Texas Sized Points.
D1 Women's Golf Update. DII, DIII WGolf - Ranking
Two separate posts from The Differential tonight. Why?
Because everything is bigger in Texas â especially the points at the Betsy Rawls Invitational, which is where we will begin.
Texas moves to No. 4 in The Differential and is projected to earn approximately 136.75 points in the NCAA Golf ranking. The question now: will those points be capped?
We do not know the answer. But if they are, the expectation lands closer to 88 points. Why? Because coincidentally, the Longhorns performance closely mirrors what Arkansas produced at The Blessings â a result currently capped at 88.
In âThe Week Aheadâ portion of our post a few days agoâŚ
Betsy Rawls Invitational
No. 8 Texas has assembled an interesting field for its home event. Texas, Arkansas, and Pepperdine enter the week inside the top 10, while Sam Houston, Troy, Incarnate Word, and Houston Christian sit outside the top 100.One of the best teams in the country playing on its home course with this mix of teams has the potential to turn some heads when the points are calculated.
Why did we see this coming?
Start with the course + team advantage.
One of the best teams in the country hosting on a home course â and one known to be difficult â was always going to create separation.
Add in the structure of the field:
3 top-10 teams
4 teams ranked No. 24â50
3 teams ranked No. 80â100
5 teams outside the top 100
Over 54 holes on a demanding golf course â the top of the field would separate.
But, what we didnât see coming â the weather.
Cold and windy conditions during the 36-hole day sent scores soaring. And more than likely, only one team in the field had seen the golf course play under those conditions.
Texas.
But Texasâ 21-shot victory isnât all bad news for the remaining six top-50 teams who competed in Austin.
Five of the six â Arkansas, Oklahoma, LSU, TCU, and Oregon State â are projected to earn more points than their season average and could see a bump in the next NCAA Golf ranking. A trend we see in The Differential ranking update.
Oklahoma: 32 â 24
LSU: 33 â 26
TCU: 42 â 41
Oregon State: 43 â 42
Texas might have cracked the code for building the perfect field to provide top teams an opportunity to maximize points.
Upset of the Season = More Points Capped?
Texas scored the most points, but Boston College may have delivered the upset of the season.
BC jumps to No. 58 in The Differential following a win over No. 14 Central Florida and four additional top-50 teams.
The weather-shortened Briarâs Creek Invitational now looks set to play a major role on the postseason bubble. And it starts with the same question weâre asking in Austin:
Will Boston Collegeâs points be curbed?
Based on what we know, Boston College is projected to receive approximately 62.92 points (42.16 for 36 holes). And based on those same inputs, BC significantly outperformed the field relative to expectationâŚbut was it too far ahead of their season average to be accurate?
This exact scenario is why we wrote about our dislike for The Blessings Rule months ago.
The âBlessings Collegiate Ruleâ wasnât born out of bad data â it came from a team playing great golf. The math does the job. It doesnât need a cap or a fluke factor.
If Boston College misses an at-large postseason berth by tenths of a point because their performance was capped or seen as a fluke, the system has failed.
Boston College should move to No. 58 or 59 in the NCAA Golf ranking with the full allotment of points.
The Differential - Womenâs Golf Team Rankings
DI - Womenâs Golf Team Rank
DII - Womenâs Golf Team Rank
DIII - Womenâs Golf Team Rank
Outside of Boston College the results of the Briarâs Creek Invitational will have an impact on post-season hopes for teams finishing 3rd to 7th.
Points Projections for those teams.
(Differential Rank / Team / Points / Adj. for 2 Rounds)
No. 42 - Michigan State, 42.49 / 28.47
No. 50 - Charleston, 37.88 / 25.38
No. 47 - NC State, 37.88 / 25.38
No. 45 - Clemson, 31.13 / 20.86
No. 48 - Purdue, 27.74 / 18.59