No games to recap yesterday in WCSSAA, due to the exam break, so that gives us a bit of time to sit back and take a look at the "playoff possibilities" in the 14-team WCSSAA senior league.I'm a little late to the table in being informed that all teams will play an "11 game schedule" this year, so note that the records below will differ from what I've previously posted in standings updates, as I've eliminated the "bye wins".
Let's break it down by "sections".
Seeds 1-3: SJAM, Cameron Heights, Grand River
These teams are all two games clear of fourth place with two games to go, and it's a pretty safe bet that none of these squads will lose both of their remaining contests.
SJAM (Bluevale/Southwood) and Cameron Heights (Huron Heights/Glenview Park) should win their two remaining games. Grand River should as well, albeit with a higher degree of difficulty as they have two 6-3 teams left on their schedule (WCI & Eastwood).
All three teams have played each other, and are 1-1. Cameron Heights, therefore, would take 1st on the +/-, with SJAM then taking 2nd on a "head to head" tiebreak with Grand River (3rd).
Seeds 4-8: KCI, WCI, Eastwood, Glenview Park, Galt
Several of these teams could all end up tied with 8-4 records. In terms of my projections:
KCI (6-3): @ GPSS, @ HHSS = 8-3 or 7-4
WCI (6-3): vs. GRCI, @ JHSS (1-1) = 7-4
ECI (6-3): @ FHCI, @ GRCI (1-1) = 7-4
GCI (5-4): vs. SSS, vs. BCI (2-0) = 7-4
GPSS (5-4): vs. KCI, vs. CHCI = 6-5 or 5-6
The key to unlocking the puzzle will be the KCI/Glenview Park game, which would appear to be the closest of the remaining contests:
If KCI wins (KCI 8-3 & GPSS 5-6)
4. KCI
5. WCI (H2H wins over both Galt & ECI)
6. ECI (Common Opponent: beat GPSS, GCI lost to GPSS)
7. GCI
8. Glenview Park
If GPSS wins (KCI 7-4, GPSS 6-5)
This one is interesting. If this happens, then KCI, WCI, ECI and Galt would all finish with 7-4 records.
WCI (2-1 record against tied teams) would take 4th position in this instance, leaving a 3-way tie between ECI, Galt and KCI.
ECI and Galt have both defeated KCI, which would actually drop the Raiders down to 7th.
Again, Eastwood's common opponent win over GPSS would be the key to placing them 5th:
4. WCI
5. ECI
6. Galt
7. KCI
8. Glenview Park
As you can see, a pretty significant game for the Raiders against Glenview, as they could potentially drop from 4th (and a first-round bye) to 7th.
Seeds 9-12
Currently, Huron Heights (3-6) and Forest Heights (3-6) sit tied for 9th with Bluevale right behind (2-7), and the remaining three teams behind that (PHS 2-8, SSS 1-8, JHSS 1-9).
Forest Heights has the edge in schedule, with PHS remaining, a game in which they will likely be (slightly) favoured. Huron Heights defeated FHCI by 1 in league play, so if the Trojans aren't victorious in that one, then you can flip the following:
9. Forest Heights
10. Huron Heights
As for the remainder, Southwood (2 games) and Jacob Hespeler (1 game left) look to be on the outside looking in as they would need a win in either of their remaining ames. Southwood, therefore, would need to beat either Galt or SJAM to stay in the hunt for a playoff berth, while Jacob Hespeler would need to knock off WCI.
The other remaining game for Preston is Forest Heights (as mentioned above), while JHSS gets WCI.
Preston could vault over Bluevale with a win (their 3rd), while a loss to FHCI would see both BCI & PHS tied with 2 wins. As they didn't play during the regular season, we'd have to look at common opponents:
PHS - def. GPSS & SSS (L JHSS)
BCI - def. SSS & JHSS (L GPSS)
.....which would be a wash, meaning we'd go to the +/- among common opponents (can't really speculate on that as it would depend upon remaining games).
So, my projected seeding for the WCSSAA playoffs:
1. Cameron Heights
2. SJAM
3. Grand River
4. KCI
5. WCI
6. Eastwood
7. Galt CI
8. Glenview Park
9. Forest Hts.
10. Huron Hts.
11. Preston
12. Bluevale
Of course, there's still a lot of basketball to be played and a couple of those "coin flip" games will have a significant impact on the standings.
