coda wrote: ↑Wed May 10, 2023 11:34 am
I would not lump Yale in with that group. You could say Cornell's performance was an aberration. Perhaps it was just a singular terrible game. Yale has had multiple games where they were absolutely destroyed. One reason I thought they did not deserve to be in the tournament. They had 3 terrible losses, despite what the disciples of RPI say
If the tournament selection changes to an ELO based approach in which margin of victory counts, then Yale losing badly to top 20 teams (Penn State, Cornell, Princeton) would be a relevant factor. However, probably to avoid regular season running up of the score, margin of victory is not an official tournament selection criteria (although obviously it can factor into the subjective views of the selectors). As it is, Yale's a team with a puncher's chance in the NCAA tournament. If they can get an advantage at the X (as happened against Cornell when Cornell's FOGO was hit with early violations); if they can score in transition; and if the Yale goalie (who is good) has a great day, they have a chance against most teams. But if any of those factors are not present, they are at risk of losing by a wide margin.