Big Dance 2022 - Let's Go!

[Saint of Old]

So Kenyon v. Calvin 2nd round was always going to be a classic NCAA game. Now the weather has just ensured that status without a doubt. Last game I saw like this @ the big  dance was SLU v. Williams in Canton 1998.

Looking fwd to a wild ride!

[Hopkins92]

Not sure what the hullabaloo is in Kenyon. Hopkins and Carroll played in a full on snow squall last year.

Calvin up 1 on a nice turn and finish about 8 yards out.

[EnmoreCat]

Husson 0 Amherst 2

I think I watched the same game that some others have been referring to, but not 100% sure.  The good news is that if the other observers are correct then hopefully St Lawrence will be lulled into a false sense of security.  A fair bit of rotating for the Mammoths and what were correctly described as windy conditions led to a disjointed affair.  Husson were compact, but found it a challenge to spend much time in the Mammoths' half, but probably felt comfortable in the first half at least.  Their keeper did make one nice save and was definitely the busier of the two.

Something closer to the regular Amherst starting line up started to appear ahead of half time and the ball began to move a bit more cleanly, but as sometimes happens, it's not an instant adjustment, unlike a situation in say something like the wrestling where a new entrant to the ring in a tag team can often be a "house of fire".  For Amherst, it was more like a small outhouse of fire. 

The second half looked a bit more convincing and I was reminded of the fact that it took Bowdoin almost an hour to break the deadlock when they played Husson, so part of me, whilst agitated, having got up at 3am to watch, was nevertheless still optimistic.  The first goal was a little scrappy, what I did do after it went in was to check the bracket to see if such goals will allow you to progress.  I couldn't see anything that suggested they don't, but understand there are many much more knowledgeable people who might know otherwise.  The second goal was the end product of really nice work by one of the five Amherst players accorded NESCAC conference team honours and pretty much ended the game as a contest.  Husson stuck to their task and whilst their ranking might have suggested an easier game for the Mammoths, ultimately it took time to grind them down and they deserve lots of credit.

For Amherst, pretty sure they wouldn't be happy overall with the way they played and it's safe to say that they can play much better.  I did check though and Conn only got past Salem State on penalties in the same round last season.  I haven't gone back to check the boards, but I presume no one was nominating them as likely winners after that.  It's a funny game...

[Saint of Old]

SLU plays one game at a time man.
Only way to approach the Tourney.
Only worried about Roger Williams right now.

[gustiefan04]

Cold and flurries in St. Peter, MN today.

Gustavus comfortably in control with a little over 25 minutes remaining, up 2-0 over Aurora. Gustavus is without 2 regular starters due to red card suspension from the conference final game, but not missing a bit.

[Hopkins92]

Stevens is down one to nil as the second half just kicking off.
Messiah 3-0
W&L 2-0

Bunch of other games tied at 0.

[Flying Weasel]

Stevens is down one to nil as the second half just kicking off.
Messiah 3-0
W&L 2-0

Bunch of other games tied at 0.

You cheated Franciscan out of their goal. It was Messiah 3-1 at halftime.  4-1 now. 

Messiah have not looked at particularly sharp and have had a lot of unforced errors and giveaways. I don't think they'll be all that happy with their performance today so far.  Giving up that late first half goal almost seemed just reward for the Falcons' sloppiness. They'll have to be much sharper and precise tomorrow, and I'm sure they will be.

[calvin_grad]

Calvin's goalie sent off. Going to be tough to come back from this against an excellent Kenyon team.

Now 2-0 Kenyon with about 25 to play. This game is over.

[Hopkins92]

Stevens finally get their goal.

1-1 middle of the second half. Mighty Ducks have been dominating, with Worcester St. sitting in a low block. We'll see if they come out of their shell.

(BTW, the stream out of Kenyon had the score wrong for a VERY long time. Had Calvin up 1-0.)

[Hopkins92]

F&M up 2-0 now.

If it's not obvious from Stevens and F&M feeds, it's absolutely gorgeous on the East Coast today. High 60s and mostly sunny up and down the seaboard.

[Hopkins92]

Stevens finally get their goal.

1-1 middle of the second half. Mighty Ducks have been dominating, with Worcester St. sitting in a low block. We'll see if they come out of their shell.

(BTW, the stream out of Kenyon had the score wrong for a VERY long time. Had Calvin up 1-0.)

And now Stevens up 2-1... Scramble in the box off of a free kick from 50 yards out.

W. St. just spending too much time in the low block. You can't give up fouls like that when you're in that posture.

[Hopkins92]

Calvin's goalie sent off. Going to be tough to come back from this against an excellent Kenyon team.

Now 2-0 Kenyon with about 25 to play. This game is over.

Yeah, 3-0 now. 26 mins to go.

[Buck O.]

Calvin's goalie sent off. Going to be tough to come back from this against an excellent Kenyon team.

Now 2-0 Kenyon with about 25 to play. This game is over.

And now it's even more over.  3-0.

[Buck O.]

Kenyon vs Calvin

Should be an Elite 8 or Final 4 matchup but somehow we get this in the 2nd round. Cruel for both teams to get this draw.

And last year Kenyon and Messiah met in the 2nd Round, and there's plenty of other examples over the years.  Geography plays a big part, but also the ranking/selection criteria which, being too simplistic and formulaic/rigid, results in Calvin being ranked just 4th in their region (which who knows how and what that translates to in overall national seeding).  Theoretically, having the #1 team in one region play the #4 team from another region in the second round (round of 32) really isn't out of line unless the #4 ranked team's region was identified as being stronger/deeper than most other regions in which case a Sweet 16 encounter would be appropriate.  Last year Kenyon, #4 in their region, matched up with Messiah who was #1 in theirs, which means that game should have been a second round, maybe Sweet 16, match-up based on whatever formal or informal seeding that committee develops. Until the regional ranking and selection criteria allows for more subjectivity to recognize that even though a team didn't have the toughest schedule, they still are among the best teams in the nation, these sorts of first weekend match-ups will continue to occur in essence by design, not due to the misfortune of geography/travel considerations.

Does anyone know how long the current format has been in effect?  Because the regional-based format seems like something out of the 70s, when people only saw teams from within their region.  It's time to modernize the format.  I understand that there will still be an interest in minimizing travel expenses, which may cause good teams in some cases to face each other sooner than they otherwise should, but placing the #1 team in one region vs the #4 team in another is just silly.

There is NO pre-established match-ups for the bracketing (e.g. #1 in Region A plays #4 in Region B, #2 in Region A plays . . .).  I didn't mean to imply that with my post.  I'm just saying that as the committee forms the brackets with geography/travel and overall seeding in mind, I think they probably try to keep higher seeds separated until at least the second weekend.  The problem is that very good teams like Calvin this year and Kenyon last years ended up not being among the higher seeds due to the math and the importance of SOS and RvR.  In other words, using the pescribed criteria, Kenyon was probably between a #4 and #8 seed nationally, while Calvin might have only been in the 30's, high 20's at best.  So there would have been no reason to try to avoid a match-up of the two teams in the second round.

No, the bracketing is not based on regions at all anymore beyond the natural factor of geography/limiting travel.  From the 70's through the mid-90's, the brackets were very structured with each region getting is own 4-team pod.  And they would alternate which regions met in the quarterfinals to some extent, but New England would never face the West due to travel.  This is all in the eras of 32-team or less tournament fields with just five rounds when the quarterfinals were a stand-alone match, not part of a 4-team weekend pod/sectional.  Starting in 1997 when the field began expanding and automatic qualifiers (AQ) were introduced, the bracketing gradually became less and less tied to the formal regions and they began to intentionally mix up teams from different regions and to avoid pairing teams from the same conference (the latter recently became a requirement unless all-but impossible to avoid).

So what I am say is that the bracketing format is not the issue here.  It's simply that the criteria and the math for the SOS and the importance of SOS and RvR in the ranking/selection process, with very limited room for subjectivity, means some teams will be under-ranked/under-seeded and others over-ranked/over-seeded, which will result in match-ups in the first weekend/second round that, at the least, should really only be occurring in the Sweet 16 if not the Elite 8.  Sometimes they could even be worthy of the Final Four.

Thanks for the clarification.  But I still think that in the procedure needs to be revamped (for generally the same reasons you cite). 

[Flying Weasel]

Franciscan GK keeping the scoreline respectable.  And Franciscan has had two golden chances against the run of play to pull a goal back and shot just wide both times. The game lost whatever edge it ever did have fairly early once Messiah went up 2-0 and even franciscan's late first half goal didn't really change that. Not really the tune-up match for tomorrow's opponent that the Falcons would have wanted, and they'll need to be a lot sharper tomorrow.