Opinions mixed on IHSAA basketball new regional-semistate format: 'No one likes change.'
My thought is you have to give the tournament format change to a one-game regional and four-team semistate with blind draw time before declaring it as positive or negative.
I solicited thoughts from people on Twitter Sunday morning. A few thoughts:
⬤ “Don’t mind flipping the two rounds as far as the Reg/Semistate format goes, but I selfishly would like to see the blind draw for semistate done at the sectional draw rather than after the regional. I think it’s better for logistics and prep if you know who you're going to play.”
⬤ "It still doesn’t make sense and it changes history. Now the regional is only one game and there are lots of teams that would have been regional champions if it were only one game. Now being a regional champion means something different. The easiest fix would have been to make the regional Friday and Saturday. Having two games in one day is a scouting nightmare and makes more sense to make it a Friday - Saturday event!”
Insider:The most intimidating sight this season? Ben Davis' full-court press.
⬤ “I preferred the old format. Feels like the tourney loses momentum with the one-game regional and putting more games on semistate weekend opposite the NCAA causes it to become out-of-sight, out-of-mind. Also, more teams get SF (success factor) points and travel is a lot longer.”
⬤ “I bought the IHSAA streaming package and watched most of the games. It felt more like Hoosier Hysteria again. More teams across the state competing for the biggest prize.”
⬤ “I prefer the old way mainly because I don’t like change. But something I think that I’d like to see adjusted is the success factor points. You still get the same amount of success factor points for winning one game regional as you did two. But if that’s my biggest complaint, it’s fine.”
⬤ “Two games in one day is rough no matter who you are but it should be harder the farther you get into the tourney. The right to go to Indy should be and feel like an accomplishment. In the words of Tom Hanks in the movie “A League of their Own” ... ‘The hard makes it great.’”
⬤ “No one likes change. I loved going to Seymour regional for years. But this format is fine too IMO. Great day of basketball yesterday.”
⬤ “Have the semistate semifinals on Friday and the championship on Saturday. Or do the regionals same way and go back to four teams and semifinals Friday and final Saturday.”
⬤ “Exhaustive. Fun. No idea which concept I like better. Maybe mix and match classes for regional locations?”
Like I said, I’m willing to see how it plays out. I believe the tourney in the previous format lagged a bit after the regional two weeks to play one semistate game and one state championship game. The idea of a Friday night/Saturday semistate format is intriguing to break it up a bit.
You aren’t going to find something everyone agrees on, but being in New Castle for a four-team tournament in snowy weather felt more like the Hall of Fame Classic in December than semistate Saturday in March.
Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Opinions mixed on IHSAA basketball regional-semistate format change
