Tiebreaker for the BE Tourney?

[reinko]

Anybody know it?  Obvi head to head is first, but is overall record next?

[NavinRJohnson]

In a 2 team tie, head to head is first, followed by record aganst the top teams in the conference in order...1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. until an advantage is gained.

In a 3+ team tie, the first tie breaker is the best winning % in games played against the tied teams with certain criteria related to the number of games played, etc. Complicated, and very difficult to project.

If we can finish in a tie with ND, and only ND, and we beat G'town (assuming they hang on to 1st place), we'd win the tie breaker. Even if UL or UConn move into first though, so long as UL beats ND, we'd still be in good shaps I believe, as teh breaker would move down to G'town. 2 games is a lot to make up though.

[reinko]

thanks navin for that expert analysis and breakdown!

[spiral97]

here are the complete tie breaker rules (per bigeast.org)

CHAMPIONSHIP SEEDING FORMULA
Overall Conference record, at the conclusion of the regular season, is used to seed teams number 1 through 16. The top 12 teams qualify for the Conference Tournament. The following procedures are set up to establish seeding for the championship and to break ties. Follow the appropriate steps in order.

TIE-BREAKING PROCEDURE FOR SEEDING
Two-Way Tie
1. Regular season head-to-head results (zero, one, or two games). If the tied teams split their two games, or did not play, then proceed to Step #2 below.

2. Each team’s record vs. the team or tied teams occupying the highest position in the standings. Continue down through the standings until one team gains an advantage.

When comparing records against a single team or collective tied teams (before ties are broken), the following may apply:
a. If the games played against the team or group are equal, winning percentage prevails.
b. If the games played against the team or group are unequal, the following scenarios apply:
1) Most wins do prevail only if the team with fewer wins could not equal that win total if they played the same number of games.
Two examples of many scenarios that do provide an advantage:

1)	TeamA	2-0			2)	TeamA	3-0
	TeamB	0-1				TeamB	1-1

2) Most wins do not prevail if the team with fewer wins could equal or surpass the win total of the other team.
Three examples of many scenarios that do not provide an advantage:

1)	TeamA	1-1			2)	TeamA	2-0			3)	TeamA	1-0
	TeamB	0-1				TeamB	1-0				TeamB	0-0

3) Fewer losses do not prevail if the teams have the same number of wins and if the team with fewer games could equal or surpass the loss total of the other team.
Three examples of many scenarios that do not provide an advantage:

1)	TeamA	1-0			2)	TeamA	0-1			3)	TeamA	0-0
	TeamB	1-1				TeamB	0-2				TeamB	0-1

If an advantage is not determined, proceed to the next team or group in the standings for comparison.


If the tie cannot be broken after continuing down through the last team or teams in the standings, revert back to comparing records against the top teams in order and allow winning percentage to prevail even if there a comparison of unequal games. Only then, if the percentages are both 1.000, than 2-0 is better than 1-0. It also follows that 1-0 is better than 0-0. However, the reverse is not true – no team gains advantage when all have a .000 winning percentage (0-0 is never better than 0-1, and 0-1 is never better than 0-2).

Multiple-Team Tie (3 or more teams)
1. A) Teams are viewed as a “mini-conference” when comparing head-to-head results. The team with the best record (as determined by winning percentage, even if unequal games) vs. the other teams in the miniconference gains the advantage. If only two teams have the same best winning percentage in the miniconference, the higher seed goes to the team winning the head-to-head series. If the two teams split their two games or didn’t play, then proceed to Step 2 under Two-Way ties. To seed the remaining team(s) in this mini-conference, proceed to Paragraph B below. If three or more (but not all) teams have the same best winning percentage in the original mini-conference, than those tied teams create a new miniconference and follow the same procedures as at the beginning of this paragraph. If all teams in the miniconference have the same mini-conference record, proceed to Step 2 below.

B) After the top team in a mini-conference is determined, the next team is ranked by its record in the original mini-conference. If there are any remaining teams tied by their record in the mini-conference, then head-to-head results will determine the higher seed. If the teams split two games or didn’t play, then proceed back to the two-way tie breaking procedure. If there are at least three teams remaining tied by their record in the mini-conference, they would then form a new mini-conference and follow the procedure again at the beginning of Step #1 (Multiple-Team Tie).

2. Each team’s record vs. the team or group of tied teams occupying the highest position in the standings. Continue down through the standings until one team gains an advantage. When comparing records against a single team or collective tied teams (before ties are broken), the following may apply:
a. The games played against the team or group are equal, winning percentage prevails.
b. If the games played against the team or group are unequal, the following scenarios apply:
1) Most wins do prevail only if the team(s) with fewer wins could not equal that win total if they played the same number of games. One example of many scenarios that does provide an advantage:

1)	TeamA	2-0			2)	TeamA	3-1
	TeamB	1-1				TeamB	1-2
	TeamC	0-1				TeamC	1-2

2) Most wins do not prevail only if the team(s) with fewer wins could equal or surpass the win total of the other team.
Three examples of many scenarios that do not provide an advantage:

1)	TeamA	2-1			2)	TeamA	1-2			3)	TeamA	1-1
	TeamB	1-1				TeamB	0-2				TeamB	0-1
	TeamC	1-1				TeamC	0-2				TeamC	0-0

3) Fewer losses do not prevail if the team(s) have the same number of wins, but the team with fewer games could equal or surpass the loss total of the other tied teams.
Three examples of many scenarios that do not provide an advantage:

1)	TeamA	2-0			2)	TeamA	0-2			3)	TeamA	0-0
	TeamB	2-1				TeamB	0-3				TeamB	0-1
	TeamC	2-1				TeamC	0-3				TeamC	0-2

If an advantage is not determined, then proceed to the next team or group in the standings for comparison.

If the tie cannot be broken after continuing down through the last team or teams in the standings, revert back to comparing records against the top teams in order and allow winning percentage to prevail even if there a comparison of unequal games. Only then, if the percentages are both 1.000, than 2-0 is better than 1-0. It also follows that 1-0 is better than 0-0. However, the reverse is not true – no team gains advantage when all have a .000 winning percentage (0-0 is never better than 0-1, and 0-1 is never better than 0-2).

COIN FLIP
If any ties still exist after implementing all of the above tie-breaking procedures, a coin flip is required. The procedure takes place at The BIG EAST Conference office immediately following the conclusion of the last regular season conference game. Commissioner Michael Tranghese will administer this procedure. This session is open to the media and to athletic department representatives of the tied teams.