Post by p_malinich on Mar 27, 2014 6:43:46 GMT -6
That seems to be a very common question at this point. I'm going to try to give a summary of my answers below & invite others to do the same. I will also be including a bracket for each of the 3 Divisions based on this past year's results, but applying next year's rules.
Every coach will see the scenarios differently. I think it will cause some different behaviors by some while others will make minimal changes at all. It will all depend on each coach's perspective, but each decision will have ripple effects. At a minimum, you should be getting your team ready to win playoff games - not just make the playoffs.
There is no benefit nor penalty for playing out of your division. The Power Rating earned for each game (and averaged across all games) is based on 2 components only:
1) Your result: You get 5 points for a win, 2.5 points for a tie, & 0 points for a loss.
2) Strength of Opponent (defined by wins): You get 100% of their wins for a win, 75% for tie, & 50% for loss
So from a Power Rating perspective only (don't forget to get your teams playoff-ready, too), you want to play the teams with the most # of wins, but who you think you can beat. You do not want to play teams that haven't won any games (since that will only earn you 5 points). Losing to a 10+ win team earns you more points than beating a winless team.
Also, teams with a lot of out-of-state wins aren't as attractive because those won't count for Power Rating.
As far as making playoffs automatically. While you may not finish 1st, you're probably not at risk if you finish 2nd in District. You need to look at how far you were from the cutoff. By the way, I did notice that the language in the proposal allows for co-district champions (and both qualify, seemingly knocking off 1 wildcard spot).
You do need to play at least 15 games or you move to the bottom of the list after everyone else that has played 15 (even if they lost them all). Don't cut it close (remember we all had to drop several games dues to weather late in the season this year).
Finally, seeding is based on Power Ratings purely. So all teams in playoffs get seeded based on that, even if they were a District Champion.
Every coach will see the scenarios differently. I think it will cause some different behaviors by some while others will make minimal changes at all. It will all depend on each coach's perspective, but each decision will have ripple effects. At a minimum, you should be getting your team ready to win playoff games - not just make the playoffs.
There is no benefit nor penalty for playing out of your division. The Power Rating earned for each game (and averaged across all games) is based on 2 components only:
1) Your result: You get 5 points for a win, 2.5 points for a tie, & 0 points for a loss.
2) Strength of Opponent (defined by wins): You get 100% of their wins for a win, 75% for tie, & 50% for loss
So from a Power Rating perspective only (don't forget to get your teams playoff-ready, too), you want to play the teams with the most # of wins, but who you think you can beat. You do not want to play teams that haven't won any games (since that will only earn you 5 points). Losing to a 10+ win team earns you more points than beating a winless team.
Also, teams with a lot of out-of-state wins aren't as attractive because those won't count for Power Rating.
As far as making playoffs automatically. While you may not finish 1st, you're probably not at risk if you finish 2nd in District. You need to look at how far you were from the cutoff. By the way, I did notice that the language in the proposal allows for co-district champions (and both qualify, seemingly knocking off 1 wildcard spot).
You do need to play at least 15 games or you move to the bottom of the list after everyone else that has played 15 (even if they lost them all). Don't cut it close (remember we all had to drop several games dues to weather late in the season this year).
Finally, seeding is based on Power Ratings purely. So all teams in playoffs get seeded based on that, even if they were a District Champion.
