Preliminary & Ongoing Pairwise Watch and 2013 NCAA Tournament Musing Thread

[Eeyore]

Re: Preliminary & Ongoing Pairwise Watch and 2013 NCAA Tournament Musing Thread

And yet the one team is most likely going to win it.

Of course the reason why there might be only one WCHA in the tournament is precisely because that one has established itself as the overwhelming favorite.

 

[DC78-82]

Re: Preliminary & Ongoing Pairwise Watch and 2013 NCAA Tournament Musing Thread

Looking at this without doing the math, looks to me the top 6 are all still playing, and are fairly safe and in the tournament. Just a matter of positioning and home ice. Only slot really locked in is the top spot.

Mercyhurst is fairly safe, unless they lose the CHA semi or if there are two surprise autobids. Surprise Autobids outside of the top 8 can still come from NE,Providence,Ohio, SLU or Quinnipiac.

Barring a surprise Autobid, The race for eight is most intriguing...At first glance the winner of UND/Wisco is most likely to take that spot. NE winning their semi but not getting the autobid might not be enough, but not sure on that.

IMHO, best chance of Autobid would be out of HE in the form of NE. They have proven they can beat the top 2. Hard pressed to see the ECAC going to SLU or Quinny, and even more hard pressed to see Minny lose to OHIO.

Given the one and done tourney Northeastern just played that included two of the three teams in the Hockey East tourney, is it really an upset if they go on to do as well next weekend? You could use Coach Flint's "it's hard for a team to lose three to the same team in a year" theory, and favor Providence, who has lost all three against every team in the field, or you could argue that Northeastern is peaking at the right time.

Northeastern could very well win, and I won't be surprised.

 

[TonyTheTiger20]

An oddity in the RPI for Minnesota is that other than its wins against North Dakota, all of the other wins hurt and have to be subtracted.

Ahahahahahaha that is the greatest

Personally I enjoy that their KRACH rating is so high that USCHO has to display it in scientific notation.

 

[D2D]

Re: Preliminary & Ongoing Pairwise Watch and 2013 NCAA Tournament Musing Thread

Personally I enjoy that their KRACH rating is so high that USCHO has to display it in scientific notation.

Haha just imagine how much we've enjoyed it out here. Now if it would only stay that way for another three weeks we'd really be smiling!

 

[OnMAA]

Re: Preliminary & Ongoing Pairwise Watch and 2013 NCAA Tournament Musing Thread

That's an East thing. In Boston, fans blame dead guys and crippled-up 1st basemen when they don't win. Out here, we either win or lose.

Dunno about that.
1 - Lots of whining a few years ago when Minny (or was it UMD ?) got smoked by BC, and the whiners blamed it on travel.
2 - Lots of Whining on this board how unfair it is for the WCHA teams beating up on each other.

Let's face it, people are born to Whine about things when it does not go their way.

 

[ARM]

Re: Preliminary & Ongoing Pairwise Watch and 2013 NCAA Tournament Musing Thread

1 - Lots of whining a few years ago when Minny (or was it UMD ?) got smoked by BC, and the whiners blamed it on travel.

How did we get from curses to whining?

I don't think Minnesota blamed the loss on travel per se. It was true that unfamiliarity with the rink played a part in the first two goals against, but that's part of getting to host. Minnesota was in position to do just that right up until playing to Wisconsin in the WCHA Championship. Still the Gophers could have hosted had they not blown a three-goal lead in that game.

As for the WCHA beating up on each other, it isn't whining, it's just a fact. People in the ECAC with their one-game series and only playing a team twice all season have an entirely different dynamic. Maybe we don't fully appreciate how tough it is to prepare to play two different opponents every weekend.

Anyway, I'd much rather risk having to travel to BC and getting smoked in the NCAAs than always get stuck playing a team that we just played a week before in the WCHA tournament. That just doesn't feel "national" at all. Now I'll let you get back to explaining to me why the Patriots are relevant here...

 

[dave1381]

Re: Preliminary & Ongoing Pairwise Watch and 2013 NCAA Tournament Musing Thread

Now I'll let you get back to explaining to me why the Patriots are relevant here...

No clue what OnMAA is thinking, but there's some correlation.

In 13, Patriots lost in AFC final, and Harvard....????
In 12, Patriots lost in Super Bowl, and Harvard started 12-13 season 9-1 (#2)
In 11, Patriots lost in AFC semis, and Harvard missed NCAAs.
In 10, Patriots lost in AFC semis, and Harvard lost in NCAA QFs.
In 09, Patriots weren't in playoffs, Harvard missed NCAAs for first time since 02.
In 08, Patriots lost the Super Bowl, and Harvard won ECAC & lost in NCAA semis.
In 07, Patriots lost in AFC final, and Harvard lost in NCAA QFs.
In 06, Patriots lost in AFC semis, and Harvard lost in NCAA QFs.
In 05, Patriots won Super Bowl, and Harvard won ECAC & lost in NCAA final.
In 04, Patriots won Super Bowl, and Harvard won ECAC & lost in NCAA final.
In 03, Patriots missed playoffs, and Harvard lost in NCAA final.
In 02, Patriots won Super Bowl, and Harvard started the 02-03 season 11-1 (#1).

So to summarize:
-- Harvard's three ECAC titles in the aughts all followed Patriots AFC titles
-- The two years Harvard didn't win the ECAC title after a Patriots Super Bowl appearance, Harvard achieved a top 2 national ranking the following winter
-- Harvard hasn't made the NCAA final since the Patriots last won the Super Bowl, and each achieved this three times from 2002-2005

 

[D2D]

Re: Preliminary & Ongoing Pairwise Watch and 2013 NCAA Tournament Musing Thread

Anyway, I'd much rather risk having to travel to BC and getting smoked in the NCAAs than always get stuck playing a team that we just played a week before in the WCHA tournament.

Not to mention the four times they played each other during the regular season.

That just doesn't feel "national" at all.

So true! Who knows, maybe the NCAA won't make minimizing travel expenses such a priority (as appears to be the case in the D3 bracketing this year).

 

[whoop87]

Re: Preliminary & Ongoing Pairwise Watch and 2013 NCAA Tournament Musing Thread

Billy goats, black cats, and Steve Bartman - go tell a Cubs fan just win baby. The last time I looked at a map, Chicago was smack in the middle of the country, not on the East Coast

http://www.cubbiesbaseball.com/chicago-cubs-curses

 

[OnMAA]

Re: Preliminary & Ongoing Pairwise Watch and 2013 NCAA Tournament Musing Thread

How did we get from curses to whining?

Simply musing. Clearly it worked....You reacted. (Note that Musing is even in the thread title).

Now I'll let you get back to explaining to me why the Patriots are relevant here...

Not long ago, someone from the WCHA brought up the Pat's on this board in a response to some musings from IceisNice. Nothing more sinister than that. Funny that Dave1381 found the time to do an actual correlation. Now that was impressive. Must be a Boston thing.

 

[brookyone]

Re: Preliminary & Ongoing Pairwise Watch and 2013 NCAA Tournament Musing Thread

Ice will no doubt be casting his strongest Bill B curse in a westerly direction shortly after selections.

 

[ARM]

Re: Preliminary & Ongoing Pairwise Watch and 2013 NCAA Tournament Musing Thread

Billy goats, black cats, and Steve Bartman - go tell a Cubs fan just win baby. The last time I looked at a map, Chicago was smack in the middle of the country, not on the East Coast

http://www.cubbiesbaseball.com/chicago-cubs-curses

In the women's college hockey universe, there isn't a Chicago. (sorry Boz) And if you think that's smack in the middle, either your geography or geometry teacher failed you. Yet another sign of Eastern bias.

 

[whoop87]

Re: Preliminary & Ongoing Pairwise Watch and 2013 NCAA Tournament Musing Thread

Rough day ARM? I think you’re being a little too literal here. Chi-town is smack between the coasts, I wasn’t talking North-South. OK, so it’s a bit skewed to the East, big deal. I wasn’t about to check driving distances to each coast.

There's no Billy Buckner and no Patriots in the women's college hockey universe either yet somehow they made it into the discussion as well.

 

[pakidnyc]

How did we get from curses to whining?

. Maybe we don't fully appreciate how tough it is to prepare to play two different opponents every weekend.

...

I will say it is something to play a game at 7 pm on a Friday night, then have to pack up and bus (as far as 3 hours) to play a game at 2 on Sat.

In the ECAC there are only 2 weekends (Clarkson-SLU) and (UNION-RPI) where the teams stay in the same hotel.

 

[ARM]

Re: Preliminary & Ongoing Pairwise Watch and 2013 NCAA Tournament Musing Thread

Rough day ARM?

Even when using smilies, people still take things seriously.

There's no Billy Buckner and no Patriots in the women's college hockey universe either yet somehow they made it into the discussion as well.

That's because there is a Boston. We don't have to like it, but there it is.

 

[Eeyore]

Re: Preliminary & Ongoing Pairwise Watch and 2013 NCAA Tournament Musing Thread

Rough day ARM? I think you’re being a little too literal here. Chi-town is smack between the coasts, I wasn’t talking North-South. OK, so it’s a bit skewed to the East, big deal. I wasn’t about to check driving distances to each coast.

Chicago is about halfway from Boston to Denver, and about 1/3 of the way to the west coast. It's actually closer to being in the center of the country on the north/south axis. It's always amusing to watch easterners lose track of how big states get as you go west.

 

[polarbear2]

Re: Preliminary & Ongoing Pairwise Watch and 2013 NCAA Tournament Musing Thread

It's always amusing to watch easterners lose track of how big states get as you go west.

The saying up here is "If you cut Alaska in half, Texas would be the 3rd largest state"

 

[play-by-play guy]

Re: Preliminary & Ongoing Pairwise Watch and 2013 NCAA Tournament Musing Thread

Just thought what would happen if anyone but Mercyhurst wins the autobid for the CHA? (Very possible IMO) Does the NCAA take two teams from that league if the Lakers are still higher ranked than both Wisconsin and ND in the Pairwise? Makes for interesting fodder.

 

[ARM]

Re: Preliminary & Ongoing Pairwise Watch and 2013 NCAA Tournament Musing Thread

Just thought what would happen if anyone but Mercyhurst wins the autobid for the CHA? (Very possible IMO) Does the NCAA take two teams from that league if the Lakers are still higher ranked than both Wisconsin and ND in the Pairwise? Makes for interesting fodder.

It would be more interesting if the CHA actually had an auto bid.

 

[OnMAA]

Re: Preliminary & Ongoing Pairwise Watch and 2013 NCAA Tournament Musing Thread

Chicago is about halfway from Boston to Denver, and about 1/3 of the way to the west coast. It's actually closer to being in the center of the country on the north/south axis. It's always amusing to watch easterners lose track of how big states get as you go west.

Yeah, I drove the east-west route through Montana from the Idaho to North Dakota border in one shot. That took a good day and is about 700 miles or so.

However that is nothing compared to up here. Live in the far eastern parts of Ontario, and from here it takes 22-23 hours and about 1300 miles to drive to the Western edge of Ontario, a bit east of Winnipeg. It takes us less time, about 20 hours and 1200 miles, to drive straight south to Jacksonville, FL, crossing 9 states in the process, than it is to get to the West end of our own province.

Eastern Edge of Ontario is an hour due North West from Vermont. Western Edge of Ontario is less than 2 hours due east of the ND/Minnesota border.