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.....
I had to insert Plainfield East into the playoffs, because the Southwest Prairie East needed a representative. They were listed a top their conference. This gave us 257 teams.
I need to eliminate 1 team. 8 teams were tied at 3-3/27 at the bottom of the playoff field. They are Tri-County, Johnston City, Carlinville, North Mac, MacArthur, Solorio, Crystal Lake Central, and McHenry.
The next tie-breaker is total wins by defeated opponents. Tri-County and Carlinville have 7, and everyone else has 6. Tri-County and Carlinville are in.
The NEXT tie-breaker is number of playoff teams faced. CLC and McHenry have 5. J City, N Mac, and Dec Mac have 4. Solorio only has 3. That breaks the tie, and Solorio is out.
Lastly, I just need to adjust the classes to balance them at 32 teams each. Plainfield East is actually the smallest team in 8A, and bumps down to 7A. Eisenhower slides down to 6A, and Antioch slides down to 5A.
THAT'S IT! This first (and very fast) attempt might not be perfect. If I got something wrong, I'm just going to leave it as is, and do better Monday.
Random Thoughts:
- The website I use to plot points on a map wants a subscription now. That really sucks.
- ND guys were saying "we want Loyola" in the paper Saturday. And here they are!
- Potential Naz/MC and Batavia/Benet semi's in 7A
- Projected Upper 5A road teams include battle-tested Fenwick, Viator, Rita, Marmion, DLS, and Laurence.
- That old guy who doesn't comprehend the Playoff Outlook glimpse is going to yell at me and remind me that I only predicted one first-round matchup correctly last year.
- The clock is ticking on the first guy to ask why I "ranked" some teams ahead of LWE when Edgy has LWE at #1.
- IT'S GREAT TO BE BACK!
* is the smallest team in the class
^ is the biggest team in the class
~~~ 8A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#32 Oak Park at #1 Notre Dame
#17 Loyola at #16 Neuqua Valley
#25 Maine South at #8 Glenbard West
#24 Plainfield North at #9 Conant
#29 O'Fallon at #4 Lincoln-Way East
#20 Edwardsville at #13 Huntley
#28 Stevenson at #5 South Elgin
#21 Barrington at #12 St. Charles East
Lower Bracket
#31 Lyons at #2 Minooka
#18 Fremd at #15 Bartlett
#26 Marist at #7 Hinsdale Central
#23 Oswego East at #10 Homewood-Flossmoor
#30 Curie at #3 Oswego
#19 Brother Rice at #14 Glenbard East* (2255.50)
#27 York at #6 Warren
#22 Taft at #11 Bolingbrook
~~~ 7A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#32 Plainfield East ^ (2244.50) at #1 Mount Carmel
#17 St. Charles North at #16 Lincoln-Way West
#25 Glenbard North at #8 Phillips
#24 Proviso East at #9 Andrew
#29 Lincoln Park at #4 Rolling Meadows
#20 Harlem at #13 Grant
#28 Pekin at #5 Nazareth
#21 Auburn at #12 Maine West
Lower Bracket
#31 McHenry at #2 Benet
#18 DeKalb * (1815) at #15 Moline
#26 Whitney Young at #7 Prospect
#23 Wheaton South at #10 Normal
#30 Alton at #3 Hersey
#19 Hononegah at #14 Hoffman Estates
#27 Buffalo Grove at #6 Batavia
#22 Lake Zurich at #11 Willowbrook
~~~ 6A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Crystal Lake Central at #1 Belvidere North
#9 Simeon * (1327) #8 Mather
#13 Von Steuben at #4 Cary-Grove
#12 Vernon Hills at #5 Riverside-Brookfield
#15 Hubbard at #2 Richards
#10 Deerfield at #7 Kenwood
#14 Perspectives/Leadership at #3 Prairie Ridge
#11 Lakes at #6 Kaneland
Lower Bracket
#16 Washington at #1 Glenwood
#9 Bremen at #8 Springfield
#13 Thornton at #4 Lemont
#12 Quincy at #5 Shepard
#15 Danville at #2 Yorkville
#10 Normal West at #7 Peoria
#14 Eisenhower ^ (1803) at #3 Crete-Monee
#11 Providence at #6 Thornwood
~~~ 5A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Fenwick at #1 Sterling
#9 St. Viator * (836.50) #8 Montini
#13 St. Rita at #4 Sycamore
#12 Woodstock North at #5 Amundson
#15 De La Salle at #2 Boylan Catholic
#10 Marmion Academy at #7 Antioch ^ (1317)
#14 St. Laurence at #3 Payton
#11 Elmwood Park at #6 Glenbard South
Lower Bracket
#16 MacArthur at #1 East St. Louis
#9 Morris #8 Carbondale
#13 Highland at #4 Hillcrest
#12 Marian Catholic at #5 LaSalle-Peru
#15 Joliet Catholic at #2 Triad
#10 Morton at #7 Kankakee
#14 Rich Central at #3 Marion
#11 Cahokia at #6 Dunlap
~~~ 4A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Geneseo ^ (827.50) at #1 Immaculate Conception
#9 Agricultural Science #8 Marengo
#13 Marine Academy at #4 Stillman Valley
#12 Marian Central Catholic at #5 Genoa-Kingston
#15 Wheaton Academy at #2 Coal City
#10 Kewanee * (557.50) at #7 St. Francis
#14 Bishop McNamara at #3 Illinois Valley Central
#11 Dixon at #6 Richmond-Burton
Lower Bracket
#16 Breese Central at #1 Mount Zion
#9 Murphysboro #8 Civic Memorial
#13 Salem at #4 Columbia
#12 Canton at #5 Richland County
#15 Freeburg at #2 Effingham
#10 Prairie Central at #7 Taylorville
#14 Peo Notre Dame at #3 Rochester
#11 Clinton at #6 Paris
~~~ 3A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Alleman at #1 Wilmington
#9 Carver #8 Peotone
#13 Du-Pec * (412) at #4 Harlan
#12 Dunbar at #5 Princeton
#15 Seneca at #2 Farmington
#10 Lisle at #7 Byron
#14 Hall at #3 Paxton-Buckley-Loda
#11 Clark at #6 Eureka
Lower Bracket
#16 North Mac at #1 Beardstown
#9 Greenville at #8 Unity
#13 Newton at #4 Vandalia
#12 St. Joseph-Ogden at #5 Mt. Carmel
#15 Carlinville at #2 Williamsville
#10 Frankfort at #7 Benton ^ (555.50)
#14 Alton Marquette at #3 Fairfield
#11 Monticello at #6 DuQuoin
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.....
I had to insert Plainfield East into the playoffs, because the Southwest Prairie East needed a representative. They were listed a top their conference. This gave us 257 teams.
I need to eliminate 1 team. 8 teams were tied at 3-3/27 at the bottom of the playoff field. They are Tri-County, Johnston City, Carlinville, North Mac, MacArthur, Solorio, Crystal Lake Central, and McHenry.
The next tie-breaker is total wins by defeated opponents. Tri-County and Carlinville have 7, and everyone else has 6. Tri-County and Carlinville are in.
The NEXT tie-breaker is number of playoff teams faced. CLC and McHenry have 5. J City, N Mac, and Dec Mac have 4. Solorio only has 3. That breaks the tie, and Solorio is out.
Lastly, I just need to adjust the classes to balance them at 32 teams each. Plainfield East is actually the smallest team in 8A, and bumps down to 7A. Eisenhower slides down to 6A, and Antioch slides down to 5A.
THAT'S IT! This first (and very fast) attempt might not be perfect. If I got something wrong, I'm just going to leave it as is, and do better Monday.
Random Thoughts:
- The website I use to plot points on a map wants a subscription now. That really sucks.
- ND guys were saying "we want Loyola" in the paper Saturday. And here they are!
- Potential Naz/MC and Batavia/Benet semi's in 7A
- Projected Upper 5A road teams include battle-tested Fenwick, Viator, Rita, Marmion, DLS, and Laurence.
- That old guy who doesn't comprehend the Playoff Outlook glimpse is going to yell at me and remind me that I only predicted one first-round matchup correctly last year.
- The clock is ticking on the first guy to ask why I "ranked" some teams ahead of LWE when Edgy has LWE at #1.
- IT'S GREAT TO BE BACK!
* is the smallest team in the class
^ is the biggest team in the class
~~~ 8A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#32 Oak Park at #1 Notre Dame
#17 Loyola at #16 Neuqua Valley
#25 Maine South at #8 Glenbard West
#24 Plainfield North at #9 Conant
#29 O'Fallon at #4 Lincoln-Way East
#20 Edwardsville at #13 Huntley
#28 Stevenson at #5 South Elgin
#21 Barrington at #12 St. Charles East
Lower Bracket
#31 Lyons at #2 Minooka
#18 Fremd at #15 Bartlett
#26 Marist at #7 Hinsdale Central
#23 Oswego East at #10 Homewood-Flossmoor
#30 Curie at #3 Oswego
#19 Brother Rice at #14 Glenbard East* (2255.50)
#27 York at #6 Warren
#22 Taft at #11 Bolingbrook
~~~ 7A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#32 Plainfield East ^ (2244.50) at #1 Mount Carmel
#17 St. Charles North at #16 Lincoln-Way West
#25 Glenbard North at #8 Phillips
#24 Proviso East at #9 Andrew
#29 Lincoln Park at #4 Rolling Meadows
#20 Harlem at #13 Grant
#28 Pekin at #5 Nazareth
#21 Auburn at #12 Maine West
Lower Bracket
#31 McHenry at #2 Benet
#18 DeKalb * (1815) at #15 Moline
#26 Whitney Young at #7 Prospect
#23 Wheaton South at #10 Normal
#30 Alton at #3 Hersey
#19 Hononegah at #14 Hoffman Estates
#27 Buffalo Grove at #6 Batavia
#22 Lake Zurich at #11 Willowbrook
~~~ 6A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Crystal Lake Central at #1 Belvidere North
#9 Simeon * (1327) #8 Mather
#13 Von Steuben at #4 Cary-Grove
#12 Vernon Hills at #5 Riverside-Brookfield
#15 Hubbard at #2 Richards
#10 Deerfield at #7 Kenwood
#14 Perspectives/Leadership at #3 Prairie Ridge
#11 Lakes at #6 Kaneland
Lower Bracket
#16 Washington at #1 Glenwood
#9 Bremen at #8 Springfield
#13 Thornton at #4 Lemont
#12 Quincy at #5 Shepard
#15 Danville at #2 Yorkville
#10 Normal West at #7 Peoria
#14 Eisenhower ^ (1803) at #3 Crete-Monee
#11 Providence at #6 Thornwood
~~~ 5A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Fenwick at #1 Sterling
#9 St. Viator * (836.50) #8 Montini
#13 St. Rita at #4 Sycamore
#12 Woodstock North at #5 Amundson
#15 De La Salle at #2 Boylan Catholic
#10 Marmion Academy at #7 Antioch ^ (1317)
#14 St. Laurence at #3 Payton
#11 Elmwood Park at #6 Glenbard South
Lower Bracket
#16 MacArthur at #1 East St. Louis
#9 Morris #8 Carbondale
#13 Highland at #4 Hillcrest
#12 Marian Catholic at #5 LaSalle-Peru
#15 Joliet Catholic at #2 Triad
#10 Morton at #7 Kankakee
#14 Rich Central at #3 Marion
#11 Cahokia at #6 Dunlap
~~~ 4A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Geneseo ^ (827.50) at #1 Immaculate Conception
#9 Agricultural Science #8 Marengo
#13 Marine Academy at #4 Stillman Valley
#12 Marian Central Catholic at #5 Genoa-Kingston
#15 Wheaton Academy at #2 Coal City
#10 Kewanee * (557.50) at #7 St. Francis
#14 Bishop McNamara at #3 Illinois Valley Central
#11 Dixon at #6 Richmond-Burton
Lower Bracket
#16 Breese Central at #1 Mount Zion
#9 Murphysboro #8 Civic Memorial
#13 Salem at #4 Columbia
#12 Canton at #5 Richland County
#15 Freeburg at #2 Effingham
#10 Prairie Central at #7 Taylorville
#14 Peo Notre Dame at #3 Rochester
#11 Clinton at #6 Paris
~~~ 3A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Alleman at #1 Wilmington
#9 Carver #8 Peotone
#13 Du-Pec * (412) at #4 Harlan
#12 Dunbar at #5 Princeton
#15 Seneca at #2 Farmington
#10 Lisle at #7 Byron
#14 Hall at #3 Paxton-Buckley-Loda
#11 Clark at #6 Eureka
Lower Bracket
#16 North Mac at #1 Beardstown
#9 Greenville at #8 Unity
#13 Newton at #4 Vandalia
#12 St. Joseph-Ogden at #5 Mt. Carmel
#15 Carlinville at #2 Williamsville
#10 Frankfort at #7 Benton ^ (555.50)
#14 Alton Marquette at #3 Fairfield
#11 Monticello at #6 DuQuoin
