Hudson Valley D-III College Men's CC

Event Type:

Championship Tournament - Conference Championship Tournament

The Three team tie-breaker problem. When all three teams in a pool finish with 1-1 records, apply the standard tie- breakers, but you should add the following rule to the tournament: If the first two games of a three-way round robin end with the exact same score (but different winners), one additional point should be played after the second game. The pulling team and the sides should be the same as at the beginning of the second half. This point will only count in the case of the otherwise unbreakable three-way tie, where each game results in the exact same score. If each team has a point differential of zero after the last game and all three games resulted in the same score, the additional point played after round two determines the first and third place teams. Example 1. A beats B 15-12. B beats C 15-12. At the conclusion of their game, B and C play one additional point. This point will only come into play if C beats A 15-12 in the final game. Remember, this provision only goes into effect if all three scores are identical; if merely all three point differentials are identical, that is not enough to trigger this provision (see next example). The problem with this, of course, is that where a team finishes, in part, is due to the round in which that team has a bye. But since teams know entering the final game what an identical score will cause, those two teams are in control of their fate, and the third team had a chance to impact the tie during the tiebreak point of the previous round. Example 2. A beats B 15-12. B beats C 14-11. C beats A 15-12. All three point differentials are zero, but not all the scores are identical. The tie can be broken, however, with tie-breaker rule #6, which is "points scored, counting only games among the teams that are tied." A has scored 27 points, B and C have each scored 26 points. A takes first place, and you attempt to break B and C's tie by going back at the first rule. On head-to-head (rule #2), B beat C, and so B takes second and C takes third.