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 Collins (2A), Orr (2A), North Lawndale (4A), and Marine (4A) out of the playoffs because of the CPS "Chicago" conference rule. I didn't have to insert anyone because every conference had at least one qualifier per the Outlook. Another easy tie-breaker this week, because only 4 teams missed the playoffs in the IHSA Outlook at 3-3/29. Those 4 teams slot in easily.
They are Larkin (7A), Concord-Triopa (1A), Colfax-Ridgeview (1A), and Greenfield-Northwestern (1A).
61 teams at 3-3 that didn't qualify today and could become teams that don't qualify at 5-4. They need help with points or 6 wins. Here they are, listed in order of playoff points.
3-3/28 --- Edwardsville (8A), Zion-Benton (8A), Glenbard North (7A), Alton (7A), Schaumburg (7A), Highland Park (7A), Bloomington (6A), Tinley Park (5A), Harrisburg (3A), Mercer County (2A)
3-3/27 --- Downers Grove South (8A), Plainfield South (8A), Downers Grove North (7A), Plainfield Central (7A), Reavis (6A), Guilford (6A), Richwoods (5A), Prairie Central (4A), Pleasant Plains (3A), North Mac (3A), Seneca (3A), Hillsboro (3A), New Berlin (3A), Chester (2A), Auburn (2A), Flora (2A), Carmi-White County (2A), Orangeville (1A), Stark County (1A)
3-3/26 --- Evanston (8A), King (5A), Burlington Central (5A), Mahomet-Seymour (5A), Peo. Notre Dame (5A), Mt. Carmel (3A), Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond (1A)
3-3/25 --- Leyden (8A), Kaneland (5A), Carlyle (2A), St. Joseph (2A), Chicago Military-Bronzeville (1A)
3-3/24 --- Simeon (7A), Oak Lawn (6A), Kankakee (5A), Aurora Central Catholic (5A), Hyde Park (4A), Harlan (3A), Tri-County (1A)
3-3/23 --- Chi Washington (6A), Hubbard (6A), Canton (4A)
3-3/22 --- Kenwood (6A), Thornridge (5A), Ag Science (4A), Illini West (2A)
3-3/21 --- Kewanee (4A), Dwight (3A), Chicago Christian (2A)
3-3/20 --- Taft (8A), Ridgewood (5A)
3-3/17 --- Glenbrook North (7A)
Moving on....
From there, I adjust teams up and down into the proper classes to create 8 classes of 32 teams. My classes were 32-33-32-32-30-32-30-35 respectively. So I moved Athens, Fulton, and Warrensburg-Latham up to 2A, Pana up to 3A, Watseka up to 4A... Geneseo down to 4A, Lemont down to 5A, and Hoffman Estates down to 6A.
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 8:11 AM on 10/2. I'm not making further adjustments.
Next week you get 8A thru 1A. For week 9, I give you the final projection with team nicknames. For week 10, we scramble the actual playoffs into 1999 mode and show what it would look like with just 6 classes.
^^^^ is the largest school in the class
^^^ is the second-largest school
* is the smallest school in the class
** is the second-smallest school
Just look at that first quad in 8A.... OMG
~~~ 8A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#32 Waubonsie Valley at #1 Lincoln-Way East
#17 Minooka at #16 Glenbard West*
#25 Oak Park at #8 Maine South**
#24 Naperville North at #9 Stevenson
#29 West Aurora at #4 Marist
#20 Notre Dame at #13 Loyola
#28 St. Charles East at #5 Homewood-Flossmoor
#21 Curie at #12 Lyons
Lower Bracket
#31 Lake Park at #2 Barrington
#18 Glenbrook South at #15 Oswego East
#26 Joliet West at #7 Bolingbrook
#23 Bloom at #10 Naperville Central
#30 Palatine at #3 South Elgin
#19 Neuqua Valley at #14 Oswego
#27 New Trier at #6 Hinsdale Central
#22 Warren at #11 Huntley
~~~ 7A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#32 Larkin at #1 Batavia
#17 St. Rita at #16 Maine West
#25 Plainfield North^^^^ at #8 St. Charles North
#24 Jacobs at #9 Lincoln-Way Central
#29 Pekin at #4 Hononegah
#20 Mount Carmel at #13 East St. Louis
#28 Stagg^^^ at #5 Auburn*
#21 Fenwick at #12 Lincoln Park
Lower Bracket
#31 Geneva at #2 Normal
#18 Lincoln-Way West at #15 Rolling Meadows
#26 Harlem at #7 Andrew
#23 Rockford East at #10 Wheaton North
#30 Libertyville at #3 Lake Zurich
#19 Benet at #14 Willowbrook**
#27 Belleville West at #6 Buffalo Grove
#22 Moline at #11 Hersey
~~~ 6A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Deerfield at #1 Nazareth
#9 Cary-Grove #8 De La Salle
#13 St. Viator* at #4 Marmion
#12 Mather at #5 DeKalb
#15 Crystal Lake Central at #2 Prairie Ridge
#10 Montini at #7 Riverside-Brookfield
#14 Hinsdale South at #3 Hoffman Estates^^^^
#11 Grayslake North at #6 St. Ignatius
Lower Bracket
#16 TF South at #1 Normal West
#9 Richards at #8 St. Laurence
#13 Springfield at #4 Sacred Heart-Griffin
#12 Thornton^^^ at #5 Danville
#15 Bremen at #2 Crete-Monee
#10 Quincy at #7 Providence
#14 Peoria at #3 Shepard
#11 Glenwood** at #6 Eisenhower
~~~ 5A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Woodstock North at #1 Phillips
#9 Back of the Yards #8 Lindblom
#13 Woodstock at #4 Antioch
#12 Westinghouse at #5 Payton
#15 Elmwood Park at #2 Sterling
#10 Glenbard South at #7 Solorio Academy
#14 Morgan Park at #3 Lakes^^^
#11 Rochelle at #6 Phoenix
Lower Bracket
#16 Waterloo** at #1 Dunlap
#9 Triad #8 Centralia
#13 Oak Forest at #4 Lemont^^^^
#12 LaSalle-Peru at #5 Morton
#15 Marion at #2 Morris*
#10 Washington at #7 MacArthur
#14 Galesburg at #3 Highland
#11 Rich Central at #6 Hillcrest
~~~ 4A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Wheaton Academy at #1 Raby
#9 Manteno #8 North Chicago
#13 Richmond-Burton at #4 Dixon
#12 Urban Prep/Bronzeville at #5 Coal City
#15 Geneseo^^^^ at #2 Herscher
#10 Alleman at #7 Sullivan
#14 Julian at #3 Johnsburg
#11 St. Edward at #6 Genoa-Kingston
Lower Bracket
#16 Qui Notre Dame at #1 Unity
#9 Breese Central #8 Althoff Catholic
#13 Carterville at #4 Herrin
#12 Vienna-Goreville** at #5 Taylorville
#15 Paris at #2 Rochester
#10 Columbia at #7 Effingham
#14 Benton at #3 Watseka*
#11 Pontiac at #6 Mount Zion^^^
~~~ 3A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Lisle at #1 Elmwood-Brimfield
#9 Winnebago #8 Monticello
#13 North Boone at #4 Peotone
#12 Spring Valley Hall at #5 Immaculate Conception
#15 Clark^^^ at #2 Farmington**
#10 Eureka at #7 Bloomington Central Catholic
#14 Paxton-Buckley-Loda at #3 Byron
#11 ROWVA- Mid County at #6 Wilmington
Lower Bracket
#16 Frankfort at #1 St. Teresa
#9 Vandalia #8 Pana*
#13 Beardstown at #4 Carlinville
#12 DuQuoin at #5 Fairfield
#15 Wood River-East Alton^^^^ at #2 Williamsville
#10 Newton at #7 Greenville
#14 Marshall at #3 Sesser-Valier
#11 Alton Marquette at #6 Anna-Jonesboro
~~~ 2A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Rockford Christian at #1 Newman Central Catholic
#9 Aurora Christian^^^ #8 Fulton
#13 Eastland-Pearl City at #4 Rockridge
#12 West Carroll at #5 Chi Marshall
#15 Bushnell-West Prairie at #2 Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley
#10 Deer Creek-Mackinaw at #7 Bureau Valley
#14 Hope Academy at #3 Orion
#11 Clifton Central at #6 Knoxville
Lower Bracket
#16 Warrensburg-Latham* at #1 Tuscola
#9 Eldorado #8 Fieldcrest
#13 Red Bud at #4 Westville
#12 Bunker Hill at #5 Tri-Valley
#15 Oakwood at #2 Wesclin^^^^
#10 Athens** at #7 Maroa-Forsyth
#14 Villa Grove-Heritage at #3 West Hancock
#11 Shelbyville at #6 Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin
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 Collins (2A), Orr (2A), North Lawndale (4A), and Marine (4A) out of the playoffs because of the CPS "Chicago" conference rule. I didn't have to insert anyone because every conference had at least one qualifier per the Outlook. Another easy tie-breaker this week, because only 4 teams missed the playoffs in the IHSA Outlook at 3-3/29. Those 4 teams slot in easily.
They are Larkin (7A), Concord-Triopa (1A), Colfax-Ridgeview (1A), and Greenfield-Northwestern (1A).
61 teams at 3-3 that didn't qualify today and could become teams that don't qualify at 5-4. They need help with points or 6 wins. Here they are, listed in order of playoff points.
3-3/28 --- Edwardsville (8A), Zion-Benton (8A), Glenbard North (7A), Alton (7A), Schaumburg (7A), Highland Park (7A), Bloomington (6A), Tinley Park (5A), Harrisburg (3A), Mercer County (2A)
3-3/27 --- Downers Grove South (8A), Plainfield South (8A), Downers Grove North (7A), Plainfield Central (7A), Reavis (6A), Guilford (6A), Richwoods (5A), Prairie Central (4A), Pleasant Plains (3A), North Mac (3A), Seneca (3A), Hillsboro (3A), New Berlin (3A), Chester (2A), Auburn (2A), Flora (2A), Carmi-White County (2A), Orangeville (1A), Stark County (1A)
3-3/26 --- Evanston (8A), King (5A), Burlington Central (5A), Mahomet-Seymour (5A), Peo. Notre Dame (5A), Mt. Carmel (3A), Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond (1A)
3-3/25 --- Leyden (8A), Kaneland (5A), Carlyle (2A), St. Joseph (2A), Chicago Military-Bronzeville (1A)
3-3/24 --- Simeon (7A), Oak Lawn (6A), Kankakee (5A), Aurora Central Catholic (5A), Hyde Park (4A), Harlan (3A), Tri-County (1A)
3-3/23 --- Chi Washington (6A), Hubbard (6A), Canton (4A)
3-3/22 --- Kenwood (6A), Thornridge (5A), Ag Science (4A), Illini West (2A)
3-3/21 --- Kewanee (4A), Dwight (3A), Chicago Christian (2A)
3-3/20 --- Taft (8A), Ridgewood (5A)
3-3/17 --- Glenbrook North (7A)
Moving on....
From there, I adjust teams up and down into the proper classes to create 8 classes of 32 teams. My classes were 32-33-32-32-30-32-30-35 respectively. So I moved Athens, Fulton, and Warrensburg-Latham up to 2A, Pana up to 3A, Watseka up to 4A... Geneseo down to 4A, Lemont down to 5A, and Hoffman Estates down to 6A.
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 8:11 AM on 10/2. I'm not making further adjustments.
Next week you get 8A thru 1A. For week 9, I give you the final projection with team nicknames. For week 10, we scramble the actual playoffs into 1999 mode and show what it would look like with just 6 classes.
^^^^ is the largest school in the class
^^^ is the second-largest school
* is the smallest school in the class
** is the second-smallest school
Just look at that first quad in 8A.... OMG
~~~ 8A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#32 Waubonsie Valley at #1 Lincoln-Way East
#17 Minooka at #16 Glenbard West*
#25 Oak Park at #8 Maine South**
#24 Naperville North at #9 Stevenson
#29 West Aurora at #4 Marist
#20 Notre Dame at #13 Loyola
#28 St. Charles East at #5 Homewood-Flossmoor
#21 Curie at #12 Lyons
Lower Bracket
#31 Lake Park at #2 Barrington
#18 Glenbrook South at #15 Oswego East
#26 Joliet West at #7 Bolingbrook
#23 Bloom at #10 Naperville Central
#30 Palatine at #3 South Elgin
#19 Neuqua Valley at #14 Oswego
#27 New Trier at #6 Hinsdale Central
#22 Warren at #11 Huntley
~~~ 7A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#32 Larkin at #1 Batavia
#17 St. Rita at #16 Maine West
#25 Plainfield North^^^^ at #8 St. Charles North
#24 Jacobs at #9 Lincoln-Way Central
#29 Pekin at #4 Hononegah
#20 Mount Carmel at #13 East St. Louis
#28 Stagg^^^ at #5 Auburn*
#21 Fenwick at #12 Lincoln Park
Lower Bracket
#31 Geneva at #2 Normal
#18 Lincoln-Way West at #15 Rolling Meadows
#26 Harlem at #7 Andrew
#23 Rockford East at #10 Wheaton North
#30 Libertyville at #3 Lake Zurich
#19 Benet at #14 Willowbrook**
#27 Belleville West at #6 Buffalo Grove
#22 Moline at #11 Hersey
~~~ 6A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Deerfield at #1 Nazareth
#9 Cary-Grove #8 De La Salle
#13 St. Viator* at #4 Marmion
#12 Mather at #5 DeKalb
#15 Crystal Lake Central at #2 Prairie Ridge
#10 Montini at #7 Riverside-Brookfield
#14 Hinsdale South at #3 Hoffman Estates^^^^
#11 Grayslake North at #6 St. Ignatius
Lower Bracket
#16 TF South at #1 Normal West
#9 Richards at #8 St. Laurence
#13 Springfield at #4 Sacred Heart-Griffin
#12 Thornton^^^ at #5 Danville
#15 Bremen at #2 Crete-Monee
#10 Quincy at #7 Providence
#14 Peoria at #3 Shepard
#11 Glenwood** at #6 Eisenhower
~~~ 5A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Woodstock North at #1 Phillips
#9 Back of the Yards #8 Lindblom
#13 Woodstock at #4 Antioch
#12 Westinghouse at #5 Payton
#15 Elmwood Park at #2 Sterling
#10 Glenbard South at #7 Solorio Academy
#14 Morgan Park at #3 Lakes^^^
#11 Rochelle at #6 Phoenix
Lower Bracket
#16 Waterloo** at #1 Dunlap
#9 Triad #8 Centralia
#13 Oak Forest at #4 Lemont^^^^
#12 LaSalle-Peru at #5 Morton
#15 Marion at #2 Morris*
#10 Washington at #7 MacArthur
#14 Galesburg at #3 Highland
#11 Rich Central at #6 Hillcrest
~~~ 4A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Wheaton Academy at #1 Raby
#9 Manteno #8 North Chicago
#13 Richmond-Burton at #4 Dixon
#12 Urban Prep/Bronzeville at #5 Coal City
#15 Geneseo^^^^ at #2 Herscher
#10 Alleman at #7 Sullivan
#14 Julian at #3 Johnsburg
#11 St. Edward at #6 Genoa-Kingston
Lower Bracket
#16 Qui Notre Dame at #1 Unity
#9 Breese Central #8 Althoff Catholic
#13 Carterville at #4 Herrin
#12 Vienna-Goreville** at #5 Taylorville
#15 Paris at #2 Rochester
#10 Columbia at #7 Effingham
#14 Benton at #3 Watseka*
#11 Pontiac at #6 Mount Zion^^^
~~~ 3A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Lisle at #1 Elmwood-Brimfield
#9 Winnebago #8 Monticello
#13 North Boone at #4 Peotone
#12 Spring Valley Hall at #5 Immaculate Conception
#15 Clark^^^ at #2 Farmington**
#10 Eureka at #7 Bloomington Central Catholic
#14 Paxton-Buckley-Loda at #3 Byron
#11 ROWVA- Mid County at #6 Wilmington
Lower Bracket
#16 Frankfort at #1 St. Teresa
#9 Vandalia #8 Pana*
#13 Beardstown at #4 Carlinville
#12 DuQuoin at #5 Fairfield
#15 Wood River-East Alton^^^^ at #2 Williamsville
#10 Newton at #7 Greenville
#14 Marshall at #3 Sesser-Valier
#11 Alton Marquette at #6 Anna-Jonesboro
~~~ 2A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Rockford Christian at #1 Newman Central Catholic
#9 Aurora Christian^^^ #8 Fulton
#13 Eastland-Pearl City at #4 Rockridge
#12 West Carroll at #5 Chi Marshall
#15 Bushnell-West Prairie at #2 Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley
#10 Deer Creek-Mackinaw at #7 Bureau Valley
#14 Hope Academy at #3 Orion
#11 Clifton Central at #6 Knoxville
Lower Bracket
#16 Warrensburg-Latham* at #1 Tuscola
#9 Eldorado #8 Fieldcrest
#13 Red Bud at #4 Westville
#12 Bunker Hill at #5 Tri-Valley
#15 Oakwood at #2 Wesclin^^^^
#10 Athens** at #7 Maroa-Forsyth
#14 Villa Grove-Heritage at #3 West Hancock
#11 Shelbyville at #6 Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin
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