>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.
 
 
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Arthur C. Mintz          [log in to unmask]          (607) 255-1487
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