No, I think 13 field players, most of whom are freshmen and sophomores, seeing almost all of the playing time wore them out, especially when play became more physical. 90 minutes is 90 minutes, even if the opponent is bad. Texas has an RPI of 10, as of the last official release. They are (or were) a lot better than you want to believe. Do you have anything to offer the discussion other than trying to run down the Big 12?
OK, I'll add something to the discussion... Like actual facts. Of the 11 players you started last game, 6 were 3rd year players or older. You started 1 freshman! 1! Most are freshman and sophomore is simply incorrect. Your team is not young in any stretch of the imagination. Texas beat (RPI 151) UALR 2-1 Texas beat (RPI 204) Sacramento ST 1-0 Texas beat (RPI 223) Texas Rio Grande 1-0 I am sorry but Texas is a fraud. They are not good. They will lose in the 1st round of the NCAA, and you can spout they are young, but they aren't.
Texas isn't my team. But, since you want to talk facts... Texas did start five juniors. But the sixth player you're counting as a "third-year player" is a redshirt sophomore who lost all of last year to an ACL tear in the first game. A bit disingenuous to claim that one. The Texas roster is composed of: 9 freshmen 1 redshirt freshman 7 sophomores 1 redshirt sophomore 7 juniors 3 seniors Two-thirds of the team are in their first or second collegiate season. That's a young team. And when the sum contribution of the senior class is 42 minutes across three matches (with one of the three out for the year with injury), that makes it even tougher. To break it down further, here's the 13 field players who have played in every game (or all but one game): 2 freshmen 1 redshirt freshman 3 sophomores 1 redshirt sophomore 6 juniors That's 7-6 to players who have only played one or two collegiate seasons. And really, it's more like 8.5 to 4.5 when looking at actual experience, because one of the juniors didn't play as a freshman (and only saw 46 minutes as a sophomore), and another is coming off an ACL tear that cost her half of last season. The keeper is also a sophomore who didn't play at all last year. Let's do some math. Texas has played 1714 minutes and 20 seconds this year. For 10 players, that results in 17,143 minutes and 20 seconds of total field time. Only 668 of those minutes belong to players outside of the core 13. That means the per-game average for those other players is 37 total minutes. There are at least 900 total minutes for field players in a given game. And that's actually being generous to the situation. Three of the seven UT players who have seen time despite not being regulars haven't played since the first weekend of September. Two reappeared in the OSU game, but they hadn't played in six weeks when they did. Only three of the seven have even played a game's worth of minutes. Texas is tired. They are not a fraud; frauds don't beat West Virginia. But the season has taken its toll on them. Maybe they lose in the first round, maybe not. It doesn't mean they're a bad team.
Guess I am confused on why a sophomore would be more tired that a senior. I get the freshman thing. But they've only really played 2 freshman this year. Every team is in a similar boat. Some teams get stronger as the season go on. Some teams don't. I am a Gamecock and SEC fan. The 2 teams in our final: A&M- has been decimated with injuries. They only play 2 seniors. They have won 11 straight. They have an almost identical starting line-up age-wise as you. They seem to be getting stronger as the season goes on. Arkansas- Playing in the finals. Beat us. They start 5 freshman and 3 sophomores. They haven't subbed at all in the tournament. They played Thur against Tenn, Sun against Ole Miss, Tues they beat us (we are #2 in the country) and thur beat Vanderbilt. I wonder why their young players are't tired. You are an excuse making loser. Texas is way over-rated and the coach has no clue what she is doing. The team isn't tired. They are poorly coached. Good coaches make their teams stronger as the season goes.
Because sophomores still haven't gone through as many games as seniors and aren't as used to it. It's an experience thing. It's true at every level of sports. Again, I am not a Texas fan. You're obviously a Texas hater, so good for you, I guess. As for losers, you're the one who decided to start trolling this thread unprompted. You've refused to accept any argument that doesn't agree with your preconceptions, even when I and others have made points against them. I don't know what your personal beef is, but I'm done wasting time trying to engage someone who's clearly only interested in getting attention for themselves.
That is the worst rationale I have ever heard. If soph's aren't fit enough to make it through a college season, that is on the coach and strength coach. I get freshman. They get to campus and the season starts. They don't even really know what they are getting into. Texas isn't even playing any freshman. The soph thing is ridiculous. And at that level, they have spring and summer programs. I am not trolling anything. You asked for stats. I have give you NUMEROUS stats refuting your Big 12 homer views. You are the one who refuses to look at things objectively. The only rationale on why you think Texas is good is RPI. Well based on RPI, the Big 12 is one of the worst P5 conferences in college soccer history. Which proves my original point.
Other obligations kept me from being able to watch the tournament semis and finals except for some replay, but here's the quick recap: SEMIS Baylor 3-0 Oklahoma State - a surprising scoreline, and easily Oklahoma State's worst performance since its California trip almost two months ago. Baylor had to have the game, and from what I saw went into all-out attack mode on top of their usual rough-and-tumble style. If they'd played that way more during the season, then perhaps they wouldn't have needed a big tournament run. TCU 1-1 West Virginia (TCU 5-3 on PKs) - another stunner from a team desperately trying to keep hope of an NCAA bid alive. TCU had to advance, but it remains to be seen if a tie will be enough to get them in instead of a win. This is the first Big 12 season that West Virginia didn't win a conference trophy; the Mountaineers need to get it together now that the NCAAs are here. FINAL Baylor 2-1 TCU (OT) - Baylor wins the rematch, their second conference tournament title, and an autobid. The teams traded 2-1 OT victories this year, and now TCU gets to be nervous for the selection show. As for the NCAA draw, I think West Virginia hurt their seeding, Texas may have dropped out of seeding contention, and any chance Oklahoma State had for a seed was lost. The questions will be who gets to host a first-round game, and if TCU did enough to squeak in.
By now everyone's seen the selections, so here's a quick look at the matchups for the NCAAs. TCU gets sent to Tucson to face Arizona, which is a difficult draw for the Frogs but one I'm sure they're happy to accept. It's not an unwinnable game for TCU, but they'll have to play well to have a chance. This is the first match between the two schools. Baylor will welcome Rice to Waco. These teams played to a 0-0 draw earlier this year in Houston, and the rematch should be a good test for each of them after Baylor's late surge and Rice's season-long consistency. All-time, Baylor is 5-0-3 against the Owls and 3-0-1 against them in Waco. Texas gets North Texas in Austin after defeating the Mean Green in Denton 1-0 earlier in the year. It's a good draw for the Longhorns, and probably not what UNT was hoping for after claiming C-USA's autobid. Texas is 4-1-0 all-time against North Texas, including a 3-0-0 record in Austin and a win in the teams' previous tournament pairing. Oklahoma State will close out the current version of its home field with a match against Missouri Valley tournament champ Missouri State, which is making its first NCAA appearance since 2000. The teams last played in 2013 and have only played twice since 2001. OSU has a 5-2 record against MSU, and the Cowgirls have won all four matches in Stillwater. OSU is also a perfect 9-0-0 at home this season. West Virginia will welcome Patriot League champ Bucknell for the teams' first meeting. Bucknell will finally play someone besides Penn State in the NCAA Tournament; unfortunately for them, they get the Mountaineers instead. With these matchups, I'd expect the league to go 3-2 or 4-1. WVU, OSU, and UT should all advance; Baylor is the swing team. I don't expect TCU to leave Tucson victorious. As far as the rest of the draw, I think these are the limits for each team: West Virginia: Elite Eight. Rutgers will be tricky, and Penn State is a challenge. But if the Mountaineers play well, they could end up facing off with Stanford. Texas: Sweet 16. The Longhorns have to get something fixed ASAP, or they'll have a short trip. But even if they can get past the Clemson/Alabama winner, Duke will prove too much for them. Oklahoma State: Second round. I thought the Cowgirls got a terrible draw; they are capable of the Sweet 16 with a better one. They'll get a nice sendoff at home for their seniors, and then Duke will end their season in Durham. Baylor: Second round. Should the Bears get past Rice, they're not going to get the early-season USC that lost to Kansas and didn't take Iowa State seriously. TCU: Second round. I don't think TCU gets out of the first round, but if they somehow do, Florida State should have little trouble with them. All in all, looks to be a pretty standard tournament for the Big 12. ******************************* Also of note, the final RPI ratings for the league: 7. West Virginia 12. Texas 32. Oklahoma State 34. Baylor 46. TCU 70. Texas Tech 85. Kansas 185. Iowa State 197. Oklahoma 220. Kansas State The Big 12 tournament tanked Oklahoma State's ranking; they were 24th prior to Kansas City. Baylor and TCU moved up, as would be expected by their runs, but I am surprised at how much Baylor jumped. They improved 21 places from before the tournament.
Through the second weekend, and almost everything went as expected for the Big 12. I was disappointed in Oklahoma State's showing Friday night; Duke is clearly better, but there's no excuse for losing like that. The switch to a stronger offensive formation this year paid off in the regular season, but it's clear that something has to change if the Cowgirls are to be successful in the postseason. Texas did as well as could be expected. This was a year of improvement for the Longhorns, and they need to capitalize on it next season. I can't say I'm too surprised West Virginia went out to Penn State. That was always going to be a challenge, and I don't think the Mountaineers ever quite fired on all cylinders this season. I never would have expected the last team standing from the league to be Baylor. This is a team on a serious hot streak, and it shows just how lackluster their regular season play was. They got some slight bracket help with Notre Dame knocking out Texas A&M, but Baylor shouldn't have gotten past USC. I expect Duke to end their run, but when a team is on the kind of streak Baylor's on, who knows?