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As
we head into this final weekend of an UNBEATABLE British Basketball League
Championship campaign, nine of the 10 places in the standings are still up for
grabs, with huge ramifications for the post-season positioning as the Playoffs
take centre-stage from Monday.
The London Lions are locked in as Championship winners, but as for the rest of the table, anything can happen… and it can be quite complicated. So check out our simple version of the permutations for this week:
For more details on how your team can finish in those positions, keep reading on and remember, you can follow all the action on the British Basketball League YouTube channel throughout the week.
If
you’re new to the League or need a refresher on how the standings are decided, then
we have you covered.
The
first deciding factor for Championship positions is wins. Whoever wins the most,
finishes highest – but what happens when there are tied records?
Well,
then we look at head-to-head records – how those two or more teams fared in
match-ups against each other and who took more wins or scored more points in
those games.
If
they’re still equal after that, then we look at points difference in the
overall Championship campaign, and for some of these seedings, we do need to go
into a deep level of detail to decide a winner.
Ok,
now you’ve got it… read on to find out more about the permutations behind this
weekend’s showdown for seeding supremacy!
The
race for the second seed:
The
contenders:
Cheshire
Phoenix and Caledonia Gladiators are tied on head-to-head and points difference
in their matchup, so the final deciding factor is points difference throughout
their entire Championship campaigns, which Cheshire currently lead by 111
points.
What
this means is that Cheshire will finish the campaign in second place, unless
they lose both of their remaining games, Caledonia win their one remaining
game, and the scores swing 112 points in Caledonia’s favour to overturn the
points difference.
Fighting
for home-court:
The
contenders:
The
final position that will guarantee home-court advantage in the Playoff Quarter-Finals
is fourth, and three teams can still grab that spot – three legendary
franchises, no less!
This
is where it gets a little more complicated, as there are 32 possible different
combinations of results between these teams in their remaining games, but we’ve
simplified it for you, so stick with us!
Leicester
have head-to-head advantage over Newcastle and Sheffield so will finish fourth
if:
- They
win both of their remaining games. - They
win one of their remaining games and Sheffield lose to Plymouth and Newcastle
lose one of their two remaining games.
Sheffield
have head-to-head advantage over Newcastle so will finish fourth if:
- They
win against Plymouth and Leicester lose one of their two remaining games. - They
lose against Plymouth, Leicester lose both remaining games and Newcastle lose
one of their two remaining games.
Newcastle
will finish fourth if:
- They
win both of their remaining games and Leicester and Sheffield both lose all of
their remaining games.
The
frenzy for fifth:
The
contenders:
- Leicester Riders. Remaining games: Manchester (H), April 19; Surrey (A), April 21.
- B. Braun Sheffield Sharks. Remaining game: Plymouth (H), April 20.
- Seriös Group Newcastle Eagles. Remaining games: Cheshire (H), April 19; Manchester (A), April 20.
- Bristol Flyers. Remaining game: Caledonia (H), April 19.
Yes,
that’s right – Bristol are still in the mix to finish as high as fifth! Check
out what needs to happen to decide the fifth spot below.
Bristol
have head-to-head advantage over Leicester and Newcastle so will finish fifth
if:
- They
beat Caledonia and Leicester and Newcastle both lose both of their remaining
games.
Leicester
have head-to-head advantage over Newcastle and Sheffield so will finish fifth
if:
- Their
final record has them with fewer wins than either Sheffield or Newcastle and
the same or more than the other. I.e. Sheffield 19-17, Leicester 18-18,
Newcastle 18-18.
Newcastle
will finish fifth if:
- Their
final record has them with more wins than either Leicester or Sheffield but the
same or fewer than the other. I.e. Sheffield 19-17, Newcastle 19-17, Leicester
18-18.
Sheffield
have head-to-head advantage over Newcastle and will finish fifth if:
- They
have the same record as Leicester. - They
have the same record as Leicester and Newcastle. - They
have the same record as Newcastle but Leicester have more wins.
Sights
set on sixth?
The
contenders:
- Leicester
Riders. Remaining games: Manchester (H), April 19; Surrey (A), April 21. - B.
Braun Sheffield Sharks. Remaining game: Plymouth (H), April 20. - Seriös
Group Newcastle Eagles. Remaining games: Cheshire (H), April 19; Manchester
(A), April 20. - Bristol
Flyers. Remaining game: Caledonia (H), April 19.
Bristol
will finish in sixth if:
- They
win their one remaining AND either Leicester or Newcastle lose both their games
and the other loses at least one.
Leicester
will finish sixth if:
- Bristol
win their one remaining game and both Leicester and Newcastle lose both their
games.
Newcastle
will finish sixth if:
- They’re
in a three-way tie with Leicester and Sheffield for fourth. - They’re
in a tie with Leicester or Sheffield for fifth. - They
win one of their remaining games and Leicester and Sheffield win all their
remaining games.
Seventh
heaven?
The
contenders:
- Leicester
Rider. Remaining games: Manchester (H), April 19; Surrey (A), April 21. - Seriös
Group Newcastle Eagles. Remaining games: Cheshire (H), April 19; Manchester
(A), April 20. - Bristol
Flyers. Remaining game: Caledonia (H), April 19. - Surrey
Scorchers. Remaining games: London (A), April 18; Leicester (H), April 21.
Surrey
have head-to-head advantage over Bristol so will finish seventh if:
- They
win both of their remaining games and Bristol lose against Caledonia. - Any
other combination of results sees Surrey finish eighth.
Bristol
will finish seventh if:
- They
win or Surrey lose one game, and Leicester and Newcastle both win at least one
game.
Leicester
will finish seventh if:
- Bristol
win their remaining game, Leicester lose both remaining games and Newcastle win
at least one game.
Newcastle
will finish seventh if:
- Bristol
win against Caledonia and Newcastle lose both of their remaining games.
Battling
for the wooden spoon:
The
contenders:
- Plymouth
City Patriots. Remaining game: Sheffield (A), April 20. - Manchester
Giants. Remaining games: Leicester (A), April 19; Newcastle (H), April 20.
Plymouth
have head-to-head advantage over Manchester and will finish ninth if:
- They
win more or as many of their remaining games as Manchester.
Manchester
will finish ninth if:
- Plymouth lose and Manchester win one of their two remaining games, or if Plymouth win and Manchester win both of their remaining games.
- A tied record at the end of the season would see Manchester finish 10th.
READ MORE:
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