State Tournament Pairings

[HawkGuy06]

18 minutes ago, MCbobcats said:

Why’d they play early ?  I didn’t know TSSAA allowed that 

Yea they allowed it because Macon was 4 hours away. They requested an early start time due to not being on the road past midnight. TSSAA granted it & we agreed to it 

[HereComesTheCloser]

On 3/2/2024 at 6:56 PM, tnchad1980 said:

y’all’s defense played lights out!! I was really impressed!!

Thanks so much.

The SS program, men's and women's, has hung their hat on smothering defense for at least 5 years. It gets an opponent out of their gameplan, frustrates them and they wind up playing from behind.

Congrats on a good year as well. The Macon County folks showed up to support their team in the middle of a Saturday  afternoon after over a 3 hr drive one way.

Kudos to a good program!

[Rockstar89]

Why doesnt the TSSAA actually do some work and come up with  ranking system for the top 8? The blind draw is ridiculous. Some of these matchups should be potential state championship games, not first rounders. It's ridiculous. I don't have a dog in the hunt, but man it just seems so unfair. There has to be a better way, this just seems lazy. 

[maddams]

3 minutes ago, Rockstar89 said:

Why doesnt the TSSAA actually do some work and come up with  ranking system for the top 8? The blind draw is ridiculous. Some of these matchups should be potential state championship games, not first rounders. It's ridiculous. I don't have a dog in the hunt, but man it just seems so unfair. There has to be a better way, this just seems lazy. 

I would argue the opposite.  There is nothing unfair about a true blind draw.  Big difference in unlucky versus unfair. 

In my opinion, the bigger problem is the lack of transparency.  TSSAA could d a live draw on Sunday before the tournament like they did before COVID.  Even if you just stream to coaches and media, it would eliminate even the possibility of unfairness. 

[Rockstar89]

21 minutes ago, maddams said:

I would argue the opposite.  There is nothing unfair about a true blind draw.  Big difference in unlucky versus unfair. 

In my opinion, the bigger problem is the lack of transparency.  TSSAA could d a live draw on Sunday before the tournament like they did before COVID.  Even if you just stream to coaches and media, it would eliminate even the possibility of unfairness. 

I guess I can partially agree with your definition of the issue. It is "unlucky" for sure....but "luck" should not be a part of the discussion at this point in the season. To me, it reeks of laziness on the part of the TSSAA...let's just pull some names out of a hat (behind closed doors) and see who plays each other for the state title. Really? Thats what you do on the playground. Do some work and dig in there and make it a great tournament. While maybe not an inherently "unfair" process... I do think it is absolutely "unfair" that in several brackets teams that would be considered one of the top two or three in the state play in round one for elimination, while teams with double digit losses battle it out to move on. It potentially sets up lopsided championship matches. The two best teams in the state should be left standing to battle it out at the end. Not just a good team and a "lucky" team. Yes I understand, you gotta win what is put in front of you regardless, I just personally think this system is not set up to produce the best tournament experience possible. 

Edited March 5 by Rockstar89

[maddams]

17 minutes ago, Rockstar89 said:

I guess I can partially agree with your definition of the issue. It is "unlucky" for sure....but "luck" should not be a part of the discussion at this point in the season. To me, it reeks of laziness on the part of the TSSAA...let's just pull some names out of a hat (behind closed doors) and see who plays each other for the state title. Really? Thats what you do on the playground. Do some work and dig in there and make it a great tournament. While maybe not an inherently "unfair" process... I do think it is absolutely "unfair" that in several brackets teams that would be considered one of the top two or three in the state play in round one for elimination, while teams with double digit losses battle it out to move on. It potentially sets up lopsided championship matches. The two best teams in the state should be left standing to battle it out at the end. Not just a good team and a "lucky" team. Yes I understand, you gotta win what is put in front of you regardless, I just personally think this system is not set up to produce the best tournament experience possible. 

Those are fair points.  I'm not against the idea of seeding the teams.  If TSSAA were to do so, what criteria should they use?  

[TtownReject]

On 3/2/2024 at 7:29 PM, HawkGuy06 said:

Yea they allowed it because Macon was 4 hours away. They requested an early start time due to not being on the road past midnight. TSSAA granted it & we agreed to it 

TSSAA is all about Capitalism they aren't about fairness. ALL thanks to Brentwood Academy

[pioneer42]

2 hours ago, maddams said:

I would argue the opposite.  There is nothing unfair about a true blind draw.  Big difference in unlucky versus unfair. 

In my opinion, the bigger problem is the lack of transparency.  TSSAA could d a live draw on Sunday before the tournament like they did before COVID.  Even if you just stream to coaches and media, it would eliminate even the possibility of unfairness. 

I agree with your post. Unlucky is the correct verbage. Gibson County was undefeated three different years in the late 90's and early 2000's and we drew Livingston Academy 3 years in a row we were up there. Livingston Academy and Gibson County were both ranked top 2 in state. Last year York drew Westview and they were top 2. No way they plug these schools in IMO. Just an unlucky draw. Each school has TSSAA reps as contacts. I always hear it is a draw but they just don't do it live. 

[Jaychapman]

44 minutes ago, pioneer42 said:

I agree with your post. Unlucky is the correct verbage. Gibson County was undefeated three different years in the late 90's and early 2000's and we drew Livingston Academy 3 years in a row we were up there. Livingston Academy and Gibson County were both ranked top 2 in state. Last year York drew Westview and they were top 2. No way they plug these schools in IMO. Just an unlucky draw. Each school has TSSAA reps as contacts. I always hear it is a draw but they just don't do it live. 

Ditto Summertown vs Clarkrange few years back / it was a war where both team beat each other up 

[pioneer42]

52 minutes ago, Jaychapman said:

Ditto Summertown vs Clarkrange few years back / it was a war where both team beat each other up 

Yep I was there and it was a war. They don't want games like this in the first round. They want these games in game 3 when the ticket prices are higher. South Side Upperman last year, York Westview last year. I think it is just unlucky draws. 

[tradertwo]

6 hours ago, maddams said:

Those are fair points.  I'm not against the idea of seeding the teams.  If TSSAA were to do so, what criteria should they use?  

How about starting with favoritism, then add regional bias, sprinkle in a touch of corruption, and finish it off with a ton of media disparity and lack of familiarity from "voters". Any time that you involve human intervention, you invite corruption, politics, and unfairness. Odds are that a true blind draw doesn't put the two best teams in the championship game, but at least you know (could if broadcast) that it was not rigged.

  Want to see it now...ask these very posters to be honest, don't copy others' poll, and seed the 2AA tournament in your next post. Guarente'd you'll get three or four different #1 vs. #2 polls. GC, GP, McMinn, York, Loretto... who is your #1?

  Not directed at you maddams, just the logical place to say it.

[Waker]

26 minutes ago, tradertwo said:

How about starting with favoritism, then add regional bias, sprinkle in a touch of corruption, and finish it off with a ton of media disparity and lack of familiarity from "voters". Any time that you involve human intervention, you invite corruption, politics, and unfairness. Odds are that a true blind draw doesn't put the two best teams in the championship game, but at least you know (could if broadcast) that it was not rigged.

  Want to see it now...ask these very posters to be honest, don't copy others' poll, and seed the 2AA tournament in your next post. Guarente'd you'll get three or four different #1 vs. #2 polls. GC, GP, McMinn, York, Loretto... who is your #1?

  Not directed at you maddams, just the logical place to say it.

This is true. There is and always will be East biased in any voting situation in the state. I live in the west and dont know anything about the top East TN teams other than what I read and the sports writers from one side of the state to the other doesn’t either. There is simply no reason to not broadcast it live for everyone to see. It’s not difficult at all to do. A small group doing anything behind closed doors when it is going to affect a large group is always going to raise eyebrows 

Edited March 6 by Waker