SIRC final
Regular seasons are ending and moving into playoffs, and some results are forcing big moves in the DII College Spring Top 20.
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The biggest event to occur was the SIRC championship, where four pools finally intersected and translated the scores from the matrix season. Kennesaw State kept its undefeated record intact and won the conference trophy on the last play of the game against Tulane (read more). The Lady Owls, therefore, leaped ahead of Tulane in the rankings. Remember that the Green Wave didn’t win the SIRC title last year either before winning the spring championship.
Even though Clemson lost its semifinal to Tulane, it was by single digits, and then the team rebounded with a 68-point shutout over Alabama. Those performances saw a jump in the rankings as well.
Since Kennesaw State jumped to the top of the rankings, teams that didn’t necessarily deserve a demotion received one. Fresno State (read more) and UC Irvine won their respective conferences, while Capital finalists Towson and Mary Washington have banked some friendlies in between snowstorms.
The University of South Carolina retains its No. 8 spot and indicated that its game against Coastal Carolina last weekend was by far its toughest of the season. Coastal Carolina actually took a two-try lead at the beginning of the match, forcing the Gamecocks into action. Such praise saw another bump in the rankings.
New to the Top 20 are Long Beach State, which traveled to Arizona last weekend for the Gold Coast #2 seed to DII spring playoffs. The 49ers came up just short, 31-25, but earned a spot on the rankings. Mid-America’s Missouri is also on the list, having won the East pool. Kansas State won the West pool, and bonus points pushed the team past fellow 7-1 John Brown. But even if the teams had tied on standings points, Kansas State had a much larger point differential and better head-to-head against John Brown.
Gone from the rankings are Alabama, which suffered two heavy losses at the SIRC championship, and Claremont Colleges, which is now pursuing an NSCRO Pacific Coast Championship on April 1-2. Had the Foxes remained in the DII Gold Coast, the team would have taken the second seed (read more).
