Just days out, and Hockey East teams pack the middle of the field
Hockey East has two teams in the second back and two in the third band, so there are few options to keep them from playing each other in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Bracketology
Bracketology
The PairWise Predictor, and where we stand entering conference championship weekend
When the conference tournament quarterfinal round wrapped up Sunday night, we rolled out our PairWise Predictor, which lets you see how the rankings react based on results you enter for the final 21 games before selection Sunday.
What this weekend means: March 11, 2016
We have a lot of ramifications in terms of what would happen depending upon which teams win series this weekend.
Historically, PairWise’s top 3 entering league quarterfinals are solid bets to stay as No. 1 seeds
We’re onto the quarterfinals in every conference except the Big Ten.
One week out, and some new at-large teams appear in the field
Minnesota-Duluth and Michigan Tech moved into the top 14 of the PairWise Rankings after last weekend.
Two weeks out, and No. 1 seed shakeup means new first-round pairings emerge
North Dakota moved up to No. 2 overall, which would put it into the West Regional in St. Paul, where it likely would face Minnesota in the first round.
Teams in top 12 of PairWise on March 1 have history on their side
Since the field expanded to 16 teams in 2003, 93 percent of teams ranked in the top 12 of the PairWise Rankings on March 1 have made the NCAA tournament.
Three weeks out, and wholesale changes could help attendance
The matchups in the second and third bands don’t line up well for geography purposes, so Jayson Moy makes some tweaks.
Listen: USCHO’s Jim Connelly discusses the PairWise on The Pipeline Show
USCHO’s Jim Connelly joined on TSN 1260’s The Pipeline Show on Saturday to dissect the PairWise Rankings.
Four weeks out, and this is beginning to be a trend
With no movement in and out of the tournament field in the last four weeks, Jayson Moy sees some familiar discussions in this week’s Bracketology.
After the Beanpot, the top six historically have been NCAA locks
In 13 years of the 16-team NCAA tournament, no team in the top six of the PairWise Rankings at the end of the Beanpot has missed being in the field.
Five weeks out, and the field remains the same
In this week’s Bracketology, Jayson Moy has some cleaning up to do for attendance reasons, but it’s the same 16 teams in the field for the third straight week.
PairWise history tells us what to extrapolate from the rankings at the start of February
In the 13 seasons since the NCAA tournament field expanded to 16 teams, no team that was ranked No. 1 through No. 4 in the PairWise Rankings at the start of February has failed to qualify.
Six weeks out, and an intraconference first-round game can’t be avoided
Jayson Moy breaks down how the brackets might shake out this week in Bracketology.
Seven weeks out, and it’s all rather straightforward
One change for attendance reasons, and Jayson Moy has his projected bracket for this week.
Eight weeks out, and attendance dictates some movement
In this week’s Bracketology, Jayson Moy moves some matchups to different regionals to try to help the potential for bigger crowds.
Who’s the host team at the East Regional in Albany?
If you’ve followed Bracketology for a while, you probably know that a team that hosts a regional has to be placed there if it’s selected for the NCAA tournament.
Nine weeks out, and we’re just getting started
In Jayson Moy’s first edition of Bracketology for 2016, there are a few teams that need to be moved around in the bracket.
Historically, the PairWise on Jan. 1 has been a good predictor of the NCAA tournament field
People who have followed this thread in the Fan Forum for the past few years know the PairWise Rankings as of Jan. 1 are a solid indicator of the teams that qualify for the NCAA tournament in March.
A reaction to the committee’s bracketing decisions for the NCAA tournament
A couple quick thoughts after seeing how the NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey committee set the brackets for the 2015 tournament.