Q: How are the seeds determined? What are the tiebreakers?

A: Overall Conference record, at the conclusion of the regular season, is used to seed teams number 1 through 6 by division. The teams will then be split up so the #1 seed from division A will be in the same bracket with the #2 seed from division B and so on. The following procedures are set up to establish seeding for the championship and to break ties. Follow the appropriate steps in order.

• Two-way Tie: (2 teams in the same division conclude the regular season with the same conference record)
  1. Regular season head-to-head results (one game or two). If the tied teams split their two games, then proceed to Step #2 below.
  2. Overall record. If the tied teams had identical overall winning percentages, then proceed to Step #3 below.
  3. RPI ranking
• Multiple-Team Tie: (3 or more teams in the same division conclude the regular season with the same conference record)
  1. Teams are viewed as a “mini-conference” when comparing head-to-head results. The team with the best record (as determined by winning percentage, even if unequal games) vs. the other teams in the mini-conference gains the advantage. If two or more teams, but not all, have the same best winning percentage in the mini-conference (likely implies same number of games played in mini-conference), only those specific teams advance to the next tie-breaker Step 2 below.
     
     After the top team in a mini-conference is determined, the next team is ranked by its record in the original mini-conference. If there are any remaining teams tied by their record in the mini-conference, then they will proceed to Step #2 below to determine the higher seed.
  2. Overall record. If the tied teams had identical overall winning percentages, then proceed to Step #3 below.
  3. RPI ranking