Here is our shot at a final bracketology in advance of Sunday’s NCAA selection show:
The field of 16, seeded 1-16 is:
1 Minnesota
8 Penn State
9 Ohio State
16 Canisius
2 Quinnipiac
7 Harvard
10 Michigan Tech
15 Colgate
3 Michigan
6 St. Cloud State
11 Minnesota State
14 Merrimack
4 Denver
5 Boston University
12 Western Michigan
13 Cornell
We have a number of problems here. First is two first-round conference matchups, which can be avoided. Penn State and Ohio State need to be broken up as does Quinnipiac and Colgate. The latter is a bit challenging as there are two ECAC teams in the fourth band (Colgate and Cornell) and Quinnipiac is in the first band.
Let’s take care of Penn State first. They are also a host in Allentown, so you want to keep them away from Minnesota so you don’t have to give the Gophers, the top overall seed, an extended trip. And you’d like to keep them away from Quinnipiac the Bobcats can play close to Bridgeport (despite them not being a host).
So it makes sense to swap St. Cloud and Penn State. It also makes sense to swap Merrimack and Colgate. In doing so, you end up with the following:
Fargo, N.D.
1 Minnesota vs. 16 Canisius
6 St. Cloud vs.9 Ohio State
Bridgeport, Conn.
2 Quinnipiac vs. 14 Merrimack
7 Harvard vs. 10 Michigan Tech
Allentown, Pa.
3 Michigan vs. 15 Colgate
8 Penn State vs. 11 Minnesota State
Manchester, N.H.
4 Denver vs. 13 Cornell
5 Boston University vs. 12 Western Michigan
Is there anything else worth swapping? Maybe Michigan Tech to get them closer to Allentown, though it comes at the expense of Minnesota State, which would head to Bridgeport.
We’re still okay with that as it gives a Midwest flavor to the Allentown bracket. That leaves us with:
Fargo, N.D.
1 Minnesota vs. 16 Canisius
6 St. Cloud vs.9 Ohio State
Bridgeport, Conn.
2 Quinnipiac vs. 14 Merrimack
7 Harvard vs. 11 Minnesota State
Allentown, Pa.
3 Michigan vs. 15 Colgate
8 Penn State vs. 10 Michigan Tech
Manchester, N.H.
4 Denver vs. 13 Cornell
5 Boston University vs. 12 Western Michigan
And with that, we’re done. I like either of these brackets. Let’s see what the committee says Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET.
