Coyne's Bracket Breakdown: MCLA
by Jac Coyne | Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff | Coyne Index
The 2009 NCAA Divisions I, II and III men's and women's
lacrosse and MCLA Divisions I and II tournaments have been
announced, with the standard fare of intrigue and drama surrounding
the brackets. LMO's Jac Coyne, Matt DaSilva and Paul Ohanian
play Monday morning midfielders with post-selection
analysis.
Bookmark LMO at www.laxmagazine.com for more postseason coverage.
BRACKETS
LAST TEAM IN
D-I: Oregon
D-II: Westminster
It's pretty easy to put this one together. Oregon is the No. 15 seed with only Texas, an automatic qualifier, behind it. In Division II, Westminster, Grand Valley State and Elon were all jockeying for the final spot after Davenport and St. John's easily claimed the first two at-larges. The Griffins played a relatively difficult schedule, but didn't post too many great wins. Perhaps they were aided by the defending champion discount.
FIRST TEAM OUT
D-I: Cal
D-II: Grand Valley State
The Golden Bears had the record (13-3), but evidently did not have
the schedule strength to satisfy the committee. Cal certainly
didn't do itself any favors by riding a two-game losing streak into
selection day. The committee put a primacy on playing a lot of
top-ranked schools, and GVSU did more of that than Elon this year,
making me believe the Lakers were next in line.
SNUBBED?
MCLA fans
The association and its proxies are developing a bad habit of
ignoring deadlines. Earlier this spring, the rollout for the new
MCLA website was pushed back twice for reasons as yet unknown. This
was followed Sunday by the 11th-hour announcement that the brackets
would not be released until Monday morning, a departure from the
originally scheduled Sunday evening presentation. Dependability
still counts for something.
BEST FIRST-ROUND MATCHUP
D-I: No. 12 UC Santa Barbara vs. No. 5
Colorado
D-II: No. 5 Northern Colorado vs. No. 4 St.
John's*
The Gauchos are probably one of the last teams the Buffs wanted to
see. A rugged defensive team that held both No. 1 Michigan and No.
3 Chapman to seven goals during the regular season, UCSB should be
able to contain Colorado and keep this game close. If the Gauchos
can muster any offense -- something they've struggled with all year
-- this one has the ingredients for a sudden death finish.
* This is actually a presumptive quarterfinal matchup, since none of the first-round games in Division II are terribly compelling. Northern Colorado backed up its undefeated record by beating Westminster in the RMLC playoffs and now will get a shot at the Johnnies, considered to be one of the four or so teams in the hunt for the title.
UPSET WATCH
D-I: Minnesota-Duluth
D-II: None
In a reverse of the commonly held NCAA belief, East Coast teams
are considered weaker, in general, in the MCLA, which undoubtedly
led to Boston College's No. 13 seed. The Eagles, however, don't
follow any traditional molds. They hung tough with Colorado and
Colorado State in back-to-back games and throttled Florida. BC had
the same seed last year and blitzed BYU from the opening gun, only
to fall late, 8-7. Duluth better not buy into the seeding too much
or it could be in serious trouble.
EASIEST TITLE ROUTE
D-I: Michigan
D-II: Dayton
This isn't totally unexpected, as the No. 1 team should have the
benefit of a slightly easier draw. However, Simon Fraser's drop
(which we'll look at later) means that the three teams who were
considered threats -- Fraser, Chapman and BYU -- are all on the
other side of the bracket. The Wolverines will only have to face
one of them, and it will be in the title game. It will be Dayton,
technically, in D-II, but not by much. There are really no easy
routes in the junior circuit.
FIVE BURNING QUESTIONS
What message was the committee trying to send Simon
Fraser?
I think the message in dropping the Clan down several seeding
spots because of its forfeit loss to Arizona -- a trip SF cancelled
-- was directed less at Simon Fraser and more at teams that may toy
with the idea in the future. Cancellations look amateurish, a
primary concern for a league trying to stake its claim to
legitimacy, and I believe the committee is making a statement that
teams are going to be punished if they choose to back out of
contracts, whatever the reason. Dropping the Clan to No. 6 does
seems a little harsh, especially under the circumstances. No. 4
would have sent the same message while not scrambling the natural
balance in the brackets.
What would be considered the motto of the D-I selection
process?
"Wins and losses don't matter; it's who you play." There is no
other explanation for Oregon and UC Santa Barbara getting into the
tournament. UCSB had a very difficult schedule featuring six
tournament teams, but the Gauchos only beat one, and finished 8-7.
Oregon had five games against tourney squads, going 0-5 on its way
to an 11-6 mark. There is no question programs should be rewarded
for playing a stiff schedule, but it would make more sense form a
selection standpoint if they actually beat some of them.
Can we just hand Michigan the trophy now?
Yes. Not only are the Wolverines playing head-and-shoulders above
everyone else, but they just received a comically easy draw. It's
good to be king.
Is the D-II tournament more compelling that Division I
this year?
No question. The champ (Westminster) is down, but not quite out.
There is an undefeated team that can play the disrespect card
(Northern Colorado). There is an undisputed, yet relatively
untested, No. 1 (Dayton). There are two huge rivals (St. Thomas and
St. John's) that could make the championship game a classic.
Division I just seems predestined at this point.
Should we consider the selection committee better than the
selection poll?
It's probably too early to tell, but judging by the poll that came
out last night, it wouldn't have been that much different -- and
easily defensible -- in Division I or Division II, whichever route
the league went with.
