Top 100 Greatest Teams of the NCAA era Tournament

[Fighting Sioux 23]

Re: Top 100 Greatest Teams of the NCAA era Tournament

The next game on tap is the #61 - 2003-2004 Maine vs. #68 - 1978-1979 Bowling Green matchup out of the Midwest Regional. The winner will move on to face the #4 seed 1986-1987 North Dakota squad. That game will likely be played tomorrow, but there is a chance that it gets delayed until Sunday.

[FreshFish]

Re: Top 100 Greatest Teams of the NCAA era Tournament

There seems to be disproportionately few teams from prior to 1960 on your top 100 list. Unless I overlooked one, I see five.

If top teams were distributed evenly across time, you'd expect perhaps a bit more than twice as many.

Do you really think that there just weren't as many good teams back then compared to since?

[Fighting Sioux 23]

Re: Top 100 Greatest Teams of the NCAA era Tournament

There seems to be disproportionately few teams from prior to 1960 on your top 100 list. Unless I overlooked one, I see five.

If top teams were distributed evenly across time, you'd expect perhaps a bit more than twice as many.

Do you really think that there just weren't as many good teams back then compared to since?

Well, I count 6 (7 if you count the '59-60 DU squad), and another 2 finished #101 ('54-55 CC) and #102 ('57-58 UND).

Others in the top 140:
#119 - '51-52 Michigan
#124 - '47-48 Michigan
#125 - '50-51 Michigan
#127 - '51-52 CC
#140 - '49-50 Michigan

Also, keep in mind that I ranked more teams from the '70s-present because more teams made the tournament. % wise, about 10% of the teams ranked came from 1960 or prior, and exactly 10% of them account for the top 140 (albeit a slightly smaller % of the top 100). I would say that is pretty proportionate.

[FreshFish]

Re: Top 100 Greatest Teams of the NCAA era Tournament

keep in mind that I ranked more teams from the '70s-present because more teams made the tournament.

ah, that explains it then. Since only 4 teams made the tournament until 1977, you'd not be ranking teams other than the top 4 before then.


For some reason, I recall the fate of the baseball player George Sisler. He has the 2nd-highest MLB season batting average ever and he finished 2nd in the year he did it. The third-best team from before 1977 might not even have made the tournament at all that year if an even better team kept them from qualifying.


It looks like there were 596 tournament slots available from 1948 through 2012 inclusive, and teams from before 1977 accounted for 19% of those slots even though 44.6% of the tournaments took place before 1977.

[Fighting Sioux 23]

Re: Top 100 Greatest Teams of the NCAA era Tournament

ah, that explains it then. Since only 4 teams made the tournament until 1977, you'd not be ranking teams other than the top 4 before then.


For some reason, I recall the fate of the baseball player George Sisler. He has the 2nd-highest MLB season batting average ever and he finished 2nd in the year he did it. The third-best team from before 1977 might not even have made the tournament at all that year if an even better team kept them from qualifying.


It looks like there were 596 tournament slots available from 1948 through 2012 inclusive, and teams from before 1977 accounted for 19% of those slots even though 44.6% of the tournaments took place before 1977.

I believe the number is 533 tournament slots.

1948-1976 - 4 teams/season (116 total)
1977 - 5 teams (5 total)
1978 - 6 teams (6 total)
1979-1980 - 5 teams/season (10 total)
1981-1987 - 8 teams/season (56 total)
1988-2002 - 12 teams/season (180 total)
2003-2012 - 16 teams/season (160 total)

1948-2012 = 533 teams that made the NCAA Tournament.

I ranked each of those 533, plus 7 additional teams that did not make the NCAA Tournament. So, the tournaments from 1948-1976 accounted for 21.8% of all spots. 24 teams from that time period made the top 100. The tournament from 1977-1987 accounted for just under 15% of all spots. 19 teams from this time period made the tournament. The tournament from 1988-2002 accounted for just under 34% of all spots. 37 teams from this time period made the tournament. The biggest discrepancy is actually for the last decade. The tournament from 2003-2012 accounted for basically 30% of all spots, yet just 20 teams from this period made the top 100, and just 30 made the top 150.

IMO, and really beyond the scope of this thread, is that parity in the game of college hockey has allowed more teams to compete with and upset some of the "best" teams from the last decade. As a result, those teams weren't able to put up as many points as they maybe would have just a decade or two ago. The converse is that more teams make the tournament, and really shouldn't be thought of as "top 100" material. For example, if we look at the #1-12 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, they account for all of the top 100 teams from the decade. If we just count the top 12 for % wise, the decade should have about 22 teams in the top 100...so significantly closer to what would be expected.

[Shirtless Guy]

Re: Top 100 Greatest Teams of the NCAA era Tournament

ah, that explains it then. Since only 4 teams made the tournament until 1977, you'd not be ranking teams other than the top 4 before then.


For some reason, I recall the fate of the baseball player George Sisler. He has the 2nd-highest MLB season batting average ever and he finished 2nd in the year he did it. The third-best team from before 1977 might not even have made the tournament at all that year if an even better team kept them from qualifying.


It looks like there were 596 tournament slots available from 1948 through 2012 inclusive, and teams from before 1977 accounted for 19% of those slots even though 44.6% of the tournaments took place before 1977.

One of the Michigan Tech fans said the 1970-71 Huskies were the best team he ever saw. They were 18-4 in the WCHA and won the regular season title. Apparently their loss to UND in the WCHA playoffs was on a questionable call and because of era, MTU did not make the NCAAs despite going 25-6-2 and going 15-0-0 at Home. maybe FS23 could run that 1970-71 team?

[Fighting Sioux 23]

Re: Top 100 Greatest Teams of the NCAA era Tournament

One of the Michigan Tech fans said the 1970-71 Huskies were the best team he ever saw. They were 18-4 in the WCHA and won the regular season title. Apparently their loss to UND in the WCHA playoffs was on a questionable call and because of era, MTU did not make the NCAAs despite going 25-6-2 and going 15-0-0 at Home. maybe FS23 could run that 1970-71 team?

Gladly. Give me some time to get everything I need to run it, and I'll let you (and everyone else on this thread) know where they stack up.

[Fighting Sioux 23]

Re: Top 100 Greatest Teams of the NCAA era Tournament

It appears Tech took their Media Guide down from their site. Their "archives" section is also a joke because their entire home schedule for the 1970-1971 season simply says "at Michigan Tech." Without their schedule (including results), I can't put them in my formula. If anyone has that information, please post a link or let me know where to find it. Thanks.

[Shirtless Guy]

Re: Top 100 Greatest Teams of the NCAA era Tournament

It appears Tech took their Media Guide down from their site. Their "archives" section is also a joke because their entire home schedule for the 1970-1971 season simply says "at Michigan Tech." Without their schedule (including results), I can't put them in my formula. If anyone has that information, please post a link or let me know where to find it. Thanks.

check your email, I saved a pdf of the year by year results awhile ago for research on the Michigan Belt. Glad I never deleted it.

[FreshFish]

Re: Top 100 Greatest Teams of the NCAA era Tournament

I believe the number is 533 tournament slots.

right, my bad. spreadsheet error. Teams from before 1960 would account for 9% of the slots.

IMO, and really beyond the scope of this thread, is that parity in the game of college hockey has allowed more teams to compete with and upset some of the "best" teams from the last decade. As a result, those teams weren't able to put up as many points as they maybe would have just a decade or two ago. The converse is that more teams make the tournament, and really shouldn't be thought of as "top 100" material. For example, if we look at the #1-12 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, they account for all of the top 100 teams from the decade. If we just count the top 12 for % wise, the decade should have about 22 teams in the top 100...so significantly closer to what would be expected.

It seems to me that in earlier days the best players probably went to fewer schools while today the best players are spread out across more schools. Perhaps that is equivalent to what you are saying, perhaps not.

[Fighting Sioux 23]

Re: Top 100 Greatest Teams of the NCAA era Tournament

check your email, I saved a pdf of the year by year results awhile ago for research on the Michigan Belt. Glad I never deleted it.

Awesome. That was what I needed.

1970-1971 Michigan Tech nearly cracks the top 100, as they finish #111 with 132.4841 points.

[Shirtless Guy]

Re: Top 100 Greatest Teams of the NCAA era Tournament

Awesome. That was what I needed.

1970-1971 Michigan Tech nearly cracks the top 100, as they finish #111 with 132.4841 points.

probably wouldn't be bad to see where regular season champs that didn't make NCAAs finished prior to 1981.

[Fighting Sioux 23]

Re: Top 100 Greatest Teams of the NCAA era Tournament

It seems to me that in earlier days the best players probably went to fewer schools while today the best players are spread out across more schools. Perhaps that is equivalent to what you are saying, perhaps not.

This could very well be true, but I was more speaking just about why the last decade did so poorly in relation to the amount of teams that I ranked from the decade.

[Fighting Sioux 23]

Re: Top 100 Greatest Teams of the NCAA era Tournament

probably wouldn't be bad to see where regular season champs that didn't make NCAAs finished prior to 1981.

WCHA:
1965-1966 Michigan Tech
1969-1970 Minnesota
1977-1978 Denver (already ranked)

ECAC:
1964-1965 BU
1973-1974 New Hampshire (already ranked)
1976-1977 Clarkson (already ranked)
1978-1979 BU
1979-1980 BC

St. Louis from the CCHA won the regular season title a few times, but never made it to the NCAA Tournament. If you can find me their schedules (with results) from back then, I'll gladly put them in.

I'll pop in these teams that I listed, and see where they wound up.

[Shirtless Guy]

Re: Top 100 Greatest Teams of the NCAA era Tournament

WCHA:
1965-1966 Michigan Tech
1969-1970 Minnesota
1977-1978 Denver (already ranked)

ECAC:
1964-1965 BU
1973-1974 New Hampshire (already ranked)
1976-1977 Clarkson (already ranked)
1978-1979 BU
1979-1980 BC

St. Louis from the CCHA won the regular season title a few times, but never made it to the NCAA Tournament. If you can find me their schedules (with results) from back then, I'll gladly put them in.

I'll pop in these teams that I listed, and see where they wound up.

Did the Colorado College Rule team get ranked? 1993-94 Tigers