Pairwise shmairwise; 'M' deserves tourney bid

But this season hasn't followed that same script. The Wolverines are currently ranked eighth in the nation and a spot in the regionals, which is usually reserved in bold type, isn't necessarily a guarantee.

There are rumors circulating through the world of college hockey that say if Michigan loses to Ohio State on Friday night in the CCHA semifinals, the only place Michigan will be going next week is to class.

It's my duty to clarify this gossip. The Michigan hockey team is not going to class - at least not in the latter part of the week. Michigan is going to the NCAA regionals, regardless of what they do against the Buckeyes. Or at least they should be g

T.J. BERKA Teeing Off

oing.

Of course, a win over Brutus and his scarlet-clad gang of nuts would make this debate, and this whole column, moot. The Wolverines would have beaten every team in the CCHA (they are 0-2-1 against the Buckeyes) and would be making reservations for Madison.

But I'm going to play devil's advocate here. Let's say that Ohio State pulls the hat trick and beats Michigan. Will that loss keep the Wolverines from Madison or Worcester, Mass.?

According to the Pairwise Rankings - U.S. College Hockey Online's formula to calculate who is going to the NCAA Tournament and who isn't - it just might. The Wolverines are currently 12th in the most recent rankings, two places below Quinnipiac.

However, there is a disclaimer that goes alongside Quinnipiac. Besides not being responsible for the spelling and location of the school (it's in the East, I think), the Pairwise Rankings mentions that Quinnipiac isn't eligible for the NCAA Tournament due to the fact that its schedule is inferior to the schedules of the other teams that are in contention for an NCAA berth.

With that being said, how can Quinnipiac (or how ever you spell it) be ahead of the Wolverines in these rankings? It's obvious that strength of schedule is not really being considered when these rankings are published.

What is being considered, then? National ranking perhaps? Not in the Pairwise Rankings. No. 9 in the nation Denver and No. 10 St. Lawrence are ranked ahead of the Wolverines. And Quinnipiac? They aren't even ranked, as much of a shocker as that may be.

How about strength of conference? The Pairwise obviously doesn't think this is too important either. The CCHA has had six teams - Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Northern Michigan, and Ferris State - ranked among the nation's top 10 this season. No other conference has had more than four.

Even seventh-place Bowling Green had a winning record going into the CCHA playoffs. Meanwhile, the fourth-place team in the WCHA, Minnesota, has a losing record.

For Michigan to finish second in a stacked conference such as the CCHA had to take some sort of skill.

But the Pairwise Rankings could care less. No. 8 Michigan - who was as high as third in the nation, is ranked 12th in the Pairwise. Even second-ranked Michigan State - who has lost only once since Christmas - is ranked fourth in the Pairwise.

The Pairwise doesn't care much about how a team finishes a season either. The Wolverines scored 34 goals in the past six games, going 5-1 in the process. But Michigan's ranking has actually fallen one place during this time.

So what is the Pairwise Rankings measuring? Amount of snowfall? I doubt that, because Lake Superior is nowhere close to the top.

Alcohol consumption? (Insert Michigan State joke here.)

So what do the Pairwise Rankings really take into consideration? I really have no idea, but if it takes an NCAA berth away from the Wolverines, it will be a damn shame.

- T.J. Berka can be reached at berkat@umich.edu

03-18-99