Robin "Poe" Lock writes:
>                   ...I believe it's been several years since a Hockey East
>team made it to the championship game...
 
    The only one was Providence, a 2-1 loser to RPI in 1985.
 
>1. How long has the current 12 team format been used for the NCAA playoff?
>Any possibility of expanding to 16?  The current system seems to give a
>substantial advantage to those top two seeds.
 
    The current 12 team format has been used since 1988.  There have been
    rumors of expanding to 16, but nothing concrete.  Many people feel
    16 of 45 (including Union next year) teams is too large a percentage.
 
    I agree that the current system gives an advantage to the top two seeds
    in each region.  I wouldn't call it an unfair advantage because they
    earned it, but many times the difference between the #2 and #3 seeds is
    so small that it really isn't worth giving one team such a huge advantage,
    in my opinion.
 
>2. Under the current format, has any other team:
>
>(a) Won its conference regular season and conference tourney and been
>seeded as low as fourth?
 
    No.
 
>(b) Failed to win its conference regular season, failed to win its
>conference tourney and been seeded number one?
 
    No.
 
    Before this season, the four byes were always split up among the
    four conferences equally (probably because that's the way it should
    have gone).
 
 
    - mike