We're going to have a full preview of the Final 8 along with our extensive tournament coverage later on, but for now we can take a quick look at the seedings. From the linked CIS release:
1. UBC Thunderbirds (CWUAA champions: 22-2 regular season / 4-0 playoffs)
2. Carleton Ravens (OUA finalists: 22-0 regular season / 2-1 playoffs)
3. Saskatchewan Huskies (CWUAA finalists: 20-4 regular season / 3-1 playoffs)
4. Lakehead Thunderwolves (OUA champions: 17-5 regular season / 3-0 playoffs)
5. Trinity Western Spartans (Wildcard: 21-3 regular season / 3-2 playoffs)
6. Dalhousie Tigers (AUS champions: 14-6 regular season / 2-0 playoffs)
7. Concordia Stingers (RSEQ champions: 12-4 regular season / 2-0 playoffs)
8. Acadia Axemen (AUS finalists: 7-13 regular season / 2-1 playoffs)
Not often you see a team who went below .500 in the regular season at the Final 8, is it?
Here's how those teams line up in my RPI:
1. UBC: 3rd
2. Carleton: 2nd
3. Saskatchewan: 6th
4. Lakehead: 4th
5. Trinity Western: 10th
6. Dalhousie: 5th
7. Concordia: 7th
8. Acadia: 14th
The only top-10 RPI teams who aren't going to Halifax are two teams who lost in the AUS semifinals: Cape Breton (1st) and StFX (8th).
And by SRS:
1. UBC (+20.7)
2. Carleton (+18.8)
3. Saskatchewan (+16.5)
4. Lakehead (+8.0)
5. Trinity Western (+16.2)
6. Dalhousie (+12.1)
7. Concordia (+0.7)
8. Acadia (-2.5)
The 7 and 8 seeds are the outliers here, but of course they qualified through playoffs. High SRS values for non-qualifiers include St. F-X (+12.4), Alberta (+9.7), and Cape Breton (+7.0), none of whom made their conference final.
Just spitballing here, but the best first-round matchup might just be Saskatchewan vs. Dal. Lakehead/TWU has its own merits and, one hopes, excitement, but for my money the 3-6 will be the one I'd watch. (Thankfully, unlike the final and one semi-final, I, and everyone, can watch it live. But that's TSN for you.)
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