Bracketology: New Hampshire split gives UConn life

On March 28, the NCAA Tournament will kick off with Regionals in Maryland Heights, Missouri; Providence, Rhode Island; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and Springfield, Massachusetts. Two brackets will begin March 28, while the remaining pair start the following day. Two weeks from then, St. Paul, Minnesota will host the Frozen Four on April 11 and 13.

UConn — at 10-11-2, including 6-8-1 in Hockey East play — stands at No. 21 in the PairWise with just over two months to go until the bracket is announced. The Huskies moved up six spots with a split against No. 17 New Hampshire last weekend, which included a road victory.

It’s all in front of Mike Cavanaugh’s team, as the squad has 11 regular season games to go before the Hockey East Tournament. If UConn draws Quinnipiac on the second day of the Connecticut Ice Festival, eight of those games will be against programs currently in the NCAA Tournament field as of Jan. 22.

Wins will push the Huskies up the league standings — six of those are conference matchups — as well as the PairWise rankings. If they win their home games against No. 1 Boston University, No. 9 Providence and No. 12 UMass and lose the road games, all in regulation, they will move to No. 19 in the PairWise in a vacuum, without accounting for other results. Sweep one of those schools and UConn is up as high as No. 17, right within range of moving into the field. However, getting swept at any point will all but require a Hockey East Tournament championship to gain entrance to the field.

Bracketology

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