Every Monday, I bracket the 256 playoff teams using the IHSA Playoff Outlook. This is NOT a prediction. These are NOT my opinions. It is simply the most logical way the playoffs would be bracketed, using the IHSA's specific system, if today's standings were the final standings.
Each week I usually have to add/subtract teams to get a true 256. The Outlook doesn't adjust for the teams ineligible for the playoffs from the CPS "Chicago" conferences (teams who finish 3rd place and lower). The Outlook doesn't adjust for a conference champion falling below the cutoff. I take care of all that before proceeding.
My adjustments.....
I pulled Mather, Marine, and Phoenix out of the playoffs because of the CPS "Chicago" conference rule. I inserted 1A Oblong and 8A Leyden into the playoffs because their conference had zero qualifiers per the Outlook. I simply chose the top team listed by record and playoff points. That left us with 255 teams. At team 256, 9 teams are tied at 3-2, 19 pp....
Of the 9 teams tied, Clemente and Schurz are not eligible because of the CPS "Chicago" conference rule. The seven remaining teams will go to the next tie-breaker, total wins of their defeated opponents. They are Ridgewood 5, DuQuoin 4, Julian 4, Benton 4, Dwight 3, Princeton 3, Kenwood 2. 4A Ridgewood becomes team 256 and is inserted into the field. We still haven't needed the tie-breaker after this one. Fingers crossed it stays that way.
There are 11 teams at 3-2 with LESS than 19 playoff points. These are teams who probably need to win 6 games because there isn't much time left for their playoff points to improve dramatically. They are South Fulton Coop, Uplift, Nashville, East Alton Wood-River, Bloomington, Rich East, Lake Forest, Granite City, Rock Island, Leyden and Willowbrook. During conference play, there is rarely a big swing in playoff points. If any of these teams have great non-conference opponents, that will help going forward.
From there, I adjust teams up and down into the proper classes to create 8 classes of 32 teams. My classes were 33-32-31-32-33-30-32-33 respectively. So.... Tuscola up to 2A, New Berlin up to 3A, West Frankfort down to 3A, Rolling Meadows down to 6A, and Oswego East down to 7A
I don't see quads in the 2015 playoffs, and they aren't mentioned in "How the matchups are determined", so I'm not using quads unless I get new information. I'm using the Playoff Outlook updated at 8:34 AM on 9/26. I'm not making further adjustments.
Next week you get 8A thru 2A, and I continue to add a class each week until week 8. For week 9, I give you the final projection with team nicknames.
~~~ 8A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#32 Leyden at #1 Brother Rice
#17 Lincoln-Way East at #16 Marist
#25 Naperville Central at #8 Naperville North
#24 Fremd at #9 Lyons
#29 Evanston at #4 Hinsdale Central
#20 Niles West at #13 West Aurora
#28 Plainfield South at #5 Homewood-Flossmoor
#21 Curie at #12 Oswego
Lower Bracket
#31 Bloom at #2 Loyola
#18 Lockport at #15 Taft
#26 Joliet West at #7 Neuqua Valley
#23 Huntley at #10 Oak Park
#30 New Trier at #3 Barrington
#19 Notre Dame at #14 Stevenson
#27 Minooka at #6 Palatine
#22 Waubonsie Valley at #11 St. Charles East
~~~ 7A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#32 Libertyville at #1 Lincoln Park
#17 McHenry at #16 Lake Zurich
#25 Highland Park at #8 Fenwick
#24 Pekin at #9 Benet
#29 Wheaton North at #4 Oswego East
#20 St. Patrick at #13 St. Charles North
#28 Plainfield North at #5 Bradley-Bourbannais
#21 St. Rita at #12 Normal
Lower Bracket
#31 Prospect at #2 Glenbrook North
#18 Hononegah at #15 Lincoln-Way Central
#26 Larkin at #7 Schaumburg
#23 Maine West at #10 Batavia
#30 Maine South at #3 East St. Louis
#19 Harlem at #14 Lincoln-Way West
#27 Glenbard North at #6 Edwardsville
#22 Mount Carmel at #11 Glenbard West
~~~ 6A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Lakes at #1 Prairie Ridge
#9 Marmion #8 DeKalb
#13 St. Viator at #4 Rolling Meadows
#12 St. Ignatius at #5 Riverside-Brookfield
#15 Hampshire at #2 Boylan Catholic
#10 Auburn at #7 Cary-Grove
#14 Deerfield at #3 De La Salle
#11 Grayslake North at #6 Hoffman Estates
Lower Bracket
#16 Shepard at #1 Lemont
#9 Quincy at #8 Perspectives
#13 Glenwood at #4 St. Laurence
#12 Thornwood at #5 TF South
#15 Springfield at #2 Sacred Heart-Griffin
#10 Crete-Monee at #7 Hubbard
#14 Centenniel at #3 Danville
#11 Richards at #6 Reavis
~~~ 5A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Kaneland at #1 Sterling
#9 Solorio #8 Payton
#13 Oak Forest at #4 Morgan Park
#12 Marian Central Catholic at #5 Woodstock North
#15 Tinley Park at #2 Antioch
#10 Westinghouse at #7 Thornridge
#14 Woodstock at #3 Rochelle
#11 Glenbard South at #6 Vernon Hills
Lower Bracket
#16 Mahomet-Seymour at #1 Peoria
#9 Rich Central #8 Triad
#13 Washington at #4 Morris
#12 Waterloo at #5 Hillcrest
#15 Cahokia at #2 Dec Eisenhower
#10 Centralia at #7 Metamora
#14 Limestome at #3 Highland
#11 Peo Notre Dame at #6 Galesburg
~~~ 4A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Ridgewood at #1 Johnsburg
#9 Dixon #8 Marengo
#13 Rockford Lutheran at #4 Goode
#12 Plano at #5 St. Edward
#15 South Shore at #2 Genoa-Kingston
#10 Rock Falls at #7 Phillips
#14 Evergreen Park at #3 Aurora Central Catholic
#11 Richmond-Burton at #6 Wheaton Academy
Lower Bracket
#16 Alton Marquette at #1 Breese Central
#9 Mount Zion #8 Herrin
#13 Coal City at #4 Rochester
#12 Taylorville at #5 Althoff Catholic
#15 Effingham at #2 Herscher
#10 Canton at #7 Civic Memorial
#14 Manteno at #3 Columbia
#11 Watseka at #6 Geneseo
~~~ 3A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 ROWVA Mid-County Coop at #1 Immaculate Conception
#9 Bloomington Central Catholic #8 Vandalia
#13 Seneca at #4 Farmington
#12 Winnebago at #5 Monticello
#15 Clark at #2 Elmwood-Brimfield
#10 Eureka at #7 Paxton-Buckley-Loda
#14 Lisle at #3 Wilmington
#11 Reed-Custer at #6 Byron
Lower Bracket
#16 Frankfort at #1 Mount Carmel
#9 Carlinville #8 Beardstown
#13 Sullivan-Okaw Valley Coop at #4 Pana
#12 Unity at #5 Hillsboro
#15 Greenville at #2 North Mac
#10 Williamsville at #7 Newton
#14 New Berlin at #3 Fairfield
#11 Anna-Jonesboro at #6 Marshall
Each week I usually have to add/subtract teams to get a true 256. The Outlook doesn't adjust for the teams ineligible for the playoffs from the CPS "Chicago" conferences (teams who finish 3rd place and lower). The Outlook doesn't adjust for a conference champion falling below the cutoff. I take care of all that before proceeding.
My adjustments.....
I pulled Mather, Marine, and Phoenix out of the playoffs because of the CPS "Chicago" conference rule. I inserted 1A Oblong and 8A Leyden into the playoffs because their conference had zero qualifiers per the Outlook. I simply chose the top team listed by record and playoff points. That left us with 255 teams. At team 256, 9 teams are tied at 3-2, 19 pp....
Of the 9 teams tied, Clemente and Schurz are not eligible because of the CPS "Chicago" conference rule. The seven remaining teams will go to the next tie-breaker, total wins of their defeated opponents. They are Ridgewood 5, DuQuoin 4, Julian 4, Benton 4, Dwight 3, Princeton 3, Kenwood 2. 4A Ridgewood becomes team 256 and is inserted into the field. We still haven't needed the tie-breaker after this one. Fingers crossed it stays that way.
There are 11 teams at 3-2 with LESS than 19 playoff points. These are teams who probably need to win 6 games because there isn't much time left for their playoff points to improve dramatically. They are South Fulton Coop, Uplift, Nashville, East Alton Wood-River, Bloomington, Rich East, Lake Forest, Granite City, Rock Island, Leyden and Willowbrook. During conference play, there is rarely a big swing in playoff points. If any of these teams have great non-conference opponents, that will help going forward.
From there, I adjust teams up and down into the proper classes to create 8 classes of 32 teams. My classes were 33-32-31-32-33-30-32-33 respectively. So.... Tuscola up to 2A, New Berlin up to 3A, West Frankfort down to 3A, Rolling Meadows down to 6A, and Oswego East down to 7A
I don't see quads in the 2015 playoffs, and they aren't mentioned in "How the matchups are determined", so I'm not using quads unless I get new information. I'm using the Playoff Outlook updated at 8:34 AM on 9/26. I'm not making further adjustments.
Next week you get 8A thru 2A, and I continue to add a class each week until week 8. For week 9, I give you the final projection with team nicknames.
~~~ 8A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#32 Leyden at #1 Brother Rice
#17 Lincoln-Way East at #16 Marist
#25 Naperville Central at #8 Naperville North
#24 Fremd at #9 Lyons
#29 Evanston at #4 Hinsdale Central
#20 Niles West at #13 West Aurora
#28 Plainfield South at #5 Homewood-Flossmoor
#21 Curie at #12 Oswego
Lower Bracket
#31 Bloom at #2 Loyola
#18 Lockport at #15 Taft
#26 Joliet West at #7 Neuqua Valley
#23 Huntley at #10 Oak Park
#30 New Trier at #3 Barrington
#19 Notre Dame at #14 Stevenson
#27 Minooka at #6 Palatine
#22 Waubonsie Valley at #11 St. Charles East
~~~ 7A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#32 Libertyville at #1 Lincoln Park
#17 McHenry at #16 Lake Zurich
#25 Highland Park at #8 Fenwick
#24 Pekin at #9 Benet
#29 Wheaton North at #4 Oswego East
#20 St. Patrick at #13 St. Charles North
#28 Plainfield North at #5 Bradley-Bourbannais
#21 St. Rita at #12 Normal
Lower Bracket
#31 Prospect at #2 Glenbrook North
#18 Hononegah at #15 Lincoln-Way Central
#26 Larkin at #7 Schaumburg
#23 Maine West at #10 Batavia
#30 Maine South at #3 East St. Louis
#19 Harlem at #14 Lincoln-Way West
#27 Glenbard North at #6 Edwardsville
#22 Mount Carmel at #11 Glenbard West
~~~ 6A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Lakes at #1 Prairie Ridge
#9 Marmion #8 DeKalb
#13 St. Viator at #4 Rolling Meadows
#12 St. Ignatius at #5 Riverside-Brookfield
#15 Hampshire at #2 Boylan Catholic
#10 Auburn at #7 Cary-Grove
#14 Deerfield at #3 De La Salle
#11 Grayslake North at #6 Hoffman Estates
Lower Bracket
#16 Shepard at #1 Lemont
#9 Quincy at #8 Perspectives
#13 Glenwood at #4 St. Laurence
#12 Thornwood at #5 TF South
#15 Springfield at #2 Sacred Heart-Griffin
#10 Crete-Monee at #7 Hubbard
#14 Centenniel at #3 Danville
#11 Richards at #6 Reavis
~~~ 5A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Kaneland at #1 Sterling
#9 Solorio #8 Payton
#13 Oak Forest at #4 Morgan Park
#12 Marian Central Catholic at #5 Woodstock North
#15 Tinley Park at #2 Antioch
#10 Westinghouse at #7 Thornridge
#14 Woodstock at #3 Rochelle
#11 Glenbard South at #6 Vernon Hills
Lower Bracket
#16 Mahomet-Seymour at #1 Peoria
#9 Rich Central #8 Triad
#13 Washington at #4 Morris
#12 Waterloo at #5 Hillcrest
#15 Cahokia at #2 Dec Eisenhower
#10 Centralia at #7 Metamora
#14 Limestome at #3 Highland
#11 Peo Notre Dame at #6 Galesburg
~~~ 4A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Ridgewood at #1 Johnsburg
#9 Dixon #8 Marengo
#13 Rockford Lutheran at #4 Goode
#12 Plano at #5 St. Edward
#15 South Shore at #2 Genoa-Kingston
#10 Rock Falls at #7 Phillips
#14 Evergreen Park at #3 Aurora Central Catholic
#11 Richmond-Burton at #6 Wheaton Academy
Lower Bracket
#16 Alton Marquette at #1 Breese Central
#9 Mount Zion #8 Herrin
#13 Coal City at #4 Rochester
#12 Taylorville at #5 Althoff Catholic
#15 Effingham at #2 Herscher
#10 Canton at #7 Civic Memorial
#14 Manteno at #3 Columbia
#11 Watseka at #6 Geneseo
~~~ 3A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 ROWVA Mid-County Coop at #1 Immaculate Conception
#9 Bloomington Central Catholic #8 Vandalia
#13 Seneca at #4 Farmington
#12 Winnebago at #5 Monticello
#15 Clark at #2 Elmwood-Brimfield
#10 Eureka at #7 Paxton-Buckley-Loda
#14 Lisle at #3 Wilmington
#11 Reed-Custer at #6 Byron
Lower Bracket
#16 Frankfort at #1 Mount Carmel
#9 Carlinville #8 Beardstown
#13 Sullivan-Okaw Valley Coop at #4 Pana
#12 Unity at #5 Hillsboro
#15 Greenville at #2 North Mac
#10 Williamsville at #7 Newton
#14 New Berlin at #3 Fairfield
#11 Anna-Jonesboro at #6 Marshall
Last edited:
