Coyne: Predicting the NCAA WD2 Tourney
by Jac
Coyne | Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff | Coyne Archive
LMO small college beat writer Jac Coyne has undertaken the
thankless (and useless) task of predicting the men's and women's
Division II and Division III tournaments, along with the MCLA.
Below is his WD2 offering.
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| Last year, it seemed almost inevitable that C.W. Post
and West Chester would meet in the national championship game. With
two more teams in the hunt, there are several programs who could
make a title tilt appearance. © Wendy Larsen |
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I always like the easiest division to predict, and WD2 definitely
fits that bill even though the field expands from four teams to six
this spring.
We'll start in the North, where Adelphi (currently 15-0) has mauled everything
in its path and will be the top seed, earning a bye to the
semifinals on May 16 in scenic Salem, Va. Squaring off for the
right to play the Panthers in the semis will be C.W. Post (15-1) and New Haven (14-3). There's not a whole lot of
drama in this bracket. Stonehill is next in line, but the Skyhawks
have lost to all three of the entrants.
I'm making a fairly large assumption that Adelphi will beat Post on
Saturday. I'm making this judgment primarily using comparative
scores (New Haven and Stonehill played the Pioneers closer), which
is always dangerous. Both teams are undefeated in Division II (Post
lost to D-I Davidson) and the game will likely be a close one.
Fortunately, should Post pull the upset, they simply flip-flop in
the bracket.
The South is trickier. Kind of. If we go by the criteria set up by
the NCAA, Limestone (17-1) has to be the top seed. They
have a better record and beat Lock Haven (16-3) head-to-head. Thus, the Lady
Eagles are the second seed and will host old friend West Chester (14-3) in the first round - a
rematch of the PSAC championship game won by Haven, 13-10.
As seen more predominantly in the rest of the divisions, there are
always tough omissions, and WD2 is not exempt. Mercyhurst split
with West Chester, has an identical record, and shares losses to
Lock Haven and Gannon. In fact, the Lakers also have a win over
Gannon - a victory over a .750 team that should push the needle in
‘Hurst's favor.
But as we know, if there wasn't a human element, they'd just have
computers doing these brackets, and there's no way the committee is
going to keep the defending champion who went further in the same
conference tourney out of the dance.
WD2 Bracket
Saturday, May 9
New Haven at C.W. Post
West Chester at Lock Haven
Saturday, May 16 | at Salem, Va.
Haven/Post winner vs. Adelphi
WC/LH winner vs. Limestone
Sunday, May 17 | at Salem, Va.
Semifinal winners
