Full week 9 rankings

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The…elaborate prank?…that was Maggie Nichols being out with an ankle injury “for a while” was not a thing over the weekend as Nichols competed all four events for an AA score of 39.825. Just that. It helped Oklahoma record one of its highest team scores ever and come within comfortable striking distance of the all-time record NQS/RQS of 198.115. Already. It would take a 198.375 this Friday at home against Michigan (Maggie Nichols Senior Night Watch) for Oklahoma to break the all-time qualifying score record.

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Florida successfully removed its last “low” road score last Friday against Georgia and is therefore looking quite comfortable to stay at #2 for the remainder of the process. Because Florida’s scores are all pretty tightly packed, there’s not a lot that the Gators can gain in an individual weekend, but there’s also not a lot Florida needs to change at this point because the margin between #2 and #3 is so large. Florida’s own team NQS/RQS record is 197.895 from the 2014 season, which can be broken with a 197.900 this weekend at Penn State.

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UCLA managed to hang on with the #3 ranking, though the lower 197 recorded against Oregon State keeps the team in a somewhat vulnerable position for retaining a top-4 place (and #1 regional seed) because those bold road scores are weaker than what we’re seeing from teams like Utah and LSU. So there’s still some urgency in the score project for UCLA, the main goal this weekend being a 197.800 to ensure maintaining sole possession of #3 in next Monday’s rankings. And really, especially at home, that’s what UCLA should be scoring at this point in the season to make a case as a title contender.

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Utah did itself some good with the 197.675 in that strangely evaluated meet against Washington, both in terms of hanging onto 4th place amidst challenges from Michigan and LSU and in terms of keeping things close with UCLA. UCLA has the higher maximum after next week and will therefore control its ranking future, but Utah could move ahead depending on what both teams end up scoring. Utah also may face a serious challenge from Michigan, so another higher 197 is looking necessary to fend off the other teams as well.

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Michigan did it for a second week running on Friday with another 197.9, enough to gain two spots in the rankings and make an assault on a top-4 spot look like a realistic prospect. While UCLA and Utah both have higher maximums after this weekend, Michigan could pass either or both if those teams don’t perform up to the expected level and Michigan continues getting these 197.9s. Away at Oklahoma on Friday provides a tremendous opportunity for it.

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Another low 197 over the weekend was not enough to keep back the rush of Michigan’s 197.9s and therefore leaves LSU in a position that…well it’s not tragic, this ranking is fine…but if LSU is entertaining hope of a #1 regional seeding, we’re going to need to see a high 197 this weekend. All of the non-bold scores at this point are too low for a top-4 team, which means every remaining score must be better than that. Moving up remains an absolute possibility—LSU has a chance to get to #3 after this weekend if everything goes just right—but because LSU’s maximum is lower, that possibility is dependent on other famous teams not getting cracky scores. And do you really want to have to bank on that?

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Hitting that 197 mark against Oklahoma was a big deal for this Denver team, eager to prove that it can still score competitively with such a depleted roster. But it’s also still just a 197.000, which isn’t necessarily going to stand up in this portion of the rankings or keep Denver in the top 8 moving forward. Denver has an outside shot to move ahead of LSU this weekend in its final home meet but is mostly just looking to hang onto this sort of ranking, which will require another 197 to guarantee.

Continue reading NCAA Week 9 Rankings →