Weird season as well. For example, Cornell went undefeated and was ranked # 1 the last sevewral weeks of the season and beat Duke in the one head to head game. However, Duke got seeded # 1 in the NCAA tournament that is just about to start. I almost wonder if that was a sympathy seeding for Duke??
Anyone have closer knowledge of this question??
Duke is #1 in Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) and Quality Wins, vs. #2 and #6 respectively, for Cornell. Similarly, Duke was a combined 8-2 against the 15 other teams in the tournament field. Nobody else played even half that number of games against such competition.
Cornell definitely has a right to feel snubbed; however, as twisted as it may seem, Cornell also received the most favorable path to the “final four” based on the remainder of the bracket seedings.
In any case, you have to win to advance. With both teams winning their opening round games on their respective home fields, Duke/Cornell is a likely third round (national semifinal) matchup in Baltimore.