As
Robison stated originally back in our August article on the 'Robison RPI', the goal of his experiment was to create a formula much like ones used in nearby states in order to help seed the state tournaments.
We stipulated in that first article that we would include the same amount of teams from each district as would be included in this year's tournament. So, for example, the District 1-2 Whitepine League is alotted two playoff berths to the tournament. This would mean that in our scenario, the maximum number of teams from the District 1-2 Whitepine League that would be placed on the bracket would be two. The same applies for District 3 (2 berths), District 4 (2 berths) and District 5-6 (2 berths).
We should note that we are presenting only an 8 team bracket, compared to the 12 team bracket that is used in this year's 1AD2 State Playoffs. The reason for that is because 1AD2 schools in Districts 1, 2, and 3 all have their last regular season game on the last Friday of October, while schools in District 4, 5, and 6 go into a 'play-in round' so to speak during that last week of October. Since two teams from District 4 and two teams from District 5-6 emerged from the play-in round, we will split the berths up evenly between the two leagues.
You will see three different brackets below - the first one using the RRPI Washington base formula, followed by the RRPI Colorado base formula, and finally the RRPI Colorado base 'No Autos'.
The 'No Autos' format means that the overall top 8 teams in the 1AD2 classification will be seeded into the state tournament, regardless of how they finished the season or if they snagged an automatic berth to the tournament. This is, simply, the 8 highest ranked teams in the formula set up in the bracket.
We begin with the 8 teams that qualified for this year's state tournament. Instead of being in a pre-determined position on the bracket (
as seen in the real brackets HERE), they are ranked using the RRPI Washington base formula and the RRPI Colorado base formula as seen in the table below.
Here's a look at how the Class 1AD2 RRPI Washington base rankings (left) and the Class 1AD2 RRPI Colorado base rankings (right) looked at the completion of the regular season:
With these rankings in mind, it's important to note the teams that reached the postseason this year from each district based on available berths to this year's state tournament:
District 1/2 - 2 berths
Deary
Kendrick
District 3 - 2 berths
Tri-Valley
Salmon River
District 4 - 2 berths
Carey
Dietrich
District 5-6 - 2 berths
Butte County
Clark-Watersprings
The RRPI Washington Base Formula Bracket
The first bracket we will look at is what the tournament would look like if we took these same 8 teams and seeded them on the bracket using the RRPI Washington base formula.
A few things change in comparison to the actual, real bracket used for this year's tournament. Tri-Valley heads to the top of the bracket as the highest ranked team and would host Dietrich in the 1 vs 8 matchup. Below them in the 4 vs 5 matchup, Clark-Watersprings would host Deary.
On the bottom of the bracket, Salmon River would host Kendrick in the 2 vs 7 matchup (and a rematch of last year's state championship game), while Butte County would host Carey in the 3 vs 6 matchup.
The RRPI Colorado Base Formula Bracket
The second bracket we will take a look at is what the tournament would look like if we took these 8 teams and again seed them on the bracket, but this time we would use the RRPI Colorado base formula.
There are, again, more changes in comparison to the actual, real bracket used for this year's tournament. In comparison to the Washington base formula bracket above, all of the matchups would remain the same but their positioning on the bracket would change.
On the top half of the bracket, Tri-Valley would again host Dietrich in the 1 vs 8 matchup and below them would be Butte County hosting Carey in the 4 vs 5 game.
On the bottom half of the bracket, Salmon River and Kendrick would remain in the 2 vs 7 matchup, but Deary would now host Clark-Watersprings in the 3 vs 6 game.
The RRPI Colorado Base Formula 'No Autos' Bracket
The final bracket we will look at is the 'No Autos' bracket, which takes the RRPI Colorado base rankings and just seeds the tournament 1 through 8 without any automatic qualifiers. This would be like saying to all the teams in the classification, "Just finish in the top 8 of the rankings and you're in - doesn't matter if you won the district title or if you were in last place in the conference. If you are in the top 8 in the rankings, you are in the state tournament." Here's how that true 1 through 8 bracket would look:
In this bracket, there are quite a few changes. We begin with the teams who aren't on the bracket any longer, which in this case is only one team - Dietrich. They are replaced by Garden Valley, giving the Long Pin Conference three teams in the playoffs while the Sawtooth West Division only gets one in (Carey).
On the top half of the bracket, Tri-Valley remains in the top spot but would now host Kendrick in the 1 vs 8 matchup. The 4 vs 5 matchup would send Butte County northward to play at Deary.
On the bottom half of the bracket, Salmon River again hosts the 2 vs 7 matchup and woul take on Clark-Watersprings. Garden Valley would also host the 3 vs 6 game and would face Carey.