November 15, 1999 1999 NCAA Field Missing Top Teams..... When the 48 team NCAA College Cup field was announced on November 7, several hopeful teams received a "Season Over" card instead of an invitation to the national tournament. With 24 berths guaranteed to automatic qualifiers or play-in winners, the selection committee had the usual task of picking the remaining teams from a bunched field of quality and deserving programs. A few teams had a strong argument for being left out of the tourney. Soccer Buzz gives one final well-deserved mention of those teams and their credentials for being among the Top 48. Arizona State 1999 Record: 13-6 Wins vs NCAA Qualifiers: Michigan, California Losses vs NCAA/Bubble Teams: 5/1 Late Season Record: 5-1 Why No Bid? The Sun Devils were likely right in the mix for one of the final berths. The PAC 10 earned fours bids and a fifth would have been reasonable. Arizona State finished 5-4 in league play and finished strong. Having played seven ranked foes, ASU looked solid for a possible berth. All six losses were to ranked or bubble teams which should have been a big factor in placing the Devils in the field. The loss to Washington may have spoiled ASU's chances as the Devils would have finished 6-3 in PAC10 play with a victory. Georgia 1999 Record: 13-6-2 Wins vs NCAA Qualifiers: Kentucky (tie) Losses vs NCAA/Bubble Teams: 2/3 Late Season Record: 4-1-1 Why No Bid? Georgia had an incredible season after losing so many seniors from last year's NCAA team. However, the Bulldogs got off to a great start and finished strong playing a relatively weak schedule. Georgia faced just two ranked opponents all season and lost both of those. Outside the SEC, Georgia's schedule was nowhere close to other bubble teams as they faced the likes of Mercer, South Alabama, Bowling Green, Jacksonville State and George Washington. The SEC got multipled berths in '98 and looked to be in a position for at least three bids this year which would have played in the Bulldogs favor. With the growth of women's soccer, teams won't be able to rely on great records or playing in strong conferences to get a bid to NCAAs. Georgia should be an early favorite for the 2000 field but could increase their chances now by strengthening their schedule. Illinois 1999 Record: 12-8-2 Wins vs NCAA Qualifiers: Minnesota Losses vs NCAA/Bubble Teams: 4/1 Late Season Record: 3-5-1 Why No Bid? The Fighting Illini needed a lot of help to get in the field but did earn a national ranking earlier in the year and played a great schedule. Having just one win over a ranked opponent didn't outweigh the three bad losses to Michigan State, Purdue and Denver. Finishing the season 3-5-1 hurt most as did a 3-5-2 Big 10 mark. Illinois probably got a decent look as they had five wins over other bubble teams including Ohio State and Iowa. But too many other teams had more power wins so this "no bid" isn't hard to figure out. Iowa 1999 Record: 13-7 Wins vs NCAA Qualifiers: None Losses vs NCAA/Bubble Teams: 5/2 Late Season Record: 6-2 Why No Bid? Iowa had an oustanding season in just its third year of soccer. Coach Gabbert finished third in the Big 10 which would normally be enough for an NCAA bid in other years. However, the Hawkeyes failed to win a single game against a ranked opponent and their non-league slate was subpar with the likes of Valparaiso, Wofford, DePaul and UW-Green Bay. The late season losses to Furman and Illinois did little for their cause. Iowa's 7-3 Big 10 mark and low power rating might have hurt the Big 10's chances of getting more bids to teams that finished below Iowa in the conference standings. Iowa State 1999 Record: 11-8-1 Wins vs NCAA Qualifiers: Minnesota, Texas A&M (tie) Losses vs NCAA/Bubble Teams: 5/2 Late Season Record: 0-3-1 and 2-6-1 Why No Bid? The Cyclones started huge and fell hard. Despite a few weak opponents (Ball State, Wofford, Western Michigan), Iowa State had a strong enough schedule to be a tourney contender. Yet, a 2-6-1 finish to go along with a 4-6 Big 12 mark did little for their cause. The Big 12 had four top teams and Iowa State failed to best any of them save a tie against A&M. Had the Cyclones not faltered so badly their last 9 games, they may have earned a fifth bid for the Big 12. Loyola Marymount 1999 Record: 13-6 Wins vs NCAA Qualifiers: California, Baylor Losses vs NCAA/Bubble Teams: 3/2 Late Season Record: 3-3 Why No Bid? Loyola Marymount started the season 10-2 and then played marginal the rest of the way. After great early season victories over California and Baylor, the Lions fell into the middle of the West Coast pack with losses to Santa Clara, San Diego, St Mary's and Portland. Were they not upset against Denver and had they beaten either Portland or St Mary's, you have to think LMU would have made it into the field. Ohio State 1999 Record: 12-6-2 Wins vs NCAA Qualifiers: Minnesota, Wrigth State, Colgate (tie) Losses vs NCAA/Bubble Teams: 4/2 Late Season Record: 4-4 Why No Bid? The Buckeyes were marginal all season as they never really hit a hot run despite wins over Minnesota and bubble teams Syracuse and Wisconsin. The losses to Illinois and Iowa were big factors as the Buckeyes could have claimed third in the Big 10 with a victory over either school. OSU must have gotten a long look but the Big 10 seemed a bit down this year so the committee may have felt a winning league mark meant less than in year's past. Portland 1999 Record: 12-7-1 Wins vs NCAA Qualifiers: None Losses vs NCAA/Bubble Teams: 5/1 Late Season Record: 3-3 and 10-3 Why No Bid? True fans shouldn't be surprised to see the Pilots on this bubble list despite their drop from the national and regional rankings early in the season. Coach Clive Charles turned in a 10 game win streak in the middle of the season and finished 5-2 in the tough West Coast Conference. The Pilots had the highest power rating of any team not making the NCAA Tourney. Four of their five losses were to Top 10 teams but Portland failed to earn a victory over a ranked opponent for the first time in school history. If Portland had earned at least one ranked win, they might have surprised many and earned another bid. Richmond 1999 Record: 13-9-1 Wins vs NCAA Qualifiers: Furman, Clemson, Boston College, James Madison, Hartford (tie) Losses vs NCAA/Bubble Teams: 4/1 Late Season Record: 5-1 and 5-6 Why No Bid? Richmond was a mystery this season as they were ranked early on by every poll. The 3-5 finish in the CAA was a factor along with the five game skid during mid-season. The Spiders did turn things around and won five of their last six including a trip to the CAA Championship. The Spiders had a big win over Clemson and Boston College as well as a tie against Hartford. Given their schedule, those wins would have earned a bid for any other squad. Richmond may have just fell short a week or two for impressing the committee. South Carolina 1999 Record: 14-6 Wins vs NCAA Qualifiers: Furman Losses vs NCAA/Bubble Teams: 4/1 Late Season Record: 3-3 Why No Bid? The Gamecocks appeared ready to earn the third bid from the SEC but a deep national field forced the Committee to look closely at the Gamecocks weak schedule. The only victories of note were over Furman and Georgia. South Carolina played one of the weakest non-league schedules of any bubble team as they earned wins over Charleston Southern, VCU, Wofford and College of Charleston. St Mary's 1999 Record: 13-4-1 Wins vs NCAA Qualifiers: San Diego Losses vs NCAA/Bubble Teams: 2/1 Late Season Record: 3-4-1 Why No Bid? The Gaels started 10-0 and then almost crashed with a 3-4-1 finish before upsetting San Diego. The 5-2 West Coast Conference mark and the San Diego victory must have made it difficult for the Selection Committee. The 3-4-1 finish and the otherwise weak schedule (Sacramento State, Eastern Washington) balanced it out. One victory shouldn't define a season but if the Gaels had beaten nemesis Portland, they would have finished second at 6-1 in the WCC behind Santa Clara and probably found themselves in the tourney field. Syracuse 1999 Record: 12-6-2 Wins vs NCAA Qualifiers: Colgate, Dartmouth, Boston College Losses vs NCAA/Bubble Teams: 1/5 Late Season Record: 3-2-1 Why No Bid? The Orangewomen may have the biggest reason to cry foul. Playing in the tough Big East, Syracuse failed to gain a fourth bid for the conference. Syracuse played strong all season with wins over regional foes Colgate, Dartmouth and BC. The biggest concern here were the five losses to non-NCAA teams and the two ties (UMass and St John's). Losing twice to Seton Hall was a big blow and contributed to a so-so power rating. Syracuse needs to get a couple more ranked opponents on their slate to avoid being left out in the future. Utah 1999 Record: 13-7 Wins vs NCAA Qualifiers: San Diego State, Montana Losses vs NCAA/Bubble Teams: 5/0 Late Season Record: 5-2 Why No Bid? Utah quietly earned one of the highest power ratings of all the bubble teams. The Utes failed to score in any big victories unless you consider the SDSU victory. One bad loss to Long Beach State, combined with five losses to highly ranked foes gave the Utes seven in the loss column. Utah faced an uphill battle sa they would have been a third team from the newly formed Mountain West which didn't even have an automatic berth. Wisconsin 1999 Record: 9-8-4 Wins vs NCAA Qualifiers: Michigan, Marquette Losses vs NCAA/Bubble Teams: 4/3 Late Season Record: 3-3-2 Why No Bid? The strength of schedule got the Badgers a good look but the wins nor the Big 10 finish justified a bid. Six conference losses and a win-one-lose-the-next season put Wisconsin on the wrong side of the fence. Along with Portland and Richmond, Wisconsin faced the toughest schedule of all bubble teams but the one ranked win over Michigan wasn't enough.