On Feb 26,  9:45, "Arthur C. Mintz" wrote:
>>When there is a tie among more than two teams this order will be used to
>>break the "first tie" (i.e. a 4-way or 3-way). When one or more teams are
>>separated from the group (for example, reducing a 3-way tie to a 2-way tie)
>>then the procedure is started all over again to break the two-way tie.
>
>There's an ambiguity here that would come into play if the dreaded five-way
>tie discussed earlier on this list develops.
>
>I don't remember the specific teams or records, but I do remember that,
>when the first tie-breaking criterion, head-to-head, is applied, the teams
>sort into three groups. Team A has the best record, teams B and C are tied
>with a record that is worse than team A's but better than teams D and E,
>who are themselves tied.
>
>So team A clearly gets the top spot. What happens next? Do you treat B and
>C as tied for 2 and 3, and resolve the tie based on head-to-head between B
>and C (in which case neither team can finish worse than 3), or do you
>consider B, C, D and E as being in a four-way tie, and go from there?
>Either method can be supported based on the ECAC's official tie-breaker
>rules, but they yield very different results.
 
This isn't addressed in the press release, but I talked with the ECAC office a
few years ago, and they told me that the latter procedure is the one that is
used.  So once team A (Princeton, in this case) gets the #3 seed (the five-way
tie is for third), start all over with the tiebreaking procedure for the
remaining teams; look at the head-to-head record among teams B, C, D, and E,
which are Colgate, RPI, Union, and Vermont if you're scoring at home.
 
There is still a bit of an ambiguity in the process which may be addressed by
the press release, and it shows up in this case.  In head-to-head record among
these four teams, Colgate and RPI come out tied for the best, with Vermont and
Union behind.  Colgate winds up with the #4 seed, but then what?  Does RPI, as
the loser of head-to-head with Colgate but tied for the best head-to-head among
the four teams, automatically get the #5 seed?  Or does RPI get thrown back in
the mix with Union and Vermont, with the tiebreaking procedure to be applied to
these three teams for the #5 spot?  It doesn't matter here, since RPI finishes
ahead of Union and Vermont for the #5 spot in either procedure.
 
The press release makes a reference to "When one OR MORE teams are separated
from the group..." (emphasis mine), which leads me to believe that RPI would not
get thrown back in but would be granted the #5 spot immediately.  I hope to be
able to confirm this one way or t'other.
 
--
Disclaimer -- Unless otherwise noted, all opinions expressed above are
              strictly those of:
 
Bill Fenwick
Cornell '86 and '95
LET'S GO RED!!                                                  DJF  5/27/94
"I believe Marcel Marceau said it best."
-- Madeline Kahn, "Cosby"
 
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