Automatic Qualifiers (14)
|
|
RPI |
SOS |
T10 |
T11-20 |
T21-30 |
31+ L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland | 1 | 4 | 3-1 | 4-0 | 5-0 | — |
| Boston College | 3 | 17 | 1-0 | 2-0 | 5-0 | — |
| James Madison | 4 | 7 | 1-1 | 2-0 | 2-0 | — |
| Florida | 5 | 2 | 1-2 | 4-1 | 0-0 | — |
| Penn | 6 | 11 | 0-2 | 3-0 | 3-0 | — |
| Stony Brook | 8 | 41 | 2-0 | 1-0 | 3-0 | — |
| Loyola | 10 | 8 | 1-1 | 3-2 | 1-0 | — |
| Colorado | 14 | 27 | 0-2 | 2-0 | 1-2 | — |
| High Point | 24 | 51 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 2-0 | — |
| Massachusetts | 27 | 46 | 0-1 | 1-0 | 0-1 | Yale (31) |
| Jacksonville | 42 | 88 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-1 | — |
| Marist | 49 | 68 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-2 | Yale (31), La Salle (72) |
| Wagner | 71 | 97 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | Saint Joseph's (35), Hofstra (51), Iona (74), UMass Lowell (88) |
| Furman | 80 | 62 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0-1 | Jacksonville (42), Vanderbilt (43), Davidson (47), San Diego State (66), Iona (74), Campbell (76) |
Maryland is the top seed because of its superior RPI and high strength-of-schedule. The Terps have the most Top 10 wins (3) and Top 20 wins (7). … Boston College has rolled along with few obstacles, having already matched their program high for conference wins (5) with two games to play. A win over Virginia Tech this weekend sews up the ACC regular season title. … JMU’s profile is worthy of a Top 4 team with the lone loss coming to No. 1 Maryland. …
Florida has the second most Top 20 wins in the nation (5). … Penn won the battle of unbeaten Ivies against Dartmouth to take sole possession of first. … One of the final two undefeated teams remaining, Stony Brook is crushing its America East competition and its RPI is taking a hit, dropping to No. 8. Nevertheless, SBU’s profile will keep them in the Top 3 unless they lose. … Loyola bounced back from its loss to Syracuse with a comeback victory over Navy to take the Patriot League lead. …
Colorado gets the nod over Stanford for the Pac-12’s projected automatic bid due to its superior RPI and head-to-head meeting earlier this year. … High Point has more wins against ACC foes (2) than Syracuse and Louisville combined (0). The Panthers are up to No. 24 in the RPI. … UMass is tied atop the A-10 with Richmond, but is one spot ahead of the Spiders in this week’s RPI release. The Minutewomen have a marginal at-large profile with an early win over Dartmouth as its highlight. … Jacksonville is the lone unbeaten in the Atlantic Sun and is the heavy favorite to win the league again. …
Marist eked out an 8-7 win over Quinnipiac to remain the last undefeated MAAC squad. They travel to league favorite Canisus today. … NEC play only began recently and Wagner’s 2-0 start is good enough for the projected automatic bid. … The Southern Conference has Furman and Central Michigan on the board without a loss and Furman’s higher RPI (80) trumps the Chippewas (93). It will be mighty difficult for the SoCon winner to avoid the play-in game.
PHOTO BY PETE EMERSON
At-Large Bids (19 teams/13 spots)
|
|
RPI |
SOS |
T5W |
T10 |
T20 |
26+ L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | 2 | 1 | 2-3 | 2-0 | 2-0 | — |
| Towson | 7 | 16 | 1-2 | 2-0 | 0-0 | — |
| Northwestern | 9 | 12 | 1-2 | 3-0 | 2-1 | — |
| Virginia | 11 | 6 | 0-4 | 1-1 | 4-0 | — |
| Navy | 12 | 24 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | — |
| Dartmouth | 13 | 23 | 0-1 | 1-1 | 0-0 | — |
| Georgetown | 15 | 28 | 0-4 | 1-0 | 1-0 | — |
| Stanford | 16 | 37 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 3-1 | — |
| Johns Hopkins | 17 | 14 | 1-3 | 0-2 | 0-0 | — |
| Penn State | 18 | 31 | 0-3 | 2-0 | 1-1 | — |
| Syracuse | 19 | 15 | 2-2 | 0-2 | 2-2 | — |
| Virginia Tech | 20 | 35 | 0-2 | 1-1 | 3-1 | — |
| USC | 21 | 3 | 0-3 | 2-3 | 0-1 | — |
| Cornell | 22 | 5 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 1-1 | — |
| Princeton | 23 | 20 | 0-1 | 1-3 | 1-0 | — |
| Duke | 25 | 18 | 1-2 | 1-3 | 1-0 | — |
| Denver | 26 | 26 | 0-1 | 2-2 | 0-0 | Temple (39) |
| Notre Dame | 30 | 19 | 0-3 | 1-2 | 0-2 | — |
| Yale | 31 | 29 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 2-1 | Canisius (58), Columbia (63) |
North Carolina is firmly in with six Top 30 wins including the lone victory over No. 1 Maryland. … Towson is fighting for one of the eight coveted hosting spots on opening weekend. Its victory over Florida will go a long way come Selection Sunday. … Northwestern is 4-2 against RPI Top 20 teams and has an important upcoming matchup with Penn State. …
Virginia fell to Penn State at home last weekend and is on a three-game skid heading into tonight’s game at Navy, who is in desperate need of a quality victory. The Mids have a resume light on good wins, putting them on the wrong side of the bubble. … Dartmouth is hanging its at-large hopes on the Princeton victory. This week’s games against BC and Cornell offer two more resume-building chances. …
Georgetown has struck out against Top 10 competition (0-4) but is 2-0 in its other notable Top 30 matchups. … Stanford has bounced back well from its 0-2 start to win 11 of its last 12 games. … Johns Hopkins is living off its season-opening win over Loyola, but has gone 0-5 against Top 20 competition since with four one-goal losses. …
Penn State got a season-defining win at Virginia heading into a stretch that includes Northwestern and Maryland. … Syracuse is in a unique situation because the Orange are winless in ACC play, but are one of two at-large teams to have a pair of Top 10 victories. A win over UNC or BC could catapult Syracuse into hosting duties. … Virginia Tech is off to its best start in ACC history. BC and Virginia remain on its slate. …
Southern California has dropped four of its last five games, including its last three to Stanford, Colorado and Oregon in succession to fall onto the bubble. … Cornell suffered a crushing loss to Brown that may contribute to the Big Red’s omission from the field in a few weeks. … Princeton’s missed opportunity against Maryland leaves the Tigers with their backs against the wall. … Duke has a Top 10 and two Top 20 wins, but it might need more to feel secure about its tourney hopes. …
Denver has two good wins against Pac-12 squads Stanford and Colorado, but the Temple loss will remain tough to overcome with none of their fellow bubble teams featuring such a blemish. … Notre Dame is just 1-7 against Top 30 teams and is just hanging on the bubble. … Yale started the season strong, but losses to Canisius (RPI No. 58) and Columbia (RPI No. 63) put the Bulldogs in must-win situations against Princeton, Dartmouth and Penn. Yale likely needs two just to get into the at-large picture and the Ivy League Tournament.
PHOTO BY JOHN STROHSACKER
PROJECTED BRACKET
Bracketing Procedures:
-
The committee seeds the Top 8 teams to host first- and second-round games. All other teams are unseeded and will be placed geographically, while keeping bracket integrity when possible.
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Conference matchups are to be avoided in the first round.
-
This year, there are 14 automatic qualifiers, which means the two weakest resumes are assigned to a play-in game on Tuesday, May 8 or Wednesday, May 9, on the campus of the stronger team. No at-large teams will be selected for the play-in games. That play-in winner will travel to the No. 7 seed.
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It’s possible a seeded team may not host due to factors such as facility availability. We anticipate each seed hosting and bracket them accordingly, but the committee may not have that option.
-
The seven and eight seeds host two games in the first round leading to a second-round game at its home site, while the top six seeds get byes into the second round.
College Park, Md.
Georgetown vs. Johns Hopkins
Winner plays at (1) Maryland (BIG TEN)
Evanston, Ill.
USC at (8) Northwestern
Syracuse vs. Stanford
Harrisonburg, Va.
Penn (IVY) vs. Virginia Tech
Winner plays at (4) James Madison (CAA)
Chapel Hill, N.C.
Virginia vs. High Point (BIG SOUTH)
Winner plays at (5) North Carolina
Stony Brook, N.Y.
Penn State vs. Marist (MAAC)
Winner plays at (2) Stony Brook
Towson, Md.
Furman (SOUTHERN)/Wagner (NEC) at (7) Towson
Loyola (PATRIOT) vs. Duke
Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Dartmouth vs. Massachusetts (ATLANTIC 10)
Winner play at (3) Boston College
Gainesville, Fla.
Colorado (PAC-12) vs. Jacksonville (ATLANTIC SUN)
Winner plays at (6) Florida (BIG EAST)
Last Four In: Johns Hopkins, USC, Duke, Dartmouth
Last Four Out: Princeton, Denver, Notre Dame, Navy
Multi-bid Conferences: ACC (6), Big Ten (4), Pac-12 (3), Big East (2), CAA (2), Ivy League (2)