The Week Ahead: NCAA Brackets Drop Today, Hockey One Hits Round 6, and the Dutch League Returns

Monday starts with answers. The NCAA Division III bracket is announced at 7:00am PKT this morning, and the Division I bracket follows at 8:00am PKT, both on NCAA.com. By breakfast, every college side in America will know its road to Louisville.

The Division I field is 18 teams. Ten conference champions are already in: Yale, Syracuse, Old Dominion, Northwestern, Vermont, Saint Joseph’s, Miami, Wagner, Lafayette and Delaware. Eight at-large picks fill the rest. The opening round is Wednesday 11 November, two games, and the first round proper is Friday 13 November at the top four seeds’ grounds. Seeded ties start at noon ET, 10:00pm PKT. The non-seeded games follow at 2:30pm ET, 12:30am PKT on Saturday. Division III’s first round is also on Wednesday.

Friday is a big night in Australia too. Hockey One Round 6 opens in Melbourne, where HC Melbourne host NSW Pride. That’s first against second in the men’s league and second against third in the women’s, and it’s the game of the round. The women’s game is at 12:30pm PKT, the men’s at 2:15pm PKT.

Saturday takes Hockey One to Hobart and Perth. Tassie Tigers host the Melbourne Cobras in Hobart, men at 7:00am PKT, women at 8:45am PKT. Then Perth Thundersticks host Adelaide Fire at home, men at 12:30pm PKT, women at 2:15pm PKT. Perth’s women are already through to the semi-finals, and Adelaide are already out in both competitions, so the pressure is all on the sides chasing the last finals places.

Sunday rounds it off. Brisbane Blaze host Canberra Chill, women at 9:00am PKT, men at 10:45am PKT. In the NCAA, the Division I second round is played on Sunday, 1:00pm ET, 11:00pm PKT. And in the Netherlands, the Hoofdklasse returns with Round 9 after a weekend that shook up the men’s title race, Amsterdam ending Oranje-Rood’s 32-match unbeaten run.

Then the countdown really starts. The Women’s Asian Champions Trophy opens in Bhopal on Thursday 19 November, India against Malaysia at 6:30pm PKT, and the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup starts in Ipoh on Friday 20 November. Two huge tournaments, back to back. This week is the calm before all of that.