IndyStar: Seeding 5A and 6A Tournament

[QB]

Relevant to the fixing the 6A tournament topic thats on here right now, but also involves the 5A people too so figured it necessary to spin off. 

IndyStar did a highlight on what it would look like to seed the 5A and 6A tournament next year. Pretty interesting article: 

https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/high-school/2019/12/03/indiana-high-school-football-time-seeding-ihsaa-tournament/4346453002/

What are everyone's thoughts? I think it would make for some great late tournament matchups that may occur early on in the current format (e.g. Cathedral/NP, Avon/BB)

[saintsguyseh]

11 hours ago, QB said:

Relevant to the fixing the 6A tournament topic thats on here right now, but also involves the 5A people too so figured it necessary to spin off. 

IndyStar did a highlight on what it would look like to seed the 5A and 6A tournament next year. Pretty interesting article: 

https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/high-school/2019/12/03/indiana-high-school-football-time-seeding-ihsaa-tournament/4346453002/

What are everyone's thoughts? I think it would make for some great late tournament matchups that may occur early on in the current format (e.g. Cathedral/NP, Avon/BB)

I think seeding is something the ihsaa should have done always as long as they have had a tourney, it would be difficult to decide how to seed everyone since there will always be people upset about where they were ranked, but my best idea would be to have to actual coaches vote on it a lot like they do all conference teams, basically just voting for whoever they are most “scared”, for lack of a better term, to play.

Seeding would be nice because then those teams that truly deserve to be in the semi-state and state games can earn the sectionals and regionals trophies that they deserve, instead of getting knocked out in a close sectional championship or regional to eventual state champs who steamroll through everyone else in the tourney. I would use 4A sectionals last year as an example where FW Dwenger and Wayne played an amazing game decided by one point in a sectional championship. It’s a shame that a team of that talent and caliber was eliminated so early before they could even get a trophy, i believe they could’ve made a semi state run at least in a different side of the bracket or sectional.

[superjay]

I would like to see them make 1A a 32 team class and 5A a full 64 team class.  The smaller schools have fewer players and the extra week off could help.  Most 5A teams are 2 platoon or real close and have plenty of backups.  Plus it would shake things up a bit.

[Guest]

9 hours ago, saintsguyseh said:

I think seeding is something the ihsaa should have done always as long as they have had a tourney, it would be difficult to decide how to seed everyone since there will always be people upset about where they were ranked, but my best idea would be to have to actual coaches vote on it a lot like they do all conference teams, basically just voting for whoever they are most “scared”, for lack of a better term, to play.

Seeding would be nice because then those teams that truly deserve to be in the semi-state and state games can earn the sectionals and regionals trophies that they deserve, instead of getting knocked out in a close sectional championship or regional to eventual state champs who steamroll through everyone else in the tourney. I would use 4A sectionals last year as an example where FW Dwenger and Wayne played an amazing game decided by one point in a sectional championship. It’s a shame that a team of that talent and caliber was eliminated so early before they could even get a trophy, i believe they could’ve made a semi state run at least in a different side of the bracket or sectional.

But is seeding an absolutely perfect fix?  I am smart enough now to realize that it does not matter but these "bracketologists" at the college level have hours upon hours of shows, podcasts, etc dedicated to something that rarely matters.  Look at Selection Sunday in basketball for example.  After the brackets are released, these "analysts" spend HOURS breaking down the brackets (there is a 2 hour show after they are released), and it feels like FOREVER until the tournament actually starts four days later.  These "experts" have broken things down in every which way imaginable and in the end, it usually does not matter.  Team A gets screwed, team B gets an easy path, etc...but none of it matters once the games begin.

Maybe its an apples to oranges comparison, maybe I just like to be difficult but you are never going to please everybody.  Even if you seed a couple of the Indy sectionals (seeding sectionals is the only realistic option we are going to honestly get if anything ever happens), there are some great teams going home early.  Sectional 5 (Avon, Brownsburg, Carmel and Pike and sectional 7 (Lawrence Central, Lawrence North, North Central, Warren Central) are going to be absolute bloodbaths next year.  Three teams are going home early.  Three teams that very well could have competed well at the regional/semi-state level.  It happens.

The older I have gotten, the more tiresome I have gotten over this argument.  If your ultimate goal is to crown the state champion (which the IHSAA has be adamant about from the start), then you have to beat the best eventually, whether it be in the sectional or the semi-state/state finals.  Save for a couple extra teams getting trophies along the way, the current system does that.

Now get off my lawn while I go play with my pet dinosaur.