2012 NCAA D-I men's soccer bracket announced.

http://www.ncaa.com/interactive-bracket/soccer-men/d1/2012

Here it is. Let's use this for thoughts on the matchups and who got in and who didn't.

Syracuse, Drexel and Northwestern all getting an at-large was a big surprise. I thought UC Davis would be in for sure.

Akron being given a #5 seed is ridiculous.

Hope BC can survive that travel over to Northeastern

Looks like the Big Snub this year is SIU-Edwardsville. They had a 35 RPI, a 13-7 record and are the only team in the Top 40 of the RPI not to get an at-large.

It looks like the final bid went to 41 Northwestern. Why SIU and not any of the 5 teams below them in the RPI who did get an at-large bid?

36. Xavier - 13-2-5
37. Coastal Carolina - 18-2-2
38. Boston College - 8-5-5
40. Syracuse - 12-6-0
41. Northwestern - 11-5-4

I have no idea.

The Big East managed to be criminally over-rated yet again. For the most part, the notion that they faced strong schedules is a big lie.

I believe that Syracuse is their only team that traveled west, and when they did, they lost to Fullerton. On Georgetown's only halfway decent non-conference away trip, they couldn't even beat Big Ten bottom-feeder Wisconsin.

I knew those two were gonna play each other. NCAA likes to save money on travel costs where it can.

So Rutgers has the highest RPI of anyone left out. I said it before: at the end of the day, you still have to win games. They did not do enough of that and were deservedly denied an at-large.

Hey, the Hoyas went "all the way" to Germantown, MD to play Virginia! You hit rush hour traffic on the Beltway or 270 and that trip is a bitch!

For me the best of the 4 region's is the ND region..

You got Notre Dame, Xavier, Indiana, UNC, St. John's, St. Louis and even ODU

Again, with the exception of Northwestern in and SIU-E out, the committee went straight down the RPI line (for teams above .500) for the at-large bids.

Not a lot of intrigue there.

I wonder if they'll take the T.

A Virginia vs New Mexico (2nd round is intriguing). Been a long time since New Mexico gotten to the big dance (2005). Can they make a run?

You know Maryland is rubbing their hands together to get Wake Forest up at Ludwig after the loss down in Winston Salem. Coastal Carolina could knock off Wake and ruin the payback. But then CC has to win their first game which is no easy pickns.

Would Northridge have gotten an at-large if Davis had won?

Their RPI is 29 - though it would have been a smidge lower if they lost - so I assume, yes, they would have.

Wake would have to potentially get past Elon who beat them earlier in the year first. Some layered intrigue in that section of the bracket, if not freshness of matchups

the BW north teams beating up on each other took everyone out

Coach Kevin Kalish can't be too happy about that - went so far as to make a point in the post game "minutes"

"I feel strongly that we should be selected tomorrow to the NCAA Tournament. We've showed we can successfully compete with any team in the nation – case in point today, as I felt we were in control throughout the game against a very good Creighton team. I feel our season's results warrant inclusion in the NCAA field as an at-large," said Kalish.

http://www.siuecougars.com/sports/m-soccer/2012-13/releases/20121111jmnhxg

Air Force/Washington intrigues me out west. The Fly Boys will not be intimidated at all. But the winner better be prepared for some bad weather in Omaha.

Creighton had a Snow Bowl last year in the Elite Eight and their field was frozen solid against us in the previous round. I guess we weren't quite used to 29 degree weather.

It should be noted that Northridge traveled East and got an RPI boost, even though they lost.

Davis did not travel outside the region and did not get an RPI boost.

Look at the top West teams in the RPI - UCLA, New Mexico, Washington, Northridge all got on a plane left the region. All benefited in the RPI. Shouldn't be that way, but the system is what it is and it's not like we don't know that going in.

At first glance, it's hard not to see how SIUE didn't get hosed.

True. Although last year we did beat Akron and West Virginia at home and tied Villanova, we also hopped on a plane to pick up wins over Duke and NC State in Raleigh. Probably helped us get that #15 seed too.

Still, Davis's win over Tulsa this year looks like it was not enough.

For those that don't want to look at the bracket, here are the matchups. (Cribbed from SBI)

Bracket 1
Cleveland State (11-5-3) vs. Michigan State (11-9-1), winner vs. Notre Dame (1)
Xavier vs. Kentucky, winner vs. Indiana (16)
UMBC (11-4-5) vs. Old Dominion (11-3-2), Winner vs. North Carolina (15-3-2) (9)
FDU (9-5-6) vs. St. John’s (10-4-4), winner vs. Saint Louis (16-4-0) (8)
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Bracket 2
Niagara (13-1-4) vs. Michigan (10-9-1), winner vs. (5) Akron (17-1-2)
Air Force (10-8-4) vs. Washington (12-4-3), winner vs. (12) Creighton (15-3-2)
Lafayette (9-7-4) vs. Virginia (9-6-4), winner vs. (13) New Mexico (16-3-1)
Boston College (8-5-5) vs. Northeastern (13-2-4), winner vs. (4) UConn (
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Bracket 3
UAB (10-7-2) vs. Charlotte ( 14-3-3), Winner vs. (3) Georgetown (17-3-1)
Syracuse (12-6) vs. Cornell (15-1), winner vs. (14) VCU
Florida Gulf Coast (11-5-2) vs. South Florida (8-5-4), Winner vs. (11) Tulsa (13-5-1)
San Diego (11-8) vs. Cal State Northridge (15-6), winner vs. (6) UCLA
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Bracket 4
Western Illinois (7-8-5) vs. Northwestern (11-5-4), Winner vs. (7) Marquette
Winthrop (12-8-1) vs. SMU (10-5-4), winner vs. (10 Louisville
Elon (15-4-2) vs. Coastal Carolina 18-2-2), Winner vs. (15) Wake Forest
Brown (12-2-3) vs. Drexel (12-3-3), winner vs. (2) Maryland

Only three California teams, and they are all automatic bids.

Remember the blown offside call that took away an Akron goal in the Creighton game.