged in here despite two top-12 losses thanks to the head-to-head against the Aztecs.
23. Boise State (4–2) -1
24. Sonoma State (6–3) +2
25. Pittsburgh (5–1) +1
Pitt and Noma are our new entries into the top 25 this week. The Panthers grabbed a top-25 win over Davenport (which promptly exited the ranks as a result) before getting beaten down by MSU, while SSU finally got a win over a ranked opponent in Liberty. All of the Seawolves’ 3 losses have come to ranked opponents.
Again, no GRLC teams in the mix. The only teams really in consideration for top 25 status that hasn’t been in it this season are Florida and Oklahoma, both of whom have the same case for being ranked: a zero in the loss column. With no ranked opponents on either schedule so far, though, there’s just no way to stack them up with the teams that are currently in my top 25. I promise, Gators, if you’re still unbeaten and beat FSU on April 14 I’ll put you in the top 15. For the Sooners…run the table (regular season and conference tournament) and you will have a shot at a 14-seed in the MCLA Tournament.
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Keep in mind, please, that I am not a voter in the MCLA Coaches’ Poll, and this poll carries no weight or importance. It’s just what I would submit as a poll, and why, if I were a voter.
Follow me on Twitter @TreyLanthier or email me at treylanthier@gmail.com. Check out MCLA’s CrosseFire, a radio show and podcast dedicated to covering the entire league, only on LacrosseTalkRadio.com.
