It's All in the Numbers for NCAA Selection
The following article appeared in the March 12 issue of the Daily Princetonian.
By Dave Karp
Guest Contributor
When typical college sports fans hear “NCAA Tournament
selection process,” they probably envision closed-door
discussions and hordes of ESPN talking heads debating whether Penn
State’s win over Michigan State is more important than
Florida’s loss to Kentucky. For basketball fans, this image
is relatively accurate, as the selection process is highly
secretive and involves a good deal of subjective
decision-making.
However, fans of college hockey — specifically the Princeton
men’s hockey team — need not worry about the opinions
of committee members, for their sport’s process is remarkably
transparent and objective. To pare down the 58 Division I
men’s hockey teams to a field of 16 for the NCAA tournament,
a simple mathematical system called PairWise Ranking is used.
“The part I like about it for sure is that there’s no
arguing,” head coach Guy Gadowsky said.
Complete article can be accessed via the Princetonian Web site by clicking here.
