B1G 10 Conference Championship - Seeds, schedule and thoughts
Posted: Sun Apr 21, 2019 6:39 pm
The tournament is hosted by Johns Hopkins at Homewood Field this year
Semifinals - Friday, May 3rd - BTN Network
#1 Maryland vs #4 Penn State - 5pm
#2 Northwestern vs #3 Michigan - 7:30pm
Final - Sunday, May 5th - BTN Network - 12pm
#1 Maryland vs Northwestern or Michigan
I know, I know—the current standings show Johns Hopkins ahead of Penn State. Technically nothing is clinched yet. But Penn State owns the tie-break with their win over JHU last week. The only way the Blue Jays get in is if Penn State loses at home to Rutgers AND Hop goes into Maryland and ends the Terps 80 plus game home winning streak, and their own decades long streak of futility vs Maryland (0-17).
(“Uh—hullo, Mr. Vegasman? Can I get some odds on JHU going into Maryland and beating the Terps? What are you laughing at??” *!CLICK!* “Hullo? Hullo??”)
Even if they both lose their last conference games—Penn State owns the tie-break. And what will make the whole matter moot anyway, I do think Penn State will handle Rutgers at home next Saturday morning and clinch the honorable way. So, I went out on a limb and went ahead with the final seedings.
Maryland should handle Penn State pretty easily in the first semi, though I hope the Nittany Lions play their guts out and exit with pride. I find this team very enjoyable to watch these days. Maria Auth especially. She’s getting hot at the right time, scoring 16 goals in their last 4 games. https://youtu.be/V3hevZX6cHE
The 2nd semi should be very competitive. Michigan played Northwestern last week in Northwestern and gave them a real run for their money. If they didn’t choke down the stretch they may well have won. They all know how they played after they held a 2 goal lead with just under 12 minutes left in the 2nd half (5 turnovers in the last 7 minutes) and blew an opportunity. Now they get another shot, at a neutral site. I have no idea what happens here. On paper the Wildcats should win, and they very well might. But I give Michigan a shot if they can keep their poise during crunch time. They may be a year or two early before they can really stand up to Northwestern or Maryland, but they have been defying the odds all season, so—we shall see.
I give Northwestern a shot against Maryland if they reach the final. Same thing with the Wildcats—they had a really tight struggle going against the Terps earlier this month before the lightning started flashing and they moved the game indoors. It was all Maryland from there on.
Same with Michigan—I give them a shot against Maryland, (albeit a very slim one) if they do get by Northwestern. They can’t possibly play any worse than they did against them back 2 weeks ago in Maryland. Their confidence will be high if they get by the Wildcats.
After the Big 10—NU and Michigan could make some noise in The Tournament. But that’s looking too far down the road for now.
Semifinals - Friday, May 3rd - BTN Network
#1 Maryland vs #4 Penn State - 5pm
#2 Northwestern vs #3 Michigan - 7:30pm
Final - Sunday, May 5th - BTN Network - 12pm
#1 Maryland vs Northwestern or Michigan
I know, I know—the current standings show Johns Hopkins ahead of Penn State. Technically nothing is clinched yet. But Penn State owns the tie-break with their win over JHU last week. The only way the Blue Jays get in is if Penn State loses at home to Rutgers AND Hop goes into Maryland and ends the Terps 80 plus game home winning streak, and their own decades long streak of futility vs Maryland (0-17).
(“Uh—hullo, Mr. Vegasman? Can I get some odds on JHU going into Maryland and beating the Terps? What are you laughing at??” *!CLICK!* “Hullo? Hullo??”)
Even if they both lose their last conference games—Penn State owns the tie-break. And what will make the whole matter moot anyway, I do think Penn State will handle Rutgers at home next Saturday morning and clinch the honorable way. So, I went out on a limb and went ahead with the final seedings.
Maryland should handle Penn State pretty easily in the first semi, though I hope the Nittany Lions play their guts out and exit with pride. I find this team very enjoyable to watch these days. Maria Auth especially. She’s getting hot at the right time, scoring 16 goals in their last 4 games. https://youtu.be/V3hevZX6cHE
The 2nd semi should be very competitive. Michigan played Northwestern last week in Northwestern and gave them a real run for their money. If they didn’t choke down the stretch they may well have won. They all know how they played after they held a 2 goal lead with just under 12 minutes left in the 2nd half (5 turnovers in the last 7 minutes) and blew an opportunity. Now they get another shot, at a neutral site. I have no idea what happens here. On paper the Wildcats should win, and they very well might. But I give Michigan a shot if they can keep their poise during crunch time. They may be a year or two early before they can really stand up to Northwestern or Maryland, but they have been defying the odds all season, so—we shall see.
I give Northwestern a shot against Maryland if they reach the final. Same thing with the Wildcats—they had a really tight struggle going against the Terps earlier this month before the lightning started flashing and they moved the game indoors. It was all Maryland from there on.
Same with Michigan—I give them a shot against Maryland, (albeit a very slim one) if they do get by Northwestern. They can’t possibly play any worse than they did against them back 2 weeks ago in Maryland. Their confidence will be high if they get by the Wildcats.
After the Big 10—NU and Michigan could make some noise in The Tournament. But that’s looking too far down the road for now.