For the newbies, 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 standing 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.
Is this a huge waste of time? Yes. But some people seem to like it, and I like bracketing things, so I'll waste some time on the next 6 Mondays for the enjoyment of Edgy's minions. Where you can find some value is in the cutoff for each class, the north/south line between brackets in 1A thru 6A, and how some teams relate to others in terms of playoff points. For example, Glenbard West was a 7A team for a decade. But their ascension to 8A in 2014 should not have been a big surprise because I was showing you they would likely end up in 8A for over a month.
Anyways.....
I don't want to get too detailed for the first playoff outlook. I pulled Steinmetz, Mather, Lincoln Park, and Foreman out of the playoffs because of the CPS "Chicago" conference rule. I inserted Marshall, MoPo, and Prospect 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, and several others tied at 2-1, 10 pp. Rich Central won my week 3 tie-breaker of eeny-meeny-meiny-moe. I'll use the official IHSA tie-breakers in two weeks when the standings are a bit more forgiving. From there, I adjust teams up and down into the proper classes to create 8 classes of 32 teams.
Still, despite this lengthy explanation for the 10th year in a row, one particular local buffoon will be asking how the hell H-F is ranked so low, below Glenbard East. UGH!!!
Here is your first look at our dream come true, 8A and 7A seeded 1 to 32!
~~~ 8A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#32 Leyden at #1 Oak Park
#17 Marist at #16 Curie
#25 Sandburg at #8 Fremd
#24 Waukegan at #9 Notre Dame
#29 South Elgin at #4 Lyons
#20 Palatine at #13 Homewood-Flossmoor
#28 Neuqua Valley at #5 Huntley
#21 Brother Rice at #12 Glenbard East
Lower Bracket
#31 Oswego at #2 Loyola
#18 Schaumburg at #15 Minooka
#26 Belleville East at #7 Barrington
#23 Evanston at #10 Naperville Central
#30 Waubonsie Valley at #3 Conant
#19 Stevenson at #14 Edwardsville
#27 Joliet West at #6 Hinsdale Central
#22 Zion-Benton at #11 New Trier
~~~ 7A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#32 Prospect at #1 Glenbard West
#17 Mount Carmel at #16 Reavis
#25 Plainfield North at #8 Schurz
#24 Downers North at #9 Normal
#29 Niles North at #4 Batavia
#20 Benet Academy at #13 St. Charles North
#28 East St. Louis at #5 Bradley-Bourbannais
#21 Crystal Lake South at #12 Hononegah
Lower Bracket
#31 Maine West at #2 Cary-Grove
#18 St. Patrick at #15 Mundelein
#26 Auburn at #7 Geneva
#23 Eisenhower at #10 Jacobs
#30 Quincy at #3 Whitney Young
#19 Hoffman Estates at #14 Libertyville
#27 Addison Trail at #6 Thornton
#22 Lincoln-Way East at #11 Harlem
~~~ 6A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Hinsdale South at #1 Belvidere North
#9 Grayslake North #8 Lemont
#13 DeKalb at #4 St. Francis
#12 Crystal Lake Central at #5 Vernon Hills
#15 Belvidere at #2 Montini
#10 Lake Forest at #7 Prairie Ridge
#14 Hampshire at #3 Riverside-Brookfield
#11 Kaneland at #6 King
Lower Bracket
#16 Morgan Park at #1 Lincoln-Way North
#9 LaSalle-Preu at #8 Yorkville
#13 Centennial at #4 Lincoln-Way West
#12 Southeast at #5 Peoria Notre Dame
#15 Crete-Monee at #2 Oak Forest
#10 Dunlap at #7 Peoria
#14 Glenwood at #3 Ottawa
#11 TF North at #6 Sacred Heart-Griffin
~~~ 5A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Rich Central at #1 Solorio Academy
#9 Rochelle #8 Julian
#13 Lindblom at #4 Tinley Park
#12 Westinghouse at #5 Woodstock North
#15 Dixon at #2 Marian Central
#10 St. Laurence at #7 Joliet Catholic
#14 Hyde Park at #3 Hillcrest
#11 Ridgewood at #6 Nazareth
Lower Bracket --- QUADS
#8 Champaign Central at #1 Geneseo
#5 Limestone at #4 Metamora
#7 Mahomet-Seymour at #2 Washington
#6 Morris at #3 Sterling
#8 University at #1 Triad
#5 Civic Memorial at #4 Centralia
#7 Jacksonville at #2 Taylorville
#6 Marion at #3 Highland
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.
Is this a huge waste of time? Yes. But some people seem to like it, and I like bracketing things, so I'll waste some time on the next 6 Mondays for the enjoyment of Edgy's minions. Where you can find some value is in the cutoff for each class, the north/south line between brackets in 1A thru 6A, and how some teams relate to others in terms of playoff points. For example, Glenbard West was a 7A team for a decade. But their ascension to 8A in 2014 should not have been a big surprise because I was showing you they would likely end up in 8A for over a month.
Anyways.....
I don't want to get too detailed for the first playoff outlook. I pulled Steinmetz, Mather, Lincoln Park, and Foreman out of the playoffs because of the CPS "Chicago" conference rule. I inserted Marshall, MoPo, and Prospect 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, and several others tied at 2-1, 10 pp. Rich Central won my week 3 tie-breaker of eeny-meeny-meiny-moe. I'll use the official IHSA tie-breakers in two weeks when the standings are a bit more forgiving. From there, I adjust teams up and down into the proper classes to create 8 classes of 32 teams.
Still, despite this lengthy explanation for the 10th year in a row, one particular local buffoon will be asking how the hell H-F is ranked so low, below Glenbard East. UGH!!!
Here is your first look at our dream come true, 8A and 7A seeded 1 to 32!
~~~ 8A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#32 Leyden at #1 Oak Park
#17 Marist at #16 Curie
#25 Sandburg at #8 Fremd
#24 Waukegan at #9 Notre Dame
#29 South Elgin at #4 Lyons
#20 Palatine at #13 Homewood-Flossmoor
#28 Neuqua Valley at #5 Huntley
#21 Brother Rice at #12 Glenbard East
Lower Bracket
#31 Oswego at #2 Loyola
#18 Schaumburg at #15 Minooka
#26 Belleville East at #7 Barrington
#23 Evanston at #10 Naperville Central
#30 Waubonsie Valley at #3 Conant
#19 Stevenson at #14 Edwardsville
#27 Joliet West at #6 Hinsdale Central
#22 Zion-Benton at #11 New Trier
~~~ 7A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#32 Prospect at #1 Glenbard West
#17 Mount Carmel at #16 Reavis
#25 Plainfield North at #8 Schurz
#24 Downers North at #9 Normal
#29 Niles North at #4 Batavia
#20 Benet Academy at #13 St. Charles North
#28 East St. Louis at #5 Bradley-Bourbannais
#21 Crystal Lake South at #12 Hononegah
Lower Bracket
#31 Maine West at #2 Cary-Grove
#18 St. Patrick at #15 Mundelein
#26 Auburn at #7 Geneva
#23 Eisenhower at #10 Jacobs
#30 Quincy at #3 Whitney Young
#19 Hoffman Estates at #14 Libertyville
#27 Addison Trail at #6 Thornton
#22 Lincoln-Way East at #11 Harlem
~~~ 6A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Hinsdale South at #1 Belvidere North
#9 Grayslake North #8 Lemont
#13 DeKalb at #4 St. Francis
#12 Crystal Lake Central at #5 Vernon Hills
#15 Belvidere at #2 Montini
#10 Lake Forest at #7 Prairie Ridge
#14 Hampshire at #3 Riverside-Brookfield
#11 Kaneland at #6 King
Lower Bracket
#16 Morgan Park at #1 Lincoln-Way North
#9 LaSalle-Preu at #8 Yorkville
#13 Centennial at #4 Lincoln-Way West
#12 Southeast at #5 Peoria Notre Dame
#15 Crete-Monee at #2 Oak Forest
#10 Dunlap at #7 Peoria
#14 Glenwood at #3 Ottawa
#11 TF North at #6 Sacred Heart-Griffin
~~~ 5A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Rich Central at #1 Solorio Academy
#9 Rochelle #8 Julian
#13 Lindblom at #4 Tinley Park
#12 Westinghouse at #5 Woodstock North
#15 Dixon at #2 Marian Central
#10 St. Laurence at #7 Joliet Catholic
#14 Hyde Park at #3 Hillcrest
#11 Ridgewood at #6 Nazareth
Lower Bracket --- QUADS
#8 Champaign Central at #1 Geneseo
#5 Limestone at #4 Metamora
#7 Mahomet-Seymour at #2 Washington
#6 Morris at #3 Sterling
#8 University at #1 Triad
#5 Civic Memorial at #4 Centralia
#7 Jacksonville at #2 Taylorville
#6 Marion at #3 Highland
