NCAA Tourney Team Selection Options

[John J. MacInnes]

Do we know who was even interested/capable of taking that regional on short notice? A 9-7 edge for western teams isn't a big enough swing to move away from two eastern sites. The bigger limiting travel mistake is Loveland. Now I have no idea if anyone else would be interested in taking the regional but they should have tried to push Loveland aside for a year.

Considering the NCAA moved entire basketball tournaments to Indiana and Ohio, I would think they had some options. And with Clarkson shutting down, I don't think 10-6 can be ruled out.

The difference with Loveland is that they still wanted to host. Manchester bailed. But if you wanted to move two of them somewhere more central, I would have been all for it.

[J.D.]

Ya, might be 10-6 now but too late to do anything. But I am curious if the committee forces in another Eastern team. It should absolutely not be Army or RMU so I hope they don't go that route.

[Fishman'81]

If anything, this non-season has just served to reinforce how inequitable the old "selection process" was via its apparent rebirth.

There is clearly no reasonable manner in which to select the field this year in any sort of National sense.

I'll still watch, I'll still run a pool, and I won't put much weight on it... Yet, I'm excited to see it just the same.

This NC will be just as meaningless as has been every previous iteration, but it sounds like fun to me anyway.

Mankato/ BC final..? (Yes, I said the M word.) That would be a good watch.

[Timothy A]

I hope they heed the disaster that is the women's bracket and don't repeat that fiasco.

[ExileOnDaytonStreet]

Clarkson really made this more straightforward in a way. One fewer bubble team.

[Hockey John]

Ya, might be 10-6 now but too late to do anything. But I am curious if the committee forces in another Eastern team. It should absolutely not be Army or RMU so I hope they don't go that route.

Bowling Green can just as easily go east than west. They are much closer to Albany and Bridgeport that they are the western sites.

[SCSUBlackandRed]

Kinda ridiculous that the winner of Colgate-SLU will now play for an auto bid but whatever. Go Quinnipiac.

If Quinnipiac can't beat either 4-8-3 St Lawrence or 6-10-5 Colgate in a one game "conference championship" they should decline an at-large bid. Absolutely no way a four team league should get two bids in this situation (assuming Q loses this game). I know this is out of the hands of the teams that are left but this goes straight in the insanity bucket.

[SCSUBlackandRed]

Both Moy and Connelly at USCHO have it 10-6 West vs. East for bids in their latest. Moy had two all West brackets and one all East, the other East was split in two. Connelly had two all West and then one East bracket with two West teams and the other with just one. This was all before Clarkson ended their season.

I don't hate either of their fields/brackets. Probably leaning toward Moy's. They have Wisconsin as a #1 right now which makes sense but a tourney championship win by Minnesota flips those two. As long as Mankato wins their first series I think they are locked in as #1 and UND and BC are definitely the other #1's regardless. Well an early dropout by BC and UMass winning the Hockey East tourney could change my mind there but I don't see an early exit by BC.

[J.D.]

I see Moy gave up on Army or RMU as an at large but I bet he adds one next week now that Clarkson is done.

[J.D.]

Michigan Tech 17-10-1 @ Bemidji State 13-8-3

Best of 3

Winner still alive for at large bid. Loser, thanks for playing.

[Blackheart]

Michigan Tech 17-10-1 @ Bemidji State 13-8-3

Best of 3

Winner still alive for at large bid. Loser, thanks for playing.

Best of 3, really?

[J.D.]

Best of 3, really?

Yes?

[JohnsonsJerseys]

Best of 3, really?

The WCHA first round is best of three. The four winning teams from the first round will move on to a single elimination weekend hosted by the highest remaining seed, which will almost certainly be Mankato. If Ferris even scores a goal in their series with the Mavs it will be a moral victory for the Bulldogs.

[Fighting Sioux 23]

As best I can tell...

Locks: (10 teams)
Boston College
Boston University
Massachusetts
Minnesota
Minnesota Duluth
Minnesota State Mankato
North Dakota
Quinnipiac
St. Cloud State
Wisconsin

Bubble: (12 teams: up to 6 can get in)
American International
Army
Bemidji State
Bowling Green
Connecticut
Lake Superior State
Michigan
Michigan Tech
Nebraska Omaha
Notre Dame
Providence
Robert Morris

Need to win Conference Tournament: (17 teams)
Alabama Huntsville
Canisius
Colgate
Denver
Ferris State
Massachusetts Lowell
Michigan State
New Hampshire
Niagara
Northeastern
Northern Michigan
Ohio State
Penn State
RIT
Sacred Heart
St. Lawrence
Western Michigan

Eliminated/DNP/Season Over: (22 teams)
Air Force
Alaska
Alaska Anchorage
Arizona State
Bentley
Brown
Clarkson
Colorado College
Cornell
Dartmouth
Harvard
Holy Cross
Long Island
Maine
Mercyhurst
Merrimack
Miami
Princeton
RPI
Union
Vermont
Yale

[Darius]

Go Army! Would love to see them make it.