NCAA Tourney Team Selection Options

[Nick Papagiorgio]

North Dakota has said that they did not play a role in picking the time Friday, so I assume ESPN.

Speaking of television slots... You would think for television purposes they would have jumped at the chance to put Notre Dame on Saturday night but that one got slotted at 1 pm on a Saturday afternoon.

 

[mookie1995]

Concerning Wodon and Moy....

Usually Wodon overthinks things, and that was true this year also. Usually Moy is more 'by the book'. In recent years, the committee has usually gone for "start by the book, and then make easy changes to get better attendance."

While they are bubba’s, at least they are 2 guys who talk about it and give us something to read.....
otherwise..

 

[FredsDeadFriend]

ELEVEN Former WCHA Teams made the NCAA Tournament. That's insane.

1. North Dakota
3. Minnesota
4. Wisconsin
6. Minnesota State
7. St. Cloud State
8. Michigan
9. Minnesota Duluth
12. LSSU
13. Bemidji State
14. Nebraska Omaha
15. Notre Dame

I predicted this exact situation soon after hearing that PSU was going Div 1 meaning the creation of a B1G conf, the breaking up of the CCHA and the creation of the NCHC, effectively dividing up the old WCHA's teams into 3 different conferences, transforming one conference that was basically too good for it's own good, and another that struggled to compete, into 2 conferences almost perfectly balanced for maximizing their potential to get teams into the tourney and a 3rd almost as good as the old CCHA. Fans of B1G schools coming out of the WCHA were not very happy about their having to now be in the B1G vs the WCHA, so individually, Gopher fans most particularly, feel this did not help their team, and they are right, made it much easier for other Minnesota based teams to recruit against UMn and UW, so now we see ALL FIVE Minnesota based teams in the NCAA tourney, something that was basically impossible in the old format. And not only are they all in the Tourney field, they are spread out in a way that there could end up being an all Minnesota Frozen Four. It'd be a long shot with the top 2 Mn based teams in the same Region, but it's very realistic to imagine 3 getting in, so the only miracle that might be needed would be Bemidji's getting by 2 higher seeded teams. I think sh1t like this makes the tourney a bit more interesting.

 

[FredsDeadFriend]

They will now go on to win the whole thing

I sure in the heck hope not! lol Never been a fan of Notre Dame, and only will cheer for them if they end up going up against BC/BU or Mich/Wisc. Crazy thing is the way this tourney is set up, I could end up cheering for Notre Dame 3 or 4 times?

 

[beaverhockeyfan]

I predicted this exact situation soon after hearing that PSU was going Div 1 meaning the creation of a B1G conf, the breaking up of the CCHA and the creation of the NCHC, effectively dividing up the old WCHA's teams into 3 different conferences, transforming one conference that was basically too good for it's own good, and another that struggled to compete, into 2 conferences almost perfectly balanced for maximizing their potential to get teams into the tourney and a 3rd almost as good as the old CCHA. Fans of B1G schools coming out of the WCHA were not very happy about their having to now be in the B1G vs the WCHA, so individually, Gopher fans most particularly, feel this did not help their team, and they are right, made it much easier for other Minnesota based teams to recruit against UMn and UW, so now we see ALL FIVE Minnesota based teams in the NCAA tourney, something that was basically impossible in the old format. And not only are they all in the Tourney field, they are spread out in a way that there could end up being an all Minnesota Frozen Four. It'd be a long shot with the top 2 Mn based teams in the same Region, but it's very realistic to imagine 3 getting in, so the only miracle that might be needed would be Bemidji's getting by 2 higher seeded teams. I think sh1t like this makes the tourney a bit more interesting.

The Beavers have done it before...

 

[lakersparty]

I predicted this exact situation soon after hearing that PSU was going Div 1 meaning the creation of a B1G conf, the breaking up of the CCHA and the creation of the NCHC, effectively dividing up the old WCHA's teams into 3 different conferences, transforming one conference that was basically too good for it's own good, and another that struggled to compete, into 2 conferences almost perfectly balanced for maximizing their potential to get teams into the tourney and a 3rd almost as good as the old CCHA. Fans of B1G schools coming out of the WCHA were not very happy about their having to now be in the B1G vs the WCHA, so individually, Gopher fans most particularly, feel this did not help their team, and they are right, made it much easier for other Minnesota based teams to recruit against UMn and UW, so now we see ALL FIVE Minnesota based teams in the NCAA tourney, something that was basically impossible in the old format. And not only are they all in the Tourney field, they are spread out in a way that there could end up being an all Minnesota Frozen Four. It'd be a long shot with the top 2 Mn based teams in the same Region, but it's very realistic to imagine 3 getting in, so the only miracle that might be needed would be Bemidji's getting by 2 higher seeded teams. I think sh1t like this makes the tourney a bit more interesting.

This is all nice and all, but Minnesota teams couldn't even beat the Upper Peninsula schools to get to the WCHA final.

 

[captain beefheart]

This is all nice and all, but Minnesota teams couldn't even beat the Upper Peninsula schools to get to the WCHA final.

Word.

 

[SiouxFanatic]

This is all nice and all, but Minnesota teams couldn't even beat the Upper Peninsula schools to get to the WCHA final.

Love this. Good luck to Lake State!

 

[LordofBrewtown]

I haven't heard any post-selection analysis, but I would suppose the only thing interesting is Notre Dame instead of Providence, right?

I'd like to hear official reasoning on Bemidji over Bowling Green (more wins vs top teams instead of pairwise?) and Why a 4th from NCHA & BigTen instead of another Atlantic team (Eye test has to be the only reason, right? Or would they really cite historical conference performance)?

 

[J.D.]

Mike Kemp mentioned Bemidji's record against top teams in WCHA compared to BG. BG was 1-7 or something and Bemidji had tougher schedule. The loss to NMU finished BG off.

 

[LordofBrewtown]

So, will the hockey tournament be as crazy as the basketball tournament has been? I've got an AIC-Quinnipiac final. *smilie*

That's why in a year like this one, I would have liked to have seen another Atlantic team (or 2) get a shot. They probably are not as good as the other conferences; but, that hasn't really been proven on the ice this year.

How crazy can the tournament really get? Quinnipiac's been to the frozen four recently. I think about the craziest thing one could hope for is a AIC/Omaha final, with Bemidji or LSSU also making the frozen four. I'm not sure that anyone in the BC/ND/SCSU/BU region would be a complete shocker. I guess Notre Dame being the last team in; but, they've also had recent success.

I would have been more intrigued to watch an AIC/BC first round matchup then Notre Dame (replacing Notre Dame with Canisius or Army and slotting them into the #16 overall)

 

[LordofBrewtown]

Mike Kemp mentioned Bemidji's record against top teams in WCHA compared to BG. BG was 1-7 or something and Bemidji had tougher schedule. The loss to NMU finished BG off.

Thanks!

 

[JohnsonsJerseys]

That's why in a year like this one, I would have liked to have seen another Atlantic team (or 2) get a shot. They probably are not as good as the other conferences; but, that hasn't really been proven on the ice this year.

Huh, that sounds really familiar. Learn from my experience, there is no room for such logical talk around the NCHC fans in this thread who think they are getting a raw deal because they didn't get 63% of their conference in the tourney field, including teams with losing records. I've tried to have that discussion several times and several ways (lack of play between conferences, teams w/ losing records don't belong in the tourney field, if you can't finish in the top half of your conference you don't belong in the tourney, etc). Trust me, you'll get no logical replies.

 

[J.D.]

With AIC not playing since January, I thought there was a decent chance they would have gotten an at large had they lost the conference tournament. I can't really get on the committee for not putting Canisius or Army in. AIC got swept by Quinnipiac and a lot of people questioned QUs body of work. With that said, considering BG swept Quinnipiac...had the committee put them in ahead of Notre Dame I would have been ok with that. Plus you could had Jerry York taking on his old team! Better storyline than the boring Jeff Jackson.

I am a Hockey East "fan" and have no issue with HE only getting 3 in. That's why they are bubble teams. There was no egregious mistake in putting in Omaha/ND/Bemidji and leaving out the likes of PC/BG/DU/Canisius/Army.

 

[SJHovey]

I'd like to hear official reasoning on Bemidji over Bowling Green (more wins vs top teams instead of pairwise?) and Why a 4th from NCHA & BigTen instead of another Atlantic team (Eye test has to be the only reason, right? Or would they really cite historical conference performance)?

In the USCHO podcast Kemp said that an important factor was wins against other tournament teams. He singled out Notre Dame and Omaha as two teams that benefited from this.

 

[First Time Long Time]

Huh, that sounds really familiar. Learn from my experience, there is no room for such logical talk around the NCHC fans in this thread who think they are getting a raw deal because they didn't get 63% of their conference in the tourney field, including teams with losing records. I've tried to have that discussion several times and several ways (lack of play between conferences, teams w/ losing records don't belong in the tourney field, if you can't finish in the top half of your conference you don't belong in the tourney, etc). Trust me, you'll get no logical replies.

Your obsession is really unhealthy.

 

[SJHovey]

Huh, that sounds really familiar. Learn from my experience, there is no room for such logical talk around the NCHC fans in this thread who think they are getting a raw deal because they didn't get 63% of their conference in the tourney field, including teams with losing records. I've tried to have that discussion several times and several ways (lack of play between conferences, teams w/ losing records don't belong in the tourney field, if you can't finish in the top half of your conference you don't belong in the tourney, etc). Trust me, you'll get no logical replies.

You should tell that to Omaha, who finished in the bottom half of the NCHC a few years ago, yet made the Frozen Four. Of course, they were seeded 8th overall in that tournament, even though they were the fifth best NCHC team.

 

[FredsDeadFriend]

This is all nice and all, but Minnesota teams couldn't even beat the Upper Peninsula schools to get to the WCHA final.

I can name you a dozen teams easily, who have lost in their conf tournaments who went on to do well in the NCAA tourney, and could almost do it without looking past the Gophers, lol.

 

[JohnsonsJerseys]

You should tell that to Omaha, who finished in the bottom half of the NCHC a few years ago, yet made the Frozen Four. Of course, they were seeded 8th overall in that tournament, even though they were the fifth best NCHC team.

Well I would hope they could make the Frozen Four with the teams they played that year. Omaha beat Harvard and the #16 overall seed RIT in the regional final to get to the Frozen Four. Wow, pretty tough road. I hope UNO sent RIT an thank-you card for knocking out the #1 seed so that they wouldn't have to play them. That season Providence (who was the #4 seed in their region) beat Miami (7-5), beat Denver (4-1) to advance to the Frozen Four before beating Omaha 4-1. Five NCHC teams in the tourney and none of them even made the championship game...

So yes, sorry to those that prefer to discuss opinions and perceptions over facts, but my "obsession" for factual based discussions will continue.

 

[SJHovey]

Well I would hope they could make the Frozen Four with the teams they played that year. Omaha beat Harvard and the #16 overall seed RIT in the regional final to get to the Frozen Four. Wow, pretty tough road. I hope UNO sent RIT an thank-you card for knocking out the #1 seed so that they wouldn't have to play them. That season Providence (who was the #4 seed in their region) beat Miami (7-5), beat Denver (4-1) to advance to the Frozen Four before beating Omaha 4-1. Five NCHC teams in the tourney and none of them even made the championship game...

So yes, sorry to those that prefer to discuss opinions and perceptions over facts, but my "obsession" for factual based discussions will continue.

That #1 seed that couldn't find a way to beat the lowly RIT was also the #1 overall seed that year, as I recall. Who was that again? Hmm. I'll have to go back and check. Probably from one of the power conferences.