This is it ... the final week of the regular season in Eastern Mass. More than ever, this page will be your go-to source for the latest up-to-the-minute ratings and projected playoff scenarios.
Keep in mind that nothing here is official until released by the MIAA on Sunday morning, but we have done everything we can to assure 100 percent accuracy. And once the final games are finished Saturday evening, you will be able to know where your team stands.
This week, we also have added projected playoff brackets, which also will update live as scores are received and ratings are updated. However, Central and West playoff brackets will not be complete until after Week 8's games.
Please report scores to the Herald in a timely fashion, and let us know of any schedule changes or corrections by emailing hssports@bostonherald.com.
EASTERN MASS. RATINGS:
OWN Value: A team will earn 12 points for a victory over an opponent in a higher division or against a Division 1 team; 10 points for a victory against an opponent within the division, a lower division or any out-of-state opponent.
Opponents (OPP.) Value: A team will earn 3 points for each win by an opponent it defeated; 1.5 Points for every tie by an opponent it defeated; 1 point for every win by an opponent it lost to or tied; 0.5 point for every tie by an opponent you lost to or tied (*Note: Because of MIAA overtime rules, only out-of-state opponents potentially can have ties on their record; also, a maximum of the first seven games on any opponent’s schedule are included for calculation.)
For the purpose of the ratings, all divisions are on different levels. So Division 1 is different from Division 1A from Division 2, etc., for OWN value.
CENTRAL MASS. RATINGS:
Note: Only four teams will make the playoffs in each Central Mass. division, and all teams once again will play up to eight regular-season games.
OWN Value: A team will earn 12 points for defeating an opponent in a higher division; 10 points for defeating a team within its division or a lower division
Opponents (OPP.) Value: A team will earn 2 points for each win by an opponent it defeated; 1 point for every win by an opponent it lost to or tied
The lone change to the Central ratings formula this year is the removal of awarding 12 points for beating a Div. 2 opponent, regardless of division. Also note that, unlike with North and South, Central Mass. will consider Divisions 2 and 2A on an equal level for OWN ratings purposes -- the same will be true for Divs. 3-3A, and Divs. 4-4A. So for example, a Div. 3A team would receive only 10 OWN points for defeating a Div. 3 team, but 12 for defeating a Div. 2A or 2 team.
WESTERN MASS. RATINGS:
Western Mass. once again will follow the Walker system, which is used to seed Western Mass. tournaments in almost every other sport. The Walker consists of three components:
1. Winning Percentage (PCT.): Teams are ranked within the division based on overall winning percentage; a team must finish at least .500 or be the highest-rated team in a league of at least five teams to qualify.
2. Strength of Schedule (SOS): Opponents will be ranked based on the following system -- AA Conference (5 points); Suburban North or South (4 points); Intercounty South (3.5 points); Intercounty North or West (3 points); and Tri-County (2 points). MIAA opponents outside Western Mass. are scaled as follows: Div. 1 (6 points); Div. 1A (5.5 points); Div. 2 (5 points); Div. 2A (4.5 points); Div. 3 (4 points); Div. 3A (3.5 points); Div. 4 (3 points); Div. 4A (2.5 points). Out-of-state opponents carry the same value as the OWN school.
The values of each opponent are added and then divided by the number of games played to determine a team’s initial SOS value.
3. Record vs. qualified tournament teams (TOUR.): Using the same SOS values for opponents, wins against tournament-qualified teams are multiplied by 3, losses against tournament-qualified teams have a multiplier of 1; the numbers are added and then divided by the total number of games against qualified teams.
Once the values for each team are determined, the three categories are scaled using Standard Deviation to give each team a ranking number in each category. Finally, those three numbers are added to determine a team’s final Walker number.
As noted above, the biggest changes have come in the values awarded in Step 2. The shift to eight statewide divisions has changed the scale of points awarded for playing MIAA teams outside of Western Mass. Also, here is the new alignment of Western Mass. leagues:
- AA Conference (5 pts.): Agawam, Chicopee Comp, Holyoke, Minnechaug, Longmeadow, Springfield Central
- Suburban North (4 pts.): Chicopee, Hoosac Valley, Pittsfield, South Hadley, Taconic, Wahconah
- Suburban South (4 pts.): East Longmeadow, Northampton, Springfield Commerce, Springfield Putnam, Westfield, West Springfield
- Intercounty South (3.5 pts.): Amherst-Pelham, Belchertown, Easthampton, Ludlow, Monument Mountain
- Intercounty North (3 pts.): Athol, Franklin County Tech, Frontier, Greenfield, Mahar, Turners Falls
- Intercounty West (3 pts.): Drury, Lee, McCann Tech, Mohawk Trail, Mount Greylock
- Tri-County (2 pts.): Palmer, Pathfinder, Pioneer Valley, Smith Vocational, Ware
Note: The Herald has been unable to verify the exact Standard Deviation calculation that will be used by MIAA officials, but the numbers on the spreadsheet should give a close approximation, if not exact, of a team’s standing. Also, the MIAA takes an additional step to "normalize" each team's final Walker number, but each team's final rating relative to others shouldn't change.
Also worth noting, last year there was controversy in Western Mass. in the seeding of Wahconah over Northampton in the playoff field. The Herald's final ratings had Wahconah in the field, a change the MIAA ultimately made after initially awarding the final spot to Northampton.