NPI Tracker: Hockey East gets to two teams for the first time this season, and Michigan State becomes a No. 1 seed
Plus: BC climbed in the rankings despite two losses, Sacha Bosivert and Connor Eddy suspended, and more
There were several major developments in the NPI this weekend. Michigan State moved into a No. 1 seed, and Hockey East has two teams in the NCAA field for the first time this season. I’ll break it all down in our NPI Tracker.
Today’s newsletter (#631) also includes:
A full bracket projection, including a few scenarios the committee might have to consider to ensure Denver ends up in Loveland — plus the usual quirks of the bracket process, where some lower seeds can wind up closer to home than higher seeds.
An explanation of why Boston College climbed in the NPI rankings despite two losses to Providence. It’s all in the math, and yes — it makes perfect sense.
Providence only moved up one spot, but the Friars created significantly more breathing room above the cut line.
A tight race is shaping up for the final No. 1 seeds.
Hockey East suspended Sacha Boisvert and Connor Eddy for an additional two games for their fight on Friday night. I understand the league’s reasoning, but I’ll explain why I disagree.
There’s also a growing push among some college leaders to remove the cap on revenue-sharing with student-athletes — less than one year into the new rev-share system.
If you have ideas for a future newsletter, tips to pass along, or questions for a mailbag, I’d love to hear from you. You can reach me anytime at mike@collegehockeyinsider.com. Sponsorship inquiries are also welcome.
You can also find me on X at @MikeMcMahonCHN.
And a sincere thank you to our premium subscribers — your support makes independent, in-depth college hockey coverage possible.
Now, let’s get into today’s newsletter.
NPI Tracker: Hockey East gets to two teams for the first time this season, and Michigan State becomes a No. 1 seed
Inter-Conference Records
Overall, inter-conference records for each league factor considerably into the NPI. Traditionally, the NCHC, Hockey East, and Big Ten have had the most teams per season make the NCAA Tournament, and that’s because those leagues traditionally perform the best in inter-conference games.
Here is where the inter-conference records stand as of this week:
Current NCAA Tournament Field
Automatic qualifiers are selected using the highest-ranked NPI team in each league. The Top 30 Pairwise teams each week are recorded. If a cell is left blank, that team was not in the Top 30 that week.
Click on this image to expand it
Conference Count
NCHC — 4 (Last Week: 4)
Big Ten — 4 (Last Week: 4)
ECAC — 3 (Last Week: 4)
CCHA — 2 (Last Week: 2)
Hockey East — 2 (Last Week: 1)
AHA — 1 (Last Week: 1)
Qualification Changes
IN: Boston College
OUT: Princeton
Bracket Projection
This isn’t meaningful until conference championships are decided in March, but it’s still worth looking at weekly and tracking who has potentially locked up specific positions. Specifically, we’re looking at the No. 1 seeds because the placement of those teams will happen first in the process and will largely dictate what the rest of the bracket looks like.
Also, going through this process weekly can help us identify potential issues the committee will have to face when formulating the bracket.
Lining up the bracket using a straight serpentine order looks like this:
