It's time once again for our weekly installment of Bracketology. This week finds the Wisconsin Badgers sitting at home once again come tournament time for the fourth week in a row. Similar to last week, we're hovering around the bubble. With our split up at Alaska, we dropped one spot from #18 to #19 in the PWR. Remember, we'd like to get to at least #13 to lock in an at large bid.The WCHA dropped an at large bid this week with Minnesota dropping out after a sweep at Minnesota State. So the conference is sitting at 4 at large teams in the tournament this week with CC, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Bemidji all under consideration.
Step 1: Pick the 16 tournament teams
1. Yale
2. Minnesota-Duluth
3. Denver
4. North Dakota
5. Boston College
6. New Hampshire
7. Notre Dame
8. Nebraska-Omaha
9. Union
10. RPI
11. Miami
12. Dartmouth
13. Maine
14. Boston University
15. Alaska
16. Atlantic Hockey Champion (Niagara)
Bubble Teams (in order): Michigan, Merrimack, Colorado College, Wisconsin, Clarkson
Step 2: Assign the seeds
No. 1 seeds: Yale, Minnesota-Duluth, Denver, North Dakota
No. 2 seeds: Boston College, New Hampshire, Notre Dame, Nebraska-Omaha
No. 3 seeds: Union, RPI, Miami, Dartmouth
No. 4 seeds: Maine, BU, Alaska, Niagara
Step 3: Place host teams in regionals
Right now we have two host schools in the tournament. New Hampshire is hosting the Northeast Regional in Manchester, and Yale is hosting the East Regional in Bridgeport. Therefore, UNH is placed as the #2 seed in Manchester and Yale is the #1 seed in Bridgeport.
Step 4: Place number 1 seeds in regionals
Number 1 seeds are placed based on proximity to regional site.
No. 1 Yale (Host) is placed in the East Regional in Bridgeport
No. 2 Minnesota-Duluth is placed in the Mid-West Regional in Green Bay
No. 3 Denver is placed in the West Regional in St. Louis
No. 4 North Dakota is placed in the Northeast Regional in Manchester
Step 5: Place the other 12 teams avoiding intra-conference match ups if possible Begin by filling in each bracket by banding groups. Remember that teams are not assigned to the regional closest to their campus sites by ranking order within the banding.
If this is the case, then the committee should seed so that the quarterfinals are seeded such that the four regional championships are played by No. 1 v. No. 8, No. 2 v. No. 7, No. 3 v. No. 6 and No. 4 v. No. 5.
Number 2 seeds:
No. 8 Nebraska-Omaha is placed in No. 1 Yale's Regional, the East Regional
No. 7 Notre Dame is placed in No. 2 Minnesota-Duluth's Regional, the Mid-West Regional
No. 6 UNH (host) is placed in No. 4 North Dakota's Regional, the Northeast Regional
No. 5 Boston College is placed in No. 3 Denver's Regional, the West Regional
Number 3 seeds:
No. 9 Union is placed No. 8 Nebraska Omaha's Regional, the East Regional
No. 10 RPI is placed in No. 7 Notre Dame's Regional, the Mid-West Regional
No. 11 Miami is placed in No. 6 New Hampshire's Regional, the Northeast Regional
No. 12 Dartmouth is placed in No. 5 Boston College's Regional,the West Regional
Number 4 seeds:
No. 13 Maine is placed in No. 4 North Dakota's Regional, the Northeast Regional
No. 14 Boston University is placed in No. 3 Denver's Regional, the West Regional
No. 15 Alaska is placed in No. 2 Minnesota-Duluth's Regional, the Mid-West Regional
No. 16 Niagara is placed in No. 1 Yale's Regional, the East Regional
Our bracket as we have it set up:
East Regional (Bridgeport, Connecticut)
1 Yale vs 16 Niagara
8 Nebraska-Omaha vs 9 Union
Mid-West Regional (Green Bay, Wisconsin)
2 Minnesota-Duluth vs 15 Alaska
7 Notre Dame vs 10 RPI
Northeast Regional (Manchester, New Hampshire)
4 North Dakota vs 13 Maine
6 New Hampshire vs 11 Miami
West Regional (St. Louis, Missouri)
3 Denver vs 14 Boston University
5 Boston College vs 12 Dartmouth
Our first concern is to avoid intra-conference first round match ups. Unlike last week, where we had three match ups that we needed to change, this week we're good.
Bracket integrity looks strong.
There are no swaps that jump out at me to improve attendance without creating an intra-conference match up or ruining bracket integrity.
So that's what we'll go with for this week, I'm happy with it.
Week by week Wisconsin tournament tracker:
Week 1: #12 overall seed vs Michigan in Mid-West Regional in Green Bay
Week 2: First team out of the tournament, #16 in the PWR
Week 3: Falling further away from the tournament, #24 in the PWR
Week 4: Stopped the bleeding, moved up to #18 in the PWR
Week 5: Still hovering in the bubble, dropped a spot to #19 in PWR
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