Tony Biscardi wrote: >Examining the recent RPI ratings, something very interesting >began to go through my mind... > >Although I realize the RPI will be deemphasized in favor of the >former tie-breakers, I still can't ignore that the RPI indicates >that the West is having a very, very strong year. > >With Maine out of the post-season tourney, after BU, the next >best Eastern team is Vermont, rated at #9. > > >Although, based on past experience, any answer is premature, I >ask the rhetorical question: > >Would they go 1-6 in the West, and THEN wrap around the bottom >2 Western teams (presently Denver, who would then get a #3 in >the East, and Bowling Green, who would get a #6) OR send over >teams like Western Michigan (who would then get a bye in the >East) and Michigan State (who would move from a #6W to a #3E). Tony, you must be psychic! :-) After discussing this with Erik and Carol, I finally (just minutes ago) sent some email off to Mike M. to get an "Eastern" viewpoint on this matter. > >I guess the added question is, "Would you rather have a good >seed half-way across the country, or a bad seed closer to >home?" Well, I think they'd have a hard time (given the current** ratings) justifying giving a second Eastern team a bye. Beyond that the advantages may be more questionable, but I think there'd certainly be a lot of room for complaint (about getting "screwed") if they gave, say, Vermont a first-round bye instead of a third Western team if the numbers remain like this**. Remember that the committee did give Lowell a number-3-West seed two years ago when two Eastern teams ended up ranked 5-6 nationally, thus giving both #3s to Eastern teams, so there certainly is precedent to show that they would put a top Western team out East. **Disclaimer: See all of Tony's mention of this being a premature discussion, which I quoted in this post for a reason! :-) Pam Sweeney Go Gophers! HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.