Sorry to prolong this seeding discussion even further.....but I thought
it might be interesting to seed and bracket based solely on the PWR.
OK, set up the brackets like the B-ball tournament such that #1 has the
"easiest" draw to the finals (assuming no upsets!).
1. Michigan 2. Clarkson
8. Cornell ________ ________ 7. Boston U.
9. Miami 10. Denver
5. New Hampshire 6. Vermont
12. Mich. St. __________ ________ 11. CC
4. Minnesota 3. N. Dakota
OK, so put the bracket on the right side in the western site to
reward Michigan, and put the bracket on the left in the eastern site
to reward Clarkson. There are no possible second round conference
matchups (again assuming no upsets). Looks like a great tournament to me.
Everyone is happy right?
NO. The East vs. West monster rears it's ugly head.
N. Dakota is screaming that they get shipped east even though
they're ranked higher than Minn. and beat them in the tournament.
(One could simply flip-flop N. Dakota and Minnesota but....)
BU is saying that they should get some consideration for a bye
because they won the regular season AND the tournament. Enter the
"Clarkson rule". Put BU in as the 4th bye and shift 4-6 down to get:
1. Michigan 2. Clarkson
8. Cornell ________ ________ 7. Vermont
9. Miami 10. Denver
5. Minnesota 6. UNH
12. Mich. St. __________ ________ 11. CC
4. Boston U. 3. N. Dakota
Not bad....only one possible second round conference matchup
(again, assuming no upsets): Clarkson/VT.
So why aren't these the brackets? Again the root of the cause is
the split in the college hockey universe between east and west and
the resulting influence on ticket sales. The NC$$ wants REVENUE (that's
why we write the $$) and the best way to do that is to set up the
regionals to maximize attendance. Therefore the two highest seeds
in the east get to stay east and the two highest in the west get to stay
west. (The bye teams themselves will argue that it's only fair to stay
in their regional because they earned the "right" to the bye and to
stay in their own region.) So, flip N. Dakota and BU above.
Now, if the favorites win, there are three possible conference matchups in
the second round, including rematches of two conference tournament finals
(played only one week before): BU-UNH,Minn-N. Dakota,Clarkson-VT. For
whatever reason, the NC$$ dictates that conference matchups should
be minimized where possible. This is where "trouble" starts.
Philosophically speaking, I feel this is actually a good rule (and the
teams might agree). It would be redundant to see all these conference
matchups again. So what is the easiest way to fix the problem given the
new brackets? Switch the first round games within each region to matchup
with the other bye-team in each bracket and VOILA you have what the
committee came up with (except they ranked Miami ahead of Cornell based
on the individual PWR and the RPI). The only possible second round
conference matchup is Mich/Mich St. which would technically be the
biggest upset of the first round games.
Three teams are mad. #1 Michigan and #4 Minnesota's paths to the finals
are no longer the easiest given their ranking. They have to play each
other in the second round of the tournament rather than in the semi-finals
(again assuming no upsets), and Minnesota has to play a game the previous
night. BTW, N. Dakota must be terribly pleased. Not only does their arch
rival have to play #1 Michigan, but their relative path to the final has just
been made MUCH easier.
#8 Cornell is mad that they get a lower seed than a team behind
them in the rankings (overall) even though they won their conference
tournament. After all if winning the conference tournament is important
enought to vault BU into a bye, why doesn't it count in the seeding?
Some Minnesota fan's argument about having to face a tough Michigan State
team is moot. If you believe enough in the ranking system to consider
yourself 4th then you have to believe that you got the easisest first
round game vs the lowest seed.
Ultimately there will be teams who are mad about the seedings every year.
The underlying reason.....EAST vs. WEST and $$$. Personally, I'd like
to see the first bracket played out. Oh well. Maybe the history and
continuing relevance(?) of the East vs. West could be a good summer topic.
For now....Drop the puck. May the best team win.
Eric
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Eric Hoffman | "It was...an afternoon scraped out |
Graduate Student | of the dog dish of meteorology..." |
| |
ES-333 | Tom Robbins describing an August |
Dept. of Earth and | day in Richmond, VA. |
Atmospheric Sciences |---------------------------------------|
University at Albany | Cornell University, Class of 1988 |
State University of New York | Big Red Hockey |
1400 Washington Ave. | 1996,1997 ECAC and Ivy League |
Albany, NY 12222 | Champs!!! Back to Back!! |
| "Let's Go RED!!!" |
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