The 2024 NCAA Tournament has been set and Boston College has a clear path to a national championship

Here we are. The last piece. Four wins away from glory.

After the Boston College men's hockey team earned their huge Hockey East Championship victory over #2 BU on Saturday night, another game was about to end across the country. In the NCHC, #3 Denver rode a late wave to defeat the Omaha Mavericks in their conference championship game, which had the cascading effect of vaulting UMass into the NCAA Tournament and omitting Colorado College. From there the entire bracket was worked out released Sunday evening:

The 2024 NCAA hockey tournament On Friday afternoon in Providence, Boston College will play Michigan Tech, the CCHA champion, and then, if they advance, the winner of Wisconsin/Quinnipiac. BC earned the No. 1 seed and it's now paying off as it's about the easiest path you can find to the Frozen four. MTU is ranked just 32nd in Pairwise's national rankings and enters the tournament thanks to their automatic bid after winning their conference. Additionally, both Wisconsin and Quinnipiac were upset in their own conference tournaments and looked vulnerable in recent weeks.

While QU are the reigning national champions, they don't have the same top offensive talent as last year and have dropped some pretty bad games in a weak conference. St. Lawrence (#43 in Pairwise) beat QU 3-0 in the ECAC semifinals, Clarkson (#36) beat them in OT earlier this month, and Cornell (the only tournament team they've played since November) defeated them in OT in January. BC also defeated them in the first game of the season on their big night, before the Eagles' freshman had even gotten a foothold.

Wisconsin hasn't been much better lately either. They lost a three-game series to State of Ohio (#26) in the Big Ten quarterfinals, a very poor performance for a team that is supposed to play a great style of playoff hockey. But perhaps it's mostly matchup-based, as Ohio State also swept them during the regular season, but the Badgers' only other losses since early February came in a series split against State of Michigan (#4) and a series split against Minnesota (#6) in OT. Wisconsin seems like a more formidable opponent than Quinnipiac, especially since they play in a competitive Big Ten and have traded blows with some of their top programs.

Looking at the other parts of the series, it should amuse BC fans everywhere that BU is being shipped to South Dakota to play their regional instead of traveling across the Mass Pike to play in Springfield. BU won't have any home field advantage because UMass hosts the Springfield Regional and was the last team to play in the NCAA tournament, so they are required to play there. The tournament selection committee had to avoid Hockey East's first-round match, so their solution was to send the Terriers west. LOL.

If BC makes it to the Frozen Four, it will be very interesting to see who from the Missouri region takes on them. The Eagles defeated Michigan State at home earlier this season, so all things considered, that seems like a pretty attractive option. But the threat of North Dakota or Michigan forcing their way into the Frozen Four could make things interesting. Big Ten teams in particular have already seen some playoff dogfights this year, so whoever makes it to St. Paul will be tested.

Finally, there is one more thing I need to address. There is a very real possibility that the 2024 national championship game could come down to Boston College and Boston University. BC is a heavy favorite to reach the title game, and BU is a very talented team with plenty of firepower, despite their loss to BC in the Hockey East championship. BU's regional is a little tougher than BC's regional, and the Terriers would have to go through some tough games against probably #6 Minnesota and #3 Denver to reach the title game, but the path is definitely there. It would be the second time in history that college hockey's greatest rivalry met in a national championship game, and it would give BC a chance to avenge the program's 1978 loss. Plus, with both programs at five national championships, they would be playing for some serious bragging rights.

Boston College will play Michigan Tech in Providence, RI on Friday, March 29 at 2:00 PM ET. If they advance, they will face the winner of Wisconsin/Quinnipiac on Sunday, March 31 at 4:00 PM ET. The winner of that match will advance to the Frozen Four in St. Paul, Minnesota.