UP v. JMU

Only a couple of matches against familiar teams:

Penn State: JMU wins 1-0 at home.
Washington State: 2-2 draw in a tournament.
Colorado: JMU lost 0-4 at Boulder.

Looks like we should be favored to win on Saturday.

Here is some more information about James Madison.

Their season record was 12-6-2.

Their RPI rank is #48. The cutoff would have been #47 if the Women's Soccer Committee relied exclusively on the RPI, so they got elevated in order to get an at large selection. They are one of the teams I thought should get in, and they did.

In the "non-conference" RPI, which looks at a team's record without considering its conference results in order to eliminate the effect of the team's conference on its rank, JMU is #42. (The Pilots are #1.)

JM plays in the Colonial Conference, which has 12 teams. They came in tied for second in the conference regular season, behind William & Mary. They were tied with UNC Wilmington. They lost in the semis of their conference tournament, to Northeastern, which beat Harvard on Friday and lost to Boston College today 4-0. (They had beaten Northeastern during regular conference play.)

Their significant results were:

Tied Washington State 2-2 (RPI 37)
Lost to Colorado 4-0 (RPI 16)
Tied West Virginia 1-1 (RPI 34)
Beat Penn State 1-0 (RPI 9)
Beat Virginia Tech 4-3 (RPI 25)
Beat William & Mary (RPI 42)
Lost to George Mason @ home (RPI 217, right around the area of Portland State)

Looks to me like they tend to play to the level of their competition. Can be good and can be bad.

JMU is definitely upset-minded with their back-to-back upsets over Georgia and Wake. I'm really surprised that they beat the Demon Deacons.

Wake Forest's having gotten any seed, much less a #3, has been pretty controversial. Their RPI rank, at #18, below Washington, would have indicated they shouldn't be seeded. But their "non-conference" RPI rank was #7. I did a detailed look at their record in relation to the NCAA criteria and it is clear it was because of the NC RPI that they got their seed. The NC RPI also apparently is why Washington did not get seeded, as their NC RPI was #22. Also why Penn State did not get seeded, since their RPI was #9 but their NC RPI was #24.

Regarding JMU's win over Georgia, I think Georgia was exhausted. They were on the bubble for about the last three weeks of the season, under the gun just to get into the Tournament. They got to the finals of the SEC tournament, which they had to do to end the season with a .500 record, which is a prerequisite to getting an at large bid. On the other hand, JMU, by losing in the semis of the Colonial Conference tournament, got a rest.

So, while these wins are good, they aren't that good.

I'm hearing a song in my head -- "Takin' care of business ...."

This just in. "James Madison" isn't that a dead president? This a real life response when a source close to the team was questioned about next week's opponent. Kind of poetic isn't it?

Poor Richard's Almanack predicts: After next weekend's game, James Madison will still be known primarily for "The Federalist Papers" and not for soccer victories.

purple haze wrote:Poor Richard's Almanack predicts: After next weekend's game, James Madison will still be known primarily for "The Federalist Papers" and not for soccer victories.

Aww, he just wrote #10. Hamilton wrote most of 'em. and John jay 1 or 2.

The Constitution was his baby.




Kinda scary dude, don'tcha think?

I'll bet he'd have better sideline manners than CP.

I've seen this guy before - Doesn't he coach at Texas?

Wake outplayed them, just could not score.

Geezaldinho wrote:Aww, he just wrote #10. Hamilton wrote most of 'em. and John jay 1 or 2. The Constitution was his baby.

Oh come on Geez... saying he "just wrote Fed 10" is like saying Michaelangelo only painted the Sistine Chapel!

Fed 10... the brilliant argument against Factions and the need for a strong central government.

Ah... Dr. Malecha would be so proud of me!

I'll see your Dr. Malecha and raise you a Dr. Pickering.....