Preview: 2011 College Open Regionals (Great Lakes)
Kevin Stowe
Posted: April 29, 2011 03:47 PM
The 2011 Great Lakes Open Region looks awfully similar to 2010: Michigan State stole the top seed from Michigan in the Conference final, and Illinois is seeded third. Ball State is somewhat of a newcomer, but the fifth seed is occupied by familiar face Indiana (these two were 1-1 at the Eastern Plains Conference Championships, with Ball State winning in the final).
Beyond these five, there are few quality regular season wins, but plenty of upset potential. When the dust clears, expect a quarterfinal field that is very similar to last year’s. The big difference, though, is that there is only one bid to the College Championships.
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Pool A:
Michigan State
Eastern Illinois
Kalamazoo
Western Illinois
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Games to Watch:
Michigan State vs Eastern Illinois
On paper, Michigan State should win this game fairly easily: they have much stronger wins during the spring, and a more talented roster. However, Eastern Illinois beat a Michigan State team in the fall (albeit with different rosters), and this game could be better than expected. I expect a Michigan State victory, but it might not be easy.
Kalamazoo vs Western Illinois
Both teams have a put up a large number of wins against weaker teams in the spring, but not so much against stronger teams. Kalamazoo has a talented roster, and they’re going to need to come out strong to build on what I believe is their highest seed ever at Regionals.
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Pool B:
Michigan
Chicago
Wheaton (Illinois)
Southern Illinois
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Game to Watch:
Not Michigan’s
Michigan is solid in Regionals every year, and given their talented roster and strong coaching core, there’s no reason to expect any different for 2011. The fight for second in this pool should be fierce, and all of these games could go to any team.
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Pool C:
Illinois
Notre Dame
Loyola-Chicago
Western Michigan
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Illinois looks like they won’t have much trouble in this pool: their talent and Regionals experience leads me to believe they will walk away from this easily. Notre Dame is a solid team as well, and I expect them to finish second in the pool. I would love to see some upsets, but Loyola and Western Michigan haven’t shown they can beat higher tier teams. To me, this is the most straightforward pool.
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Pool D:
Ball State
Indiana
Northwestern
Michigan-B
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Game to Watch:
Ball State vs Indiana
This should be Saturday’s best game. These two traded games at Conferences, with Indiana losing in the finals despite winning on Saturday. Indiana’s talent is very strong, and if they can avoid drops, I think they can run away with this game. On the other hand, Ball State is a very capable team, but they have not consistently earned wins over strong teams (for that matter, neither has Indiana).
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Projected Semis:
Michigan State vs Indiana
I think Indiana will beat Ball State, which would yield a great rematch of last year’s semifinal where Michigan State had to come from behind to win. Don’t expect drops to plague Indiana like last year. Both teams are packed with talent, including two of the best handlers in region (Alex Edinger of Michigan State and Ed Wu at Indiana) and club standouts Ryan Heffernan (Michigan State/Overhaul) and Taylor Kramer (Indiana/Machine).
Michigan vs Illinois
Another rematch of last years semis, both of these teams excel at Regionals. It will be interesting to see how Michigan, a team that has often won the second bid through the back door, will play with only one chance. Given their strong history of reaching the Championships, it is hard to bet against them. Illinois has a number of strong wins this year, and an undoubtedly talented roster, but Michigan is the only team in the region posting wins over top caliber teams (including Oregon and Colorado).
These two games both look pretty even to me. I’m not picking a final. Instead, I’m driving six hours Sunday morning to see them.
Other items of note:
- Michigan is 0-2 in tournament finals against Michigan State.
- Michigan State lost to Illinois and Michigan last year after making the final.
- Michigan and Illinois are the only teams in the Great Lakes that have qualified for the Championships in the past three years.
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Questions/Comments? Discuss in this event discussion thread.
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