NCAA Tourney Team Selection Options

[Fighting Sioux 23]

Got swept by what most people would say was their most difficult NC opponent. They do have a couple wins against AIC. Almost a wash there i guess. The rest of those wins were against hot garbage.

I'm more against the ECAC having a 3 team tournament for an autobid than i am Quinnipiac itself.

That's fair. The problem is, the NCAA had previously allowed a 4-team conference award its autobid to the conference tournament champion. Are you suggesting that once Clarkson called it quits, the ECAC autobid should have gone to QU?

It's a weird, messed up year. I'm not sure there was a clear solution.

I do think QU has now slipped to a #3 seed. So, is it Duluth or Michigan that gets bumped up to a #2?

 

[Numbers]

FWIW, QU played 9 non-conference games this season (not counting the ECAC "Tournament"), and went 7-2-0.

And, those wins were:
2 v Sacred Heart; 2 v AIC; 2 v Holy Cross, and 1 v Long Island. The 2 losses were to Bowling Green. At home.

This is hardly an impressive resume.
AIC's only other 2 non conf games were wins over Long Island.

That might be even less impressive.

 

[Numbers]

That's fair. The problem is, the NCAA had previously allowed a 4-team conference award its autobid to the conference tournament champion. Are you suggesting that once Clarkson called it quits, the ECAC autobid should have gone to QU?

It's a weird, messed up year. I'm not sure there was a clear solution.

I do think QU has now slipped to a #3 seed. So, is it Duluth or Michigan that gets bumped up to a #2?

Shouldn't matter whether it's Duluth or Michigan. They should play each other. (I know it matters for last change.)

QU? Maybe a 4th. Maybe nothing. Call UMD a 2. Then, Mich, LSSU and BU are all better than QU, easily. Bemdiji and Providence are also, if UMass wins tonight.

 

[Carmine Scarpaglia]

And, those wins were:
2 v Sacred Heart; 2 v AIC; 2 v Holy Cross, and 1 v Long Island. The 2 losses were to Bowling Green. At home.

This is hardly an impressive resume.
AIC's only other 2 non conf games were wins over Long Island.

That might be even less impressive.

Yea if Quinnipiac's resume for an NCAA bid looks like this, I'm not impressed. Pass.

 

[J.D.]

I admit, not an easy situation to navigate. And I applaud the ECAC 4 for not being sheep and trying to play unlike the Ivies. I also realize that Clarkson bailed so late in the season that there wasn't much you could do. But I don't think that should mean QU is simply a lock. The committee should at least try to evaluate them against other teams. Hell, even BG who swept them. Seems fair to say that BG would probably have a similar record as QU if they played in the ECAC this year.

 

[Fighting Sioux 23]

And, those wins were:
2 v Sacred Heart; 2 v AIC; 2 v Holy Cross, and 1 v Long Island. The 2 losses were to Bowling Green. At home.

This is hardly an impressive resume.
AIC's only other 2 non conf games were wins over Long Island.

That might be even less impressive.

Again, we just don't know how impressive those wins were. Traditionally, I would agree. This year? Who knows.

 

[J.D.]

Canisius up 2-1 halfway thru the game

 

[Fighting Sioux 23]

Shouldn't matter whether it's Duluth or Michigan. They should play each other. (I know it matters for last change.)

QU? Maybe a 4th. Maybe nothing. Call UMD a 2. Then, Mich, LSSU and BU are all better than QU, easily. Bemdiji and Providence are also, if UMass wins tonight.

I'll defer to you, who obviously has watched all of these teams extensively and a whole lot more than myself, as to whether Michigan, LSSU, and BU are all easily better than QU. Personally, I haven't watched QU play all season.

That being said, I would be pretty surprised if QU didn't make the tournament based on their record/ECAC Regular Season title/status as an eastern team in a western-heavy year.

 

[captain beefheart]

That's fair. The problem is, the NCAA had previously allowed a 4-team conference award its autobid to the conference tournament champion. Are you suggesting that once Clarkson called it quits, the ECAC autobid should have gone to QU?

It's a weird, messed up year. I'm not sure there was a clear solution.

I do think QU has now slipped to a #3 seed. So, is it Duluth or Michigan that gets bumped up to a #2?

Good question. Nacho is better than the Big, but not by as much as previous years. It's a toss up methinks.

 

[SJHovey]

Again, we just don't know how impressive those wins were. Traditionally, I would agree. This year? Who knows.

You figure those four teams, with collectively somewhere between 75 and a 100 years of division I play and three total ncaa tournament appearances (all autobids) suddenly woke up good?

 

[bigus]

You figure those four teams, with collectively somewhere between 75 and a 100 years of division I play and three total ncaa tournament appearances (all autobids) suddenly woke up good?

Some people are highly suspicious of Bayesian statistics.

 

[Numbers]

To make my thoughts more clear about the #2 and #3 situation...

Given QU's resume, (with apologies to FS23, I haven't watched anyone. I'm going by the history of the conferences. But, there really hasn't been a year in which historical precedent of conferences was way off), I am sure they are not a 2, and not even a high 3. I think, therefore, that UMD and Michigan are the low 2, and the high 3. Therefore, the first round game should be UMD v Mich. Just hang on to that.

Now, some more comparing....
QU is 7-2 non-conf. As stated earlier, the wins are against Sacred Heart (2), Holy Cross (2), AIC (2), and Long Island (1). The losses were against Bowling Green (2).
I submit that this is not much better a resume than AIC (should they lose their final), or the next 2 highest AHA teams in the standings. The fact that they were 7-0 (no losses) suggests some consistency, and they deserve some credit for that. The 2 losses to Bowling Green are not high points in the resume, however.

And, therefore, I think's a completely fine idea to drop them below the level of LSSU, and perhaps even BSU (after all, 2 losses to a team in BGSU which I feel is not as strong as either BSU or LSSU).

So, With all that said, I would rank the teams as such:
NoDak, Minn, BC, MSUM, Wisc, Mass, SCSU, Mich....
UMD, LSSU, BU, Prov, BSU, AIC(auto), StL(auto) and the last team in is either Denver, Omaha or QU.

I would not want to be the committee trying to evaluate the group of Prov, BSU, Denver, Omaha and QU.
Nor would I want to try to parse out the Wisc, Mass and SCSU situation. And, that does make a difference because of how you bracket.
I also think that LSSU and BU are a bit difficult, although if the Lakers win tonight, I think that makes it easier.

 

[J.D.]

While I might not agree with it, probably easier for the committee to take QU rather than try to decide between Denver and Omaha.

 

[bcmsu9196]

QU will probably get in. AIC is in, and will likely be the only Atlantic school to get in.

 

[Fighting Sioux 23]

While I might not agree with it, probably easier for the committee to take QU rather than try to decide between Denver and Omaha.

Yeah, as has been stated over and over, this is a weird and crazy year for the committee.

I do think a lot of people are discounting Quinnipiac though...particularly when trying to use recent history to support it. The Bobcats are probably one of the top 8-10 programs in college hockey over the last 7-8 seasons. They've made 5 trips to the NCAA Tournament in that time frame, going 7-5 in those tournaments, advancing to the National Championship game twice. They went to the Regional Final in 2019, and were a bubble NCAA team last season, finishing 14th in the Pairwise before the season ended.

I get it. We don't like that the ECAC only had 4 teams play this season and they shouldn't get 2 NCAA bids. However, QU won about 2/3s of its games, and lost in overtime in its conference championship game (to a team it had beaten 4 times this year). I guess I'll sum up my thoughts, which I think are similar to yours: The ECAC doesn't deserve 2 bids in the NCAA Tournament this season, but QU probably deserves to be in the tournament.

 

[SJHovey]

Listening to CHN podcast. Wodon thinks UMass and BC will be #1 seeds. Fargo will be UND, Mankato, UMD, BSU.

 

[SJHovey]

In Wodonworld, Loveland is Minnesota, SCSU, LSSU, DU/Omaha.

 

[Fighting Sioux 23]

My humble opinion...

1. North Dakota#
2. Minnesota#
3. Boston College@
4. Minnesota State Mankato@
--------
5. Massachusetts#
6. Wisconsin@
7. St. Cloud State@
8. Minnesota Duluth@
--------
9. Lake Superior State#
10. Michigan@
11. Boston University@
12. Quinnipiac@
--------
13. Providence@
14. Bemidji State@
15. AIC#
16. St. Lawrence#

# = Clinched Conference's Auto-Bid
@ = At-Large Bid

My Bracket...

Bridgeport:
3. Boston College v. 15. AIC
6. Wisconsin v. 11. Boston University

Fargo:
1. North Dakota v. 14. Bemidji State
8. Minnesota Duluth v. 9. Lake Superior State

Albany:
4. Minnesota State v. 13. Providence
5. Massachusetts v. 12. Quinnipiac

Loveland:
2. Minnesota v. 16. St. Lawrence
7. St. Cloud State v. 10. Michigan

If the committee is willing to move Bemidji State to a flight instead of a bus trip (which I think is highly unlikely), we could have a perfect serpentine (Bemidji to play BC, St. Lawrence to play UND, and AIC to play UMN). At the very least, we get 1/8, 2/7, 3/6, 4/5 potential regional finals.

Obviously, when the committee releases the brackets, we won't know exact seeding, but we will know the ranking of the #1 seeds.

This has been a fun thread, particularly during this unique year. To those that have thoughtfully engaged, I have truly enjoyed your posts and opinions. Thank you.

 

[SJHovey]

U

My humble opinion...

1. North Dakota#
2. Minnesota#
3. Boston College@
4. Minnesota State Mankato@
--------
5. Massachusetts#
6. Wisconsin@
7. St. Cloud State@
8. Minnesota Duluth@
--------
9. Lake Superior State#
10. Michigan@
11. Boston University@
12. Quinnipiac@
--------
13. Providence@
14. Bemidji State@
15. AIC#
16. St. Lawrence#

# = Clinched Conference's Auto-Bid
@ = At-Large Bid

My Bracket...

Bridgeport:
3. Boston College v. 15. AIC
6. Wisconsin v. 11. Boston University

Fargo:
1. North Dakota v. 14. Bemidji State
8. Minnesota Duluth v. 9. Lake Superior State

Albany:
4. Minnesota State v. 13. Providence
5. Massachusetts v. 12. Quinnipiac

Loveland:
2. Minnesota v. 16. St. Lawrence
7. St. Cloud State v. 10. Michigan

If the committee is willing to move Bemidji State to a flight instead of a bus trip (which I think is highly unlikely), we could have a perfect serpentine (Bemidji to play BC, St. Lawrence to play UND, and AIC to play UMN). At the very least, we get 1/8, 2/7, 3/6, 4/5 potential regional finals.

Obviously, when the committee releases the brackets, we won't know exact seeding, but we will know the ranking of the #1 seeds.

This has been a fun thread, particularly during this unique year. To those that have thoughtfully engaged, I have truly enjoyed your posts and opinions. Thank you.

It would be nice if there was some bracket integrity as you suggest, but I don’t have a lot of faith.

 

[J.D.]

Listening to the CHN podcast now, they have:

1s: UND, Minnesota, BC, UMass
2s: Mankato, Wisconsin, SCSU

Beyond that it's a cluster for them lol. Wodon had QU as a 2 but with the loss to SLU, dropped them to a 3. But they don't have a clear replacement as a 2 seed.