The INCH 4×4 represents how we think the NCAA Tournament field will look WHEN THE BRACKET IS ANNOUNCED Sunday, March 21.
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Thought bubble: Last year, it was Miami that knocked Minnesota Duluth out of the NCAA Tournament. That happened in the final of the West Regional in Minneapolis. This year, it looks like the Bulldogs will be ousted from the 16-team field by Alabama-Huntsville — two weeks before the tournament starts. Unless the Bulldogs can advance to the WCHA Final Five championship game, it’s likely that they’ll watch the NCAAs from the wrong side of the velvet rope with UAH, the surprise winner of the CHA auto-bid, as the bouncer. The other teams on the bottom rung of the at-large ladder — Vermont and Ferris State, to name two — are hoping if they can’t win the auto-bid their respective leagues, then the favorites carry the way across the board. Sometimes, the “win and get in” approach is better than relying on someone else. |
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ALBANY East Regional |
WORCESTER Northeast Regional |
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1. Wisconsin | As much as I would like to ignore you, Vermont, with your sub-.500 league record and one regular-season win streak of two games in Hockey East play, a computer says I can’t. I’ll play by the rules, stupid as they may be. |
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1. Boston College | With one team from the CCHA, ECAC Hockey, Hockey East, and WCHA, this region could serve as a de facto Ice Breaker Tournament field. And of the projections here, this regional has the best balance. |
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2. Cornell |
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2. North Dakota | ||
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3. New Hampshire |
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3. Yale | ||
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4. Vermont |
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4. Ferris State | ||
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FORT WAYNE Midwest Regional |
ST. PAUL West Regional |
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1. Miami | One green-clad team based in Michigan out of the three hole, and another green-clad team based in Michigan in. Also, with UAH taking over as the no. 16 seed overall, RIT slides over to become Miami’s first-round opponent. |
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1. Denver | We took some liberties with the three seeds to keep UNH and Yale closer to home and prevent Alaska from flying across the entire continent. Besides, the threes are so even on paper they’re virtually interchangeable. |
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2. Bemidji State |
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2. St. Cloud State | ||
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3. Northern Michigan |
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3. Alaska | ||
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4. RIT |
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4. Alabama-Huntsville | ||
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Last two in: Vermont, Ferris State First two out: Minnesota Duluth, Michigan State
Stock rising: Northern Michigan Stock falling: New Hampshire, Yale
INCH’s projected auto-bids: Atlantic Hockey-RIT; CCHA-Miami; ECAC Hockey-Cornell;
Hockey East-Boston College; WCHA-Denver. Alabama-Huntsville won the CHA auto-bid. |
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