Coyne’s Bracket Breakdown: MCLA Division II
by Jac Coyne | Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff | Coyne Archive | Twitter
|
| Were the Elon players jumping for joy when they found out Westminster was their first round opponent? It's certainly a tough draw for the seventh-seeded Phoenix. |
The MCLA selection committee released
the teams and pairings for the national championship,
which will be played at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Denver
starting on May 11. Much of the choices were obvious, but the
tournament is not without its surprises.
Here’s my view of the final product.
(Click HERE
for a Q&A with selection committee chair Ken Lovic. Click HERE for the MCLA Division I Bracket
Breakdown).
LAST TEAM IN
Western Washington
Count me as surprised about this one. I thought Western Washington
had satisfied all of their needs to be included and would be one of
the easier decisions for the committee. Evidently they were the
last choice, and were undoubtedly going up against Kennesaw State
and Northern Colorado.
FIRST TEAM
OUT
Kennesaw State
I don’t think there’s much question that SCAD played a
more difficult schedule, but Kennesaw finished with a trip to the
SELC championship game, defeating SCAD in the semifinals.
Personally, I thought KSI was a cinch, but Ken Lovic, the
committee chair, made a point of saying that teams are not credited
for a late-season run and was likely referring to the Owls.
SNUBBED?
The importance of travel
There has been talk in the past that travel is part of the criteria
the committee uses in determining the field. The committee may
still give that concept lip service, but there’s nothing to
it. As we saw with Grove City, travel is trumped if you’re
a.) in a strong conference and b.) you play the right
non-conference opponent. This may not seem like a big deal, but
it’s significant monetary advantage for the eastern teams who
geographically don’t have to cover the type of ground the
western teams do just for conference obligations, nevermind non-con
contests.
BEST FIRST-ROUND
MATCHUP
No. 9 Grove City vs. No. 8 Western Oregon
There are a bunch of quality contests on Day 1, but this is a spicy
little East-West clash that should help settle some debates. Grove
City would like nothing better than to prove the doubters –
me among them – wrong about their thin schedule and Western
Oregon is trying to dig to that next level of the bracket after
solid performances in the last two national tournaments.
WOU’s Ian Bohince is one of the most versatile players in the
country while GCC’s goalie Andrew Dymski has put up solid
numbers, including a 21-save performance against SCAD earlier in
the season. This should be a dandy.
UPSET WATCH
Elon
Elon deserves the No. 7 seed after winning the SELC, but they earn
the right to play Westminster – one of the premier teams out
of the west and the national champ just two years ago. The Phoenix
played Dayton and Grove City early in the year, dropping both, but
are a tough team to figure out. Westminster has taken on just about
all of the top teams in their neck of the woods and
handled the challenge well. The Griffins may come
out of the chute with more firepower than Elon is ready for,
putting the game away early.
EASIEST TITLE ROUTE
St. Thomas
Not terribly surprising, but what makes it the easiest is they
could meet Grand Valley State in the semifinals – a team the
Tommies have already dispatched this year relatively easily on a
neutral field.
FIVEBURNING QUESTIONS
1. Is the CCLA really worthy of four teams
seeded in the Top 9?
It does seem to be a bit much, but once you get a power
conference establishing itself these things tend to happen as the
committee gets caught in a cycle of comparison. There’s
pressure now on the CCLA teams to prove the rankings correct. If
the conference collectively lays an egg in Denver, the committee
might be a little more hesitant to stack a bracket full of teams
from one league in the future.
2. How exactly can Briarcliffe be ranked ahead of two teams
with the schedule they have?
The Seahawks didn’t play one ranked teams and
didn’t even leave their conference, but they’re seeded
higher than Sam Houston State and Missouri State, both of which
have played ranked teams. I could see Briarcliffe being ahead of
SHS maybe, but Mo. State is the logical 14-seed when you compare
the schedules. In the end, it’s not that big a deal because
all three of the teams will need a special performance to be back
on the fields Wednesday.
3. Is St. Thomas an inevitable champion?
Not inevitable, because there are always variables, but
let’s say “heavy favorite.” The Tommies making
the semifinals is probably closer to an inevitability, but they
will face some solid teams on Friday and Saturday who could pose
problems. If I was a betting man – and I am – I would
lay heavy action on St. Thomas to walk away with the crown.
4. Could the transition to 16 teams have gone any better this
year?
Nope, this was about as good as it gets (assuming no one bails
in the next week), especially when four more seeds were opened up
and there was still a rugged battle for qualified teams to get
selected. There might be some blowouts – just like
we’ll see in Division I – but that’s the nature
of the tournament. All of the teams that are heading to Denver
deserve to be there, so Division II should give itself a pat on the
back.
5. What grade does the committee deserve?
I’d say an A-minus. There are some points I’d deduct
for some seeding discrepancies, but that’s standard fare. The
addition of SCAD doesn’t surprise me, and if the committee
thought Grove City was worthy, that leaves Kennesaw on the outs. I
get it.
