The Monday Snitch--April 22
Updated: The Ball State section has been updated to reflect an incorrect score.
The week after World Cup VI has provided time to break down what we saw. In this week's Monday Snitch we will begin to look at the performance of all 60 Division I teams, and evaluate their performances. Keep checking back for the remaining teams. Each team will be considered in alphabetical order and will be classified as overachieving, achieving, or underachieving.
Photo by Kat Ignatova
Austin Quidditch (Austin, TX): Achieved. Austin went 1-3 in pool play, and failed to advance to the bracket. A fourth place finish was widely expected from Austin, and that's exactly where they finished. After Day 1 it looked like they might be considered overachievers with narrow losses to both Villanova University (Villanova, PA) and Central Michigan University (Mount Pleasant, MI), 80*-50 and 70*-50 respectively. However, after both of those teams got bounced out of bracket play with relative ease, Austin's losses on day one look weaker.
Arizona State University (Tempe, AZ): Achieved. Arizona State went 2-2 in pool play, earning the 30th seed in the bracket. In their play-in game, they defeated Villanova University (Villanova, PA) 90*-30, before losing to the top team in Pool 8, Boston University (Boston, MA), 100*-50. While in a perfect world for them, Arizona State might have been able to finish 3-1 in their pool, with games against Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge, LA) and University of Miami (Coral Gables, FL), the expectation always was that they would finish 2-2. While Arizona State fell to the two other highly regarded teams in their pool, they held both games within snitch range: 100*-40 against LSU and 110*-50 against Miami. Against their lesser foes, they won outside of snitch range. Still, with a tough schedule they were forced into a lower seed, and from there it was only a matter of time until they got knocked out. The Round of 32 is likely where this team belonged, perhaps friendlier scheduling could have placed them higher, but it was not to be.
Ball State University (Muncie, IN): Underachieved. I thought Ball State could top Pool 9, despite being a Pot 2 team. Instead, they finished second with a 3-1 record, and were bounced out in the Round of 32 by Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge, LA) 90^-70*. Only one of their pool contests came down to snitch range, an 80*-40 victory over Tennessee Technological University (Cookeville, TN) that Ball State should probably have done better in. A 110*-40 loss to Hofstra University (Hempstead, NY) looks pretty bad after Hofstra failed to advance out of the Round of 32. Overall, Ball State earned the 18th seed, which is why they faced LSU in the first place. Updated: Ball State's loss to LSU was 90^-70*, not 90-70* as originally reported.
Baylor University (Waco, TX): Overachieved. Baylor is a tricky team to grade. On the one hand, I expected them to top their pool, which they failed to do: falling to the University of Kansas (Lawrence, KS) 100*-90. On the other hand, I expected them to be knocked out in the elite eight, yet they reached the final four. On the third hand, their run through the bracket didn't yield a single upset, as they beat teams I would have expected them to, and eventually lost to a UCLA squad that also would have confirmed my expectations. In the bracket, they faced: University of Ottawa (Ottawa, ON), Boston University (Boston, MA), Northern Arizona University (Flagstaff, AZ), and finally University of California Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA). On the fourth hand, their bracket wins were all dominant by the scores of: 80-30*, 120*-20 and 150-50 respectively. In the end, I think they overachieved, yes the wins and losses were expected, with the exception of the Kansas contest, but clearly the loss in pool play didn't harm them and the margins in bracket play were truly better than I think anyone expected. Perhaps though this rating is indicative of me expecting less than I should have; after all, Baylor was the last team to defeat World Champions University of Texas (Austin, TX), and are the defending Southwestern Regional Champions.
Boston Riot (Boston, MA): Overachieved. Yes, Boston Riot finished 1-3 as I predicted, with their lone win coming over Florida State University (Tallahassee, FL), 70*-50, but I think few expected Riot to be as close as they were to advancing. All four of their matches were decided within snitch range, and if any one of their three defeats had gone differently with just one pull, they could have come very close to making the bracket. I think they overachieved solely based on their point differentials. I doubt many expected them to be up 60-40 on Marquette University (Milwaukee, WI) at the pull.
Boston University (Boston, MA): Underachieved. As champions of the historic Northeastern Region, BU had lofty expectations thrust upon them. To see them exit in the sweet sixteen after a 120*-20 loss is disappointing. Yes, they lost to a strong Baylor University (Waco, TX) squad after an undefeated run in pool play with only one match, a 110*-60 victory over Villanova University (Villanova, PA), in snitch range, but still, they should have been more competitive against Baylor. I really can't fault BU too much, though, had Baylor not fallen to Kansas University (Lawrence, KS), Boston University would have almost definitely had an easier sweet sixteen matchup, and this better scheduling, would probably have been enough to help them advance. Still, you're stuck with the hand you're dealt and BU would have been expected to be more competitive against Baylor, and not get steamrolled as they did.
Bowling Green State University (Bowling Green, OH): Overachieved. I already covered Bowling Green's run in last week's column, so I will keep this short. They did go 2-2 in pool play, which may have been disappointing, but bracket wins over the University of Miami (Coral Gables, FL), University of Maryland (College Park, MD) and Lost Boys (Lomita, CA) make up for anything that happened on the first day. Few saw BGSU as a final four team; they clearly overachieved.
Central Michigan University (Mount Pleasant, MI): Overachieved. Central Michigan barely made it to World Cup, and walked away with a 3-1 record in pool play, and an elimination in the Round of 32. CMU can hang their hat on a 60*-50 win over Mid-Atlantic champions Villanova University (Villanova, PA). In the bracket though, Central Michigan was able to make little impact, falling to University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA) 120*-30. Still, few expected them to overcome either BU, or Villanova, so the 3-1 record in pool play is a strong achievement for this squad.
8 down, 52 to go. Keep checking for more World Cup coverage.
