[81alum]

Interesting dilemma on the rankings.  We should know shortly. 

There is a case to be made that Stanford would benefit by going into the tournament as #5 (a 2 seed if the committee follows the rankings) rather than #4 (a 1 seed).  The opposition would not be appreciably "better" over the first rounds  and we would still have to play exactly the same team in the elite 8 as if the rankings were reversed 4-5 vs 5-4.  During Candice's senior year our being left out of a number 1 seed seemed to give us a "chip on the shoulder" determination that may have helped us to vent our anger on Maryland.  If our rankings and Maryland's had been reversed we still would have played them, but without the perceived slight.

However, going in as a one seed  while ranked #3 or even #2 (what happens to Connecticut if it loses again to the University of South Bend?) might be better than going in ranked 4 or 5.  Presumably the opposition in the elite 8 would be a little weaker--though not necessarily.  The committee has a tendency not to follow the rankings that slavishly.

The calculation I've been thinking about is how we will place if we lose to C.AL either in the last game or in the PAC-12 tournament.  We will probably have to play them twice, and given how the last game went at home the odds are pretty good we might lose one of the two that will be played away from Maples.  Can we hold on to a number one seed if that happens?

[81alum]

Interesting dilemma on the rankings.  We should know shortly. 

There is a case to be made that Stanford would benefit by going into the tournament as #5 (a 2 seed if the committee follows the rankings) rather than #4 (a 1 seed).  The opposition would not be appreciably "better" over the first rounds  and we would still have to play exactly the same team in the elite 8 as if the rankings were reversed 4-5 vs 5-4.  During Candice's senior year our being left out of a number 1 seed seemed to give us a "chip on the shoulder" determination that may have helped us to vent our anger on Maryland.  If our rankings and Maryland's had been reversed we still would have played them, but without the perceived slight.

However, going in as a one seed  while ranked #3 or even #2 (what happens to Connecticut if it loses again to the University of South Bend?) might be better than going in ranked 4 or 5.  Presumably the opposition in the elite 8 would be a little weaker--though not necessarily.  The committee has a tendency not to follow the rankings that slavishly.

The calculation I've been thinking about is how we will place if we lose to C.AL either in the last game or in the PAC-12 tournament.  We will probably have to play them twice, and given how the last game went at home the odds are pretty good we might lose one of the two that will be played away from Maples.  Can we hold on to a number one seed if that happens?