Last week, we noted that the Ohio State Men’s Ice Hockey team was holding down the final at-large spot for the NCAA Tournament. Well, after a bit of a rough weekend for the Bubble, the Buckeyes moved up three spots in the PairWise Rankings, which means there are a few spots between the Buckeyes and the edge of the bubble.
Of course, that can all change after the games this weekend. Ohio State has a pivotal two-game series on the road against Michigan State. The Spartans are a little ways off the bubble, but they’re close enough to be a decent quality opponent. A road split with Michigan State would hurt Ohio State’s resume a bit, but not so much that it would hurt the Buckeyes significantly. Next weekend’s regular-season home series against Wisconsin is a must-sweep, though.
The Buckeyes are currently the second-best Big Ten team in terms of tournament position, but they’re currently fourth in the conference standings. That’s a bit of a better position to be in, though. The Big Ten Tournament first round is a best-of-three series, so too high a seed turns the series into a must-sweep rather than simply a must win. Second- and third-place Minnesota and Michigan finish the regular season against each other, so Ohio State will likely get the third seed if it finishes the season strong. That’s a fine place to be for the Big Ten Tournament, as sixth-place Wisconsin is a much better team to face in the first round than seventh-place Wisconsin.
Others on the bubble
Of course, more bubble teams struggling would give Ohio State a bit more leeway in terms of tournament selection. The biggest bubble battle of the weekend is Western Michigan’s two-game series against No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth. Western Michigan is currently one of the final bubble teams, so even one win for the Broncos this weekend would allow them to jump several teams. UMass-Lowell has a similar opportunity against No. 8 UMass.
Bemidji State, which is currently tied with the Buckeyes for No. 12 in the PairWise Rankings, has a no-win road series against Alaska-Anchorage. The Seawolves are one of the worst teams in DI hockey, and Bemidji State is traveling thousands of miles for this game. Even one tie–let alone a loss–would hurt the bubble resume a lot, and that’s a long trip for a must-sweep series.
Maine (home series against Vermont) and Arizona State (road series against Wisconsin) are two other bubble teams to keep an eye on this weekend. The Minnesota-Penn State series is probably a wash as far as the Buckeyes are concerned.
We’ll be back Sunday or Monday to look at the weekend’s action and how it affected Ohio State’s bubble picture.