My rant on District 6

[Dokkenball]

District 6 needs to come up with a better formula for seeding its teams for the District 6 Basketball Tournament. The object of the tournament is to seed it so that your best teams make it to the state playoffs, barring upsets of course.
This year's brackets will not ensure that. One of the top four teams will be going home tonight when Bishop McCort and Westmont square off in the quarterfinals. Despite what the brackets say, this is not a quarterfinal game.

Let's take a look at a team like #4 West Branch. Over half of their games are against single-A teams, and not very good ones at that. They are racking up the points against a very weak schedule. Penns Valley used to be the same way years ago before they got out of the Juniata Valley League. They would enter the District playoffs with an inflated record of over twenty wins, only to be eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Look at Bishop McCort and Westmont. They play a difficult schedule in both their league and non-league opponents. In recent history, McCort has gone out and played the likes of George Junior, Canevin Catholic, Imohtep, Farrell etc. while Westmont will play teams like Kennedy Catholic, Fairview, Aliquippa, Mercyhurst Prep and Beaver Falls.

The seeding system is flawed in that it doesn't give credit for a difficult schedule. The only way you get credit for any game is if you win. So in the eyes of District 6, it is better to have played Curwensville at home and beat them by 25 then to have lost to Kennedy Catholic or Farrell by 2 on the road. Five points for beating Curwensville and zero points for losing a close one to Farrell. I know some schools can't control the league they are in, but the system should reflect the strength of schedule.

What is it with receiving just two bonus points for beating a team with a .700 winning percentage? Shouldn't it be worth more than that? Why can't the football formula be used?

I know this is completely out of the question considering District 6 cannot even keep a running seeding standings throughout the season. Sometimes they cannot even release the correct brackets once it is time to do so, like last year.

What is with the venue selection for the playoff games? I have a great idea, let's send two suburban Johnstown teams to Ebensburg to play a playoff game. Better yet, let's give them the third game of the triple header so they get home after midnight. Keep in mind that Doc Stofko Gymnasium at Greater Johnstown sets empty tonight. BRILLIANT. Bishop Carroll vs. Bishop Guilfoyle at Richland? Penns Manor vs. Bishop Guilfoyle at Richland? Saltsburg vs. Penns Manor at Richland? Somebody needs a GPS Navigation System.

One thing that has been proven so far is that the The LHAC is a very good conference. Look at Richland, they nearly pulled the "upset" in the 5-12 matchup with Penns Valley. I would not have considered it an upset had the Rams won that one. Look at #8 Bishop Carroll beating #1 Saltsburg. This is another game that should not have been a quarterfinal game. #10 Westmont beating #7 Blairsville.

[WPIAL~Titan]

Good points, Dokken...No seeding system is perfect...That's why teams get left out of the NCAA Tourney every year. That said, strength of schedule should factor into seedings somehow.

I hear what you're saying about the West Branches and Penns Valleys and Blairsvilles. Westmont plays a very strong schedule, yet they were rewarded with a #10 seed because of their medicore record and the convaluted point system used by D6 to rank teams. Granted, Westmont has barely won 50% of their games, but they deserved about a 6 seed because if they had played West Branch's schedule, they'd have been about 19-5.

I would suggest to the D6 chair to use the current point system as a GUIDE or starting point, not as the sole criteria for seedings. The WPIAL does not have a perfect system, but considers things like: section record, out of conference record, strength of schedule, teams that got off to slow starts due to inuuries/football, etc. That system isn't perfect either, but it's better than going by points only.

One other school of thought: Who cares about seedings...If you're good enough to win, then you'll have to beat the best anyway, whether its in the prelims, quarters, semis, or finals...

I'm sure McCort is very concerned about playing Westmont...Actually, I'm sure that Buster Brown can't be happy with that draw. McCort will have to beat a good team for a 3rd time on a neutral court in a playoff atmosphere with a coach who is one of the best around and who has a lot of experience preparing his teams for big playoff games. Converesely, Westmont has no prsssure, they are supposed to lose the game.

[Dokkenball]

Good points Titan. The argument isn't about when teams play each other in regards to having to beat them anyway. The argument is about teams qualifying for the state playoffs. Like I said before, District 6 is going to lose one of its top 4 teams tonight in the quarterfinals.

[WPIAL~Titan]

Dokken,

Wanna talk about a terrible way to award PIAA playoff bids? What about the WPIAL's moronic method of using the "follow the winner" system for determining PIAA seeds???

I am good personal friends with the WPIAL basketball chair...He has tried to get the system changed to no avail. It should be the WPIAL's mission to get consolation brackets into the WPIAL playoff system. Districts 1 and 3 are much bigger districts and they are able to have consys to determine PIAA bids...

WT

[Dokkenball]

That is an unbelievable way to determine PIAA seeds!

[hoops]

Titan, What is the follow the winner system? Thanks

[WPIAL~Titan]

Follow the winner system used in the WPIAL to determine PIAA seeds in basketball:

7-1 seed WPIAL champ
7-2 seed WPIAL runner-up
7-3 seed Lost to WPIAL champ in semifinals
7-4 seed Lost to WPIAL runner-up in semifinals
7-5 seed Lost to WPIAL champ in quarterfinals
7-6 seed Lost to WPIAL runner-up in quarterfinals
7-7 seed Lost to 7-3 seed in quarterfinals
7-8 seed Lost to 7-4 seed in quarterfinals

This idiotic system of determining PIAA participants eliminates the need for consy games.

It is a flawed system, and these arte just a few reasons:

-No consys are played, thus the WPIAL can't make more $$$

-If a team loses in the quarters, they may go 2 weeks, or almost 3 weeks in some cases, without playing a game

-It does not let the playoff seeds be decided on the floor...The results of semis and finals determine who makes PIAAs

It would not be hard to determine the 5-8 seeds by using consy games...Take the 4 quarterfinal losers and let them play it out for the 5-8 seeds, or for the 5-6 seeds in AAAA...It would keep the teams playing, instead of giving them a 3 week layoff, plus the WPIAL could make more money in the process.

This system makes a laughingstock out of the WPIAL every time I try to explain it to someone...

I am still in my friend's ear (the WPIAL basketball chairman) about this all the time...

[packers4]

Dok,

Good points. 1 of the best 4 teams in 6AA will not have the opportunity to move on after tonight. The wins by BC,Westy and the close losses by Richland and CH bring out the fact that the LHAC is a tough conference
The venue for tonight? Cut me a break. BM-Westy is always a good game to watch no matter what the records are. It always draws a huge crowd. How many people that just want to see a good game will drive from Johnstown to Eburg? And I'm sure the coach from the LHAC champs can't be happy to see 3 games played on his homecourt starting at 5:30. When does he get to practice?
Should be a good game tonight. Roman will have them ready but so will Hollern. Like Titan said, West has nothing to lose. I like Mccort to win it after a close game at halftime.

[lhacbigfan]

Heights losing by 16 isn't really a close loss....

[pats39]

CH Without their best player though very well could of been close. Expected richland to win seems to me they choked the last minute, would have been nice to see atleast two teams in the final four from LHAC.