At 07:53 PM 3/10/97 -0500, Jim Love wrote:
 
>  But UNH *shared* the HE Regular Season title; shouldn't this same rule apply
>to them if they win the HE Tournament Title ??  And what about NoDak and UM-TC;
>they shared the WCHA Regular Season title; if either one wins the WCHA Tourney
>shouldn't they then receive a bye as well, even though UM-TC has a lower PWR
>than Nodak ?!?
 
They did share the title, but the NCAA Selection Committee uses the
tie-breaker in these cases to award both the automatic berth and the
automatic bye if applicable.
 
So in a way, the Selection Committee recognizes BU and NoDak as the regular
season winner, since they won the tie-breaker even if the conferences don't
do that when awarding the title.
 
It is my understanding that this was addressed in the conference call, and
that it was made clear that the #1 seeds (BU and NoDak) are the only teams
getting the auto berth in HE and WCHA respectively and because of that are
the only two eligible for an automatic bye should they win their respective
tournament.
 
UNH and Minnesota, while both will make the NCAA Tournament, did not receive
an automatic bid.
 
So, no, UNH can't earn an automatic bye by winning the tournament, though
statisitcally they will probably get a bye if they win it, especially if
they beat BU to do it, so in some ways this discussion is moot.  Unless BU
wins, then UNH might well get the shaft on this one.
 
---
Deron Treadwell ([log in to unmask])
 
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