Sectional tournament results prove power points flaw
The power points results from the first round of the basketball sectionals are in, and as expected, a flaw in the formula has reared its head.
The Chaparral boys basketball team lost to Desert Vista in the first round of the Division I, Section III tournament, but still passed idle teams Cienega and Perry.
Horizon girls basketball lost in the first round of its sectional tournament and jumped up two spots to No. 24 in the Division I standings.
Thunderbird and Desert Edge were neck-and-neck in Division II boys basketball, but Thunderbird lost and enjoyed a big boost to clinch a playoff spot because Desert Edge was idle.
The St. Mary’s girls team improved to 18-0 in power point games with a first round sectional win, but since it has played one game fewer than most other teams, currently sits No. 6 overall in Division I, behind a 14-5 Chandler team, among others.
There are numerous other examples of the flaw, but Arizona Interscholastic Association Chief Operating Officer Chuck Schmidt refused to acknowledge the error in a phone conversation this afternoon.
Schmidt reiterated this point, which the AIA has used as its official stance since we began questioning whether extra games benefit teams regardless if the outcome: Since the executive board passed the power point formula, the system is working as intended.
The deeper into the sectionals we go, the more obvious it will become that teams get an unfair boost from playing extra games. Schmidt said an ad hoc committee can be pulled together to find a solution to a specific problem.
That seems like the best way to address this issue. However, the impetus behind the meeting will likely have to come from one of the member schools since the AIA continues to deny there is an error in the formula.
Related posts:
- Alleged power points flaw could affect Perry boys hoops There is a very interesting story on our website today...
- No reason to sneak a peak at power points It’s Week 7 of the football regular season, which means...
- Power points a tricky game in boys basketball With the way the power point standings work in boys...
To see much more detailed information about this Power Rankings Flaw, go to this thread:
http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=222&f=1138&t=8643291&p=1
Here is a must read on the PPTs as it really opens up to show not the behind the scenes that John is talking about with codes etc. but how it is a huge money grab for sectionals and how it affects teams personally:
Great Article: A Must read by Matt Hickman Daily Herald:
Superfluous sectionals only hurt AIA�s low approval rating http://www.svherald.com/content/sports/2012/02/11/248509
While we are hearing a lot about the formulas that create the flawed AIA power point system, let not forget about the policy flaws as well. The AIA chose not to give Sectional winners automatic byes in the first round or even guarantee that the Sectional winner would be in the round of 24!
Specifically, North HS won the Division I, Section I tournament. They beat Cesar Chavez the #1 seed in the semis and Westview the #4 seed in the finals. In spite of that fact, both Chavez and Westview were seeded, 6 and 8 respectively, and get byes in the first round. North on the other hand is 10th seeded and has to play in the first round. Upon further checking, if the #48 team, out of the 48 teams that made it to the 3 sectionals, had won a sectional tournament, they would have not made it to the State Championship at all!! This would’ve also been the case for dozens of other teams who would not have had enough power points to break into the top 24.
If the AIA had a policy that gave the three sectional tournament winners byes in the first round, they could seed the top eight teams, 1 thru 8, according to power points. They could then seed the next 21 teams according to a corrected point system. Then, and only then, would the system be fixed. The AIA has always had issues, with refs, transfers, discipline, etc. But this is one of the most glaring set of problems since power points were instituted as a way of life in AZ. So don’t just fix the numbers fix the policies that govern how the numbers are used!!
Leave your response!
Connect with VarsityXtra
Tags
Recent Posts
VX Forums
See the complete VX Forum
Archives
Related
Categories
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
Staff only