>Just watched the selection show, including a somewhat informative
>interview with Bill Wilkinson.  Apparently the committee had no doubt
>about Niagara and considered them amn Estern team, but the 6 seed
>implies there was something other than PWCs at work:
 
This shouldn't surprise us. For the last few years we have known, almost
before the Committee does, who the 12 teams are. This is because the PWC
system (and RPI before) made things essentially automatic. Quinnipiac and
Niagara have lessened the automatic nature of it, but for the most part we
knew who was in and who was out. The last real controversy I remember was
Colorado College's exclusion after they won the McNaughton Cup (and then
choked against Michigan Tech).
 
However, the PWCs have never been a true predictor of where the 12 teams
actually go once they are picked. There have always been other factors
worked into the mix. Attendance, keeping host teams at home, the Clarkson
rule (am I the only who finds it amusing that St. Lawrence takes advantage
of the Clarkson rule this year?) and avoiding intraconference matchups are
all still part of the process.
 
That's why, most years, the predictions of who is actually in the
tournament are accurate but the predictions of who goes where are usually
inaccurate. In this case, I think the Committee realized that while Niagara
is in the top 12, they probably aren't as good as their PWC ranking would
indicate. Thus, the initial ranking of Niagara as the 7th Eastern team.
 
While I'm on the subject of Niagara, I have a feeling that Iona did Niagara
a favour by knocking off Quinnipiac. As I recall the arguments in favour of
a Quinnipiac berth last year, they were predicated on Quinnipiac pulling
the double. Again, this year, I think arguments in favour of Quinnipiac and
Niagara were predicated on that assumption. Thus, Iona's defeat of
Quinnipiac essentially ended whatever NCAA hopes they had. I wonder if the
Committee would have had a harder time picking Niagara and excluding
Quinnipiac, had Quinnipiac won the MAAC tournament. If that is the case,
then I could have easily seen them excluding both teams, and (in the end)
choosing Mankato instead.
 
See you later,
John
 
--
  John Edwards - Carleton (Ont) '96, Manitoba '00 - [log in to unmask]
      Manitoba Women's Ice Hockey - #9 CIAU, 5-3-2 CanWest, 18-7-2 Overall
               Carleton U. Football - Undefeated since 1998
The opinions expressed are mine alone, because everybody else says I'm weird.
 
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