Here it is, four weeks before Selection Sunday.
The top of the field has sorted itself out. The bottom of the field has done anything but that.
There's a little bit less uncertainty this week, and the RPI and strength of schedule data is starting to look about how it should based on the results to date.
A pair of at-large possibilities (Brown and Johns Hopkins) are eligible for consideration this week after reaching .500. So at least the field is a bit deeper.
Again, there's six automatic qualifiers, with the quarterfinals pegged for Princeton and Stony Brook. Those schools will surely get funneled into their own sites. First-round games, of course, are at home sites.
Princeton, N.J.
(1) Virginia vs. PATRIOT/Lafayette
(8) ECAC/Loyola vs. Cornell
Princeton, N.J.
(4) Maryland vs. Notre Dame
(5) IVY/Princeton vs. Hofstra
Stony Brook, N.Y.
(3) Syracuse vs. CAA/Drexel
(6) Duke vs. Johns Hopkins
Stony Brook, N.Y.
(2) North Carolina vs. METRO ATLANTIC/Mount St. Mary's
(7) Georgetown vs. AMERICA EAST/Stony Brook
Some notes:
* North Carolina's RPI and strength of schedule still trumps Syracuse. It's not by a lot, but the Orange could well end up the No. 3 seed in the tournament even if Carolina loses to Virginia a second time in the ACC tournament.
* The LaxPower computer replicas for RPI and strength of schedule suddenly like Georgetown a lot. That would seem to match what is seen easily enough on the field.
* Yep, there's Hopkins. A top-five strength of schedule will probably get the Blue Jays in if they can win three of the next four. There will be an argument against the Hop if it is 7-7 with potentially only one victory against a team with a winning record (Siena).
* A team that might just need to win a conference tournament: Massachusetts. The numbers simply are not looking good for the Minutemen, who rank outside the top 25 in both RPI and strength of schedule.
* It's easy to imagine a scenario where mileage requirements shuffle Mount St. Mary's (if it wins the Metro Atlantic) down to the Triangle. Lafayette could then slide into a trip to Charlottesville.
* This particular bracket is especially travel friendly, with only one flight in the first round. For those wondering, the mileage requirement is 400 miles before a flight is needed. Philadelphia (Drexel) to Durham (Duke) checks in at 406 miles. Hmmm.
* The last three teams out were Villanova, Fairfield and Brown.
* Notre Dame has a great victory (Duke) and a top-10 strength of schedule. But the Irish's next two games are against No. 38 St. John's and No. 59 Providence. Their profile is going to wither even with a couple victories.
* This would be a dream bracket for someone who would want to see an all-ACC final four. Well, other than the need for Duke to beat Syracuse to make it happen.
* Princeton-Hofstra is the one regular-season rematch --- and that could be avoided by flipping Hofstra and Notre Dame.
Looks pretty good. Obviously the travel dynamics change a bit if, say, Army should win the PL tourney.
Posted by: Eddie T | 04/12/2010 at 06:11 PM
Eddie ---
Travel restrictions certainly have a chance to make for some interesting pairings early next month. If Notre Dame cant make it and Loyola fends off Denver for the ECAC title, then an all-East Coast tournament will add an additional (possibly helpful) twist to that process.
Posted by: D1scourse | 04/12/2010 at 06:42 PM