>If UMass-Lowell were to win the HE tournament, UMaine's chances for an NCAA
>bid would be hurt, because (a) Lowell would take one of the 12 NCAA tourney
>spots, and (b) a Lowell win in the HE tourney would mean that Maine would
>lose to them in the HE final or to PC in the HE semis.

I ran a number of scenarios and Maine's NCAA fate is sealed (except for
region and color of uniforms):

IMHO, Maine will make the NCAAs no matter the results of any game this
weekend.  Maine cannot get an NCAA bye, but will be selected.  It's way
too early to tell for sure, but it looks like Maine will be seeded into
the eastern regional as a home team.

IMHO, BC will get an NCAA bye no matter the results of any game this
weekend.

UML must win the HEA Tournament Championship in order to participate in
the NCAAs.

UNH might make it to the NCAAs and might not.  Depends.  :-) Perhaps
interestingly, Maine beating PC with relatively few upsets in other
conference tournaments yields a selection of UNH.

PC probably has to beat Maine in order to gain an NCAA appearance.

Hope this helps, wayne

Wayne T. Smith
[log in to unmask]                          Old Town Landing
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