(left) Wisconsin's Derek Stepan was the leading goal scorer for Team USA at the World Junior ChampionshipsFrom: Denver Post
by Mike Chambers
Billed as college hockey's premier series this weekend, the top-ranked University of Denver visits No. 3 Wisconsin at the Kohl Center.
It's as close to a No. 1 versus No. 2 matchup as you can get, but when looking at recent history, it could be deemed a mysterious mismatch (read rest of article).
It's as close to a No. 1 versus No. 2 matchup as you can get, but when looking at recent history, it could be deemed a mysterious mismatch (read rest of article).
6 comments:
If DU can pull off a sweep, the ridiculously-biased ratings guys in the east will crap thier pants and the we should be locked on top of the PWR.
Hard to see DU finishing ahead of Miami in the Pairwise. The WCHA is loaded on the top end of the rankings.
DU still has many games left with Pairwise Top 10 teams, most of which will be on the road or at neutral sites.
Miami's remaining schedule is loaded with creampuffs and cupcakes. Miami's toughest weekend will be against #17 Lake Superior State.
Anyone else nervous about this series?
Sacred sh!tless about the Badgers.
I see the UW athletics site lists some sort of "TV" for Saturdays game. When you hit the link it takes you yo a CBS Sports pop-up window.
I'm nervous about every game these days. There's no gimmies (reference UAA a couple weeks ago).
Eaves is very skilled at bitching to the Refs... seemingly when DU is in town. When playing the Badgers I always look for a few trademark crappy penalties, blown & missed calls, and the Refs in general ruining the games.
Not sure what, if anything, I figured out...but, I compared DU's remaining schedule to Miami's and how their opponents were currently ranked under KRACH (PWR and other rankings don't list all teams).
DU has an average opponent ranking of 22.3 for the remainder of the season. Miami's is 30.5. So, on any given night, Miami will be playing a team that is ranked roughly 8 spots lower in KRACH than DU's opponent.
Some theoretical examples: DU plays Duluth (3), Miami plays Union (11). We play Wisconsin (4), they play Bemidji (12).
Also, DU has 4 remaining series with teams in the top 16 (Wisc, UND, Minn, CC), 3 of which are in the top 10. Miami has none.
On paper, there is no doubt that Miami "should" win every single of it's remaining games. They don't play a single team that is within 17 spots of them in the rankings. You can't say the same about DU's remaining schedule.
So, I guess I'm in agreement with DG. Miami currently has a 3-0 advantage in the PWR comparisons (no head-to-head results).
Unlikely that we'll move ahead in the common opponents category. Miami would have to split its weekends against Nebraska Omaha and Ohio State. We would have to sweep the Sioux.
Not an expert on the RPI calculation, but I would assume that Miami won't lose any ground to us if they continue to win.
The TUC ranking is close at the moment but it's a long-shot to leap frog them. We have too many good teams remaining on our schedule. Our remaining schedule has TUCs including Wisc, UND, Minn and CC. Miami has Alaska and Lake Superior. Who would you rather play?
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