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The 2014 Pairwise, Bracketology and History Thread`

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  • The 2014 Pairwise, Bracketology and History Thread`

    First, a little history. Thanks to the Build Your Own Rankings Calculator we now have 11 years of Pairwise data to study. In that time there have been 20 teams that qualified thanks to the autobid and 156 who qualified by being ranked high enough (autobid or not) to make the NCAA tournament. Of the 156 teams, 112 (71.8%) that qualified as of the January 1 PWR would have made the eventual field. For teams ranked in the top 8 that percentage gets better. 38 of the 44 (86%) teams that were ranked 1-4 in the January 1 PWR have made the tournament. 33 of the 44 (75%) of teams ranked 5-8 made it. 27 of the 44 (61%) of teams ranked 9-12 qualified. In 2011 all of the top 12 teams in the January 1 PWR qualified. Ohio State is the only #1 team (2012) to fall all the way out of the tournament. If your team doesn't appear below, take heart. In five of the last seven years teams that were not in the top 25 of the PWR on January 1 earned at-large berths in the tournament. Last year, Wisconsin was ranked #42 in the RPI (unranked by pairwise) and rose to the #14 overall seed. Two years ago Union was ranked #25 and came all the way back to win the ECAC, get a #1 seed and advance to the Frozen Four.

    34 teams fell out of the NCAA tournament that were ranked 1-12 in the New Year PWR. Colorado College and Dartmouth have the distinction, not only of falling out of the tournament four times but, being #1 seeds that fell out of the tournament. Last year the Big Green were ranked #4 and finished the season ranked 23.

    This year has seen more changes to the pairwise system which have been discussed elsewhere. We may see some odd movement since all 59 teams are now ranked for pairwise purposes, but there is no more "TUC cliff" and the quality win bonus is on a sliding scale now, so hopefully we won't see wild fluctuations come March. I am using the pairwise from Reilly Hamilton as they appear to be the most accurate out there. The same formula was derived (independently) at Sioux Sports so I believe they are correct. Jim Dahl has a lengthy history with the pairwise and I trust his calculations. If you're interested in how the sausage is made, I highly recommend Reilly's site as it goes into great depth on how each calculation is made.

    Here is the first official bracketology of the New Year

    1 Minnesota
    2 St. Cloud State
    3 Boston College
    4 Ferris State
    5 Providence
    6 Quinnipiac
    7 Union
    8 Mass.-Lowell
    9 Michigan
    10 Cornell
    11 Clarkson
    12 New Hampshire
    13 Northeastern
    14 Wisconsin
    15 Minnesota State
    34 Air Force
    ---
    16 Maine
    17 Miami
    18 Notre Dame
    19 Vermont
    20 North Dakota


    First we make sure all teams that qualify for an at-large berth have a .500 record or better. They do so we can proceed.

    The only host to make the field is Minnesota, so they go to St Paul. The remaaining #1 seeds are placed closest to home. So St Cloud goes to Cincinnati, Boston College to Worcester and Ferris State to Bridgeport.

    The #2 seeds are then distributed according to the #1 seeds, in a 1v8 2v7 etc fashion. Providence to Bridgeport, Quinnipiac to Worcester, Union to Cincinnati and Lowell to St Paul, Cornell to Cincinnati, Clarkson to Worcester and New Hampshire to Bridgeport.

    The same pattern goes for the #3 seeds: Michigan to St Paul, Cornell to Cincinnati, Clarkson to Worcester and New Hampshire to Bridgeport.

    Air Force is the automatic qualifier from Atlantic Hockey, so they are seeded 16 and play in St Paul. Mankato goes to Cincinnati, Wisconsin to Worcester and Northeastern to Bridgeport.

    Our bracket:

    Code:
    Bridgeport (Yale)		Worcester (Holy Cross)		Cincinnati (Miami)	St Paul (Minnesota)
    Ferris State			Boston College			St Cloud		Minnesota
    Providence			Quinnipiac			Union			Lowell
    New Hampshire			Clarkson			Cornell			Michigan
    Northeastern			Wisconsin			Mankato			Air Force

    That will not work as we have three intraconference games in the first round. It can be fixed easily enough be swapping the three seeds within regions: Michigan to Cincinnati and Cornell to St Paul; New Hampshire to Worcester and Clarkson to Bridgeport. That gives us a final bracket of:

    Code:
    Bridgeport (Yale)		Worcester (Holy Cross)		Cincinnati (Miami)	St Paul (Minnesota)
    Ferris State			Boston College			St Cloud		Minnesota
    Providence			Quinnipiac			Union			Lowell
    Clarkson			New Hampshire			Michigan		Cornell
    Northeastern			Wisconsin			Mankato			Air Force
    The only thing left is attendance concerns. St Paul is all set with the Gophers there, Bridgeport has three eastern teams, as does Worcester. Cincinnati has Michigan. We might be able to bolster attendance by switching Mankato and Wisconsin, but IMO not enough to warrant te change. That remains our final bracket.

    About this thread: I have been doing this thread for several years but by no means do I consider myself an expert. Questions, suggestions, corrections all are welcome. As you can see above, bracketology often involves judgement calls and we all have our own opinions. I try to mimic what I think the committee would do, even if I don't personally agree. With that, let the countdown to Selection Sunday begin!

  • #2
    Re: The 2014 Pairwise, Bracketology and History Thread`

    Thanks for doing this - please keep it up!

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: The 2014 Pairwise, Bracketology and History Thread`

      Thanks for the new thread Priceless.

      In general, I believe that we will see less volatility this year because of the absence of the TUC provision. I say this because having 3 criteria rather than 4 should make things more stable.

      Also, in general, I believe the RPI numbers will be less stable this year than before, because the Quality Wins Bonus has more room to jump around (If you had beaten a school that previously was #1 in the raw RPI, and then they are swept, your QWB goes down because their placement in the order goes down, too). However, this will be partially mitigated by the fact that the QWB is averaged over the whole season.

      In all, I think this way is more fair than last year's way.

      It will be interesting to see what happens.

      Fascinating that so far, the power resides quite strongly in the east, whereas it has been more common lately for the power to be in the west.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: The 2014 Pairwise, Bracketology and History Thread`

        Originally posted by Numbers View Post
        Thanks for the new thread Priceless.

        In general, I believe that we will see less volatility this year because of the absence of the TUC provision. I say this because having 3 criteria rather than 4 should make things more stable.

        Also, in general, I believe the RPI numbers will be less stable this year than before, because the Quality Wins Bonus has more room to jump around (If you had beaten a school that previously was #1 in the raw RPI, and then they are swept, your QWB goes down because their placement in the order goes down, too). However, this will be partially mitigated by the fact that the QWB is averaged over the whole season.

        In all, I think this way is more fair than last year's way.

        It will be interesting to see what happens.

        Fascinating that so far, the power resides quite strongly in the east, whereas it has been more common lately for the power to be in the west.
        The initial bracket has 9 East teams, and 7 West, and also has 3 of the 4 #1 seeds from the West - not sure that I'd say "the power resides quite strongly in the east".
        Not a real doctor, nor do I play one on TV!
        Clarkson 1990

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        • #5
          Re: The 2014 Pairwise, Bracketology and History Thread`

          Originally posted by drshoen View Post
          The initial bracket has 9 East teams, and 7 West, and also has 3 of the 4 #1 seeds from the West - not sure that I'd say "the power resides quite strongly in the east".
          Well, I wouldn't included Air Force since they are getting an automatic bid, so it is 9 vs. 6 or 60%. And if you do include the AFA, perhaps they should be regarded as east since they are the AHA's representative. That would make it 62.5%.
          sigpic

          Let's Go 'Tute!

          Maxed out at 2,147,483,647 at 10:00 AM EDT 9/17/07.

          2012 Poser Of The Year

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          • #6
            Re: The 2014 Pairwise, Bracketology and History Thread`

            Priceless, I also appreciate all the work you do on this annual thread, one of my favorites. Is there a possibility to post a longer list of teams in ranked order each week? Considering the changes, it might be nice to see the top 30 or 40 teams. If it is more work for you, please do not bother, thanks.
            YALE HOCKEY
            2013 National Champions

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: The 2014 Pairwise, Bracketology and History Thread`

              Priceless:

              How close are your numbers to those on Sioux Sports? Do their calculations also include the changes this year?
              http://siouxsports.com/hockey/rankings/compare/

              What should be the most authoritative source for the pairwise factoring the new changes?

              Thanks !!!
              DUTCHMEN HOCKEY
              DANGER - MEN AT WORK

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: The 2014 Pairwise, Bracketology and History Thread`

                Originally posted by LTsatch View Post
                Priceless, I also appreciate all the work you do on this annual thread, one of my favorites. Is there a possibility to post a longer list of teams in ranked order each week? Considering the changes, it might be nice to see the top 30 or 40 teams. If it is more work for you, please do not bother, thanks.
                No problem. I won't be able to recreate the pairwise from Monday but I'll post today's rankings later today.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: The 2014 Pairwise, Bracketology and History Thread`

                  Originally posted by Ralph Baer View Post
                  Well, I wouldn't included Air Force since they are getting an automatic bid, so it is 9 vs. 6 or 60%. And if you do include the AFA, perhaps they should be regarded as east since they are the AHA's representative. That would make it 62.5%.
                  All true. I guess when I read "the power resides quite strongly in the east" as was originally said, I was thinking 11 or 12 teams, and 3 #1 seeds. When you go through the list, it's not all that strong one way or the other.

                  Or, maybe my east-coast bias filter is not working today, probably frozen
                  Not a real doctor, nor do I play one on TV!
                  Clarkson 1990

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: The 2014 Pairwise, Bracketology and History Thread`

                    Originally posted by Ralph Baer View Post
                    Well, I wouldn't included Air Force since they are getting an automatic bid, so it is 9 vs. 6 or 60%. And if you do include the AFA, perhaps they should be regarded as east since they are the AHA's representative. That would make it 62.5%.
                    Air Force is in Colorado. They are not an Eastern team, it doesn't matter what conference they play in. You gonna claim Notre Dame, too?
                    Originally posted by SJHovey
                    Pretty sure this post, made on January 3, 2016, when UNO was 14-3-1 and #2 in the pairwise, will go down in USCHO lore as The Curse of Tipsy McStagger.
                    Originally posted by Brenthoven
                    We mourn for days after a loss, puff out our chests for a week or more after we win. We brave the cold for tailgates, our friends know not to ask about the game after a tough loss, we laugh, we cry, we BLEED hockey, specifically the maroon'n'gold. Many of us have a tattoo waiting in the wings, WHEN (not IF) the Gophers are champions again.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: The 2014 Pairwise, Bracketology and History Thread`

                      Originally posted by Tipsy McStagger View Post
                      Air Force is in Colorado. They are not an Eastern team, it doesn't matter what conference they play in. You gonna claim Notre Dame, too?
                      Well, if you want to hang your hat on a team that is currently 34th in PWR and 41st in KRACH (per Sioux sports) as proving that power lies in the west, be my guest.
                      If you don't change the world today, how can it be any better tomorrow?

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: The 2014 Pairwise, Bracketology and History Thread`

                        Originally posted by Tipsy McStagger View Post
                        Air Force is in Colorado. They are not an Eastern team, it doesn't matter what conference they play in. You gonna claim Notre Dame, too?
                        Doesn't matter. They're in Hockey East now and having trouble competing.
                        But, if they ever adjust to eastern hockey, of course we'll count 'em.
                        'Eavesdropped the BC forum in USCHO. A range of intellects over there. Mostly gentlemen, but a couple of coarse imbeciles' - academic_index, a Brown fan

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: The 2014 Pairwise, Bracketology and History Thread`

                          Great annual thread...especially the last three years.
                          LET'S GO UNION DA DA DADADA

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: The 2014 Pairwise, Bracketology and History Thread`

                            Originally posted by Tipsy McStagger View Post
                            Air Force is in Colorado. They are not an Eastern team, it doesn't matter what conference they play in. You gonna claim Notre Dame, too?
                            I said "perhaps". To be honest, my first statement that they should not be counted at all because they are the autobid is my real opinion. They are #34 which is in the lower half and don't represent "power".
                            sigpic

                            Let's Go 'Tute!

                            Maxed out at 2,147,483,647 at 10:00 AM EDT 9/17/07.

                            2012 Poser Of The Year

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: The 2014 Pairwise, Bracketology and History Thread`

                              Originally posted by LynahFan View Post
                              Well, if you want to hang your hat on a team that is currently 34th in PWR and 41st in KRACH (per Sioux sports) as proving that power lies in the west, be my guest.
                              No. I am not. Geography is pretty cut and dried though. If you are going to say that Air Force is an Eastern team, then I guess all the West has is the two Alaska teams.
                              Originally posted by SJHovey
                              Pretty sure this post, made on January 3, 2016, when UNO was 14-3-1 and #2 in the pairwise, will go down in USCHO lore as The Curse of Tipsy McStagger.
                              Originally posted by Brenthoven
                              We mourn for days after a loss, puff out our chests for a week or more after we win. We brave the cold for tailgates, our friends know not to ask about the game after a tough loss, we laugh, we cry, we BLEED hockey, specifically the maroon'n'gold. Many of us have a tattoo waiting in the wings, WHEN (not IF) the Gophers are champions again.

                              Comment

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