D2 Nationals bids (predictions)

[SnakeHandler]

East
Neumann
West Chester
Albany
Maine
Shippensburg
Temple
Drexel

GP
Missouri State
Truman State
Wash U
SLU

Midwest
Grand Valley State

SE
Elon
Tampa
Miami
Western Carolina

SW
ULL

West
UCSD
CSU-SB
Cal Poly-Pomona

[William Bourque]

There is absolutely no way that they Southeast has 4 teams in DII for nationals. The two years they have had 2 teams and last year one team. Any reason you gave them 4 here?

[SnakeHandler]

because:

1. the only SE team at nationals last year went 2-0-1 in their pool and then lost in the playoffs to the eventual tournament runner up. not a bad representation of our region
2. don't think the east will get more than 7, even though some teams may be good enough
3. the top 4 teams in SE are closely competitive with each other, drops from there
4. the last 2 years the SE got shafted in favor of extremely bad teams, no reason to do it again
5. the SW drops off badly after the first team
6. the GP drops off after the top 4 or 5, MAYBE SIU can slip in late
7. a basic belief that the number of teams from a division should represent the size and skill of the conference unless of course there is no competition at all like the SW
8. etc
9. etc
10. that's the point of this thread. post your predictions, too!!! don't write bubble though, we all know its speculation, so show some balls and name 20!

[William Bourque]

because:

1. the only SE team at nationals last year went 2-0-1 in their pool and then lost in the playoffs to the eventual tournament runner up. not a bad representation of our region
2. don't think the east will get more than 7, even though some teams may be good enough
3. the top 4 teams in SE are closely competitive with each other, drops from there
4. the last 2 years the SE got shafted in favor of extremely bad teams, no reason to do it again
5. the SW drops off badly after the first team
6. the GP drops off after the top 4 or 5, MAYBE SIU can slip in late
7. a basic belief that the number of teams from a division should represent the size and skill of the conference unless of course there is no competition at all like the SW
8. etc
9. etc
10. that's the point of this thread. post your predictions, too!!! don't write bubble though, we all know its speculation, so show some balls and name 20!

1: Not a bad representation at all. However, what about the years when UT-Dallas was performing well at nationals but the second best team would get consistently smoked by everyone else in the tournament.
2: I am not entirely convinced the east will get 6 bids to the national tournament. I would like to see at least 5, but teams 6 and 7 are not bad teams at all.
3: Miami and Tampa are currently below .500, why would you not pick the teams that currently have winning records
4: The SE has also never sent a team to the final four, where regions like the great plains, west and east have.
5: Who has established the fact that the teams in the SECRHL don't drop off after the first placed team.
6: Agreed, 5 bids might be too many for the Great Plain, but the West Coast deserves a little more respect than the three teams you gave them. Their teams all performed decently last year.
7: East, West and Great Plains all have more teams in DII than the Southeast and traditionally has more talent in the Division at the DII level. However, you propose to send four teams from an eight team region. That is 50% of the teams. 7 teams from the ECRHA represents 43% of the teams. 3 teams from the West represents 30% of the teams and 4 teams from the Great Plains is 44% of the league. All three of those regions are bigger than the Southeast and have traditionally had more talented teams from the region, but you argue the fact that 50% of the Southeast should be sent to the national tournament
8: I like Elon because they girls watched our dog for us down in GA two years ago
9: What ever happened to Duke?
10: I haven't given DII much thought outside of the ECRHA in a few weeks. I posted my "picks" a while ago and i ended up editing my post because we couldn't get any good conversation going.

[Jtslick89]

ECRHA
Neumann
SUNY-Albany
West Chester
Maine
Shippensburg
Drexel
Temple (replacing SHSU...see below)

GPCIHL
Truman State
Missouri State
Wash U
SLU

MCRHL
Grand Valley State

SECRHL
Elon
Western Carolina
College of Charleston

SCHL
ULL
SHSU (will reject the nationals invite)

WCRHL
UC-San Diego
Cal Poly Pomona
CSU San Bernardino
UC Riverside

Those are my 20 teams with SHSU declining the invite and Temple serving as first alternate.

[DUHockey9]

Do you guys really think the East will get that many bids? IMO our region is not nearly as strong as it has been in years past.

[SnakeHandler]

1. the point about UTD is a good one. however, that dropoff that was after UTD doesnt sit after the 1st place team in the SE, it exists after the top 4.

2. look at the schedules of miami and tampa. the SE is the only region that doesnt have 99% of its games against other d2 teams like other divisions have, so its harder to judge. that's why i didnt just take the "top teams in the standings." that would be the lazy way to pick bids.

3. u can see some of it already quite easily, but if u are unable to figure it out as of yet, the next 2 weekends will show where the dropoff is. western carolina will not be beating elon or miami or tampa consistently or by 100 goals, and vice versa, etc... but there is a drop off later

4. agreed, GP and west deserve respect, but last year there were FIVE bids in the west and ONE in the SE. thats a little on the ridiculous side, even if u do consider the west better.

6. if u wanna go strictly by percentages, then ok, maybe not 4, but that allows more than ONE spot in the SE, gotta be 2, maybe 3

7. it is a VERY GOOD point about the teams making the final 4, but that only goes so far because the 4 west teams last year didnt get to the final 4 either, but i forget what happened previously...

[SnakeHandler]

and yes, DU, the east deserves that many bids... i dont know what other region would deserve 7! please post your predictions!

and another west slipping in seems cool, but if SHSU slips in again, i think the first 5 alternates will lose all faith in the world and kill themselves

[William Bourque]

1. the point about UTD is a good one. however, that dropoff that was after UTD doesnt sit after the 1st place team in the SE, it exists after the top 4.

2. look at the schedules of miami and tampa. the SE is the only region that doesnt have 99% of its games against other d2 teams like other divisions have, so its harder to judge. that's why i didnt just take the "top teams in the standings." that would be the lazy way to pick bids.

3. u can see some of it already quite easily, but if u are unable to figure it out as of yet, the next 2 weekends will show where the dropoff is. western carolina will not be beating elon or miami or tampa consistently or by 100 goals, and vice versa, etc... but there is a drop off later

4. agreed, GP and west deserve respect, but last year there were FIVE bids in the west and ONE in the SE. thats a little on the ridiculous side, even if u do consider the west better.

6. if u wanna go strictly by percentages, then ok, maybe not 4, but that allows more than ONE spot in the SE, gotta be 2, maybe 3

7. it is a VERY GOOD point about the teams making the final 4, but that only goes so far because the 4 west teams last year didnt get to the final 4 either, but i forget what happened previously...

1 -There is no proof of it this year as our region couldn't accommodate sending Shippensburg to Winchester to play Elon and Western Carolina a few weekends ago (Even though that event was just 1 hour away from our school). But in the past, it has been proven that the second and third place teams in the SECRHL are below teams that have been ranked 7th place (2 years ago) and 13th place (last year). Like i said, this fact has not been proven this year.

2 - I agreed, i am just saying that they need to prove themselves this weekend and at regionals if they want to be considered for bids. Elon and Miami were left home last year and Miami the year before with winning records, so marginal records won't help them win over the selection committee.

4- The West may have had one to many bids last year, but all in all every team that went was deserving of a bid.

6- I have no problem with 2 teams coming from the Southeast, i think with a third team its borderline and will be hard to do if there is a good team from the Great Plains, West or East who may have slipped down on the respective regions selection board.

7- The last 4 DII final fours show this breakdown: East - 7 teams, Great Plains - 6 teams, West - 3 teams.


Just for the record, what school do you play for?
This should be my last post of the night, i need sleep at some point.

[William Bourque]

Do you guys really think the East will get that many bids? IMO our region is not nearly as strong as it has been in years past.

I personally feel that Neumann is just as good this year as last year with absolutely no drop off in talent. They are a year wiser and have the perfect mix of veterans and youth. West Chester is establishing themselves as a legit national championship contender and seems to have the foundation of what is going to be a powerhouse team for the foreseeable future.

The next Tier, Albany-Shippensburg-Maine, seems to be improved from last years teams.

The Third tier of teams is where you might see some kind of drop off from years past, but you have to realize what you are missing from last year to this year. Hofstra and Stony Brook both moved up to DI when the league restructured over the summer. Between the two of them, thats 45 wins from last season that moved out of the Division. The apparent "loss of talent" is more of the result of missing these two teams. And the fact the teams ranked 6th-13th can't decided who wants to win and lose games.'

Okay this is my last post.

[BLINGBLING]

My prediction is Western Carolina beats Tampa in SEC D2 finals

[SnakeHandler]

who takes out elon?

[catch]

I have no opinion about any region beyond my own. My question is why does someone from the Great Plains not put SIU in. Admittedly, they are 10-7, but they have defeated Wash U., Saint Louis and played Missouri State to a 2-goal game. Great Plains had 5 bids last year and I think SIU has really earned a lot more consideration. Last year they were an alternate. Actually, Missouri State got in last year at 10-7-1 and a semi-final game in regionals. Perhaps the same will work for them this year.

[SnakeHandler]

well it appears SIU still loses fairly consistently to the 4 teams above them.... however, i think they get in as soon as the weakest of the top 4 SE teams is identified. and i definitely think SIU gets in before another west team, as the top 3 teams in the west are clearly dominant over the rest of their division...

[SnakeHandler]

and i'll just throw in: SIU better get in before another SW team!