Illinois 2019

[beaker6]

It seems like the A/AA team list has been sent to coaches, which I assume means this spreadsheet will be updated soon with that information. For Div C, it appears there are 25 teams in each division, and I would expect the same for Div B.

Looking at Div C, I am somewhat surprised to see Whitney Young and Walter Payton placed in single A. In that light, I think the top 4 teams for single A at State will be Whitney Young, Walter Payton, Warren Township, and Huntley, possibly in that order. After realizing that AA has 25 teams (I previously thought it was just 20), I am actually a lot more surprised because I think WY and WP have a very good chance to place top 20 overall. I would also expect Warren and Huntley to beat a handful of AA teams.

This actually makes me wonder if the seeding committee places teams in AA who they expect to get top 25, or if they leave a few of those teams in single A to make the competition feel a little more intense for those few teams (maybe Skink knows?)

Yes there are 25 AA in Division B as well.

[TheChiScientist]

Curious to see what teams people from the IL forums are from and if they're headed down to state.
I'll start.
Crystal Lake Central HS Varsity
Competing at state.

[19alekb]

I'm from Marie Murphy(div b). Going to states.

[ericlepanda]

new trier high school, will be stressed out at state

[fiddhantfen]

I go to Twin Groves and will be competing at state...yes this may not come to you all as a surprise as I have been very supportive of TG in the past, but let me know if you didn't think I went there.

[TheChiScientist]

Because I finally had time in the chaos prepping for state...
ILLINOIS STATE COMPETITION PREDICTION TOURNAMENT!!!
Div C
Div B
Predict away! I will say that this year will be the most interesting state competition in a decade so don't miss your chance to predict its outcome!
Rules
1. Place the teams you feel are most likely to win. Polls close 11:59 PM 4/12 CT time.
2. Place tiebreakers in the event you well... Tie. Otherwise the person you tie with wins by default.
3. Place your username in the form or else your predictions will not count.
4 Have fun! Maybe the best predictor win!
Now with Div B!

[Skink]

Looking at Div C, I am somewhat surprised to see Whitney Young and Walter Payton placed in single A. In that light, I think the top 4 teams for single A at State will be Whitney Young, Walter Payton, Warren Township, and Huntley, possibly in that order. After realizing that AA has 25 teams (I previously thought it was just 20), I am actually a lot more surprised because I think WY and WP have a very good chance to place top 20 overall. I would also expect Warren and Huntley to beat a handful of AA teams.

This actually makes me wonder if the seeding committee places teams in AA who they expect to get top 25, or if they leave a few of those teams in single A to make the competition feel a little more intense for those few teams (maybe Skink knows?)

You rang? There are a few...interesting team assignments in both divisions this season, certainly. What I know (from the previously posted policy, other sources, and leaked committee notes one year) is that they consider Regional competitiveness (plus team ranking within) and previous State performance, especially the previous season. They do not simply compute assignments because judgment calls are made according to perceived outliers in long-term performance. When trying to discern their system, we have to keep the goal in mind: to allow as many teams as possible to win hardware to necessitate the trip. I don't for a second believe that Whitney Young or Warren couldn't win anything in AA, but would they win much? Probably not...but, then again, most teams don't. That's just how State goes. Now, what I found especially odd with C division was how Niles North and Loyola made AA. Their results haven't been great. This is evidence that they do primarily compute assignments because they've apparently judged that Regional to be competitive, placing all of those teams in AA. Anyway, it's definitely not big schools versus small schools; that's just correlation. One of the smallest schools dominates (S&A!). To a lesser extent IMSA, too...

[jzlau2]

University Lab (Urbana, IL) only placed 23rd overall last year, but for some reason, we got moved up to Class AA after winning 2nd in Class A in 2018. We also performed worse at regionals this year compared to last year. Prairie Ridge beat us by 16 points at State last year; does anyone know if they got moved up to AA as well?

[TheChiScientist]

University Lab (Urbana, IL) only placed 23rd overall last year, but for some reason, we got moved up to Class AA after winning 2nd in Class A in 2018. We also performed worse at regionals this year compared to last year. Prairie Ridge beat us by 16 points at State last year; does anyone know if they got moved up to AA as well?

They didn't get moved up. Cuz they didn't qualify for state.

[knightmoves]

University Lab (Urbana, IL) only placed 23rd overall last year, but for some reason, we got moved up to Class AA after winning 2nd in Class A in 2018.

There are 25 AA teams. If you think you're the 23rd best team, you should probably expect to be AA (although naturally you're disappointed at your reduced chances at medals.)