This year's tournament is not one for the blue blood teams of college hockey. The top three overall seeds each hail from Minnesota yet the Gophers are not among them. Northeastern won the Beanpot and Hockey East conference tournament while Boston College and Boston University both sit at home. So does North Dakota for a second consecutive year as Arizona State, in its third season playing a full D1 schedule, goes dancing.
Either way, among the new faces and combinations of teams out not seen since the 1960s, means there are a lot of fans who do not have a team to cheer this weekend. Same goes with NHL fans or anyone casually coming across the NCAA Tournament for the first time.
To help you - the completely neutral fan - I thought it would be beneficial to rank the teams by who would be the best to see win a championship if you have no one to cheer.
Caveat: Take this as a guide. Obviously, there are going to be differences depending on fanbases, rivalries, draft picks, connections and other factors. It's okay to cheer for a team for any rationale. For that reason, I'll also give a reason to cheer as well.
16. Denver
Of college hockey's blue blood teams, only Denver remains. The Pioneers are the only school with three or more championships playing in the NCAA Tournament. Add in a recent championship and it's tough to sell a neutral fan on DU in a year where the traditional powers have been anything but.
Cheer because: The 2017 NCAA champs surprised many to get here and would be a good story in 29 year-old head coach David Carle's first season.
15. Providence
The Friars, for the third time in five years, play a regional in Providence as a No. 4 seed. It's an advantage made worse by the fact PC isn't officially the host. Providence is in Providence simply for attendance reasons.
Cheer because: Providence is an entertaining team on the ice, controlling puck possession and creating more opportunities in Corsi close situations than any team besides UMD.
14. Minnesota Duluth
As a completely neutral fan, do you want to start by jumping on the defending champion bandwagon? You're not Drake, right?
Cheer because: This might be a better Bulldogs team than the one who won the 2018 national championship. In an era where no team has repeated since Denver in 2005, UMD making the NCAA Tournament the following year as a No. 1 seed is an impressive feat.
13. Notre Dame
Not a traditional power, but likely the tournament's biggest name to a casual fan, Notre Dame is a team who catches attention. Unfortunately, the flashy helmets do not match the Fighting Irish's style of play. Jeff Jackson's team are more than content to rely on defense and goaltender Cale Morris to play a 2-1 game.
Cheer because: Notre Dame is in the same boat that Minnesota Duluth was last year, being the runner-up looking for redemption. That can be a fun story to follow.
12. Cornell
Remember what I said about Notre Dame's style of play? While this isn't a Cornell team that will go to triple OT tied at 0, historically the Big Red can be tough to crack defensively. Decades of success with two national championships - albeit the last one being nearly 50 years ago - also drop Cornell down.
Cheer because: The Big Red was a pleasant surprise last season, earning a No. 1 seed. This is supposed to be Cornell's year and can be one of redemption after being upset by Boston University in the first round. More importantly? Cornell hasn't been to a Frozen Four since the last time Buffalo hosted in 2003.
11. Clarkson
The Golden Knights would be higher in last year's rankings given it was Clarkson's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2008. This year? As happy as we are to see the team make a repeat appearance, there are better stories.
Cheer because: No team moved up more from the holiday break than the Golden Knights, who had the third-best record since December 28. Goaltender Jake Kielly and forward Nico Sturm might be two of the top undrafted free agents. If that isn't enough and you're a kid of the early 1990s, Clarkson's head coach is named Casey Jones.
10. Harvard
The ECAC run continues with the Crimson, who return to the NCAA Tournament after a one-year absence. Harvard is a fun team to watch but also gets hurt by being the elite Ivy League school. If this was the Minnesota State HS Tournament, the Crimson and Ivies would be the private schools. Hard to be a neutral fan and cheer for one.
Cheer because: Adam Fox is worth the price of admission alone. Harvard's last appearance saw the Crimson going to the Frozen Four semifinal.
To piggyback off the last entry, the Buckeyes would be the new big name suburban school who wasn't competing ten years ago. Everyone knows who OSU is and that the team has seen success, coming off a Frozen Four berth and Big Ten regular-season title.
Cheer because: Ohio State might be the biggest wild card. It wouldn't be a surprise to see OSU, the one Big Ten team to find a sustained run this season, win a national championship given its goaltending and offensive weapons. It also wouldn't be a surprise to see the Buckeyes, 1-5-1 down the stretch, get routed in the first round. Either way, Ohio State will be fun.
8. Northeastern
The Huskies in this year's tournament play the same role that Northeastern has in the Boston area.
Cheer because: This is Northeastern's seventh NCAA Tournament appearance. It's still a big deal for the Huskies to be playing; especially after losing a number of key players. Plus the Huskies logo is adorable.
7. Massachusetts
UMass enters its first NCAA Tournament since 2007 as a No. 1 seed. With super sophomore Cale Makar being the biggest NHL prospect playing, the Minutemen should be a trendy neutral fan pick. That drops UMass a couple spots.
Cheer because: For most of the same reasons. Hockey needs more Cale. The job Greg Carvel has done with Massachusetts is nothing short of remarkable and he's doing it with a team whose main pieces are underclassmen.
Tied for 5th: AIC/Arizona State
The two NCAA Tournament first-timers. If you want to start from the beginning, these are the teams to ride with whether it's Blake Christensen, Hugo Reinhardt, Johnny Walker or Joey Daccord. At the same time, there's not long-suffering or heartbreak like some of the other teams below. Neutral cheering for these teams is almost like playing with house money.
Cheer because: Both are fantastic stories to be at this point. AIC, in its third year under Eric Lang, won both the Atlantic Hockey regular season and conference tournament. Arizona State, under Greg Powers, was a club team five years ago. Both have fantastic logos and uniforms. AIC also gives the ultimate underdog - the 16th overall seed - and a program that had never won more than 12 games before last season.
4. St. Cloud State
No team has been better than the Huskies cumulatively over the past four seasons. St. Cloud State is the No. 1 overall seed for a second straight NCAA Tournament and was the No. 2 overall seed in 2016. Cheering for the Huskies means cheering for a team with the highest expectations, which can both good and bad for the neutral fan.
Cheer because: Despite all the regular season success, there's unfinished NCAA Tournament business. Both previous No. 1 seeds ended with major first-round upsets. St. Cloud State has only made one Frozen Four and yet to win a national championship. A team with a chip on its shoulder for more reasons than one, SCSU is entertaining to watch play.
3. Bowling Green
The Falcons snapped a 29 year NCAA Tournament drought! Nearly a decade after the program was on the brink of collapse and several close calls over the past five years, Bowling Green returns. Add in the Falcons facing the defending national champions in round one - a rematch of the 1984 national championship - and the team is the classic underdog story neutral fans flock towards.
Cheer because: That sums it up.
2. Quinnipiac
Quinnipiac can make a good case for being the best team this decade to not win a national championship. (Several other teams do as well.) The Bobcats have had two chances on the season's final day and come up short twice. This year Quinnipiac is a No. 2 seed - not too low, not too high - and doesn't have the expectations as some of the top teams yet has the talent and goaltending to make a run. Throw in an inoffensive group (Chase Priskie kicking notwithstanding) and the Bobcats end up being a good dark horse team for neutral fans to latch.
1. Minnesota State
This is Minnesota State's sixth attempt to win an NCAA Tournament game at the Division 1 level. Despite several close calls and being the No. 1 seed in 2015, it hasn't happened yet. The Mavericks are both a solid team and one looking to prove itself. Facing Providence in Providence also makes it an easy sell. Not often does a No. 1 seed feel like an underdog worthy of rallying around, but the case can be made here for a team with legitimate Frozen Four dreams.
Mike Hastings' team is not one full of flashy names or players (both the offense and defense are top-five nationally) yet best sum up this year's NCAA Tournament. And if that's not enough, Minnesota State's uniforms might be the best set in the field.
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Pretty hard to defend the statement that SCSU has been the best cumulative team over the last 4 years when they continue to have done nothing in the tournament when it matters most.
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