SB Nation College Hockey - The Bubble BlogCollege Hockey's Home on the Blogospherehttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/49993/wchb-fav.png2015-03-22T08:21:28-07:00http://www.sbncollegehockey.com/rss/stream/79834222015-03-22T08:21:28-07:002015-03-22T08:21:28-07:00Number One Seeds and Locations Announced
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<p>The NCAA officially announced the four number one seeds, which we already knew, in advance of the full bracket release. They also released the sites those number one seeds will play at. There was speculation in the hours before the tournament that the NCAA Committee might make some more drastic measures, including moving Minnesota State out east, but that didn't come to pass.</p>
<p>Top overall seed Minnesota State will play in the Midwest Regional in South Bend. The number two overall seed North Dakota will be the West Regional in Fargo. They were locked in to this site as the hosts of the regional. Third overall seed Boston University will be playing in the Northeast Regional in Manchester, New Hampshire. Miami is the fourth overall seed and will play in the East Regional in Providence, Rhode Island.</p>
<p>This also confirms that the winner of the Midwest Regional will meet the winner of the East Regional in the Frozen Four, and the winners of the West/Northeast Regionals will meet in the other brackets.</p>
https://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2015/3/22/8272487/1-seeds-announcedChris Dilks2015-03-21T21:24:24-07:002015-03-21T21:24:24-07:00Final Bracketology
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<img alt="Will BU end up in Providence or Manchester" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/sG3J6l8VD5MsGZwCyHPn96BMwD8=/0x105:3000x2105/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/45956896/BostonUniversity_NewHampshire_Dewkett39.0.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Will BU end up in Providence or Manchester | Matt Dewkett</figcaption>
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<p>Here it is. After weeks of speculating and practicing, it's time for the real thing. All the games have been completed and we now know which 16 teams will make up the field for this year's NCAA Tournament. Here is our best guess at where those teams will be placed tomorrow morning.</p>
<p>First, we'll start with the field. Here is how the final pairwise rankings ended up. (As a reminder, here is <a href="http://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2015/2/25/8085357/pairwise-rankings-explained" target="_blank">how the Pairwise Rankings work</a>, which are the sole criteria for determining at-large bids)</p>
<p>1. Minnesota State[WCHA Autobid]</p>
<p>2. North Dakota</p>
<p>3. Boston University [Hockey East Autobid]</p>
<p>4. Miami[NCHC Autobid]</p>
<p>5. Denver</p>
<p>6. Minnesota Duluth</p>
<p>7. Michigan Tech</p>
<p>8. Nebraska-Omaha</p>
<p>9. Harvard [ECAC Autobid]</p>
<p>10. Minnesota [Big Ten Autobid]</p>
<p>11. Boston College</p>
<p>12. St. Cloud State</p>
<p>13. Yale</p>
<p>14. Quinnipiac</p>
<p>15. Providence</p>
<p>16. RIT (Atlantic Hockey Autobid)</p>
<p>If we created a bracket with perfect 1 vs 16/2 vs. 15/etc. bracket integrity, we'd have a bracket that looks like this:</p>
<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;" class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph1"><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Northeast Regional</b><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Verizon Center<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Manchester, NH</p>
<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;" class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph2">1. Miami</p>
<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;" class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph3">2. Denver</p>
<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;" class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph4">3. St. Cloud State</p>
<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;" class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph5">4. Yale</p>
<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;" class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph6"><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">West Regional</b><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Scheels Arena<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Fargo, ND</p>
<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;" class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph7">1. North Dakota</p>
<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;" class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph8">2. Michigan Tech</p>
<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;" class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph9">3. Minnesota</p>
<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;" class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph10">4. Providence</p>
<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;" class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph11"><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Midwest Regional</b><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Compton Arena<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">South Bend, Ind.</p>
<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;" class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph12">1. Minnesota State</p>
<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;" class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph13">2. Nebraska-Omaha</p>
<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;" class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph14">3. Harvard</p>
<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;" class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph15">4. RIT</p>
<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;" class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph16"><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">East Regional</b><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Dunkin Donuts Center<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Providence, RI</p>
<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;" class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph17">1. Boston University</p>
<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;" class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph18">2. Minnesota Duluth</p>
<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;" class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph19">3. Boston College</p>
<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;" class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph20">4. Quinnipiac</p>
<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;" class="pgh-paragraph"><span>This is less than ideal in a number of situations. While the NCHC has more than five teams in the tournament and could technically play an intra-conference first round match-up, we'll try to avoid it at nearly any cost. We can also make some switches to keep teams closer to home. </span></p>
<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;" class="pgh-paragraph"><span> The generally accepted rule is that we can move teams around their seed band(the four #2 seeds are interchangeable, for example) but we can't change any team's actual seed (1-4 are #1 seeds, 5-8 #2 seeds)</span></p>
<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;" class="pgh-paragraph">My best stab at it is something that looks like this:</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;"><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Northeast Regional</b><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Verizon Center<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Manchester, NH</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;">1. Boston University</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph3" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;">2. Minnesota Duluth</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;">3. Harvard</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph5" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;">4. Quinnipiac</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph6" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;"><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">West Regional</b><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Scheels Arena<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Fargo, ND</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph7" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;">1. North Dakota</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph8" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;">2. Michigan Tech</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph9" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;">3. St. Cloud State</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph10" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;">4. Providence</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph11" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;"><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Midwest Regional</b><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Compton Arena<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">South Bend, Ind.</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph12" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;">1. Minnesota State</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph13" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;">2. Nebraska-Omaha</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph14" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;">3. Minnesota</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;">4. RIT</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph16" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;"><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">East Regional</b><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Dunkin Donuts Center<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Providence, RI</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph17" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;">1. Miami</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph18" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;">2. Denver</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph19" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;">3. Boston College</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph20" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;">4. Yale</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;"><span>I only had to switch around some three seeds to make this bracket work. I switched Minnesota and St. Cloud State so that St. Cloud State wasn't playing a fellow NCHC team. I then switched Minnesota and Harvard so that Harvard stays in the east and Minnesota sort of stays in the west, and then one final switch of Harvard and Boston College to help the Providence regional with the bigger Eagle fanbase. I like this because everything pretty much makes sense and there's very little switching from straight bracket integrity. </span></p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;"><span>The big decision is determining whether Boston University is the #1 seed in the East or Northeast regional. We ended up choosing Northeast in order to keep Yale in Providence, which might help attendance a little bit more there. </span></p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;">For comparison's sake, Adam Wodon of <i>College Hockey News</i> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2015/03/21_final_ncaa_bracket_projection.php">came up with the same thing</a>, though he didn't make that final switch of Boston College and Harvard.</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;">If the Committee decided to be really aggressive, Jeff Cox came up with this scenario that also makes a lot of sense:</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;"><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Northeast Regional</b><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Verizon Center<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Manchester, NH</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;">1. Boston University</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph3" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;">2. Michigan Tech</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;">3. St. Cloud State</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph5" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;">4. Quinnipiac</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph6" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;"><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">West Regional</b><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Scheels Arena<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Fargo, ND</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph7" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;">1. North Dakota</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph8" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;">2. Minnesota Duluth</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph9" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;">3. Minnesota</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph10" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;">4. Providence</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph11" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;"><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Midwest Regional</b><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Compton Arena<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">South Bend, Ind.</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph12" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;">1. Minnesota State</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph13" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;">2. Nebraska-Omaha</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph14" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;">3. Harvard</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;">4. RIT</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph16" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;"><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">East Regional</b><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Dunkin Donuts Center<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Providence, RI</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph17" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;">1. Miami</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph18" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;">2. Denver</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph19" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;">3. Boston College</p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph20" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px; color: #292929; font-size: 16px;">4. Yale</p>
https://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2015/3/21/8271127/ncaa-hockey-tournament-bracketology-final-projection-fieldChris DilksJeff Cox2015-03-21T19:27:48-07:002015-03-21T19:27:48-07:00Minnesota Wins Big Ten and the NCAA Field is Set
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<p>We're still waiting on one final score from the NCHC and figuring out what the final brackets will look like, but for now, with Minnesota's 4-2 win over Michigan in the Big Ten title game, we now know which 16 teams will be competing in next weekend's NCAA Tournament.</p>
<p>Here are the teams in the field:</p>
<p>Minnesota State, North Dakota, Boston University, Miami, Denver, Minnesota Duluth, Michigan Tech, Nebraska-Omaha, Harvard, Minnesota, Boston College, St. Cloud State, Yale, Quinnipiac, Providence, and RIT.</p>
<p>The last four teams out of the field were: Bowling Green, Colgate, UMass Lowell, and Michigan.</p>
<p>We'll have our projected brackets up sometime later this evening.</p>
https://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2015/3/21/8271397/minnesota-wins-the-big-ten-tournament-ncaa-tournament-field-setChris Dilks2015-03-21T16:47:00-07:002015-03-21T16:47:00-07:00Denver Beats North Dakota
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<p>The consolation game of the NCHC Frozen Face Off was an odd situation where people outside the arena likely cared a lot more about the result than the people inside it.</p>
<p>Denver beat North Dakota 5-1 to take third place at the Frozen Face Off. With the win, Denver temporarily moves into the final #1 seed in the Pairwise, ahead of Michigan Tech, though Michigan Tech can still pass them with a win in the WCHA championship.</p>
<p>North Dakota, meanwhile, lost any chance of regaining the top overall spot in the Pairwise with the loss. Minnesota State will finish the season #1 overall and more than likely draw the winner of the Atlantic Hockey championship next weekend in South Bend.</p>
<p>The Denver win doesn't quite officially put Minnesota in the Tournament. Via <a href="http://www.collegehockeynews.com/ratings/yatc.php?update=1#.VQ36qlX3-iw" target="_blank">College Hockey News</a>, this combination of results still has the Gophers just barely out, but that appears to be the only remaining scenario:</p>
<ul style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-family: verdana, geneva, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: normal;">
<li>Atlantic Hockey Championship: <strong>Mercyhurst def. RIT</strong>
</li>
<li>Big Ten Championship: <strong>Michigan def. Minnesota</strong>
</li>
<li>ECAC Championship: <strong>Colgate def. Harvard</strong>
</li>
<li>Hockey East Championship: <strong>Mass.-Lowell def. Boston University</strong>
</li>
<li>NCHC Championship: <strong>Miami def. St. Cloud State</strong>
</li>
<li>WCHA Championship: <strong>Minnesota State def. Michigan Tech</strong>
</li>
</ul>
https://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2015/3/21/8270857/denver-beats-north-dakotaChris Dilks2015-03-20T22:20:54-07:002015-03-20T22:20:54-07:00Bracketology: Who's In and Who Needs to Win
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<img alt="Bubble teams will be cheering for Boston University tomorrow" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/XdplDX6KZap7PVuvbZbSi6wMJWY=/0x105:3000x2105/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/45953358/BostonUniversity_NewHampshire_Dewkett37.0.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Bubble teams will be cheering for Boston University tomorrow | Matt Dewkett</figcaption>
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<p>We're down to the final day of the regular and the last games before the NCAA Tournament field is selected. Saturday will have There are six championship games(and an NCHC consolation game, which means little).</p>
<p>The NCAA Tournament field is mostly set with St. Cloud State, Boston College and Quinnipiac earning bids today, and Minnesota moving close to a guaranteed tournament bid. But there are still some teams that will be sweating out the results of the final day of the season, hoping to secure the final bids to the NCAA Tournament field.</p>
<p>We'll start with the <a href="http://www.uscho.com/rankings/pairwise-rankings/d-i-men/" target="_blank">Pairwise Rankings</a> as they look heading into Saturday. As a reminder. the PWR is the only criteria the NCAA considers in making the field. If you need a refresher on how they work, here's <a href="http://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2015/2/25/8085357/pairwise-rankings-explained" target="_blank">a quick explainer</a>.</p>
<p>We're down to about 350 possible scenarios, though it's really only about half of that since the Atlantic Hockey result doesn't affect the rest of the field at all.</p>
<p>Here's what we already know:</p>
<p>These teams will play in the NCAA Tournament: Minnesota State, North Dakota, Boston University, Michigan Tech, Minnesota Duluth, Miami, Denver, Nebraska-Omaha, St. Cloud State, Boston College, Quinnipiac</p>
<p>These teams can still make the Tournament with an at-large bid: Minnesota(still eligible for autobid), Harvard,(still eligible for autobid), Providence, Yale, Bowling Green</p>
<p>These teams need to win their conference tournament tomorrow to get into the tournament: RIT, Mercyhurst, Colgate, UMass Lowell, Michigan</p>
<p>Here is a look at tomorrow's games as we try to fill in those last five available spots in the tournament.</p>
<p><b>North Dakota vs. Denver-- NCHC Consolation Game</b></p>
<p>Be thankful that you won't be watching this one. These two teams have little to play for and will likely just want to get through this game healthy for next weekend's NCAA Tournament. North Dakota did fall out of the top spot in the Pairwise Rankings tonight with a loss and a Minnesota State win. They'll need a win and a Minnesota State loss to regain the top spot.</p>
<p>Denver dropped to 7th in the Pairwise with tonight's loss, but that appears to be their floor. St. Cloud State can't pass them with an SCSU win/DU loss. The Pioneers can get back to a 1 seed with a win and the right combination of results, but more than likely they'll be a two seed in next week's tournament.</p>
<p><b>Mercyhurst vs. RIT--Atlantic Hockey Championship</b></p>
<p>The winner of this game gets an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and the loser goes home. Robert Morris getting upset in the Atlantic Hockey semis and Michigan State losing in the Big Ten Tournament guarantees that the Atlantic Hockey winner will be the 16th overall seed in the field.</p>
<p><b>UMass Lowell vs. Boston University-- Hockey East Championship</b></p>
<p>UMass Lowell is right outside the bubble, but obviously would move down with a loss, so they need to win this game to advance to the NCAA Tournament. All the bubble teams will be rooting for Boston University in this one.</p>
<p>Boston University is playing for a one seed in the tournament. A win likely secures it, a loss leaves it up to other results.</p>
<p><b>St. Cloud State vs. Miami-- NCHC Championship</b></p>
<p>A win in the championship game likely gets St. Cloud State up to eighth. A loss drops them no lower than 12th. They're likely a three seed, maybe squeezing into that final two seed.</p>
<p>Miami would need a win and a loss from either Boston University or Michigan Tech to sneak into a one seed in the tournament. Otherwise, they'll be a two seed.</p>
<p><b>Minnesota State vs. Michigan Tech--WCHA Championship</b></p>
<p>Minnesota State can secure the #1 overall seed in the tournament with a win over Michigan Tech. Michigan Tech can potentially earn a one seed in the tournament with a win.</p>
<p>This game, among others, appears to be a key for bubble team Bowling Green. All the scenarios I find with Bowling Green sneaking into the tournament involve Michigan Tech winning, which gives them just enough RPI juice to pass Providence by the slimmest of margins(literally .0001 RPI difference in one scenario).</p>
<p><b>Colgate vs. Harvard--ECAC Championship</b></p>
<p>Colgate can't receive an at-large bid. They'll need to win to get in, so bubble teams are rooting against them. Harvard appears to be in pretty good shape even with a loss.</p>
<p>The best case scenario I've found for Harvard gets them up to 8th in the Pairwise and the final two seed if all results go their way.</p>
<p><b>Minnesota vs. Michigan--Big Ten Championship</b></p>
<p>Michigan needs to win the Big Ten title to get into the tournament. Bubble teams are cheering hard against the Wolverines.</p>
<p>Minnesota is obviously in the tournament with a win, but is still in pretty good shape even if they lose. Looking close, I'm only finding two scenarios where Minnesota doesn't make the field: both require six specific results and then either result in the Atlantic Hockey game. It looks very good for the Gophers.</p>
https://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2015/3/20/8268759/ncaa-bracketology-who-is-in-who-needs-to-win-what-might-happenChris Dilks2015-03-20T16:45:00-07:002015-03-20T16:45:00-07:00St. Cloud State Beats North Dakota
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<p>St. Cloud State beat North Dakota 3-1 in the NCHC semifinals to advance to tomorrow's championship.</p>
<p>The win gives St. Cloud State a record of 19-17-1 on the season, guaranteeing that they'll finish the regular season with a record above .500 and be eligible to play in the NCAA Tournament. It also puts them high enough in the Pairwise that it is impossible for them to fall out of the NCAA Tournament field. The Huskies will be playing in the NCAA Tournament next weekend.</p>
<p>North Dakota temporarily dropped from the top spot in the Pairwise Rankings, pending Minnesota State's results this weekend though they're locked into the Fargo regional next weekend anyway.</p>
<p>Also, it is now impossible for the unlikely scenarios for Boston College to fall out of the NCAA Tournament field to occur, so the Eagles are officially going dancing:.</p>
https://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2015/3/20/8268101/st-cloud-state-beats-north-dakotaChris Dilks2015-03-20T16:26:29-07:002015-03-20T16:26:29-07:00Michigan Tech Beats Bowling Green
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<p>Michigan Tech defeated Bowling Green 5-2 in the semifinals of the WCHA Tournament.</p>
<p>For Michigan Tech, the Huskies stay at 5th overall in the Pairwise, but are still in the hunt for a #1 seed depending on how the rest of the weekend plays out.</p>
<p>This loss was really bad news for Bowling Green, however. They didn't get much help from Minnesota or St. Cloud State today, meaning this loss puts them in a really bad position. They dropped from 13th to 15th in the Pairwise Rankings, pending the rest of the day's results. It's looking like the Falcons will have to hope that nobody from outside the top 15 of the Pairwise wins their conference tournament and steals an automatic bid if their season is to continue.</p>
https://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2015/3/20/8268019/michigan-tech-beats-bowling-greenChris Dilks2015-03-20T15:54:22-07:002015-03-20T15:54:22-07:00Minnesota Beats Ohio State in Big Ten Semifinals
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<p>It was a tight, defensive struggle, but Minnesota beat Ohio State 3-0 to advance to tomorrow's Big Ten title game.</p>
<p>The easy part: the season is over for Ohio State. They needed to win the Big Ten Tournament to make the NCAA field, so they're done for the year.</p>
<p>Minnesota needed to win this game to have any hope of earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament after Harvard's win earlier today. The win moves Minnesota temporarily up to 9th in the Pairwise Rankings and in fairly good shape even if they fall to Michigan State or Michigan tomorrow in the Big Ten championship. It would likely take a loss tomorrow and a lot of surprise conference winners taking autobids to keep the Gophers out of the tournament.</p>
https://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2015/3/20/8267899/minnesota-beats-ohio-state-in-big-ten-semifinalsChris Dilks