Pool C

[Greek Tragedy]

I believe those games are tomorrow.

[HOPEful]

Haha, you are correct. For whatever reason, I have been thinking it is Friday all morning

[KnightSlappy]

Just to through it out there... we could see both byes help geography this year... Colorado College is the key this year...

If Colorado College wins the SCAC and Whitworth wins the NWC, we'll have to have four flights in the first round. In that case, the byes can be handed out based on merit and flights can be used to fill in the open spots.

[HOPEful]

Beating Trinity in S.A. and then beating Centenary or Schreiner? Not saying they can't, just saying it's not probable...

[KnightSlappy]

Beating Trinity in S.A. and then beating Centenary or Schreiner? Not saying they can't, just saying it's not probable...

About a 16% chance.

This raises a question I had the other day: what will the SCAC do if Centenary (La.) wins the tournament? Does the Pool A revert to the regular season champion, or do they give it to the Tournament runner-up?

[KnightSlappy]

Potential bubble-bursting conferences (conference leaders with a good shot at Pool C, but with no other decent Pool C candidate in their league).

ASC - Texas-Dallas
CC - Dickinson
CSAC - Cabrini
CUNYAC - Staten Island
GNAC - Albertus Magnus
LAND - Scranton
MIAA - Hope
MWC - St. Norbert
NWC - Whitworth
SKY - SUNY-Purchase

Not necessarily bubble-bursters (conferences that include additional bubble teams), but bubble teams will want these to win their conference:

CAC - Wesley
NCAC - Wooster
LEC - Eastern Connecticut
NJAC - Richard Stockton

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Knightslappy,

You're saying RIC is a bubble team?  Or am I missing another LEC Pool C contender?

[iwumichigander]

Two big games in the CCIW (Friday) tonight!

What do wins do for Wheaton, Carthage, and Augustana? Are we going to see 4 CCIW teams in the playoffs?

1) I doubt the 8 Midwest Regional Ranked teams will change in the final rankings other than within their order. 
2) WashU along with 3 of the 4 CCIW teams (excludes Carthage) got a vRRO boost with the add of UChgo to rankings
3) WashU plays UChgo on 3/1 the outcome will have little impact as WashU already an AQ and I think UChgo below bubble
4) Win or Loss each CCIW tournament game is going to add a result to the 4 CCIW teams' primary criteria including vRRO since all are ranked
5) Two wins by any of the three you named above will make it even harder for Pool C as IWU would move to the top of the Midwest Pool C list and likely be one of the first off the Pool C board
6) After Friday, the minimum number of vRRO games by any ranked CCIW team will be 8 and potentially as high as 12 for Wheaton or Carthage/  Regardless of vRRO W/L % 8 or more vRRO games is a high hurdle for some Pool C candidates to overcome; and,
7) Yes you just might see 4 CCIW teams in the playoffs.  I think 3 a very strong current probability.

[KnightSlappy]

Knightslappy,

You're saying RIC is a bubble team?  Or am I missing another LEC Pool C contender?

I'm thinking they're bubble-ish, but probably not. Maybe LEC is better in the top group.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Just to through it out there... we could see both byes help geography this year... Colorado College is the key this year...

If Colorado College wins the SCAC and Whitworth wins the NWC, we'll have to have four flights in the first round. In that case, the byes can be handed out based on merit and flights can be used to fill in the open spots.

BUT if they play them against each other in play-in games, they reduce the chances of flights in later rounds - of course podding them together will also do this and result in three flights.

[Pat Coleman]

Nothing wrong with putting them in the same pod if the relative seeding is equitable.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

I think it would be a great pod and would be more than willing to be sent there to help with the broadcasting

[KnightSlappy]

Just to through it out there... we could see both byes help geography this year... Colorado College is the key this year...

If Colorado College wins the SCAC and Whitworth wins the NWC, we'll have to have four flights in the first round. In that case, the byes can be handed out based on merit and flights can be used to fill in the open spots.

BUT if they play them against each other in play-in games, they reduce the chances of flights in later rounds - of course podding them together will also do this and result in three flights.

In the above scenario there would be no way around four flights.

#1 -- You could fly Colorado College to Texas-Dallas (1) and then fly the winner to UWSP (2) and fly the SCIAC winner to Whitworth (3) and fly the winner to Amherst (4). So that's four flights used and a chance for (2) more for the second weekend.

#2 -- Or you could fly them all to Whitworth (or Dallas, or whatever) (3) and fly the winner out for the second weekend (4).

#3 -- Or you could fly them all out to individual sites as needed (4), but then it's possible that all four have to fly again the next weekend.

If you think about it probabilistically, numbers 1 and 3 are probably about the same (an expected 4.8-ish flights), but #2 limits the number of flights to 4.

[Titan Q]

My new house in Dallas is 10 minutes from the Texas-Dallas campus.  I want a pod!

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

FYI - that pod alone could force less creative games late in the tournament due to the number of flights the NCAA will be willing to allow.