As the dust settles on this Selection Monday there is definitely reason for celebration in the MIAC as not only UST and SMU received their invites as expected but Concordia was also the recipient of an at-large bid as well despite losing their MIAC semi-final playoff game at home to eventual champion UST. This is definitely what I was hoping for and I for one have to give the Selection Committee a heap of praise and thanks for recognizing how incredibly tough the MIAC is from top to bottom. There was certainly reason for the Concordia contingent to be sitting on pins and needles today but I'm sure there was a leap for joy when their name was revealed on the bracket line. Great job!
I guess what surprises me more than anything is the location(s) that some of the teams got placed. For example, I thought that, IF Concordia did get in, they would most likely get shipped out west; probably to Whitman. Of course, the Cobbers will be making their way down to the Twin Cities once again to be a part of the sub-regional pod at UST. And I'd have to guess that, at this juncture anyway, they're perfectly fine with that and they're not complaining one bit. They'll be taking on a very, very good UW-Whitewater team which will no doubt be looking to make amends as well from their WIAC semi-final home loss to UW-Superior. Needless to say, this should be a fun match-up. The Committee may have felt a need to keep the NWC entrants up in their neck of the woods as opposed to shipping a George Fox or a Whitworth to the Midwest. Chapman, which also got in, could have easily been shipped east as well. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps did, in fact, get placed into the sub-regional pod at DePauw where they'll take on the Tigers on their home floor. So there were some other possibilities out there but I think that, in the end, it worked out pretty well for Concordia all things considered.
My gut told me yesterday and this A.M. that SMU was going to get shipped across the River to Wisconsin and that's precisely what happened. Not that that's a bad thing necessarily and, for good measure, they probably wanted to avoid another trip up the River and the CP Rail River Sub mainline to possibly play UST again if at all possible. The bad news, however, is that they got shipped to the shores of Lake Winnebago at UW-Oshkosh where they'll be taking on the host Titans. IMHO, not a good match-up for a squad that isn't rich in tournament experience. Not that it can't be done, of course, but, as my dear departed father would have said, it's going to be one helluva hard row to hoe. Then again, you've gotta start somewhere and you never know when you get into the Big Dance. So, best of luck to the Cardinals.
The other big surprise is UMAC Tournament champ Northwestern getting shipped out to the UW-Oshkosh sub-regional pod as well. I really thought for sure that the Committee would have had the Eagles staying right at home to be a part of the sub-regional pod at UST and it's a bit puzzling to me that they're not. They could have easily have sent IIAC champ Loras up to UW-Oshkosh instead because they had to go somewhere anyway. Being that this is the Eagles first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament, Head Coach Aaron Kahl and his team would probably be more than willing to go to the moon if there was a sub-regional pod up there so I'm guessing they're not complaining too much about the bus ride to Wisconsin.
I've provided a link to the entire bracket listing (below). In the meantime, I think there's definitely reason to celebrate and feel good about what the MIAC did this year.
CANNOT wait for Friday!
http://www.d3hoops.com/playoffs/women/2014/womens-bracket-released
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