MCLA Bracketology 4-28

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It was a busy week in the MCLA world, with plenty of games impacting the national scene. Movement for bubble teams from last week’s bracketology post:

• Boston College (PCLL auto) – Lost 9-10 in overtime to Colorado. Moved down 1 spot in the polls.
• Texas (LSA auto) – DNP
• Florida State (SELC auto) – DNP
• Cal Poly (WCLL auto) – Beat Sonoma State 17-12. Did not move in the polls.
• Oregon (PNCLL auto) – DNP. Moved up 2 spots in the polls.
• Colorado – Beat Boston College 10-9 in overtime, UConn 11-5, and New Hampshire 9-8. Moved up 1 spot in the polls.
• Utah – Lost 3-14 to Colorado State. Moved down 1 spot in the polls.
• UC Santa Barbara – Lost 5-16 to Chapman. Moved down 1 spot in the polls.
• Virginia Tech – DNP
• Central Florida – DNP
• Arizona – Lost 4-11 to Arizona State. Moved up 1 spot in the polls.

Some big results, as Colorado’s trip to the East Coast boosted the Buffs’ resume, CSU delivered a major blow to Utah’s at-large hopes, Cal Poly survived against Sonoma State, and Chapman might have helped keep UCSB from getting an at-large bid. There was also a big result in the non-bubble world, as BYU upset Colorado State, messing with the order atop the polls. Here is this week’s full Prodigy poll, with change from last week noted:

• 1. University of Michigan
• 2. BYU +3
• 3. Arizona State University
• 4. Colorado State University -2
• 5. Chapman University -1
• 6. Michigan State University
• 7. University of Colorado +1
• 8. Boston College -1
• 9. University of Texas
• 10. Florida State University
• 11. Cal Poly
• 12. University of Oregon +2
• 13. University of Utah -1
• 14. UC Santa Barbara -1
• 15. Virginia Tech
• 16. University of Central Florida
• 20. Illinois
• 25. Minnesota-Duluth

There’s plenty of change from last week’s bracket, and we’re getting close to a final picture:

Projected MCLA Tournament Bracket

I changed one thing from strict seeding order, swapping Utah and UCSB to avoid a first-round RMLC matchup between The Utes and Colorado State. Of course, as you’ll see in a moment, I think Utah probably won’t make it into the tournament anyway…

Here are some games this week that could impact the tournament field in a big way:

• UConn @ Boston College (Friday 1PM) – With BC’s loss against Colorado, another defeat for the Eagles could knock them out of an at-large bid to the tournament. A loss to the Huskies would be a huge upset, however.
• Utah @ BYU (Saturday 7PM) – ending the season with 2 straight losses would almost certainly kill Utah’s chances at an at-large bid. The Holy War is huge for the Utes, especially since they face BYU again in the RMLC Tournament the following week.
• SELC and LSA Tournaments get underway – If Florida State or Texas is upset in the early rounds, it could really shake up the tournament field.

With Utah’s potential exit from the tournament field, it’s up to Virginia Tech and Central Florida to take care of some business and play their way into the field.