So Mitty, with the No. 1 player in the nation, is the 800-pound gorilla, but as Pinewood discovered last year, some fouls calls and an injury can change things.
Granted that beating Mitty is a tall order, but to win the Open takes three wins -- on a Wednesday, a Saturday and a Tuesday.
To win D1, it takes four wins -- and none of them will be easy. Plus, consider the schedule:
Most D1 teams will have played Friday or Saturday. They then must win Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and the following Tuesday to win D1. And any team in the bottom half of the bracket is traveling, possibly long distances, Tuesday night, and then must drive home before the players get to bed before going to school the next morning. Even more daunting would be the task facing a team that's looking at road games Tuesday and Thursday -- again, against quality opposition.
A team that plays this Saturday night would have to play five games in eight days just to get to the D1 finals -- and then turn around and play another game the next Tuesday.
So obviously it's a clear advantage to be a top four seed in D1, but regardless, that's going to be a very tough road.
Clearly, beating Mitty isn't easy either, but I don't know that it's going to be that much easier to win D1.
Granted that beating Mitty is a tall order, but to win the Open takes three wins -- on a Wednesday, a Saturday and a Tuesday.
To win D1, it takes four wins -- and none of them will be easy. Plus, consider the schedule:
Most D1 teams will have played Friday or Saturday. They then must win Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and the following Tuesday to win D1. And any team in the bottom half of the bracket is traveling, possibly long distances, Tuesday night, and then must drive home before the players get to bed before going to school the next morning. Even more daunting would be the task facing a team that's looking at road games Tuesday and Thursday -- again, against quality opposition.
A team that plays this Saturday night would have to play five games in eight days just to get to the D1 finals -- and then turn around and play another game the next Tuesday.
So obviously it's a clear advantage to be a top four seed in D1, but regardless, that's going to be a very tough road.
Clearly, beating Mitty isn't easy either, but I don't know that it's going to be that much easier to win D1.