Toughest Playoff Schedule
- Thread starter Corey90
- Start date
While it’s clearly a homer pick there is some truth to Naz having a pretty tough road
Yeah, cake schedule right?! Kenwood (6-3), Lincoln-Way West (9-2) and Normal Community (12-0) weren't any good.
Not sure about Kenwood, but Normal wasn't that good.
Normal played nobody and it showed. Kenwood all hype!! I'll give ya Lincoln-Way West.
Love to see DGN-Batavia final. Mt. Carmel is the 800lb gorillia. Good Luck to DGN.
Love to see DGN-Batavia final. Mt. Carmel is the 800lb gorillia. Good Luck to DGN.
SHG was not their usually powerhouse this season but Normal destroyed them. Peoria is always a good team and so it Bradley. It is a bite harsh to say they played no one unless you are only talking about the playoffs then yes only Bradley was a good team .
More appropriately, they didn't win their two most difficult games. Safe to say they aren't exactly as battle tested as MC, but they will likely still tee it up Saturday at 4 p.m., so we are going to find out!
Depends on if we're adjusting the scale to class level or not I guess...
For 5A, definitely a tough draw and deserves consideration. Glenbard South was the closest thing to a weak draw, and even they are a strong program for 5A.
Not the same animal as some of the larger school brackets but 2A North was a menace. Very good undefeated teams that didnt even sniff the Semis. Bottom half of 2A was a cake walk. Not saying Athens cant win but the depth was sad. There were 5 north teams (maybe 6) that couldve came out of the south bracket this year.
In 6A, Flyer played 13, 5, 1 then 2. They await 3 from the Noth.
They have NEVER been in danger. Washington was down 26-3 with 7:30 in the game ... 34-18 not indicative of the real game.
They have NEVER been in danger. Washington was down 26-3 with 7:30 in the game ... 34-18 not indicative of the real game.
Think Cary-Grove will be their toughest opponent. I think the 2021 flyers were overall a better team than this current flyers team. Let’s hope for a great game!
That maybe true about ESL, but this is not the CG team from 2021 either. Let's hope for another exciting game like 2021. May the best team win.
Just an attempt to put a somewhat objective (though imperfect) evaluation on it:
Path to finals based on Edgys Week 14 top 10s
(unfortunately only covers 4A and UP)
Top 10 teams from their class that each team had to beat:
St Laurence: beat 3, 5
Rochester: 4, 6
Nazareth: 3, 5, 9
Joliet Catholic: 4, 7
Cary Grove: 4, 6
ESL: 3, 5
DGN: 4, 7, 8
Mt Carmel: 3, 5
Loyola: 3, 9
LWE: 4, 7
Obviously some bias in how the top 10 is formed. But I'd say Naz has a clear argument with only them and DGN beating 3 top 10 teams in their class, but Naz's being slightly higher ranked in theirs.
Path to finals based on Edgys Week 14 top 10s
(unfortunately only covers 4A and UP)
Top 10 teams from their class that each team had to beat:
St Laurence: beat 3, 5
Rochester: 4, 6
Nazareth: 3, 5, 9
Joliet Catholic: 4, 7
Cary Grove: 4, 6
ESL: 3, 5
DGN: 4, 7, 8
Mt Carmel: 3, 5
Loyola: 3, 9
LWE: 4, 7
Obviously some bias in how the top 10 is formed. But I'd say Naz has a clear argument with only them and DGN beating 3 top 10 teams in their class, but Naz's being slightly higher ranked in theirs.
Uhh ... In 6A, Flyer played 13, 5, 1 then 2. They await 3 from the Noth.
Why would this Poll be used when it has been readjusted based on Playoff results? I think that at least the week 9 AP Polls would be better suited for this exercise.
I will not declare it the toughest road, but if the Hilltoppers have the good fortune of winning on Saturday the boys will certainly have earned it.
They faced the 2022 5A Runner Up (by 1 point) Peoria, a good 7-2 Triad team, an undefeated Morris squad, neighborhood rival & 2022 4A Runner Up Providence, and face the defending 5A Champion in the Finals. Peoria, Morris & Providence were all tagged as "young" in 2022, and were all projected to be strong and experienced squads in 2023.
They faced the 2022 5A Runner Up (by 1 point) Peoria, a good 7-2 Triad team, an undefeated Morris squad, neighborhood rival & 2022 4A Runner Up Providence, and face the defending 5A Champion in the Finals. Peoria, Morris & Providence were all tagged as "young" in 2022, and were all projected to be strong and experienced squads in 2023.
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Probably looking at both would be best. Anyone wanna have at it and compare that too would be fun.
Using week 10 rankings (I assume this is what original quote meant, not week 9)
St Laurence: beat 2, 9
Rochester: 5, 8
Nazareth: 1, 3, 6, 10
Joliet Catholic: 2, 4
Cary Grove: 3, 4, 7
ESL: 2, 5
DGN: 4, 6
Mt Carmel: 2, 3, 7
Loyola: 9
LWE: 4, 6
So Naz strengthens it's argument on the week 10 method. Only one to take down a #1 rank. Only one to face a week 10 ranked team each week. Loyola with the weakest path based on this metric.
Great. But, ESL is 2, 3, 5. Not sure, but as such, there maybe others overlooked of the teams listed.
In addition, it would kinda go without saying that a 4-5 team would have a tough path.
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3 was LZ, eliminated by Cary Grove.
Top 10 and eliminated by:
ESL (n/a)
Kankakee (ESL)
Lake Zurich (Cary Grove)
Geneva (Cary Grove)
Washington (ESL)
Cary Grove (n/a)
Libertyville (Cary Grove)
Glenwood (Washington)
Crete Monee (Washington)
Lake Forest (Geneva)
Perhaps. Though not necessarily with presence of weak 9-0 top seeds and with N/S seeding in lower classes. I mean, if Prarie Ridge beat them, there's would be 3,6,10, which would still be 1 of 3 with 3 top 10 opponents in that class. That pairing was in a tough draw.
As mentioned in my earlier comment, I referenced the final AP polls. Good stuff though