2020 NCAA Hockey Bracketology Vol. 4

Current Conference Leaders:

Atlantic: American International
Big 10: Penn State
ECAC: Clarkson
Hockey East: UMass
NCHC: North Dakota
WCHA: Minnesota State

Current Top-16 In PairWise

1. North Dakota (21-3-3)
2. Minnesota State (26-4-2)
3. Cornell (17-2-4)
4. Minnesota Duluth (17-9-2)
5. Denver (17-6-5)
6. Boston College (17-8-1)
7. UMass (18-9-2)
8. Penn State (18-9-3)
9. Clarkson (20-6-2)
10. Arizona State (20-9-3)
11. UMass Lowell (15-7-5)
12. Northeastern (15-8-3)
13. Maine (15-9-4)
14. Quinnipiac (17-9-2)
15. Ohio State (16-10-4)
16. Providence (14-9-5)

Now we adjust the top-16 of the PairWise to accommodate potential conference champions. It remains the same with the exception of Providence losing its spot to AIC.

1. North Dakota (21-3-3)
2. Minnesota State (26-4-2)
3. Cornell (17-2-4)
4. Minnesota Duluth (17-9-2)
5. Denver (17-6-5)
6. Boston College (17-8-1)
7. UMass (18-9-2)
8. Penn State (18-9-3)
9. Clarkson (20-6-2)
10. Arizona State (20-9-3)
11. UMass Lowell (15-7-5)
12. Northeastern (15-8-3)
13. Maine (15-9-4)
14. Quinnipiac (17-9-2)
15. Ohio State (16-10-4)
16. American International (15-11-1)

With the 16-team field set we can begin assigning seedings, beginning with the No. 1 seeds.

No. 1 North Dakota is placed in the West Regional in Loveland, CO.
No. 2 Minnesota State is placed in the Midwest Regional in Allentown, PA.
No. 3 Cornell is placed in the East Regional in Albany, NY.
No. 4 Minnesota Duluth is placed in the Northeast Regional in Worcester, MA.

Two Seeds

No. 8 Penn State is placed in No. 1 North Dakota’s regional, the West Regional.
No. 7 UMass is placed in No. 2 Minnesota State’s regional, the Midwest Regional.
No. 6 Boston College is placed in No. 3 Cornell’s regional, the East Regional.
No. 5 Denver is placed in No. 4 Minnesota State’s regional, the Northeast Regional.

Three Seeds

No. 9 Clarkson is placed in No. 8 Penn State’s regional, the West Regional.
No. 10 Arizona State is placed in No. 7 UMass’s regional, the Midwest Regional.
No. 11 UMass Lowell is placed in No. 6 Boston College’s regional, the East Regional.
No. 12 Northeastern is placed in No. 5 Denver’s regional, the Northeast Regional.

Four Seeds

No. 16 AIC is placed in No. 1 North Dakota’s regional, the West Regional.
No. 15 Ohio State is placed in No. 2 Minnesota State’s regional, the Midwest Regional.
No. 14 Quinnipiac is placed in No. 3 Cornell’s regional, the East Regional.
No. 13 Maine is placed in No. 4 Minnesota Duluth’s regional, the Northeast Regional.

Resulting in this initial bracket:

West

1 North Dakota vs. 4 AIC
2 Penn State vs. 3 Clarkson

Northeast

1 Minnesota Duluth vs. 4 Maine
2 Denver vs. 3 Northeastern

East

1 Cornell vs. 4 Quinnipiac
2 Boston College vs. 3 UMass Lowell

Midwest

1 Minnesota State vs. 4 Ohio State
2 UMass vs. 3 Arizona State

First and foremost, we must accommodate regional hosts. Penn State is the host of the Midwest Regional in Allentown, while Denver is the host of the West Regional in Loveland. We perform a three-way swap: moving Denver to Loveland, UMass to Worcester and Penn State to Allentown.

West

1 North Dakota vs. 4 AIC
2 Denver vs. 3 Clarkson

Northeast

1 Minnesota Duluth vs. 4 Maine
2 UMass vs. 3 Northeastern

East

1 Cornell vs. 4 Quinnipiac
2 Boston College vs. 3 UMass Lowell

Midwest

1 Minnesota State vs. 4 Ohio State
2 Penn State vs. 3 Arizona State

With hosts now accommodated, we must eliminate inter-conference matchups in the first round (UMass vs. Northeastern, Cornell vs. Quinnipiac, BC vs. Lowell). We must make a four-way swap with the No. 3 seeds, sending Clarkson to Worcester, Northeastern to Loveland, Lowell to Allentown and Arizona State to Albany. We also swap Quinnipiac with Maine.

West

1 North Dakota vs. 4 AIC
2 Denver vs. 3 Northeastern

Northeast

1 Minnesota Duluth vs. 4 Quinnipiac
2 UMass vs. 3 Clarkson

East

1 Cornell vs. 4 Maine
2 Boston College vs. 3 Arizona State

Midwest

1 Minnesota State vs. 4 Ohio State
2 Penn State vs. 3 UMass Lowell

Now, the goal is to maximize attendance at each event.

*Note* No. 16 AIC must stay matched against No. 1 North Dakota

Northeastern cannot be moved out of the West to either the East or Northeast as it would create an inter-conference matchup with Boston College or UMass. The Huskies must stay in Loveland (same goes to Lowell in the Midwest).

We could move Clarkson from Albany to Worcester in place of Arizona State, but all that would do is put four Eastern teams in the Northeast and leave us with just two in the East. It’s better off as it is with three and three.

The West seems to be all set with North Dakota and Denver, while the Midwest has two Big 10 teams.

I really do not see any necessary changes to this bracket. Denver moving down to a two-seed makes this week’s bracket a lot less complex in terms of placing No. 1 seeds.

Final Bracket:

West

1 North Dakota vs. 4 AIC
2 Denver vs. 3 Northeastern

Northeast

1 Minnesota Duluth vs. 4 Quinnipiac
2 UMass vs. 3 Clarkson

East

1 Cornell vs. 4 Maine
2 Boston College vs. 3 Arizona State

Midwest

1 Minnesota State vs. 4 Ohio State
2 Penn State vs. 3 UMass Lowell