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There are the conference standings, and than there are the conference power rankings to help show what teams are on the rise or fading.
Off the Block special contributor Jonathan Bates released his latest MPSF Power Rankings, a new weekly that will appear on Off the Block each week during the rest of the regular season.
Bates has covered the MPSF for Off the Block during the last two seasons.This power ranking is the solely the views of Bates. Follow Bates on Twitter at @mpsf_bias.
MPSF POWER RANKING – Week 13
1. Hawai’i
Change from last week: No change
Matches remaining: vs. Stanford (twice); at BYU (twice)
Hawai’i controls their own destiny right now, as it has a one-match margin (in the loss column) against UC Irvine. It looked like the top-ranked team in the nation after sweeping UCLA last week.
2. UC Irvine
Change from last week: No change
Matches remaining: at UC Santa Barbara; at UCLA; vs UCSD
Held serve by beating CSUN and Long Beach State last week.
3. Pepperdine
Change from last week: No change
Matches remaining: vs. UCLA and UC Santa Barbara
Looked much more dominant last week than the week prior by sweeping USC and Cal Baptist at home.
4. UC Santa Barbara
Change from last week: +3
Matches remaining: vs UC Irvine, UC San Diego, Pepperdine and Stanford
The Gauchos were off last week and yet they jumped three spots in my rankings, including over another idle team (BYU). Let’s be clear, if I could leave the No. 4 open in my rankings. There is a huge difference between the top three teams in the MPSF and everyone else.
5. USC
Change from last week: -1
Matches remaining: vs Concordia-Irvine and Cal Baptist; at Cal Baptist
I did not expect USC to beat Pepperdine, but I would have expected a more competitive match. The Trojans did bounce back nicely to sweep the Cardinal on the Farm.
6. CSUN
Change from last week: -1
Matches remaining: vs BYU (twice); at Long Beach State
CSUN lost to UC Irvine and beat UC San Diego. Really nothing to gauge how well the Matadors are doing by losing the second best team in the conference and beating the worst team in the conference.
7. BYU
Change from last week: -1
Matches remaining: at CSUN (twice); vs Hawai’i (twice)
BYU was idle last week, and it has been a big losing streak of late. It would not surprise me to see them lose the remaining matches during the regular season.
8. Long Beach State
Change from last week: No change
Match remaining: vs CSUN
Long Beach State lost to UC Irvine and beat UC San Diego last week. Will having only one match in the three weeks before the MPSF Tournament allow the 49ers to get rest or become rusty?
9. UCLA
Change from last week: +1
Matches remaining: vs. UC Irvine and UC San Diego; at Pepperdine and Stanford
UCLA has been idle since losing to Hawai’i twice.
10. Stanford
Change from last week: +1
Matches remaining: at Hawai’i (twice); vs UCLA and UC Santa Barbara
Stanford was dropped a spot after getting swept by USC.
11. Cal Baptist
Change from last week: No change
Matches remaining: vs USC; at USC
Cal Baptist loses only two seniors from this year’s squad so there is reason to be optimistic about next year.
12. UC San Diego
Change from last week: No change
Matches remaining: at UC Santa Barbara, at UCLA and UC Irvine
Is it time for the MPSF to split so that all of the Division II schools are grouped together?