Here we are with the final Bracketology prior to Saturday night’s championship games where the final field will be set. Jayson and I are taking a little bit of a different approach this week, yet again, so let’s see what that yields.
(Editor’s note: Jim and Jayson will produce a single, final bracket prediction on Saturday night once all six conference tournament games have concluded).
Jim’s Rationale
I am going to once again take a pretty traditional approach and begin by aligning teams based on bracket integrity:
Regional #1
1 Minnesota
16 Holy Cross/Canisius
8 Penn State
9 Ohio State
Regional #2
2 Quinnipiac
15 Alaska
7 St. Cloud
10 Michigan Tech
Regional #3
3 Denver
14 Merrimack
6 Harvard
11 Western Michigan
Regional #4
4 Michigan
13 Minnesota State
5 Boston University
12 Cornell
The immediate issue is an intra-conference matchup between Penn State and Ohio State in the 8 vs. 9 slot. You also have Penn State, a host, in the same region as the number one overall seed, Minnesota, which is permitted. But to keep the two in the same region, you’d have to move Minnesota much further away from its campus, which the committee likes to avoid.
A quick swap of Penn State and St. Cloud State can solve this issue. And at the same time, it makes sense to assign regions based 1) on assigning hosts teams to their regions and 2) on proximity to the campus of the region’s top seed.
Fargo
1 Minnesota
16 Holy Cross/Canisius
7 St. Cloud
9 Ohio State
Allentown (Penn State is host)
2 Quinnipiac
15 Alaska
8 Penn State
10 Michigan Tech
Bridgeport
3 Denver
14 Merrimack
6 Harvard
11 Western Michigan
Manchester
4 Michigan
13 Minnesota State
5 Boston University
12 Cornell
This bracket technically works, but as we’ve discussed in weeks past, it makes a ton more sense to leave Quinnipiac in Bridgeport (and technically is more rewarding as the #2 overall seed). A quick swap of Quinnipiac and Denver accomplishes that.
Fargo
1 Minnesota vs. 16 Holy Cross/Canisius
7 St. Cloud vs. 9 Ohio State
Allentown
3 Denver vs. 15 Alaska
8 Penn State vs. 10 Michigan Tech
Bridgeport
2 Quinnipiac vs. 14 Merrimack
6 Harvard vs. 11 Western Michigan
Manchester
4 Michigan vs. 13 Minnesota State
5 Boston University vs. 12 Cornell
With this bracket, you attain 1) excellent attendance in every region and 2) all four top seeds are placed in their closest regions according to the order of their overall seeding.
You also get a great rivalry renewal in Cornell/Boston University in Manchester and a potential for a rematch of the famous Minnesota/Holy Cross game of 2006 in North Dakota. There’s also the possibility that Harvard and Quinnipiac meet with a trip to the Frozen Four on the line. All compelling storylines and that just scratches the surface.
Jayson’s Rationale
I’ll concentrate this week on the same method I used last week. We take all of each band at the same time.
So, let’s start out the process.
In the first band, Minnesota goes to Fargo, Quinnipiac goes to Bridgeport, Denver goes to Allentown and Michigan goes to Manchester.
Fargo
1 Minnesota
Bridgeport
2 Quinnipiac
Allentown
3 Denver
Manchester
4 Michigan
The second band is now placed:
No. 8 Penn State goes to Allentown with No. 3 seed Denver
No. 7 St. Cloud goes to Fargo with No. 1 seed Minneosta
No. 6 Harvard goes to Bridgeport with No. 2 seed Quinnipiac
No. 5 Boston University goes to Manchester with No. 4 seed Michigan
Next the third band is placed following bracket integrity from the first band (i.e. No 9 is in No 1’s bracket, No. 10 in No 2, etc.)
No. 9 Ohio State faces No. 7 St. Cloud in Fargo
No. 10 Michigan Tech faces No. 6 Harvard in Bridgeport
No. 11 Western Michigan faces No. 8 Penn State in Allentown
No. 12 Cornell faces No. 5 Boston University in Manchester
Then we place the fourth band:
No. 13 Minnesota State faces No. 4 Michigan in Manchester
No. 14 Merrimack faces No. 3 Denver in Allentown
No. 15 Alaska faces No. 2 Quinnipiac in Bridgport
No. 16 Holy Cross/Canisius faces No. 1 Minnesota in Fargo
Therefore, our brackets:
Fargo
1 Minnesota vs. 16 Holy Cross/Canisius
7 St. Cloud vs. 9 Ohio State
Bridgeport
2 Quinnipiac vs. 15 Alaska
6 Harvard vs. 10 Michigan Tech
Allentown
3 Denver vs. 14 Merrimack
8 Penn State vs 11 Western Michigan
Manchester
4 Michigan vs. 13 Minnesota State
5 Boston University vs. 12 Cornell
There are no intraconference matchups at all in this bracket, so I should be set.
If I had to make a change, it would be swapping Merrimack with Alaska, to keep Merrimack closer to its campus.
Fargo
1 Minnesota vs. 16 Holy Cross/Canisius
7 St. Cloud vs. 9 Ohio State
Bridgeport
2 Quinnipiac vs. 14 Merrimack
6 Harvard vs. 10 Michigan Tech
Allentown
3 Denver vs. 15 Alaska
8 Penn State vs 11 Western Michigan
Manchester
4 Michigan vs. 13 Minnesota State
5 Boston University vs. 12 Cornell
So that’s my bracket for the week. A lot will change as the week goes on though.
This week’s brackets:
Jim
Fargo
1 Minnesota vs. 16 Holy Cross/Canisius
7 St. Cloud vs. 9 Ohio State
Allentown
3 Denver vs. 15 Alaska
8 Penn State vs. 10 Michigan Tech
Bridgeport
2 Quinnipiac vs. 14 Merrimack
6 Harvard vs. 11 Western Michigan
Manchester
4 Michigan vs. 13 Minnesota State
5 Boston University vs. 12 Cornell
Jayson
Fargo
1 Minnesota vs. 16 Holy Cross/Canisius
7 St. Cloud vs. 9 Ohio State
Bridgeport
2 Quinnipiac vs. 14 Merrimack
6 Harvard vs. 10 Michigan Tech
Allentown
3 Denver vs. 15 Alaska
8 Penn State vs 11 Western Michigan
Manchester
4 Michigan vs. 13 Minnesota State
5 Boston University vs. 12 Cornell
Two different approaches and, at the end, just one difference between the two (Michigan Tech and Western Michigan are swapped).
Check back late Saturday evening for the final Bracketology.
