Seeding Teams for the Playoffs would be much Fairer

[basketballisbest]

Nothing is perfect, but if TN would take the top four teams in each region (I know this still leaves some teams out), and seed them it would be much fairer and more balanced for the playoffs.

 

Let's look at an example using the 5A classification (obviously some of these spots are not yet determined and I used current records):

 

#1 Seed: Dobyns Bennett (9-0) would play # 32 Seed: Cordova (3-6)

#2 Seed: Gallatin (9-0) would play # 31 Seed: Coffee County (3-6)

#3 Seed: Ooltewah (9-0) would play #30 Seed: Warren County (4-5)

#4 Seed: Riverdale (8-1) would play #29 Seed: Antioch (5-4)

#5 Seed: Ridgeway (9-0) would play #28 Seed: Hunters Lane (5-4)

#6 Seed: Franklin (8-1) would play #27 Seed: Hendersonvill (5-4)

#7 Seed: Sevier County (8-2) would play # 26 Seed: William Blount (5-4)

#8 Seed: Houston (7-2) would play # 25 Seed: Science Hill (6-3)

#9 Seed: White Station (8-1) would play #24 Seed: Germantown (5-4)

#10 Seed: Dickson County (7-2) would play #23 Seed: LaVergne (6-3)

#11 Seed: Wooddale (8-1 would play #22 Seed: Lincoln County (6-3)

#12 Seed: Smyrna (7-2) would play #21 Seed: Millington (6-3)

#13 Seed: Farragut (6-3) would play #20 Seed: Brentwood (6-3)

#14 Seed: Ravenwood (6-3) would play #19 Seed: Lebanon (6-3)

#15 Seed: Cookeville (6-3) would play #18 Seed: McMinn County (6-3)

#16 Seed: Bearden (6-3) would play #17 Seed: Bolton (6-3)

 

You would seed the brackets and then play it off. The downside is travel expenses for teams. The upside is a greater chance that if one part of the state is stronger than another there is a greater chance that a team that loses once or twice to better competition won't have to face those same teams again earlier in the playoffs. It also increases the chance that your best two teams would make it to the finals. This could be done for each classification.

[formerblazer]

Nothing is perfect, but if TN would take the top four teams in each region (I know this still leaves some teams out), and seed them it would be much fairer and more balanced for the playoffs.

 

Let's look at an example using the 5A classification (obviously some of these spots are not yet determined and I used current records):

 

#1 Seed: Dobyns Bennett (9-0) would play # 32 Seed: Cordova (3-6)

#2 Seed: Gallatin (9-0) would play # 31 Seed: Coffee County (3-6)

#3 Seed: Ooltewah (9-0) would play #30 Seed: Warren County (4-5)

#4 Seed: Riverdale (8-1) would play #29 Seed: Antioch (5-4)

#5 Seed: Ridgeway (9-0) would play #28 Seed: Hunters Lane (5-4)

#6 Seed: Franklin (8-1) would play #27 Seed: Hendersonvill (5-4)

#7 Seed: Sevier County (8-2) would play # 26 Seed: William Blount (5-4)

#8 Seed: Houston (7-2) would play # 25 Seed: Science Hill (6-3)

#9 Seed: White Station (8-1) would play #24 Seed: Germantown (5-4)

#10 Seed: Dickson County (7-2) would play #23 Seed: LaVergne (6-3)

#11 Seed: Wooddale (8-1 would play #22 Seed: Lincoln County (6-3)

#12 Seed: Smyrna (7-2) would play #21 Seed: Millington (6-3)

#13 Seed: Farragut (6-3) would play #20 Seed: Brentwood (6-3)

#14 Seed: Ravenwood (6-3) would play #19 Seed: Lebanon (6-3)

#15 Seed: Cookeville (6-3) would play #18 Seed: McMinn County (6-3)

#16 Seed: Bearden (6-3) would play #17 Seed: Bolton (6-3)

 

You would seed the brackets and then play it off. The downside is travel expenses for teams. The upside is a greater chance that if one part of the state is stronger than another there is a greater chance that a team that loses once or twice to better competition won't have to face those same teams again earlier in the playoffs. It also increases the chance that your best two teams would make it to the finals. This could be done for each classification.

 

Hmmm hard to give my opinion on this one. I know one year a state bound science hill basketball team got sent home early because after their near perfect season, they got beat by daniel boone in the regions i think. on this occasion, the upset happened and the kids got sent home in disbelief.

 

I just don't know if I can agree with this or not. It gives good teams an easier way to the finals in my opinion. I still see upsets might happen, but it just makes those other seeded teams feel like they are left on the cutting board.

 

Two best teams.........well if they are the best, let it be decided earlier than later. At least some of the lower ranked teams will get a chance to experience a state championship or late playoff rounds. I'm just not sure about this. I like how things are set up, even though the 4A schools I cheer for never stand a chance against Maryville.

[basketballisbest]

Hmmm hard to give my opinion on this one. I know one year a state bound science hill basketball team got sent home early because after their near perfect season, they got beat by daniel boone in the regions i think. on this occasion, the upset happened and the kids got sent home in disbelief.

 

I just don't know if I can agree with this or not. It gives good teams an easier way to the finals in my opinion. I still see upsets might happen, but it just makes those other seeded teams feel like they are left on the cutting board.

 

Two best teams.........well if they are the best, let it be decided earlier than later. At least some of the lower ranked teams will get a chance to experience a state championship or late playoff rounds. I'm just not sure about this. I like how things are set up, even though the 4A schools I cheer for never stand a chance against Maryville.

 

Hard to compete against Maryville, regardless of classification. Your points are well taken, but there are very few sports with playoffs that don't seed their teams. I am sure that the cost, and maybe even some of your reasons may play into it. But I'm not sure I like the way it is too much. I've seen too many highly ranked/rated teams get knocked out, and then in the end you really don't have the best playing the best. Yeah upsets will still happen, but I still think it's a little better than the way we do it now. Thanks for post!

[Rangerbook06]

 

 

#1 Seed: Dobyns Bennett (9-0) would play # 32 Seed: Cordova (3-6)

 

 

 

Oh yeah. Thats a wonderful idea. Lets send Cordova on a 12 hour trip on a bus clear across to the other side of the state..... Those poor kids would have to LEAVE at like 3 or 4 in the morning to get to Kingsport in time to prepare for the game.... And I suppose you would like to come up with the money to do this as well??? Sorry. Won't work... Not trying to be mean. Just critical.

Edited October 26, 2006 by Rangerbook06

[just1np]

Oh yeah. Thats a wonderful idea. Lets send Cordova on a 12 hour trip on a bus clear across to the other side of the state..... Those poor kids would have to LEAVE at like 3 or 4 in the morning to get to Kingsport in time to prepare for the game.... And I suppose you would like to come up with the money to do this as well??? Sorry. Won't work... Not trying to be mean. Just critical.

I think you avoid that by spliting the state in half. Seed it like the NCAAs, but with two regions.

[13sports]

I think this is a silly idea. Who should decide the seeds? The Coach T Fan Poll? The AP poll which has about 20 voters across the state? Some other poll? The multi-million dollar NCAA has an impossible task so should we expect perfection from the T$$AA and the board of directors? How about this, play it like it is and prove you are the best. If you are in a tough region, you should be ready for the play-offs. If you are in a weak region, you will be exposed in the play-offs. The team that wins 5 straight beginning in November is STATE CHAMPION. Simple.

[kwc]

I think this is a silly idea. Who should decide the seeds? The Coach T Fan Poll? The AP poll which has about 20 voters across the state? Some other poll? The multi-million dollar NCAA has an impossible task so should we expect perfection from the T$$AA and the board of directors? How about this, play it like it is and prove you are the best. If you are in a tough region, you should be ready for the play-offs. If you are in a weak region, you will be exposed in the play-offs. The team that wins 5 straight beginning in November is STATE CHAMPION. Simple.

 

I agree with 13sports wholeheartedly! Well, except for calling your idea silly. It was a nice attempt, but it's not better then the current system that's in place. My main reason for not liking a selected seed type tournament is the very same reasons for which 13sports so elequently stated.

 

The current system removes any chance of bias whatsoever. No other system does that. For instance, in this example you just posted. Why place Riverdale over 9-0 Ridgeway? Why, is Dobyns Bennett the number 1 seed over three other 9-0 teams? So on and so forth ... you get my point. The very act of selecting seeds will require some sort of "subjectiveness" from those who will have that daunting and thankless task of selecting what teams get what seeds. People from the west end of the state will claim that the people who selected teams have a bias against the west if they feel that their team(s) was/were slighted in the seeding. The same will be said about teams from the east part of the state as well as from the middle portion of the state. The current system doesn't suffer from that 'delima'. Not to mention ... all of the traveling required during the 1st three rounds of the playoffs is regional. This makes it easier on everybody involved ... coaches, players, family members, fans, bands, the whole nine yards. The furthest a team will have to travel is from the frindges of the state to the middle of the state if that scenerio were to happen. I even like how they rotate the homefield advantage every year back and forth. It's preset and there is absolutely no bias involved whatsoever. None! You couldn't set up a playoff system any better then what is in place now.

[basketballisbest]

I understand all of these points very well. It amazes me though that we all tend to get stuck in our ruts and fail to see other possibilities. I liked the idea of possibly restricting how far someone travels in the first round, but the truth is that on the eastern half of the state they are already traveling 4-5 hours in some instances.

 

In my suggestion the top four teams of each region still made it in, but at least you didn't have the best teams in the state potentially playing in the third round--much greater chance that they would play each other now--in our current plan.

 

As for seeding the eastern and western halves of the state, that would be a little better than what we have now. It certainly would limit traveling a little more. I know the traveling concerns are there, but it also seems rather wrong when a very weak couple of regions could advance further then stronger ones.

 

Keep the cards and letters coming.

[cbg]

No more D1 or D2! Place all teams in one division with 4 classifications and use the Merit System for the football playoffs. Teams that have 6 wins and do not qualify for the playoffs may attend a bowl game.

[ImaOWL]

Keep d1 and d2.

[ImaOWL]

I think they should change the Region vs. Region play in the play-offs. Keep East and West with 4 regions each but one year let Region 2 play Region 3 and then the next let Region 2 play Region 4 and so on and so on.

[kwc]

I understand all of these points very well. It amazes me though that we all tend to get stuck in our ruts and fail to see other possibilities. I liked the idea of possibly restricting how far someone travels in the first round, but the truth is that on the eastern half of the state they are already traveling 4-5 hours in some instances.

 

In my suggestion the top four teams of each region still made it in, but at least you didn't have the best teams in the state potentially playing in the third round--much greater chance that they would play each other now--in our current plan.

 

As for seeding the eastern and western halves of the state, that would be a little better than what we have now. It certainly would limit traveling a little more. I know the traveling concerns are there, but it also seems rather wrong when a very weak couple of regions could advance further then stronger ones.

 

Keep the cards and letters coming.

 

It's not a matter of being stuck in a rut. It's a matter of what's the most unbiased way to do it. If seeding can be done WITHOUT any subjectiveness then I am for it. It can't be done. As long as there is any hint of subjectiveness ... i'm not for it. The current way leaves no doubt. Since seeding can't be done without subjectiveness ... I'll never be for it. The travel and region play is just a bonus. You can't seed statewide or regionally without bias. Can't be done.

 

Just let the teams play it out and pick the top four in the regions the way it is done now. If two good region teams have to face each other then what some people would like ... so be it. You are going to have to win them one game at a time anyway.