Bob Griebel asks:
 
> Short of going all the way to the tournament championship to gain the
> automatic NCAA bid, I'm not sure that sweeping the quarterfinal could
> possibly put Michigan in better shape than splitting the quarterfinals
> would have.  Can anyone running a PWR application answer that?  Merely
> tacking a season ending win onto BG's record and a corresponding loss
> onto Michigan's current status would show the benefit of a three game
> split (vs the two game sweep) to Michigan and the detriment to OSU.
> I'm guessing that Michigan would pass OSU and that any remaining
> games, if Michigan State wins the CCHA tournament, wouldn't change
> that result.  Should Michigan have blown one for the Gipper?
 
I dunno about the effects of CCHA tournament games, but I re-ran the
calculation with an extra BG win over Michigan, and Michigan does
indeed win the comparison with OSU in that case, although it also
makes them lose the St. Lawrence comparison.  These are the only
changes.  It does not affect the field of twelve, since SLU and OSU
are still awarded at-large bids before Michigan's fate is decided, but
it could make a difference if the committee is trying to decide who
stays in Madison and who goes to Worcester.
 
BTW, the situation people are remembering with OSU and BGSU was from
1995, when Bowling Green played and split two extra non-conference
games with Ohio State.  The two games against the Buckeyes dropped
BGSU's strength of schedule, and hence RPI, enough to keep them out of
the tournament.  If Bowling Green had swept those games, they still
would have missed the tourney, but if they'd not played them at all,
they would have made it.
                                          John Whelan, Cornell '91
                                                  [log in to unmask]
                                     http://www.amurgsval.org/joe/
 
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