OPINION: OHSAA Needs to Adjust Tournament Bracket Methodology

So, what to do? Let’s try this on for size, tournament directors. The top four seeds, once they’ve been established, get automatic byes to the second round, which would be a division sectional final.

Again, when I was sitting on the scholastic bench, selected coaches would have balked at that claiming if they’re a top seed, they should play who and when they want to.

Well, if my thoughts reflected in this column would ever become official, that coach’s sentiment goes out the window. You’re a top seed, which is both a significant honor and an award for a successful year. I fail to see where the problem is here, or how such a team is being inconvenienced.

And for those pairings, you make sure that it’s the No. 1 and No. 3 in the top half of the bracket, while No. 2 and No. 4 appear in the lower half.

In theory, this assures that potentially you can see the top two teams in the tournament square off in the district championship game. It may not happen that way, but at least with that alignment, the probability remains intact.

As for the rest of the participants, if it’s an even number of teams, say the usual 12-school field, have the 12th seed face No. 11 with the winner advancing to play the No. 4 seed.

The No. 7 takes on No. 8 to advance to play the second seed (both from the bottom half of the bracket), while at the top of the bracket, you have No. 10 playing No. 9 advancing to play the second seed with No. 5 going against No. 6 advancing to play the top seed.

The only discrepancy might be a 10 or a 9 having to play a No. 2, but this minimizes seeing more uneven contests early on.

If it’s an odd-numbered field, which some sectional/districts do have, why not just adopt the NCAA rule and have a “play in” game, of sorts.

You would have your No. 13 taking on the No. 12 with the winner going to the next game against the No. 4; and you just proceed from there as you did with a 12-team field. That No. 13-No. 12, or No. 12-No. 11 first round matchup will mean a tournament win for one of those schools; which might be an achievement those kids and coaches have never experienced before.

It may be a small milestone by comparison to other schools with tradition-rich reputations and championships, but those little things will do wonders for a young kid’s confidence. A tournament victory, albeit just one, can help build a program-I’ve seen it happen.

I haven’t found anyone yet to put up an argument in front of me as to why this format can’t work. Yes, there could be scheduling problems trying to find another day and gymnasium availability to play some extra games for those odd-numbered district sites, but that shouldn’t be that big of a hurdle to leap over.

What I do know, because it stands to reason applying simple logic, is that a team who hasn’t fared well in past tournaments because of the number of people on its squad, or just the limited talent pool that school can choose from will enjoy its postseason experience a lot more by playing a team much closer to its athletic abilities.

That team may still lose the game but the odds are more in their favor that the contest won’t be over by halftime.

I am aware that the OHSAA does implement the “running clock” method for the second half when what can be seen on the scoreboard is getting out of hand.

I can understand that policy in that such a rule in place will obviously tighten the tourniquet to stop the bleeding and mercifully bring an end to what has been anything but a competitive match. However, “changing” the rules of the game, the way it was originally written, isn’t the answer.

And so, to the OHSAA, the ball is in your court, so to speak. I am not so foolishly suggesting that my recommendation will eliminate all one-sided, embarrassing scores and that this will ensure nail-biting, buzzer-beating finishes, but it might be something to start giving serious thought to.

If anything, it’s a positive step to take by those who are committed to provide the most and the best of all athletic opportunities for our high school youngsters throughout the state of Ohio.

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