By CHUCKIE MAGGIO
With two games left in the Atlantic 10 regular season, standings and seeding are still wide open. The St. Bonaventure Bonnies could be as high as the No. 2 seed and as low as the No. 6.
The many tiebreakers and possible outcomes for the last week can result in some challenging math. Here’s your guide to Bona’s scenarios.
Official men’s basketball tiebreakers, according to the Atlantic 10 website:
Two-Team Tie
1. Head-to-head competition.
2. Conference record of the tied teams based on winning percentage versus the highest
common opponent and proceeding down to the lowest common opponent, if necessary, until
one team gains an advantage.
a. All ties are broken in descending order.
b. When arriving at another pair of tied teams, use each team’s record against the tied teams
as a group. When comparing records against a group of teams, the higher winning
percentage will prevail. In case of tied percentages vs. the team or group of 1.000 or
.000, the following shall apply: 2-0 is better than 1-0; 0-1 is better than 0-2.
3. Coin toss.
Three or More-Team Tie
1. Head-to-head competition.
a. Use each team’s record against the tied teams as a group rather than performance
against individual teams. When comparing records against a group of teams, the higher
winning percentage will prevail. In case of tied percentages vs. the team or group of
1.000 or .000, the following shall apply: 2-0 is better than 1-0; 0-1 is better than 0-2.
2. If the above results in two teams remaining, the two-team tiebreaker is used.
3. If more than two teams still remain, use the Conference record of the tied teams based on
winning percentage versus the highest common opponent and proceeding down to the
lowest common opponent, if necessary, until one team gains an advantage.
a. All ties are broken in descending order.
b. When arriving at another pair of tied teams, use each team’s record against the tied teams
as a group. When comparing records against a group of teams, the higher winning
percentage will prevail. In case of tied percentages vs. the team or group of 1.000 or .000,
the following shall apply: 2-0 is better than 1-0; 0-1 is better than 0-2.
4. Draw lots.
NOTE: All ties will be broken in descending order. When arriving at another pair of tied teams while comparing records, use each team’s record against the tied teams as a group rather than the performance against individual teams. Once ties are broken, they remain broken throughout the tie-breaker process.
Current standings and final two games for teams in double-bye contention:
1. VCU 14-2 (At George Mason on Tuesday, Home against St. Joe’s on Friday)
2. Davidson 12-4 (Home against St. Bonaventure on Wednesday, Away at Richmond on Saturday)
3. Dayton 11-5 (Home against La Salle on Wednesday, Away at Duquesne on Saturday)
4. Bonaventure 11-5 (At Davidson on Wednesday, Home against Saint Louis on Saturday)
5. Duquesne 10-6 (At Saint Louis on Wednesday, Home against Dayton on Saturday)
6. George Mason 10-6 (Home against VCU on Tuesday, Away at George Washington on Saturday)
7. Saint Louis 9-7 (Home against Duquesne on Wednesday, Away at St. Bonaventure on Saturday)
Three ways the Bonnies can earn a double bye and Friday start in Brooklyn are… (more to follow):
-They win both of the remaining games. There is no way they can go 2-0 and not be in the top four.
OR
-They win one of two and Mason loses one of two. This would make Bona 12-6 and Mason 11-7.
OR
-They lose both AND Mason loses both AND Saint Louis loses one AND Duquesne loses at least one. This would put SBU at 11-7, Duquesne at 11-7 or 10-8 with Bona holding the head-to-head tiebreaker, Mason at 10-8 and Saint Louis at 10-8.
The Bonnies do not earn a double bye if:
-They win one of two and Mason wins both. Mason would have a better win percentage over the highest common opponent, VCU.
OR
-They lose both and Mason wins at least one of two. Mason would either have a win over VCU, the win over Dayton or fewer losses against Davidson, giving the Patriots the tiebreaker.
OR
-They lose both, Saint Louis wins both and they are the only two teams tied at 11-7. Saint Louis would have the head-to-head victory tiebreaker.
OR
-They lose both, Dayton loses both and Mason wins one of two. This would create a three-way tie for third, with Mason earning the tiebreaker because of a 2-1 record against the other two and Dayton becoming fourth because of a 1-1 record over Bonaventure’s 1-2.
OR
-They go 1-1 with a win over Davidson, Davidson loses both, Mason wins both and Dayton goes 1-1. This would create a four-way tie for second place. The records against that group of four would be: Davidson 2-2, George Mason 2-2, Dayton 2-1 and Bonaventure 2-3.
OR
-They lose both, Dayton loses both, Saint Louis wins both, Duquesne wins one of two and Mason wins one of two, creating a five-way tie for third. The records against that group of five would be: Saint Louis 3-2, Dayton 2-3, Duquesne 3-4, Mason 2-3, Bonaventure 2-4.
The Bonnies earn the two seed if:
-They win both AND Davidson loses both AND Dayton wins one or zero of two. This would put Bonaventure at 13-5, Davidson at 12-6 and Dayton at 12-6 or 11-7.
The Bonnies earn the three seed if:
-They win both and Dayton wins one or zero of two. This would put Bonaventure at 13-5 and Dayton at 12-6 or 11-7.
OR
-They win both and Davidson loses both. This would put Bonaventure at 13-5 and Davidson at 12-6.
OR
-They win one of two, Duquesne and Mason each win both and Dayton goes 1-1, creating a four-way tie for third place. The records against the group of four would be: Bonaventure 3-2, Mason 2-2, Dayton 2-2, Duquesne 2-3.
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