First Official USAU Club Rankings Released

[ceisenhood (Charlie Eisenhood)]

The first iteration of the official USA Ultimate Club Division rankings was released this afternoon. Relative to our projections, these rankings are quite similar, though not exactly the same (with two notable bid allocation differences). Here are the top 20 teams in each division and the implied bid allocation.

Men's Division

Implied Bid Allocation

Great Lakes: 2 bids
Mid-Atlantic: 2 bids
Northeast: 3 bids
Northwest: 2 bids
North Central: 2 bids
South Central: 2 bids
Southeast: 2 bids
Southwest: 1 bid

Discussion

The top 16 here are the same as our projected top 16, though some teams are slotted a position or two higher or lower than we projected. As with all of the errors, this is likely due to score changes, missing scores, or invalidated scores, which can cause a cascading effect throughout the rankings at the margin.

Mixed Division

Implied Bid Allocation

Great Lakes: 1 bid
Mid-Atlantic: 3 bids
Northeast: 2 bids
Northwest: 3 bids
North Central: 2 bids
South Central: 3 bids
Southeast: 1 bid
Southwest: 1 bid

Discussion

Fifteen of the top 16 teams remain the same as our projections, but Pegasus lands in the 16 spot instead of NOISE. That moves a bid from the North Central to the Northwest. The margin between the two teams is just 11 points.

Women's Division

Implied Bid Allocation

Great Lakes: 1 bid
Mid-Atlantic: 2 bids
Northeast: 2 bids
Northwest: 3 bids
North Central: 1 bid
South Central: 2 bids
Southeast: 2 bids
Southwest: 3 bids

Discussion

As in Mixed, 15 of the top 16 teams remain the same as in our projections. However, Green Means Go gets the #16 spot in the official rankings, bumping Bent down to #17. That sends a bid from the Northeast to the Mid-Atlantic. Again, the margin is very small: just 11 points separate the two teams at the bubble.

Originally published at: http://ultiworld.com/2016/08/03/first-official-usau-club-rankings-released/

[zfleming]

In the mixed division, does anyone understand how Bang! was able to make it to the 6th spot when they have only played below average teams (at least as far as i can tell they are)? and what are the chances they stay in the top 16 by the time the post season comes around. Im asking because im playing on a team just inside the top 16 and am curious about the likelihood of earning a bid. Thanks

[tim17]

So here’s what I believe is the story:

1. Cahoots went to Oshadega and played teams close, getting themselves ranked not too far below the Elite Select field.
2. Cahoots had done badly at Glazed Daze, a tournament that American Hyperbole did well at, so Hype gets ranked decidedly ahead of Cahoots.
3. American Hyperbole goes to Philly Invite, a tournament with few previously ranked teams. They lose by a lot to Bang. They also lose by a lot to Dub Club, whose loses by a lot to Clue, who loses twice to Bang. Since Dub Club and Clue also haven’t played any other tournaments, they get ranked ahead of Hype, making Bang’s wins over Clue valuable as well. With those 3 wins, throw in a couple other comfortable wins over some not terribly ranked teams (since they all played Hype/Clue/DubClub), and you’ll get a pretty high ranking.

Whether or not Bang can keep their spot will depend largely on whether or not they end up having a couple of not 600 results against badly ranked teams. Also, it goes without saying that they don’t earn a bid if they don’t play at least 10 games.

This is my take, I think it’s fairly accurate, but I’m not completely sure.

[ahgoff]

I think that the other thing is that they only have 1 tournament and they just don’t have as many games overall - poorer connectivity.

Bang! is on the list for Chesapeake, and given the other teams there, this should improve connectivity significantly. The tournaments includes teams ranked 2, 6, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 34, 35, 39, 40 and then 60s+. There are enough teams in there that both just through connectivity and potentially results with teams in the 20s, there could be significant change.