Every Monday(-ish), 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 a conference champion falling below the cutoff. I take care of that before proceeding.
My adjustments.....
The South Seven Conference leader (champ) was not in the playoff field. I inserted their conference leader, Carbondale (2-2/21), into 5A. This move was not really necessary because other conference teams were in the field. But every champ goes to the post-season if the league has 6 or more teams, and I accounted for that possibility. This gave us 257 teams.
I need to eliminate 1 team. Carmel was 2-3/26 at the bottom of the playoff field. No ties. They are the eliminated team from the 256, conveniently, from 5A also.
Now I just need to adjust the classes to balance them at 32 teams each. Loyola petitioned up to 8A, so we move them up. Downers North was the smallest 8A team, so they slide down to 7A. East St. Louis petitioned up to 6A, so we move them up. Lakes was the smallest 6A team, so they slide down to 5A. Supposedly Immaculate Conception petitioned to play up in 3A. They are currently in 4A in the Outlook. I left them there. FYI, if they end up in 3A, Stillman Valley would moved up, as of today.
THAT'S IT!
I'm skipping the biggest/smallest schools in each class for now because I have an OrangeTheory class in 20 minutes. Maybe I'll edit them in later. If those of you familiar with this post can take care of the newbies who wonder "how can you RANK Whitney Young ahead of Mount Carmel", I'd really appreciate it. I'll check back in later.
* is the smallest team in the class
^ is the biggest team in the class
~~~ 8A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#32 Taft at #1 Loyola
#17 Bolingbrook at #16 Hinsdale Central
#25 Evanston at #8 Glenbard West
#24 Naperville Central at #9 Brother Rice
#29 O'Fallon at #4 Glenbrook South
#20 Bartlett at #13 Warren
#28 Metea Valley at #5 Lockport
#21 Rich at #12 Glenbard North
Lower Bracket
#31 Edwardsville at #2 York
#18 Glenbard East at #15 Maine South
#26 Palatine at #7 Oswego East
#23 West Aurora at #10 Marist
#30 East Aurora at #3 South Elgin
#19 Homewood-Flossmoor at #14 Plainfield North
#27 New Trier at #6 Neuqua Valley
#22 Oswego at #11 Lincoln-Way East
~~~ 7A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#32 St. Charles North at #1 Batavia
#17 Pekin at #16 Moline
#25 Phillips at #8 Geneva
#24 Eisenhower at #9 Downers North
#29 Willowbrook at #4 Normal
#20 Wheaton-Warrenville South at #13 Libertyville
#28 Thornwood at #5 Collinsville
#21 Yorkville at #12 Buffalo Grove
Lower Bracket
#31 Lincoln-Way West at #2 Hersey
#18 Plainfield Central at #15 Hoffman Estates
#26 St. Rita at #7 Mount Carmel
#23 Reavis at #10 Wheaton North
#30 Glenbrook North at #3 Hononegah
#19 Rolling Meadows at #14 Prospect
#27 Jacobs at #6 Whitney Young
#22 Mundelein at #11 TF South
~~~ 6A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Antioch at #1 St, Ignatius
#9 Mather #8 Harlem
#13 Crystal Lake South at #4 Wauconda
#12 Crystal Lake Central at #5 Amundsen
#15 Vernon Hills at #2 Cary-Grove
#10 Grayslake Central at #7 Prairie Ridge
#14 Hampshire at #3 Belvidere North
#11 Deerfield at #6 Lake Forest
Lower Bracket
#16 Kennedy at #1 Lemont
#9 Bremen at #8 Crete-Monee
#13 Bloomington at #4 East St. Louis
#12 Springfield at #5 Richards
#15 Danville at #2 Kenwood
#10 Rock Island at #7 Normal West
#14 United at #3 Riverside-Brookfield
#11 Washington at #6 Glenwood
~~~ 5A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 St. Viator at #1 Morris
#9 St. Patrick #8 Fenwick
#13 Brooks at #4 Goode
#12 Boylan Catholic at #5 Glenbard South
#15 Morgan Park at #2 Sycamore
#10 Kaneland at #7 Noble/Comer
#14 Payton at #3 Sterling
#11 Marion at #6 Lakes
Lower Bracket
#16 Carbondale at #1 Kankakee
#9 Centralia #8 Providence
#13 Jacksonville at #4 Metamora
#12 Morton at #5 Triad
#15 Hillcrest at #2 Mahomet-Seymour
#10 LaSalle-Peru at #7 Marion
#14 Mattoon at #3 Mascoutah
#11 Streator at #6 Peoria
~~~ 4A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 De La Salle at #1 Joliet Catholic
#9 Hyde Park #8 Dixon
#13 Marengo at #4 Sullivan
#12 Coal City at #5 St. Francis
#15 Bogan at #2 Immaculate Conception
#10 Plano at #7 Wheaton Academy
#14 Rochelle at #3 Richmond-Burton
#11 St. Laurence at #6 Evergreen Park
Lower Bracket
#16 Effingham at #1 Mount Zion
#9 Civic Memorial #8 Salem
#13 Macomb at #4 Murphysboro
#12 Richland County at #5 Quincy Notre Dame
#15 Waterloo at #2 Rochester
#10 Peoria Notre Dame at #7 Breese Central
#14 Paris at #3 Carterville
#11 Freeburg at #6 Sacred Heart-Griffin
~~~ 3A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Herscher at #1 Kewanee
#9 Monmouth-Roseville #8 Genoa-Kingston
#13 Carver at #4 Clark
#12 Elmwood-Brimfield at #5 Princeton
#15 Montini at #2 Reed-Custer
#10 Lisle at #7 Mendota
#14 King at #3 Byron
#11 Peotone at #6 Du-Pec Coop
Lower Bracket
#16 DuQuoin at #1 Tolono Unity
#9 Stillman Valley at #8 Greenville
#13 Southwestern at #4 Benton
#12 Paxton-Buckley-Loda at #5 Williamsville
#15 Beardstown at #2 Monticello
#10 Eureka at #7 Carlinville
#14 Newton at #3 Mt. Carmel
#11 Prairie Central at #6 Harrisburg
Each week I usually have to add/subtract teams to get a true 256. The Outlook doesn't adjust for a conference champion falling below the cutoff. I take care of that before proceeding.
My adjustments.....
The South Seven Conference leader (champ) was not in the playoff field. I inserted their conference leader, Carbondale (2-2/21), into 5A. This move was not really necessary because other conference teams were in the field. But every champ goes to the post-season if the league has 6 or more teams, and I accounted for that possibility. This gave us 257 teams.
I need to eliminate 1 team. Carmel was 2-3/26 at the bottom of the playoff field. No ties. They are the eliminated team from the 256, conveniently, from 5A also.
Now I just need to adjust the classes to balance them at 32 teams each. Loyola petitioned up to 8A, so we move them up. Downers North was the smallest 8A team, so they slide down to 7A. East St. Louis petitioned up to 6A, so we move them up. Lakes was the smallest 6A team, so they slide down to 5A. Supposedly Immaculate Conception petitioned to play up in 3A. They are currently in 4A in the Outlook. I left them there. FYI, if they end up in 3A, Stillman Valley would moved up, as of today.
THAT'S IT!
I'm skipping the biggest/smallest schools in each class for now because I have an OrangeTheory class in 20 minutes. Maybe I'll edit them in later. If those of you familiar with this post can take care of the newbies who wonder "how can you RANK Whitney Young ahead of Mount Carmel", I'd really appreciate it. I'll check back in later.
* is the smallest team in the class
^ is the biggest team in the class
~~~ 8A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#32 Taft at #1 Loyola
#17 Bolingbrook at #16 Hinsdale Central
#25 Evanston at #8 Glenbard West
#24 Naperville Central at #9 Brother Rice
#29 O'Fallon at #4 Glenbrook South
#20 Bartlett at #13 Warren
#28 Metea Valley at #5 Lockport
#21 Rich at #12 Glenbard North
Lower Bracket
#31 Edwardsville at #2 York
#18 Glenbard East at #15 Maine South
#26 Palatine at #7 Oswego East
#23 West Aurora at #10 Marist
#30 East Aurora at #3 South Elgin
#19 Homewood-Flossmoor at #14 Plainfield North
#27 New Trier at #6 Neuqua Valley
#22 Oswego at #11 Lincoln-Way East
~~~ 7A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#32 St. Charles North at #1 Batavia
#17 Pekin at #16 Moline
#25 Phillips at #8 Geneva
#24 Eisenhower at #9 Downers North
#29 Willowbrook at #4 Normal
#20 Wheaton-Warrenville South at #13 Libertyville
#28 Thornwood at #5 Collinsville
#21 Yorkville at #12 Buffalo Grove
Lower Bracket
#31 Lincoln-Way West at #2 Hersey
#18 Plainfield Central at #15 Hoffman Estates
#26 St. Rita at #7 Mount Carmel
#23 Reavis at #10 Wheaton North
#30 Glenbrook North at #3 Hononegah
#19 Rolling Meadows at #14 Prospect
#27 Jacobs at #6 Whitney Young
#22 Mundelein at #11 TF South
~~~ 6A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Antioch at #1 St, Ignatius
#9 Mather #8 Harlem
#13 Crystal Lake South at #4 Wauconda
#12 Crystal Lake Central at #5 Amundsen
#15 Vernon Hills at #2 Cary-Grove
#10 Grayslake Central at #7 Prairie Ridge
#14 Hampshire at #3 Belvidere North
#11 Deerfield at #6 Lake Forest
Lower Bracket
#16 Kennedy at #1 Lemont
#9 Bremen at #8 Crete-Monee
#13 Bloomington at #4 East St. Louis
#12 Springfield at #5 Richards
#15 Danville at #2 Kenwood
#10 Rock Island at #7 Normal West
#14 United at #3 Riverside-Brookfield
#11 Washington at #6 Glenwood
~~~ 5A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 St. Viator at #1 Morris
#9 St. Patrick #8 Fenwick
#13 Brooks at #4 Goode
#12 Boylan Catholic at #5 Glenbard South
#15 Morgan Park at #2 Sycamore
#10 Kaneland at #7 Noble/Comer
#14 Payton at #3 Sterling
#11 Marion at #6 Lakes
Lower Bracket
#16 Carbondale at #1 Kankakee
#9 Centralia #8 Providence
#13 Jacksonville at #4 Metamora
#12 Morton at #5 Triad
#15 Hillcrest at #2 Mahomet-Seymour
#10 LaSalle-Peru at #7 Marion
#14 Mattoon at #3 Mascoutah
#11 Streator at #6 Peoria
~~~ 4A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 De La Salle at #1 Joliet Catholic
#9 Hyde Park #8 Dixon
#13 Marengo at #4 Sullivan
#12 Coal City at #5 St. Francis
#15 Bogan at #2 Immaculate Conception
#10 Plano at #7 Wheaton Academy
#14 Rochelle at #3 Richmond-Burton
#11 St. Laurence at #6 Evergreen Park
Lower Bracket
#16 Effingham at #1 Mount Zion
#9 Civic Memorial #8 Salem
#13 Macomb at #4 Murphysboro
#12 Richland County at #5 Quincy Notre Dame
#15 Waterloo at #2 Rochester
#10 Peoria Notre Dame at #7 Breese Central
#14 Paris at #3 Carterville
#11 Freeburg at #6 Sacred Heart-Griffin
~~~ 3A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Herscher at #1 Kewanee
#9 Monmouth-Roseville #8 Genoa-Kingston
#13 Carver at #4 Clark
#12 Elmwood-Brimfield at #5 Princeton
#15 Montini at #2 Reed-Custer
#10 Lisle at #7 Mendota
#14 King at #3 Byron
#11 Peotone at #6 Du-Pec Coop
Lower Bracket
#16 DuQuoin at #1 Tolono Unity
#9 Stillman Valley at #8 Greenville
#13 Southwestern at #4 Benton
#12 Paxton-Buckley-Loda at #5 Williamsville
#15 Beardstown at #2 Monticello
#10 Eureka at #7 Carlinville
#14 Newton at #3 Mt. Carmel
#11 Prairie Central at #6 Harrisburg
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