dperry
Postdoc
Posts: 2214
Loc: Houston, TX
Reg: 11-24-04
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02-27-18 11:45 PM - Post#249793
In response to SomeGuy
We’re still a little ways from this scenario, but suppose Penn and Harvard both win out to the Ivy final, and then Harvard wins. At that point, both teams are 14-2, and Harvard is 2-1 head to head with the second win at the Palestra. Who is the “rightful†champ then? Why is what happens over 14 games a better indicator than what happens over 16 with an extra game between the teams?
The problem here is that what is officially happening is not that we are adding more information; instead, we are throwing out the old information and replacing it with new information. There are some years, like this one, where there may not be much difference, but there are some years where there is an enormous difference.
Hypothetical: Say that the automatic bid was decided by a committee, and that each team played each other team three times. The two best teams at the end of the season are Team A and Team B. Team A won the first game by 15 on the road and the second by 20 at home; Team B won the third game at home by two. No-brainer that the committee will pick Team A, right?
Guess what? The first two-thirds of the hypothetical have already happened in the women's season. If part three happens, it's Penn that's got the automatic bid and Princeton that's biting their nails during the selection show, despite the fact that the Tigers have ventilated us twice and have performed better overall. Under that scenario, you've actually lost information. We won't even get into the fun possibility that Princeton could get knocked off in the first round by Harvard or Yale (both of whom they've lost to) and then Penn, with the home advantage, wins easy.
I'll also remind you all that this is the Ivy League championship, not just the top two or three teams championship. Every game in the regular season provides some information, quite a bit of which you lose in the abomination (although admittedly not quite as badly as if all eight teams were in.) If Harvard lost to Columbia as well as to Penn, that says something important, even if the Lions don't make the cut.
David Perry
Penn '92
"Hail, Alma Mater/Thy sons cheer thee now
To thee, Pennsylvania/All rivals must bow!!!" |
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