|
INCH
4x4
March 18,
2008
The
INCH 4x4 represents how we think the NCAA Tournament field
will look WHEN THE BRACKET IS ANNOUNCED Sunday, March
23 |
|
Thought bubble:
It's interesting what a weekend of elimination games will
do for one's thought processes. Based on my rudimentary analysis
of the data, I feel fairly comfortable in saying that, barring
upsets, these will be the 16 teams in the NCAA Tournament.
Not exactly Babe Ruth calling his shot, is it? Having said
that, my hunch is that come Sunday, this projection will look
like Amy Winehouse after a three-day bender. — Mike
Eidelbes |
| ALBANY
East Regional |
WORCESTER
Northeast Regional |
 1.
Miami |
Should Miami and Michigan advance
to the CCHA tournament title game, the winner should get the
top overall seed in the NCAA tourney. |
 1.
New Hampshire |
Every bubble team on this list
will root for the winner of Friday's UNH-BC semifinal to beat
the winner of the BU-UVM semifinal in Saturday's Hockey East
championship. |
 2.
Boston College |
Barring two wins in this weekend's
Hockey East tournament, the Eagles are locked in as a No. 2.
Actually, BC is a 2 even if they win it all. |
 2.
Denver |
The Pioneers have been quietly
hanging around as a No. 2 seed. They're just kind of here, week
in and week out. Loiterers. |
 3.
Minnesota |
Call me crazy, but losing to St.
Cloud State Thursday may help the Gophs in the long run, given
the grueling series with Minnesota State last weekend. |
 3.
Clarkson |
Maybe losing to Colgate was the
Golden Knights' secret plan to get another ECAC Hockey team
into the NCAA tournament field. Or not. |
 4.
Niagara |
The Purple Eagles
are back in the NCAA tournament field for the first time since
2004, when they lost their first-round contest to top seed Boston
College. |
 4.
Minnesota State |
After
losing last weekend's epic best-of-three at home to Minnesota,
there's no team more deserving of another chance to play than
the Mavs. |
| MADISON
Midwest Regional |
COLORADO
SPRINGS West Regional |
 1.
Michigan |
Even if the Wolverines lost both
games at the CCHA tournament this weekend, they'd still hang
on to a No. 1 seed. They won't lose both games, in case you
were wondering. |
 1.
North Dakota |
Our hunch is that the
winner of a WCHA final pitting North Dakota against Colorado
College ends up in this spot as a No. 1 seed, while the loser
gets the West No. 2. |
 2.
St. Cloud State |
Beating Minnesota this Thursday
should be enough to cinch a No. 2 seed for the Huskies. Heck,
they may hang onto it even if they don't. |
 2.
Colorado College |
If the above scenario
plays out, it could be reminiscent of the 2007 West Regional,
when NoDak beat Minnesota in a rematch of the previous week's
WCHA final. |
 3.
Michigan State |
Does anyone recall how being the
No. 3 seed in the Midwest Regional worked out for the Spartans
last season? |
 3.
Notre Dame |
They've gone from perilously
out to perilously in. The Irish can consider themselves pretty
firmly in with a win against Miami Friday. |
 4.
Air Force |
Air Force, would love
to play in the West Regional in its backyard. But then we'd
all love a lot of things, wouldn't we? |
 4.
Harvard |
Now that Clarkson's
out of the mix, we'll put the Crimson — which hasn't won
an NCAA tournament game since 1994 — in the ECAC Hockey
driver's seat. |
| Last
two in: Notre Dame,
Minnesota State First
two out: Princeton,
Boston University
Stock rising: Miami, St. Cloud State Stock
falling: Clarkson, Michigan State
Already won auto-bids: Atlantic Hockey-Air
Force; CHA-Niagara;
INCH's projected CCHA-Michigan;
ECAC Hockey-Harvard;
Hockey East-New Hampshire; WCHA-North Dakota |