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February 24, 2011

Let’s Talk Tiebreakers!

Official Tournament Page

AUGUSTA, GA – The 2010-11 basketball season is almost over, but there is still a lot of basketball left to play both on the men’s and women’s side to determine who will be in the PBC Tournament.  This is your complete guide to who has a shot at getting one of the coveted tournament spots with one game left to go.

First, a quick review of the PBC tiebreaker: we look at head-to-head competition first, then division record if the teams split.  If the division record is the same, we then go to how they did against the #1-seeded team in their division.  If still tied, it’s on to #2 and all the way through the ranks.  Still tied?  Then it’s on to the #1 seed of the other division, then #2 and all the way through.  Still tied? Coin flip!

Women’s Basketball

The coin flip is a rare occurrence but could be used on Saturday if Lander beats Augusta State in Greenwood.  USC Aiken sits atop the east division, their season complete at 16-2 thanks to their win on Wednesday night against the Bearcats.  The loss moved Lander to 15-2 with one game left.  A win moves them into a tie with USCA.  The two teams split their regular-season games, would have the same division record and beat everyone else in the east.  Both teams lost to PBC Champions Clayton State, then beat everyone in the west.  Should Lander win on Saturday against ASU, PBC Commissioner David Brunk will flip a coin to determine the #1 seed.

Francis Marion is locked in at #3 in the east with UNC Pembroke at #4.  In the west, Clayton State is #1, Georgia College #2 and Columbus State is in at #3.  The only potential tie would be at the #4 seed with North Georgia and Montevallo.

North Georgia has a one-game lead over the Falcons in league play.  For Montevallo to get into the tournament, they would have to beat Columbus State on Saturday and have North Georgia fall to Georgia College.  If that happens, Montevallo will get the seed thanks to their better division record (the two teams split their regular-season games). 

Men’s Basketball

The PBC standings in both divisions could not be tighter with Saturday’s games looming larger than ever before.  In the east, three teams are fighting for two spots while in the west, three teams are in, but one gets to host a first-round game.

In the east, Augusta locked up #1 and USC Aiken is #2 thanks to their win over Lander on Wednesday.  Armstrong Atlantic, Francis Marion and UNC Pembroke all sit at 8-9 with one game left.  Francis Marion hosts Armstrong Atlantic State on Saturday and the winner of that game is in the PBC Tournament.  Where it gets interesting is how the loser of that game might also get in.

For UNC Pembroke: the recipe is simple: win and you’re in.  The Braves would be 9-9 and join the winner of the FMU-AASU game at 9-9.  The two would then go through the tiebreaker to determine the 3 seed and 4 seed.

If UNCP loses, they can still get in if Armstrong Atlantic State beats Francis Marion.  AASU would get in and UNCP and FMU would go to the tiebreak.  The two split their regular-season games but UNCP would get the nod thanks to a better division record (6-6 to 5-7).

So, for Francis Marion to get in they need to beat AASU.  If they do not, no matter what happens elsewhere, they will not be in the tournament field.

Armstrong Atlantic State has bit more wiggle room than either FMU or UNCP, but could still be on the outside looking in with with a loss and UNCP win.  But AASU could fall to FMU and still get in the tournament if Flagler beats UNC Pembroke.  Should both AASU and UNCP lose, both will be 8-10, have split their two regular-season games and have identical 6-6 division records.

Both lost twice to top-seeded Augusta State and both split against #2 USC Aiken.  Francis Marion would be #3 and, under this scenario, both teams would have split with the Patriots.  Since 4-5 is the tie we are trying to break, we go to #6: Flagler.  AASU swept Flagler in two games but UNCP would have a 1-1 record and the seed would go to the Pirates.

The west division also has three teams trying to earn that coveted home game.  Clayton State, Georgia College and Montevallo all sit at 9-7 and, unlike the east, no two play one another on Saturday.

Montevallo swept Georgia College during the regular season and split with Clayton State and are 3-1 in head-to-head competition.  Therefore, if all three teams win or if all three teams lose (maintaining the tie), Montevallo will be the second seed.  Clayton State and Georgia College would then split their tie with division record, which favors Georgia College (again, if both teams have the same result on Saturday).

Of course, if one team wins while the other two lose, they would earn that #2 seed. If two win and one loses, that losing team will be at #4 with the two teams that one going back to a tiebreaker beginning with head-to-head and working through the process.

The bracket for the 2011 PBC Tournament will be released on Saturday night following the last regular-season games.  The men’s teams will begin first-round play on Tuesday, March 1, with the women following on Wednesday, March 2 at the site of the higher seed.  The four winning men’s and women’s teams will venture to Aiken, S.C., for the semifinals and finals March 5-6.