Womhoops Guru

Mel Greenberg covered college and professional women’s basketball for the Philadelphia Inquirer, where he worked for 40 plus years. Greenberg pioneered national coverage of the game, including the original Top 25 women's college poll. His knowledge has earned him nicknames such as "The Guru" and "The Godfather," as well as induction into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Guru's Philly Summer League Playoff Chase: Spots Still Up For Grabs

(Guru's note: To make things easier the report from Tuesday is broken into two parts and this post sets the stage for the playoff picture heading into the final night of the regular season on Thursday.

Game coverage is just above this post.)


By Mel Greenberg

HATBORO, Pa. --
Five of the top six teams won games and the top three seeds for next week's quarterfinals were set in Tuesday night's action here in the Philadelphia/Suburban Women's NCAA Summer Basketball League at Kelly Bolish Gym, home of the AAU Renegades.

Defending champion Lime Green (10-0), still unbeaten with one game remaining, will be first, followed by second-place Black (9-1), whose only loss was to Lime Green, and third-place Hunter Green (8-2), whose only loss was to the other two.

Royal Blue (6-4), playing Hunter Green, was the one team to loss but the opponent was from the same upper group. The Division II Holy Famly contingent fell into a fourth-place tie with Cardinal Red (6-4) but owns the tie-breaker off a head-to-head win.

However, Orange (5-5), which moved into sole possession of sixth place could move into a three-way tie for fourth with Royal Blue and Cardinal Red if they lose Thursday and Orange upsets Hunter Green.

Here's everything one needs to know about the playoff scenarios that loom with the final night of regular season action this week and within the post there's also a breakout of each team's situation.

STANDINGS (THRU WEDNESDAY, JULY 25)
TEAM W-L PCT. GB PF PA
1c-Lime Green 10-0 1.000 --- 755 489
2c-Black 9-1 .900 1.0 706 547
3c-Hunter Grn 8-2 .800 2.0 693 672
c-Royal Blue 6-4 .600 4.0 567 552
cf-Cardinal Red 6-4 .600 4.0 673 542
c-Orange 5-5 .500 5.0 582 5557
Vegas Gold 4-6 .400 5.0 611 674
Purple 4-6 .400 6.0 568 660
Ash Gray 4-6 .400 5.0 537 585
$$f-Kelly Green 3-7 .300 7.0 481 573
**-Col. Blue 1-9 .100 9.0 603 585
**-Gold 0-10 .000 10.0 504 714
c-Clinched playoff qualifier.
1c-Clinched top seed.
2c-Clinched 2nd seed.
3c-Clinched 3rd seed.
**-Eliminated from playoffs off won-loss records
$$-Eliminated from playoffs in tie-breaking scenarios.
f-Kelly Green 2, Cardinal Red 0, forfeit.


Breaking Ties
Here's how seeds would occur if the playoffs were determined right at this moment but this could much different after Thursday night's ending to the regular season through the middle.

The competition is making things clearer for now this time around with one of the two tiebreaks determined by head to head.

1st Place: Lime Green -- record. No tiebreak and clinched No. 1 seed.

2nd Place Black -- record. No tiebreak and clinched No. 2 seed.

3rd Place: Hunter Green -- record. No tiebreak and clinched No. 3 seed.

4th Place: Royal Blue and Cardinal red tiebreak goes to Royal Blue for fourth seed on head-to-head win and Cardinal is fifth seed right now.

6th Place Orange -- record. No tiebreak and has clinched an unknown playoff berth through all potential tiebreaking scenarios in the final standings.

7th Place: Breaking tie among Vegas Gold, Purple, and Ash Gray. They are all 1-1 within group so first tiebreak goes to Vegas Gold to seventh seed for win over Orange and then eighth to Purple for win over Ash Gray, head to head and then Ash Gray and ninth and would be eliminated, but that's just now.

10th Place Kelly Green -- record. No tie break.

11th Place: Columbia Blue -- record. No tiebreak and eliminated through record.

12th Place: Gold -- record. No tiebreak and eliminated through record.

The grid several items down below gives you each team's win or loss along its schedule so you can see how the seed order was derived. It will be updated after each game night.

Playoff Spots Up For Grabs On Final Night

Playoff Scenarios Heading To The Grand Regular-Season Final.
(Games With Records and Standings in Parenthesis)


7 p.m. *-Orange (5-5, 6th) vs. *-Hunter Green (8-2, 3rd), Court 1.
7 p.m. Gold (0-10, 12th) vs. Vegas Gold (4-6, 7th tied), Court 2.
7 p.m. *-Royal Blue (6-4, 4th tied) vs. Purple (4-6, 7th tied), Court 3.
8:15 p.m. Kelly Green (3-7, 10th) vs. Columbia Blue (1-9, 11th), Court 1.
8:15 p.m. *-Lime Green (10-0, 1st) vs. Ash Gray (4-6, 7th tied), Court 2.
8:15 p.m. *-Cardinal Red (6-4, tied) vs. *-Black (9-1, 2nd), Court 3.
*-Clinched playoff paticipation

Heading into Thursday night there are 23 potential tie-breaking scenarios with one needing a resolution if the longshot occurs (read on) and one needing Commissioner Kessler to rule should that occur.

Otherwise determinations have been made for one potential first-place deadlock, one potential second-place knot; two--potential fourth-place situations; two gridlocks possible at fifth; seven, count 'em, seven tie-ups at sixth place; four, one of which needs a resolution if it occurs, at seventh place, and if it comes to a battle for the last spot, six potential tie-break possibilities for eighth place with one scenario needing the commissioner to rule on the aforementioned recommendation, which is mentioned in this section.

Meanwhile, Lime Green has clinched top seed. Could be tied by record with Black but has head to head tiebreaker.

Black has clinched second seed. Could tie Lime Green for first but loses head-to-head tiebreak for seed or could be tied by Hunter Green for second but has head to head tiebreaker for seed.

Hunter Green has clinched third seed but could tie Black for second, losing out, however, for seed on tiebreaker.

Fourth And Fifth Place Tie Scenarios At Finish

Royal Blue and Cardinal Red have clinched playoffs and are tied for fourth. Royal Blue has head-to-head tiebreaker for fourth seed if both win Thursday.

If one wins and one loses Thursday, winner gets fourth seed outright.

Orange is sixth right now but follow along class.

If Orange wins and both Royal Blue and Cardinal Red win, Orange at 6-5 would get sixth seed outright behind the other two.

If Orange wins and both Royal Blue and Cardinal Red lose, there would be a three-way tie for fourth at 6-5. In that scenario, common records within the group would be 1-1. But Orange beating Hunter Green Thursday night would be best win in group and thus thru a tiebreak would get the fourth seed and then Royal Blue would be fifth off head-to-head with Cardinal Red, which would be sixth.

If Orange wins and just Royal Blue loses, creating a fifth-place tie then Orange is fifth and Royal Blue sixth off head to head win.

But if Orange wins and Cardinal Red loses, then Cardinal Red is fifth and Orange sixth off head-to-head win.

Sixth Place Tie Scenarios At Finish

---If Orange loses while Ash Gray, Vegas Gold and Purple all win, creating a four-way tie for sixth then:

In Group Vegas Gold and Purple move up with 2-1 record within group and Vegas Gold is Sixth and Purple seventh off head-to-head between them. Orange and Ash Gray left at 1-2 but Orange is eighth off head-to-head and Ash Gray eliminated.

---If Orange loses, Ash Gray and Vegas Gold wins and then Purple eliminates itself with a loss leaving a three-way tie for sixth, then:

They are all 1-1 within the group. Orange with best win over Royal Blue gets sixth, and then Ash Gray with head-to-head over Vegas Gold gets seventh leaving Vegas Gold at eighth.

-- If Orange loses, and Ash Gray and Purple win with Vegas Gold eliminating itself with a loss then this sixth-place three-way tiebreak becomes:

Purple is sixth seed within 2-0 record within group, Orange is seventh with a 1-1, and Ash Gray at 0-2 is eighth.

-- If Orange loses, Purple and Vegas Gold win and Ash Gray eliminates itself with a loss, then this sixth-place three-way tiebreak becomes:

Vegas Gold is sixth at 2-0 within group, Purple is seventh at 1-1, and Orange is eighth at 0-2.

-- If Orange loses and just Vegas Gold wins for a two-way tie for sixth, Vegas Gold is sixth off head-to-head and Orange seventh.

-- If Orange loses and just Purple wins for a tw0-way tie for sixth, Purple is sixth off head-to-head and Orange seventh.

-- If Orange loses and just Ash Gray wins for a two-way tie for sixth, Orange is sixth off head-to-head and Ash Gray seventh.

Seventh Place Tie Scenarios At Finish

Assume Orange upsets Hunter Green clinching sixth outright then if:

-- Ash Gray, Vegas Gold and Purple lose while Kelly Green win, creating a four-way tie for seventh the break becomes:

Ash Gray and Purple at 2-1 move into the playoffs with Ash Gray seventh off a head-to-head.

-- Kelly Green cannot win any tie-breaking scenarios but a loss causes elimination through won-loss record.

-- Solution needed though longshot for this configuration: If Ash Gray, Purple and Vegas Gold win, creating a three-way tie for seventh with Kelly Green eliminated, though remember Ash Gray is playing Lime Green, they are all 1-1 within the group and the best win for each of them is Orange maintaining the deadlock. Based on schedule not likely to happen but if you hear a shriek in the gym put your thinking caps on.

-- Ash Gray and Purple win, Vegas Gold loses and what Kelly Green does is moot, creating a two-way tie for seventh with Purple seventh seed and Ash Gray eighth on a head-to-head.

-- Ash Gray and Vegas Gold win, Purple loses and what Kelly Green does is moot, creating a two-way tie for seventh with Ash Gray seventh seed and Vegas Gold eighth off head to head.

Eighth Place Tie Scenarios At Finish

OK, assume that Orange wins, getting sixth outright, and then either Ash Gray, or Vegas Gold, or Purple wins while the other two in this group loses to create a seventh-place outright finish, let's go to the board for the final playoff spot.

-- Ash Gray and Vegas Gold lose and Kelly Green wins creating a three-way tie for eighth, then:

Ash Gray at 2-0 in the group get the final playoff spot.

-- Ash Gray and Purple lose and Kelly Green wins, creating a three-way tie for eighth, then:

They're all 1-1. Best win for Ash Gray would be Vegas Gold, while best win for Kelly Green would be 2-0 forfeit over Cardinal Red, the overall best in the group through the technicality, while Best win for Purple would be win over Orange. The Guru recommends to Commissioner Kessler that in this setting should it come to pass that Purple beating Orange on the floor trumps a win handed to Kelly Green.

Vegas Gold and Purple lose while Kelly Green win, creating a three-way tie for eighth, then:

In group Vegas Gold at 2-0 is tops and gets eighth. Kelly Green is 1-1 and Purple is 0-2.

--- Ash Gray and Vegas Gold lose, Kelly Green lose to elimination and Ash Gray moves into the playoffs off two-way tie at eighth off win over Vegas Gold.

-- Ash Gray and Purple lose, Kelly Green lose to elimination and Purple moves into the playoffs off two-way-tie at eighth off win over Ash Gray.

-- Vegas Gold and Purple lose, Kelly Green lose to elimination and Vegas Gold moves into the field off two-way tie at eighth and win over Purple.

Team By Team Playoff Qualifying Breakdown Of Tiebreakers

Lime Green: In a two-way tie for first with Black gets top seed.

Black: In a two-way tie for second with Hunter Green gets second seed.

Hunter Green:
Royal Blue: Fourth in a two-way 4th place tie with Cardinal Red; Fifth in a three-way 4th place tie with Cardinal Red and Orange.

Cardinal Red: Fifth in a two-way 4th place tie with Royal Blue; Sixth in a three-way 4th place tie with Royal Blue and Orange; fifth in a two-way tie for 5th place with Orange.

Orange: Fourth in a three-way 4th place tie with Royal Blue and Cardinal Red; fifth in a two-way tie for 5th place with Royal Blue; sixth in a two-way tie for 5th place with Cardinal Red; Sixth by stand-alone record; eighth in a four-way tie for 6th place with Ash Gray, Vegas Gold and Purpple; sixth in a three-way tie for 6th place ith Ash Gray and Vegas Gold; seventh in a three-way tie for 6th place with Ash Gray and Purple; eighth in a three-way tie for 6th place with Purple and Vegas Gold; seventh in a two-way tie for 6th place with Vegas Gold; seventh in a two-way tie for 6th place with Purple; sixth in a two-way tie for 6th place with Ash Gray.

Ash Gray: Four-way tie for 6th place with Orange, Vegas Gold and Purple, eliminated; Seventh in a 3-way tie for 6th place with Orange and Purple; Seventh in a two-way tie for 6th place with Orange; seventh in a four-way tie for 7th place with Vegas Gold, Kelly Green, and Purple; unresolved in a three-way tie for 7th place with Vegas Gold and Purple; eighth place in a three-way tie for 8th place with Vegas Gold and Kelly Green; Eliminated in a three-way tie for 8th place with Purple and Kelly Green; eighth in a two-way tie for 8th place with Vegas Gold; Eliminated in a two-way tie with Purple for eighth place.

Vegas Gold: Sixth off four-way tie for 6th place with Orange, Ash Grey, and Purple; Seventh off three-way tie for 6th place with Orange and Ash Grey; Sixth off three-way tie for 6th place with Ash Gray and Purple; Sixth in two-way tie for 6th place with Orange; Eliminated in four-way tie for 7th place with Ash Gray, Purple and Kelly Green; Need resolution in three-way tie for 7th place with Ash Gray and Purple; Eighth in two-way tie for 7th place with Ash Gray; Eiminated in three-way tie for 8th place Ash Gray and Kelly Green; Eighth in three-way tie for 8th place with Purple and Kelly Green; Eliminated in two-way tie for 8th place with Ash Gray; Eighth in two-way tie for 8th place with Purple.

Purple: Four-way tie with Ash Gray, Orange and Vegas Gold for 6th place lands seventh seed; Three-way tie for 6th place with Ash Gray and Orange lands sixth seed; Three-way tie for 6th place with Vegas Gold and Ash Gray lands seventh seed; Two-way tie for 6th place with Orange lands sixth seed; Four-way tie for 7th place with Ash Gray, Vegas Gold, Kelly Green, lands seventh seed; Three-way tie for 7th place with Ash Gray and Vegas Gold needs a resolution; Two-way tie for 7th place with Ash Gray brings elimination; Three-way tie for eighth with Ash Gray and Kelly Green brings qualification pending commissioner approval if this deadlock occurs; Three-way tie for 8th place with Vegas Gold and Kelly Green brings elimination; Two-way tie for 8th place with Ash Gray brings 8th seed; Two-Way tie for 8th place with Vegas Gold brings elimination.

Kelly Green: Eliminated in all tie-breaking scenarios unless in one tie-breaking scenario for eighth, if it occurs, the commissioner rules that a forefeit win over Cardinal Red, technically higher, is worth more than one of the other teams deadlock having an on-court win over Orange.

Columbia Blue: Eliminated through record but could end Kelly Green's slim playoff hope with a win Thursday night.

Gold: Eliminated through record but could mess with Vegas Gold's post-season possibilities with a win.

-- Mel


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