NCAA Tourney Team Selection Options

[Bonin21]

But for the Gophers fan taking shots. Let’s put Minnesota in the same region as Wisconsin and then let’s talk about how that really leads to a real national champion. I’m sure you’d be onboard with that. Let’s put Michigan in that same region while we’re at it.

Um ya... I wouldn't care if the Gophers had to go through wisconsin and it would still be a real national championship...

[manurespreader]

Here is where I think things roughly stand, if we assume: (1) SCSU holds on to beat UND; and (2) the rest of the conference tournaments go chalk...

1. Boston College
2. North Dakota
3. Minnesota
4. Minnesota State Mankato
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5. St. Cloud State
6. Wisconsin
7. Massachusetts
8. Quinnipiac
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9. Minnesota Duluth
10. Michigan
11. Lake Superior State
12. Boston University
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13. Providence
14. Bemidji State
15. Denver or Omaha...I still can't decide
16. AIC

Potential brackets with this field...

Bridgeport:
1. Boston College v. 16. AIC (both bus trips)
8. Quinnipiac v. 12. Boston University (both bus trips)

Fargo:
2. North Dakota v. 14. Bemidji State (both bus trips)
5. St. Cloud State v. 11. Lake Superior State (SCSU bus trip, LSSU a flight regardless)

Albany:
3. Minnesota v. 13. Providence (PC bus trip, UMN a flight anywhere but Fargo)
7. Massachusetts v. 10. Michigan (UMASS bus trip, UM a flight regardless)

Loveland:
4. Minnesota State v. 15. Denver/Omaha (Denver/Omaha bus trip, Mankato a flight anywhere but Fargo)
6. Wisconsin v. 9. Minnesota Duluth (UW a flight regardless, UMD a flight anywhere but Fargo)

You could swap the SCSU/LSSU and UW/UMD matchups as well if you were concerned about intra-conference regional finals.

There is no way Qpac deserves a 2 seed. 4 is more like it. And Wisconsin is better than BC, even with questionable goaltending.

[J.D.]

Ah yes the guy that has scouted every team with no western bias at all!

[Lemonade]

Ah yes the guy that has scouted every team with no western bias at all!

If you watched the games last night and think BC is the best team in the country you are insane. The NCHC and Big Ten teams are much better this year than anything that Hockey East can put out on the ice and deserve to have more teams in it.

[Numbers]

OK, to clear this up a bit....
#1s: NoDak, Minn, BC, Mankato
#2s: Wisc, SCSU, Mass, Quinn (they don't deserve this, but neither does anyone else)
#3s: UMD, Mich, BU, LSSU(Bemidji)
#4s: AIC, Bemidji, Providence, and the last team in Omaha

Fargo: UND v Bemidji::::Wisc v LSSU
Someplace out east: BC v AIC::::Quinn v BU
Albany: Minnesota v Providence::::Mass v UMD
Loveland: Mankato v Omaha::::SCSU v Mich

Those brackets isolate all the conference final games from each other until the F4. Only conference mates involved in the same regionals are HEA teams, and they aren't flying west, given the 10-6 split. (Oh, forgot SCSU and Omaha, but still).

That's the way I would do it.

Now, watch as the results the rest of the week blow this totally up.

[J.D.]

If you watched the games last night and think BC is the best team in the country you are insane. The NCHC and Big Ten teams are much better this year than anything that Hockey East can put out on the ice and deserve to have more teams in it.

You are quite possibly the dumbest person I have encountered on this board. Please show me where I said BC was the best team in the country. I think UND is easily #1. I also have been questioning Quinnipiac's body of work as well as the inclusion of a 2nd Atlantic team. And I have fought back at the idea that Denver should be eliminated solely based off their W/L record.

[Lemonade]

You are quite possibly the dumbest person I have encountered on this board. Please show me where I said BC was the best team in the country. I think UND is easily #1. I also have been questioning Quinnipiac's body of work as well as the inclusion of a 2nd Atlantic team. And I have fought back at the idea that Denver should be eliminated solely based off their W/L record.

Not every comment is about you. I was speaking in generalities about the strength of the teams out west and if you watched the games last night and compared them to HE games - its not close. It was in response to you questioning a western bias...teams out west are better.

[J.D.]

You literally quoted me and made it seem like I said BC was best team in the country but ok...

I do think UND is better than BC but I don't think it's a slam dunk that Wisconsin is. They might be but they also have a question mark in goal. Not what you're looking for in big games. Sorry if that offends you.

[Lemonade]

You literally quoted me and made it seem like I said BC was best team in the country but ok...

I do think UND is better than BC but I don't think it's a slam dunk that Wisconsin is. They might be but they also have a question mark in goal. Not what you're looking for in big games. Sorry if that offends you.

There is nothing you could say or do that would offend me.

ND is the clear to beat and I don't think its close.

[manurespreader]

Now watch NMU win the WCHA title and UML the HE title.

[JohnsonsJerseys]

Johnson....
I assume you are ok with the following:
Minn, Wisc, Mich
NoDak, SCSU, UMD
Mankato, LSSU, BemSt
BC, Mass, BU?
How do you fill the rest of the field?

A: Atlantic Hockey x 2, ECAC x 1 and one last spot to assign where ever you want (blind draw from a hat is fine with me). No conference will have more than four.

Five bids from a single conference, any conference, especially during THIS SEASON with little to no play between conferences makes no sense because there is almost zero data to support it. The only argument I hear is "Well, they're usually better..." That may be true and usually the #16 seed doesn't upset the #1 seed. But you know what, every once in a while it happens and more often than not that team comes out of Atlantic Hockey.

If this was any other year where there were actual games played and Atlantic Hockey went 1-20-0 against other conferences, then fine, they get one bid because the data supports that decision. THIS YEAR that data doesn't exists so the top teams in AH deserve the same shot as the top teams from other conferences. There was no NCAA rule against playing other conferences, teams choose not to do so for the most part and isolated themselves. So now we've reached the end of the season and all we really have is comparisons WITHIN conferences. As such, each conference brings their best and let the pucks fall where they may.

A statement I've made many times, if you are not even one of the best in your conference, then your chances of winning the championship are slim to none. Might as well give someone else from another conference a chance (with a winning record) so for once we can see more games between different conferences in the NCAA tourney, rather than rehashing conference tourney games we just saw the week before. There is nothing dumber in a national tourney than one or two conferences filling half the field and they have to play each other again because there are only four regionals (another reason no conference should ever get more than four). Play between two team in the same conference is what you had all Fall and Winter to watch.

Most folks who watch football would make the argument the SEC is the best conference, but you don't see them getting all the National Championship playoff spots just based on that fact. They had the whole regular season to show they were the best in the SEC and get their shot at a national title. How many football bowl games feature two teams from the same conference? Zero. Because no one wants to watch that. So do we get that year after year in the hockey tourney? We've already seen it in the regular season. People want to see how different conferences stack up against each other. Trust me I lived the worst case scenario this year with MTU's schedule. SIXTEEN "non-conference" games all against conference teams. At least the Big mixed it up with ASU and they got ONE team outside their conference.

[IronRange]

While I live in the midwest, I can't believe how Midwest biased this chain is. I'd love to see some of the so called power houses of the Midwest play BC or QU. It's a completely different style game. (Both have 2 players in the top 10 Hobey finalist btw) Last thing college hockey needs is a bunch of Busch Lt drinking folks watching UMD and UND beating each others brains in again. We have one chance to make this a "national" championship this season, hope the committee realizes that.

[John J. MacInnes]

While I live in the midwest, I can't believe how Midwest biased this chain is. I'd love to see some of the so called power houses of the Midwest play BC or QU.

You mean like Bowling Green, who finished 3rd in the WCHA but beat Quinnipiac twice in their building?

Or a couple years ago when BC lost to both Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan in the same tournament?

When was the last time either one ventured west of Buffalo for a non-conference game?

[IronRange]

You mean like Bowling Green, who finished 3rd in the WCHA but beat Quinnipiac twice in their building?

Or a couple years ago when BC lost to both Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan in the same tournament?

When was the last time either one ventured west of Buffalo for a non-conference game?

Yea, easy to forget QU had 9 kids coming off Covid protocol and straight into that BG series. Or a couple years ago when QU beat ASU and lost to UMD in a dogfight to go to the frozen four. Its a two way street, lots of inbreeding in the NCHC and WCHA. Don't think their afraid of the East Coast, yet they definitely don't look to expand their regular season portfolio. Time will tell the story this year, unfortunately they all have to beat up on each other again in the regionals to find out who's in the frozen four.

[J.D.]

BC always schedules home and home series with Denver, Wisconsin, played at Arizona State for two, Mich/Mich State. Not sure where you are getting your info from.

Pretty sure he's talking about this year's BC and QU, not the mediocre BC team you're referring to.