Reduce teams that qualify for playoffs??

There are 93 4A teams in the state. 64 make the playoffs. That is 69%.
That is crazy. Before 64 s, it was 48. This means that all the #1s and some #2s have a bye. The move to 64 basically said that no one who deserved to be in the playoffs was left out. The split conferences do cause a problem.
The 2nd best team in a group could be better that than the #4 or 5 seeds in a big conference.

Under the 48 team playoff, it took 3 rounds to reach the regionals . With 64, it takes the same 3 rounds. There is no time saved. The differance is that teams #49 - 64 are 4 and 5 seeds traveling to 1s and 2 seeds, with predictable results. In many schools , it just postpones the time when many athletes could move over to their next sport.

 

Some of the same people complaining that they would like to reduce the number of playoff teams arew the same ones wanting to be able to play more games a year regular season. ??????????? I say anytime we can let the girls play one more game I'm all for it. They practice all year just to play give them all the games you can any way you can

 

The idea behind reducing the number of state playoff teams while increasing the number of regular season games is to allow the girls to play more but also make the state playoffs more meaningful when you earn that playoff spot.

 

Playoff Situation in NC

I agree that losing 25-0 is ridiculous and those teams don't belong in the playoffs. However, the current seeding system is set up to allow this to occur. There should be a minimum number of wins required before a team can participate. If the Champion is somehow below .500 then that league doesn't get a berth. Find a way to put the best teams in and play until someone wins. Yes, there is an occasional upset, but they are few and far between to keep allowing these teams to play. Generally that 1st round upset is going to get a team a matchup with the team that won 25-0 in the 1st round and we all know what the outcome of that 2nd round game will be.

 

Leave it like it is. It gives everyone more playing time. It actually helps the weaker teams when they have to compete against stronger teams. The stronger teams can treat it like a practice (at their own risk) if they like. Just because a team is fortunate enough to have a strong team doesn't mean they should be the only ones having fun playing. The games should not be considered a waste of time.

 

I'm looking at the softball brackets from 2006. There were 32 teams that year with three single elimination rounds before the finals. The whole thing took three weeks to play. The next year was when it changed to 64 with four single elimination rounds. With 64 teams, there are still three weeks involved. The additional games are simply played by Tuesday of the first week instead of waiting 'till Friday to start which was done with the 32 team format. The point is that the time allowed for playoffs is the same either way.

Results are not always "predictable". This year in 2A round 1, #5 E. Duplin beat #1 W. Bladen by six runs. That's probably an example of strong conf. vs. weak conf. With a 32 format, E. Duplin (ranked #10 in the state polls) doesn't make the playoffs.

We need to keep 64.