3 and 6 Teams - District Format

[Magnum Opus]

Check my Math please.

If the first two games mean nothing towards playoff eligibility, then its a seven game season (so to speak) with the top four teams in each District making the playoffs.

3 win Teams - It's possible for a team with 3 District Wins to make the playoffs. Further, if this team loses the first two worthless games, their final record would be 3-6. Not a likely scenario, but possible.

6 win Teams - On the flip side, it's possible for a team with 4 District wins to not make the playoffs. Further, if this team wins it's first two worthless games, their final record would be 6-3 and NOT make the playoffs. Again, not a likely scenario, but possible.

If it's possible to have a 3-6 team in the playoffs while excluding a 6-3 team, I struggle with the logic.

If I loosen up the argument, you can expect many 5-4 teams NOT in the playoffs (75% of 5-4 teams made the playoffs in 2018) while many 4-5 teams will make the playoffs.

I'm pretty sure only a couple/few 4-5 teams have ever made the IHSA Playoffs and I'm almost certain a 3-6 team never has made the playoffs. Also...100% of eligable 6-3 teams made the playoffs since the current format started. With District play, it's no longer a certainty.

I wonder if the Brilliant AD at a certain DVC School who brought this forward and is on the IHSA Advisory Committee ever cared to contemplate this train wreck?....jus' sayin'!

Think of some of the 4-5 (and even 3-6) teams from this past season. Did any of them deserve to be in the playoffs over any 5-4 (or even 6-3) teams? You had a 5-4 Team this year win a State Championship...but under the District play scenario, they might not have made the playoffs.

 

[mc140]

Teams intentionally losing week 9 to manipulate their bracket slot will be fun too.

 

[sac'em]

We should stop looking at the 9-game record and start talking about district records. I think it is feasible that most, if not all 7-0/6-1/5-2 record teams make it, many 4-3 record teams make it but very few 3-4 teams.

 

[No Bias---Just Reality]

Check my Math please.

If the first two games mean nothing towards playoff eligibility, then its a seven game season (so to speak) with the top four teams in each District making the playoffs.

3 win Teams - It's possible for a team with 3 District Wins to make the playoffs. Further, if this team loses the first two worthless games, their final record would be 3-6. Not a likely scenario, but possible.

6 win Teams - On the flip side, it's possible for a team with 4 District wins to not make the playoffs. Further, if this team wins it's first two worthless games, their final record would be 6-3 and NOT make the playoffs. Again, not a likely scenario, but possible.

If it's possible to have a 3-6 team in the playoffs while excluding a 6-3 team, I struggle with the logic.

If I loosen up the argument, you can expect many 5-4 teams NOT in the playoffs (75% of 5-4 teams made the playoffs in 2018) while many 4-5 teams will make the playoffs.

I'm pretty sure only a couple/few 4-5 teams have ever made the IHSA Playoffs and I'm almost certain a 3-6 team never has made the playoffs. Also...100% of eligable 6-3 teams made the playoffs since the current format started. With District play, it's no longer a certainty.

I wonder if the Brilliant AD at a certain DVC School who brought this forward and is on the IHSA Advisory Committee ever cared to contemplate this train wreck?....jus' sayin'!

Think of some of the 4-5 (and even 3-6) teams from this past season. Did any of them deserve to be in the playoffs over any 5-4 (or even 6-3) teams? You had a 5-4 Team this year win a State Championship...but under the District play scenario, they might not have made the playoffs.

That 5-4 state champ would not have been 5-4 if they played the whole season in a 5a district!

Under the current system a team that won a state title would have been left out of the playoffs altogether if not for catching a break week 9 with the opponents star player missing.

Assuming they had the same non-district games the first 2 weeks that 5-4 team probably would have been 8-1 last year in a 5a district.

 

[Magnum Opus]

That 5-4 state champ would not have been 5-4 if they played the whole season in a 5a district!

Under the current system a team that won a state title would have been left out of the playoffs altogether if not for catching a break week 9 with the opponents star player missing.

Assuming they had the same non-district games the first 2 weeks that 5-4 team probably would have been 8-1 last year in a 5a district.

I don't disagree with you. But, my point is the District Format opens the door for playoff inequality. Deserving teams won't make it, and non deserving teams will make it.

 

[Hillini74]

Teams intentionally losing week 9 to manipulate their bracket slot will be fun too.

Just...wow! Tone Deaf.

 

[No Bias---Just Reality]

I don't disagree with you. But, my point is the District Format opens the door for playoff inequality. Deserving teams won't make it, and non deserving teams will make it.

There is no getting around some inequality in any system. The district is however less unequal because it forces all to play and qualify in their own class at least. As is now some teams play large opponents in conference and miss the playoffs due to this while others get in beating up smaller opponents. I’d rather have a 3-6 team (3-4 in district) get in playing their peers than a “pretender” 6-3 team who got a couple wins off smaller schools.

 

[PanthersWildcats86]

In a "normal" district, there would be7-0, 6-1, 5-4, and 4-3 teams which make the playoffs, while the 3-4, 2-5, 1-6, and 0-7 miss the playoffs.

But then we start playing with the numbers. What if you have three bad teams which 0-7, 1-6, and 2-6, while the rest go 5-2, 5-2, 5-2, 5-2, 5-2...i.e. they all beat the bad three and go 2-2 against each other...A five way tie for the district title....one of them misses the playoffs...What tiebreaker kicks in for this circumstance?

 

[Magnum Opus]

In a "normal" district, there would be7-0, 6-1, 5-4, and 4-3 teams which make the playoffs, while the 3-4, 2-5, 1-6, and 0-7 miss the playoffs.

But then we start playing with the numbers. What if you have three bad teams which 0-7, 1-6, and 2-6, while the rest go 5-2, 5-2, 5-2, 5-2, 5-2...i.e. they all beat the bad three and go 2-2 against each other...A five way tie for the district title....one of them misses the playoffs...What tiebreaker kicks in for this circumstance?

....and could mean a 7-2 team NOT make the playoffs (assuming two worthless wins at the beginning of the year)...I missed that math problem.

 

[DHS2018]

I think a lot of what being said here would have some validity if the current system was getting the best 256 teams into the playoffs, but it is not. If a 3-6 team gets into the field because they are the 4th best team in their district, who really cares?

 

[No Bias---Just Reality]

I think a lot of what being said here would have some validity if the current system was getting the best 256 teams into the playoffs, but it is not. If a 3-6 team gets into the field because they are the 4th best team in their district, who really cares?

That’s how it has to be because you don’t know the difficulty of one district to the next. Regardless of some whining on the edges about a team left out that belongs in and a team that gets in that maybe shouldn’t the best 16 or so are definitely getting in and the state would tell you their only goal is to crown the best champion not ensure everything is perfect on the edges. Right now the best 5a team may not get in (like almost happened to jca this year). Or in prior years when Aurora Christian was getting beat by the likes of brother rice and not making the playoffs they well may have been a contender for the 3a title. Since you are playing your class in the district system the best in that class are going to qualify.

 

[PanthersWildcats86]

That 5-4 state champ would not have been 5-4 if they played the whole season in a 5a district!

Under the current system a team that won a state title would have been left out of the playoffs altogether if not for catching a break week 9 with the opponents star player missing.

Assuming they had the same non-district games the first 2 weeks that 5-4 team probably would have been 8-1 last year in a 5a district.

Right, the 5-4 team that won a state championship would have been better off in a 5A District, as it would have saved them the 42-0 drubbing by the 4A Champion...

 

[PanthersWildcats86]

....and could mean a 7-2 team NOT make the playoffs (assuming two worthless wins at the beginning of the year)...I missed that math problem.

And the opposite possibility...7-0, 6-1, 3-4, 3-4, 3-4, 3-4, 3-4, 0-7...Two 3-4 schools make the playoffs, and again I wonder what is the tiebreaker?

 

[No Bias---Just Reality]

Right, the 5-4 team that won a state championship would have been better off in a 5A District, as it would have saved them the 42-0 drubbing by the 4A Champion...

No it wouldn’t have.... that would have been a non-district game. That’s why I said 8-1.