The Wacky NCAA (Updated 11/5/07 @ 2 p.m.)

Some random thoughts on the brackets:

Does anyone out there understand the NCAA? It’s Round 4 of Oshkosh/Platteville in the first round? I wonder if that has ever happened before. My predictions didn’t make that matchup, nor two MIAC teams meeting in the first round, necessary.

Whitewater to the Central and Wash U/Calvin to the Midwest? Wash U was going to have to fly to St. Paul anyway, so I guess the NCAA can get away with that one. Driving Wash U to Kenosha makes sense. It’s a good tradeoff for Oshkosh in many ways. I just didn’t think it would happen. Losing WW is never a bad thing, but Hanover and Calvin in the Midwest? It didn’t have to be like that.

Anyway, Oshkosh has to beat Platteville, Wash U and Carthage to get to nationals. Not the best scenario but one that can be done.

Instead of giving Wittenberg the bye that it earned, the NCAA chose to not spend a few more dollars and fly one more team. The NCAA simply chose to make Wittenberg’s road to Bloomington a bit easier by shipping Calvin.

Full disclosure: Of the 61 teams in my regional predictions, I only had 45 in the right place, although the NCAA made it hard to get much right this year.

-Ricky Nelson

~ by uwoshvball on November 5, 2007.