Lots of Questions Surrounding the Resume Seeding System
Lots of Questions Surrounding the Resume Seeding System
As conference play heats up, there will be lots of debates about seeding for WAC Tournament
The new WAC resume seeding system is going to create a lot of chaos. There is no doubt about it.
Stephen F. Austin fans have been rather vocal over the past few days about it. GCU fans are a little up in arms about it.
And that is to be expected as we get deeper into the 2022-23 season and the implementation of the new WAC resume seeding system.
So, let’s break down the basics once again.
First - every game is given a value of 1.
Second - you can earn points or lose points based off every game against a Division I opponent.
Third - road wins earn more points than home wins.
Fourth - home losses to lesser opponents hurt a team’s point value more than anything.
Fifth - values change based on how opponents do throughout the season.
Sixth - this seeding system is not based on a a team’s own NET ranking.
Whew!
That was a lot.
But, you can see the little things that impact the seeding system.
A couple other housecleaning things regarding the resume seeding system:
System doesn’t determine regular season champion
Teams play their way into WAC Vegas through conference play
Seeds are decided after conference play ends
A team can finish 10th in regular season standings but could be the 12-seed at WAC Vegas
Okay, now that we got those basics out of the way, let’s get to some more thoughts on this new WAC resume seeding system.
Win games and you will move up in the resume seeding system. It is that simple. Along those lines, DO NOT lose at home. Home losses in this system are a killer.
Just look at the SFA men’s basketball team. Their fans have been up in arms over the past week or so considering the Jacks are now 4-0 in WAC play.
Yet, despite being undefeated in league play, the Jacks would be the 6-seed if the regular season ended today.
The big reason for where the Jacks are in the resume seeding system comes down to two games.
SFA lost home games to Alcorn State and Northwestern State. The Jacks lost a combined 1.54 points between just those two losses alone.
Sure, the Jacks would have only earned .46 points if they had won both of those games. But, gaining points is much better than losing points, especially significant points.
That is actually one thing I like about this seeding system. It doesn’t reward teams for loading up the schedule with home games against lesser opponents. I know some teams have trouble getting high-quality home games so they have to schedule those lesser opponents. But, in doing that, teams have to win those games or get hammered in value points.
Here is the last thing I have been thinking about this week with this new seeding system.
Right now, most bracketology has Sam Houston as a 12-seed and Utah Valley as a 13-seed.
Sam Houston sits at 39 in the NET. Utah Valley is holding steady at 76.
New Mexico State was a 12-seed in 2022 and they got a good matchup against 5-seed UCONN. And the Aggies won a tournament game for the first time in 30 years.
Now, in that same sentence, what seed do you think an SFA or GCU would sit at right now?
14-15 range maybe? In SFA’s case, maybe a 16-seed? I say that because those two home Quad 4 losses in the non-conference slate.
Some will argue the WAC will never get above a 12-seed. Perhaps not. Unfortunately, the committee isn’t friendly to mid-majors as we have seen in most bracketology that is posted weekly.
But, with this seeding system in place, it kind of forces teams to put together a more challenging non-conference slate with the potential of obtaining a higher seed at the NCAA Tournament in mind.
The argument will always be about teams who can and can’t get quality games. Unfortunately, that is the sad state of college basketball. Analytics have ruined the traditional non-conference rivalries, in-state games, and so forth.
And, as more mid-majors continue to win games against Power 5, the likelihood that Power 5 schools will continue to schedule games against mid-majors is dwindling. Do you really think a Pac-12 school will schedule Utah Valley ever again? I mean, the Wolverines have wins over Washington and Oregon the past two seasons.
Why do you think SFA was not able to get a Power 5 game on its schedule in 2022-23?
But, even with that struggle to schedule ball games, there are still opportunities out there. The big key is when you get a Division I game, especially against a lesser opponent, you have to win the ball game. Even more so at home.
There will always be unhappy campers with regard to this seeding system. I am not 100 percent sold on it…yet. There are both good and bad things about it.
The most difficult part about it is the unbalanced scheduling. This isn’t just for conference play. Teams don’t play similar non-conference schedules and thus the impact could be greater for some.
My feeling on it is that the system will even itself out over the course of conference play. Remember, values change with what opponents do throughout the course of their own seasons.
If you take care of business at home, win road games, and don’t have that silly loss, you will most likely end up at or near the top of the WAC in the resume seeding system.
Just remember, it is in its first year of existence, in a league with unbalanced conference scheduling. Let it play out. You might be surprised.