Monday Mailbag: February 3, 2020

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

This week’s Monday Mailbag features questions about the OHSAA basketball tournament draw process, the Division IV Elida district and a pair of weekend upsets.

Q: Could you describe the process by which Ohio high school basketball teams are placed in the tournament bracket? Also, your opinions on this process? Name withheld upon request

A: Coaches in each district fill out a ballot in the order of how they think the teams should be ranked/seeded. They also have the opportunity to write down why they think their team should be considered for a certain seed or position, i.e., wins or losses against quality opponents, playing larger schools, overall record, etc.

Those ballots are turned in and the results are used to determine the order of seeding in the district. From there, coaches determine where they want to be placed on the bracket at one of two sectional sites. The top seed gets the first choice, followed by the second seed and so on. In previous years, a coach could pass and come back to choosing a slot on the bracket, but that’s no longer the case.

This process can be done at the district site or via teleconference.

I believe the northwest district is the only one in Ohio that uses neutral sites for sectional games. The higher seed hosts sectional games around the rest of the state.

As far as my opinion of the process, overall, I think it’s pretty fair.

There may be times where a No. 7 or No. 8 seed could argue they should have been ranked No. 5, but for the most part, these things tend to work themselves out on the court.

It’s certainly a much better process than the old “pill” system, where coaches voted on the top two seeds, then the remaining teams were literally thrown into a hat and drawn from there.

There were times you’d see a 13-1 team get the No. 1 seed, a 12-2 team get the No. 2 seed via balloting, and an 11-3 team would get the final seed or “pill”, while a 2-12 team would wind up with the No. 3 seed, all based on a random, blind draw. That system made absolutely no sense to me and I’m glad it’s gone, hopefully forever.

Q: How do you see the seeding going at the Division IV boys’ basketball district at Elida? Name withheld upon request

A: Let me say – that’s one tough 13-team district.

In my opinion, Columbus Grove will be the top seed, with Ottoville getting the No. 2 seed. I’m thinking the No. 3 seed goes to Kalida, then things could get a little murky.

At this very moment, Crestview, Delphos St. John’s, Lincolnview, Miller City and Leipsic could probably make an argument for the No. 4 seed. Delphos St. John’s currently has the best record of the three (11-5), but the Blue Jays have lost five of their last six games. They beat Crestview but lost to Lincolnview, and they have two games before Sunday’s draw – vs. Van Wert on Tuesday and at Parkway on Friday.

Lincolnview (9-8) could make a strong case for the No. 4 seed with wins over Crestview and Coldwater this weekend. The same can be said for Crestview (9-9), winners of five straight. After Lincolnview on Friday, the Knights will host Wayne Trace on Saturday.

Miller City is 11-6 and Leipsic is 9-7, and in some form or fashion, the aforementioned five teams will likely be the No. 4 through No. 8 seeds. Out of that group, I wouldn’t want to play Crestview or Lincolnview right now.

After that, Ada, Continental, Fort Jennings, Pandora-Gilboa and Patrick Henry are the remaining teams. I’m guessing Patrick Henry and Fort Jennings, each with two wins currently, will be seeded No. 12 and 13.

Q: Which was the bigger upset on Saturday – Van Wert or Bryan or Lincolnview over Delphos St. John’s? Name withheld upon request

That’s a tough one and on some level, difficult to compare. If I absolutely had to chose, I’d probably give a slight edge to Van Wert, but I think we can agree both were great wins for their respective programs.

If you have a question or comment for the next Monday Mailbag, feel free to email it to sports@thevwindependent.com. You may choose to have your name used or withheld.