Bracketology Begins

[underskill]

Less than 16 means either conference champs wouldn't get in or many deserving teams wouldn't make it.

and gives school less incentive to invest in the sport as a result

[marty]

if UNO stays in the top 16 with  those losses and is 8-15 and 6th in their own league then using the PWR to decide who gets in is completely broken,

who did they beat to get such a lofty ranking OC?

vermont/air force/ohio state sub 20 teams.

If this is evidence of a broken system it's only broken in that there are too many teams in the tournament. UNO still have a winning percentage north of .600 and there are only a few teams below them in PWR that have a higher pct, none of whom scream out "must get a bid".

A 16 team field is about 25% of D-1, which I think is easy to forget.

The problem is 12 sucks.  By all rights it ought to be 8.  But by all rights the ECACs ought to be 8, too.

Yeah, I think twelve would be the perfect number of bids, given the size of D1. If some smart person can find a way to make 12 be a power of 2 that would be awesome.

The tournament included 12 teams from 1988-2001.  Four teams received byes for the first round of the tournament.  There were two formats over this span.  A big reason for the change to 16 was when the "fifth" league - now known as Atlantic Hockey - finally received its automatic bid.  With a likely increase in the number of Division One teams in the near future, we will never see a move back to 12, 8 or 4 teams selected for the Frozen Four.

[KeithK]

Less than 16 means either conference champs wouldn't get in or many deserving teams wouldn't make it.

I disagree.  Teams 13-16 (or more likely 11-14) hardly "deserve" a chance to play for the national championship. Besides, IMO it's always better to leave out a few worthy teams than to have a bigger field and invite the unworthy.

(BTW - I consider the conference champions "worthy" by definition,  at least more worthy than any at-large.)

[KeithK]

The tournament included 12 teams from 1988-2001.  Four teams received byes for the first round of the tournament.  There were two formats over this span.  A big reason for the change to 16 was when the "fifth" league - now known as Atlantic Hockey - finally received its automatic bid.  With a likely increase in the number of Division One teams in the near future, we will never see a move back to 12, 8 or 4 teams selected for the Frozen Four.

You're absolutely correct. That doesn't mean I have to like it. :-P

[Robb]

if UNO stays in the top 16 with  those losses and is 8-15 and 6th in their own league then using the PWR to decide who gets in is completely broken,

who did they beat to get such a lofty ranking OC?

vermont/air force/ohio state sub 20 teams.

If this is evidence of a broken system it's only broken in that there are too many teams in the tournament. UNO still have a winning percentage north of .600 and there are only a few teams below them in PWR that have a higher pct, none of whom scream out "must get a bid".

A 16 team field is about 25% of D-1, which I think is easy to forget.

The problem is 12 sucks.  By all rights it ought to be 8.  But by all rights the ECACs ought to be 8, too.

Yeah, I think twelve would be the perfect number of bids, given the size of D1. If some smart person can find a way to make 12 be a power of 2 that would be awesome.

How about: 2 round robins of 6, with top 2 teams from each advancing to FF.  Games at higher seeded school, so #1s host 5 games and #6s play 5 on the road.

[Trotsky]

If some smart person can find a way to make 12 be a power of 2 that would be awesome.

2 ^ 3.584962

(drops protractor)

[Jim Hyla]

Code Select Expand

So, since I also went to Michigan,
and I don't have anyone else that I really care about,
they also get a highlight.:-D

This week's brackets

East Regional (Albany):
13 Omaha vs. 4 Providence
[u][b]11 Harvard[/b][/u] vs. 5 Boston College

Northeast Regional (Worcester):
16 Minnesota State vs. [b][u]1 Quinnipiac[/u][/b]
10 Boston University vs [b][u]8 Yale[/u][/b]

Midwest Regional (Cincinnati):
15 Robert Morris vs. 3 St. Cloud State
9 Notre Dame vs. [b][u]6 Michigan[/u][/b]

West Regional (St. Paul):
14 Minnesota vs. 2 North Dakota
12 Massachusetts-Lowell vs. 7 Denver
Conference breakdowns

Hockey East — 5
NCHC — 4
[b][u]ECAC Hockey — 3[/u][/b]
Big Ten — 2
WCHA — 1
Atlantic Hockey — 1
On the move

In: None

Out: None

Read more: http://www.uscho.com/bracketology/2016/03/02/two-weeks-out-and-no-1-seed-shakeup-means-new-first-round-pairings-emerge/#ixzz41mhEoE6W



[Jim Hyla]

Code Select Expand


This week's brackets

East Regional (Albany):
13 Minnesota-Duluth vs. 4 Providence
[u][b]11 Harvard[/b][/u] vs. 5 Boston College

Northeast Regional (Worcester):
16 Robert Morris vs. [b][u]2 Quinnipiac[/u][/b]
9 Boston University vs [b][u]7 Yale[/u][/b]

Midwest Regional (Cincinnati):
14 Michigan Tech vs. 3 St. Cloud State
10 Notre Dame vs. [u][b]8 Michigan[/b][/u]

West Regional (St. Paul):
15 Minnesota vs. 1 North Dakota
12 Massachusetts-Lowell vs. 6 Denver
Conference breakdowns

Hockey East — 5
NCHC — 4
[b][u]ECAC Hockey — 3[/u][/b]
Big Ten — 2
WCHA — 1
Atlantic Hockey — 1
On the move

In: Minnesota-Duluth, Michigan Tech

Out: Omaha, Minnesota State
Attendance woes?

Cincinnati is looking a little better this week.

Read more: http://www.uscho.com/bracketology/2016/03/09/one-week-out-and-some-new-at-large-teams-appear-in-the-field/#ixzz42RaVfr2a



[Jim Hyla]

Code Select Expand


This week's brackets

East Regional (Albany):
13 Minnesota-Duluth vs. 4 Providence
[b][u]11 Harvard[/u][/b] vs. 5 Boston College

Northeast Regional (Worcester):
16 Robert Morris vs. [b][u]2 Quinnipiac[/u][/b]
[b][u]10 Yale[/u][/b] vs 8 Massachusetts-Lowell

Midwest Regional (Cincinnati):
14 Michigan Tech vs. 3 St. Cloud State
12 Notre Dame vs. 7 Michigan

West Regional (St. Paul):
15 Minnesota vs. 1 North Dakota
9 Boston University vs. 6 Denver
Conference breakdowns

Hockey East — 5
NCHC — 4
[b][u]ECAC Hockey — 3[/u][/b]
Big Ten — 2
WCHA — 1
Atlantic Hockey — 1
On the move

In: None

Out: None
Attendance woes?

Cincinnati is looking a little better this week.

Read more: http://www.uscho.com/bracketology/2016/03/16/just-days-out-and-hockey-east-teams-pack-the-middle-of-the-field/#ixzz436XYdg9b



[upprdeck]

how did the ECAC end up on american sports network?  could they have worked harder to make sure its on a network no one can actually watch?

[Trotsky]

I've never heard of it.  But I'm sure shagwell tried.  It's just not a good product.  

The league should pay to air it, like beach volleyball or a weights infomercial.

[Chris '03]

I've never heard of it.  But I'm sure shagwell tried.  It's just not a good product.  

The league should pay to air it, like beach volleyball or a weights infomercial.

Halfway surprised Q hasn't paid for its placid games to be on SNY, etc. I guess they don't get to choose like they do for home games.

[Greenberg '97]

I've never heard of it.  But I'm sure shagwell tried.  It's just not a good product.  

The league should pay to air it, like beach volleyball or a weights infomercial.

FIOS (Westchester NY) has it listed on Channel 481, "Arise News."  However, despite having programs listed in the directory (mostly college basketball and hockey games from earlier in the season), there's been an error message on the screen all week saying that the network is currently not providing content.  I'm not holding out much hope.

[upprdeck]

the ASN wiki page has 1 place in all of new york that shows the network.

[Jim Hyla]

Here's the ECAC page listing the channels around the country showing the games. SNY in NY and CSN in NE has championship game. But most of them don't carry the semis.