Special playoff games could ultimately be needed in all 3 local leagues
By CHRIS HOBBS
HobbsDailyReport.com
As the area’s conference basketball tournaments begin on Monday night, there are two ties that have not been clearly broken regarding the state playoffs.
At least one published report incorrectly says the Patton girls (Northwestern Foothills 2A) and Bandys girls (South Fork 2A) have locked up the No. 2 automatic spots into the postseason.
Those teams have No. 2 seeds in their respective conference tournaments – both first-round games are Tuesday night – but the tiebreakers used for league tournament seeds are not binding and added special playoff games could be forthcoming.
While MaxPreps state rankings are a part of the state tournament seeding process, they are not the only factor.
Here are the situations:
Patton and Bunker Hill girls
They tied for second place in the Northwestern Foothills 2A behind East Burke, which did not lose a conference game.
The Panthers and Bears split in the regular season – Patton winning 70-50 at home and Bunker Hill winning 59-47 at home – and the tie was broken by comparing records against fourth-place Fred T. Foard.
Patton swept Foard and the Tigers, after falling 92-42 at Bunker Hill on Jan. 22, stunned the Bears on Friday by winning 58-56. That gave Patton the No. 2 league tournament seed.
If Patton and Bunker Hill each win their Tuesday first-round games, their semifinal on Thursday at 4 p.m. at East Burke, will determine the No. 2 state playoff bid.
If the Panthers and Bears lose shy of making the tournament final, they’ll have to play a special playoff game to decide the No. 2 state playoff bid (unless they mutually agree to break the tie by other means).
Bandys and Lincolnton girls
They tied for second place in the South Fork 2A and split their regular-season league games. The Trojans got the No. 2 league tournament bid because they eat the Wolves in a third game, 40-27 on Dec. 29 at North Lincoln in the People’s Bank Holiday Clash.
By North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) tiebreaking process, the third game isn’t used to determine state playoff seeds.
If the Trojans and Wolves each win on Tuesday in first-round conference tournament games, they’d play a semifinal on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Lincolnton and that game would determine No. 2 for the postseason.
Should Bandys or Lincolnton lose and not advance to the league tournament final, a special playoff game would be need to sort out who is No. 2 for the state playoffs (unless they mutually agree to break the tie by other means).
Northwestern 3A-4A’s three-way tie
Hickory, McDowell and Watauga were each 10-4 and tied for second place behind Freedom, which did not lose a league game.
The tie came down to a draw for league tournament seeds with Hickory at No. 2, McDowell at No. 3 and Watauga at No. 4.
As the highest-finishing 4A team in the league, McDowell owns the No. 1 4A bid – which leaves Hickory and Watauga (in opposite brackets), and they split in the regular season.
When a tie is between two teams, head-to-head games become the determining factor.
If the Red Tornadoes and Pioneers are not conference tournament finalists, there would be time to play a special playoff game to break the tie for the No. 2 state playoff bid (unless they mutually agree to break the tie by other means).
