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 CPS is all messed up. I don't know what they intend to do. For those 8 conferences, I left everything as is... Teams in, teams out, and conference reps (or lack there of), all stayed the same.
The Southwest Prairie East did not have a conference rep in the playoff field per the Outlook. As I detailed in another post, there is a 3-way tie for first place between Joliet West, Plainfield East, and Plainfield South. They all went 1-1 against each other. The next tie-breaker (for conference champ) is points allowed IN THE GAMES among the tied teams, which Joliet West wins 36 to 49 to 52. So as of now, Joliet West is their representative at 3-5, All 3 teams play opponents who are 1-7 this week, so JW is in if we have no upsets. If all 3 teams LOSE, Joliet West is IN THE PLAYOFFS at 3-6.
Either way, I need to eliminate 1 team. 7 teams were tied at 4-4/36 at the bottom of the playoff field. They are New Trier (8A), Herrin (4A), North Mac (3A), Carmi-White County (2A), Hamilton County (2A), Sesser-Valier (2A), and Oakland Tri-County (1A). One has to go!
The first two tie-breakers, of course, are wins and playoff points.
The THIRD tie-breaker is total wins by defeated opponents. S-V has 15. HC has 12. OTC, Herrin, and NT all have 10. These teams are safe. NM and CWC have 9 each, and move on to the next tie-breaker.
The FOURTH tie-breaker is head-to-head. This doesn't apply to these two teams.
The FIFTH tie-breaker is number of playoff teams faced. North Mac and Carmi-White County each faced 5 playoff teams.
The SIXTH tie-breaker is number of wins by teams played that qualified for the playoffs. North Mac playoff foes have combined for 31 wins... Carmi-White County foes only have 27. Buh-bye, Carmi-White County!
North Mac is team 256.
By the way, the SEVENTH tie-breaker is points allowed in games against teams that qualified for the playoffs. I probably would've skipped that step and moved on to the EIGHTH tie-breaker... COIN FLIP!
Now I just need to adjust the classes to balance them at 32 teams each. We put Joliet West into the playoffs in 8A, Glenbard East slides down to 7A, Eisenhower slides down to 6A, Antioch slides down to 5A, Peoria Notre Dame slides down to 4A, Kewanee slides down to 3A, Breese Mater Dei slides down to 2A, and Carmi-White County is removed from 2A and the entire playoff field.
THAT'S IT!
Random Thoughts:
-I'm too distracted to do the three smallest classes, biggest/smallest schools, and team nicknames. Sorry for the lousy effort this year. I fell into the winner's trap. But change is coming. Theo, Jed, and I plan on taking a hard look at everything, including an unbiased self-evaluation, and we'll come back much stronger in 2020. There are no untouchables. Not even Catch-22.
-Whitney Young @ Phillips. Hyde Park @ Payton. What does the IHSA intend to do if two CPS schools are set to face each other in the bracket, double-forfeit?
-In the Hyde Park @ Payton bracket is also Fenwick @ Amundson. So Fenwick gets possibly a bye for week 10 AND week 11, into the quarterfinals? In same quad, we also have a tasty little first round game between friggin' ST. RITA and MONTINI!!!! So one of those great teams is gone, Fenwick is on furlough, and Mustang/Bronco has to beat Boylan to play a double-super rested Friars team. Yeah, that seems fair.
-I have another post dedicated to my random thoughts on two CPS conferences and Joliet West qualifying with 3 wins. I'm not even offended or outraged. I may be whining about "fairness' in the previous random thought, but I really do love this. I'm always rooting for this stuff to get tossed sideways. I'd say "GO JOLIET WEST", but I need them to lose to be a 3-win playoff qualifier. So, "DON'T GO JOLIET WEST!!!" Let's see if Romeoville and the Centrals can wreak havoc on the 256.
-"How the hell do you have IC ranked ahead of St. Francis when Francis just beat IC two days ago? You don't know what you're doing!"
* is the smallest team in the class
^ is the biggest team in the class
~~~ 8A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#32 Joliet West at #1 Minooka
#17 Plainfield North at #16 Edwardsville
#25 Downers Grove South at #8 Huntley
#24 Curie at #9 Bartlett
#29 Oswego East at #4 Warren
#20 Conant at #13 Loyola
#28 Stevenson at #5 Glenbard West
#21 Brother Rice at #12 Hinsdale Central
Lower Bracket
#31 New Trier at #2 Oswego
#18 St. Charles East at #15 Maine South
#26 Marist at #7 Notre Dame
#23 Taft at #10 Neuqua Valley
#30 Lyons at #3 Lincoln-Way East
#19 Bolingbrook at #14 Fremd
#27 Naperville Central at #6 Homewood-Flossmoor
#22 Barrington at #11 South Elgin
~~~ 7A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#32 Moline at #1 Mount Carmel
#17 Grany at #16 Thornton
#25 Lake Zurich at #8 Willowbrook
#24 DeKalb at #9 Maine West
#29 Hoffman Estates at #4 Rolling Meadows
#20 Lincoln-Way West at #13 Harlem
#28 Whitney Young at #5 Phillips
#21 Pekin at #12 Hononegah
Lower Bracket
#31 St. Charles North at #2 Nazareth
#18 Proviso East at #15 Andrew
#26 Auburn at #7 Glenbard East
#23 TF South at #10 Benet Academy
#30 Wheaton North at #3 Hersey
#19 Glenbard North at #14 Prospect
#27 Wheaton-Warrenville South at #6 Normal
#22 Lincoln Park at #11 Batavia
~~~ 6A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Lake Forest at #1 Richards
#9 Kaneland #8 Riverside-Brookfield
#13 Crystal Lake South at #4 Deerfield
#12 Crystal Lake Central at #5 Lemont
#15 St. Ignatius at #2 Prairie Ridge
#10 Mather at #7 Belvidere North
#14 Reavis at #3 Kenwood
#11 Lakes at #6 Cary-Grove
Lower Bracket
#16 TF North at #1 Glenwood
#9 Rock Island at #8 Yorkville
#13 Washington at #4 Providence
#12 Shepard at #5 Normal
#15 Danville at #2 Crete-Monee
#10 Bremen at #7 Springfield
#14 Eisenhower at #3 Peoria
#11 Thornwood at #6 Simeon
~~~ 5A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 St. Viator at #1 Sterling
#9 Elmwood Park #8 Marmion
#13 Morgan Park at #4 Sycamore
#12 Glenbard South at #5 Antioch
#15 St. Laurence at #2 Boylan Catholic
#10 St. Rita at #7 Montini
#14 Hyde Park at #3 Payton
#11 Fenwick at #6 Amundsen
Lower Bracket
#16 Mascoutah at #1 East St. Louis
#9 Morton #8 Cahokia
#13 LaSalle-Peru at #4 Marion
#12 Joliet Catholic at #5 Kankakee
#15 Sacred Heart-Griffin at #2 Hillcrest
#10 Triad at #7 Morris
#14 MacArthur at #3 Dunlap
#11 Highland at #6 Carbondale
~~~ 4A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Wheaton Academy at #1 Coal City
#9 Ag Science #8 Marengo
#13 Marine at #4 Richmond-Burton
#12 Sullivan at #5 Immaculate Conception
#15 Sandwich at #2 Valley Central
#10 Bishop Mac at #7 Genoa-Kingston
#14 Manteno at #3 Stillman Valley
#11 Dixon at #6 St. Francis
Lower Bracket
#16 Herrin at #1 Mount Zion
#9 Prairie Central #8 Murphysboro
#13 Taylorville at #4 Effingham
#12 Clinton at #5 Paris
#15 Breese Central at #2 Rochester
#10 Peo Notre Dame at #7 Richland County
#14 Freeburg at #3 Columbia
#11 Salem at #6 Civic Memorial
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 CPS is all messed up. I don't know what they intend to do. For those 8 conferences, I left everything as is... Teams in, teams out, and conference reps (or lack there of), all stayed the same.
The Southwest Prairie East did not have a conference rep in the playoff field per the Outlook. As I detailed in another post, there is a 3-way tie for first place between Joliet West, Plainfield East, and Plainfield South. They all went 1-1 against each other. The next tie-breaker (for conference champ) is points allowed IN THE GAMES among the tied teams, which Joliet West wins 36 to 49 to 52. So as of now, Joliet West is their representative at 3-5, All 3 teams play opponents who are 1-7 this week, so JW is in if we have no upsets. If all 3 teams LOSE, Joliet West is IN THE PLAYOFFS at 3-6.
Either way, I need to eliminate 1 team. 7 teams were tied at 4-4/36 at the bottom of the playoff field. They are New Trier (8A), Herrin (4A), North Mac (3A), Carmi-White County (2A), Hamilton County (2A), Sesser-Valier (2A), and Oakland Tri-County (1A). One has to go!
The first two tie-breakers, of course, are wins and playoff points.
The THIRD tie-breaker is total wins by defeated opponents. S-V has 15. HC has 12. OTC, Herrin, and NT all have 10. These teams are safe. NM and CWC have 9 each, and move on to the next tie-breaker.
The FOURTH tie-breaker is head-to-head. This doesn't apply to these two teams.
The FIFTH tie-breaker is number of playoff teams faced. North Mac and Carmi-White County each faced 5 playoff teams.
The SIXTH tie-breaker is number of wins by teams played that qualified for the playoffs. North Mac playoff foes have combined for 31 wins... Carmi-White County foes only have 27. Buh-bye, Carmi-White County!
North Mac is team 256.
By the way, the SEVENTH tie-breaker is points allowed in games against teams that qualified for the playoffs. I probably would've skipped that step and moved on to the EIGHTH tie-breaker... COIN FLIP!
Now I just need to adjust the classes to balance them at 32 teams each. We put Joliet West into the playoffs in 8A, Glenbard East slides down to 7A, Eisenhower slides down to 6A, Antioch slides down to 5A, Peoria Notre Dame slides down to 4A, Kewanee slides down to 3A, Breese Mater Dei slides down to 2A, and Carmi-White County is removed from 2A and the entire playoff field.
THAT'S IT!
Random Thoughts:
-I'm too distracted to do the three smallest classes, biggest/smallest schools, and team nicknames. Sorry for the lousy effort this year. I fell into the winner's trap. But change is coming. Theo, Jed, and I plan on taking a hard look at everything, including an unbiased self-evaluation, and we'll come back much stronger in 2020. There are no untouchables. Not even Catch-22.
-Whitney Young @ Phillips. Hyde Park @ Payton. What does the IHSA intend to do if two CPS schools are set to face each other in the bracket, double-forfeit?
-In the Hyde Park @ Payton bracket is also Fenwick @ Amundson. So Fenwick gets possibly a bye for week 10 AND week 11, into the quarterfinals? In same quad, we also have a tasty little first round game between friggin' ST. RITA and MONTINI!!!! So one of those great teams is gone, Fenwick is on furlough, and Mustang/Bronco has to beat Boylan to play a double-super rested Friars team. Yeah, that seems fair.
-I have another post dedicated to my random thoughts on two CPS conferences and Joliet West qualifying with 3 wins. I'm not even offended or outraged. I may be whining about "fairness' in the previous random thought, but I really do love this. I'm always rooting for this stuff to get tossed sideways. I'd say "GO JOLIET WEST", but I need them to lose to be a 3-win playoff qualifier. So, "DON'T GO JOLIET WEST!!!" Let's see if Romeoville and the Centrals can wreak havoc on the 256.
-"How the hell do you have IC ranked ahead of St. Francis when Francis just beat IC two days ago? You don't know what you're doing!"
* is the smallest team in the class
^ is the biggest team in the class
~~~ 8A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#32 Joliet West at #1 Minooka
#17 Plainfield North at #16 Edwardsville
#25 Downers Grove South at #8 Huntley
#24 Curie at #9 Bartlett
#29 Oswego East at #4 Warren
#20 Conant at #13 Loyola
#28 Stevenson at #5 Glenbard West
#21 Brother Rice at #12 Hinsdale Central
Lower Bracket
#31 New Trier at #2 Oswego
#18 St. Charles East at #15 Maine South
#26 Marist at #7 Notre Dame
#23 Taft at #10 Neuqua Valley
#30 Lyons at #3 Lincoln-Way East
#19 Bolingbrook at #14 Fremd
#27 Naperville Central at #6 Homewood-Flossmoor
#22 Barrington at #11 South Elgin
~~~ 7A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#32 Moline at #1 Mount Carmel
#17 Grany at #16 Thornton
#25 Lake Zurich at #8 Willowbrook
#24 DeKalb at #9 Maine West
#29 Hoffman Estates at #4 Rolling Meadows
#20 Lincoln-Way West at #13 Harlem
#28 Whitney Young at #5 Phillips
#21 Pekin at #12 Hononegah
Lower Bracket
#31 St. Charles North at #2 Nazareth
#18 Proviso East at #15 Andrew
#26 Auburn at #7 Glenbard East
#23 TF South at #10 Benet Academy
#30 Wheaton North at #3 Hersey
#19 Glenbard North at #14 Prospect
#27 Wheaton-Warrenville South at #6 Normal
#22 Lincoln Park at #11 Batavia
~~~ 6A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Lake Forest at #1 Richards
#9 Kaneland #8 Riverside-Brookfield
#13 Crystal Lake South at #4 Deerfield
#12 Crystal Lake Central at #5 Lemont
#15 St. Ignatius at #2 Prairie Ridge
#10 Mather at #7 Belvidere North
#14 Reavis at #3 Kenwood
#11 Lakes at #6 Cary-Grove
Lower Bracket
#16 TF North at #1 Glenwood
#9 Rock Island at #8 Yorkville
#13 Washington at #4 Providence
#12 Shepard at #5 Normal
#15 Danville at #2 Crete-Monee
#10 Bremen at #7 Springfield
#14 Eisenhower at #3 Peoria
#11 Thornwood at #6 Simeon
~~~ 5A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 St. Viator at #1 Sterling
#9 Elmwood Park #8 Marmion
#13 Morgan Park at #4 Sycamore
#12 Glenbard South at #5 Antioch
#15 St. Laurence at #2 Boylan Catholic
#10 St. Rita at #7 Montini
#14 Hyde Park at #3 Payton
#11 Fenwick at #6 Amundsen
Lower Bracket
#16 Mascoutah at #1 East St. Louis
#9 Morton #8 Cahokia
#13 LaSalle-Peru at #4 Marion
#12 Joliet Catholic at #5 Kankakee
#15 Sacred Heart-Griffin at #2 Hillcrest
#10 Triad at #7 Morris
#14 MacArthur at #3 Dunlap
#11 Highland at #6 Carbondale
~~~ 4A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Wheaton Academy at #1 Coal City
#9 Ag Science #8 Marengo
#13 Marine at #4 Richmond-Burton
#12 Sullivan at #5 Immaculate Conception
#15 Sandwich at #2 Valley Central
#10 Bishop Mac at #7 Genoa-Kingston
#14 Manteno at #3 Stillman Valley
#11 Dixon at #6 St. Francis
Lower Bracket
#16 Herrin at #1 Mount Zion
#9 Prairie Central #8 Murphysboro
#13 Taylorville at #4 Effingham
#12 Clinton at #5 Paris
#15 Breese Central at #2 Rochester
#10 Peo Notre Dame at #7 Richland County
#14 Freeburg at #3 Columbia
#11 Salem at #6 Civic Memorial
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