Saturday Morning NPI Update: Wisconsin, UConn, and Augustana eyeing the last at-large spots
Minnesota State became the first program to secure a conference championship with a win over St. Thomas on Friday night. The Mavericks punched their ticket back to the NCAA Tournament as the CCHA’s automatic qualifier, continuing a run that has become familiar this time of year.
Positioning remains fluid, however. Minnesota State sits at No. 14 in the NPI entering the final night of conference championship play, with a path to climb to the No. 13 overall seed depending on how results break across the country.
With just one night left to shape the bracket, the NCAA Tournament picture — and the NPI that drives it — remains very much in motion.
This edition of the newsletter (#663) breaks down all of the scenarios.
Wisconsin is on the verge of locking up an at-large berth. The Badgers, UConn, and Augustana are all alive, but it will depend on who wins the automatic qualifiers elsewhere.
Tournament Locks
First, let’s look at the NCAA Tournament locks. I’ll include where these teams could potentially finish overall as well.
Michigan (locked as the No. 1 seed)
North Dakota (locked as the No. 2 seed)
Michigan State (locked as the No. 3 seed)
Western Michigan (locked as the No. 4 seed)
Denver (No. 5-6)
Minnesota Duluth (No. 5-8, but cannot be No. 6)
Dartmouth (No. 6-8)
Providence (No. 6-8)
Penn State (No. 9-10)
Quinnipiac (No. 9-10)
Cornell (locked as the No. 11 seed)
As I wrote earlier this week, we can reasonably project Michigan as the No. 1 seed in Albany and North Dakota as the No. 1 seed in Sioux Falls. The placement of Michigan State and Western Michigan, however, may ultimately hinge on where Denver lands as either the No. 5 or No. 6 overall seed.
The Pioneers are slotted for Loveland as the host school. If they come in as the No. 5 seed, the bracket naturally aligns them with No. 4 Western Michigan in the opposite semifinal. If they slide to No. 6, they would instead draw No. 3 Michigan State.
