Potential Changes in Basketball Computer Playoff System Coming, CIF Commissioner Says

CIF Southern Section assistant commissioner Jerry De Fabiis says changes could be coming to the current 'competitive equity' model used for the playoffs.

Drew Anderson (0) of Santa Margarita is headed to Oregon State. / Drew Anderson/IG

No playoff system is perfect, but CIF Southern Section assistant commissioner Jerry De Fabiis believes a few tweaks could make the 'competitive equity' model something coaches would be more accepting of.

"I used to be a coach, I get it," said De Fabiis, who was the boys basketball coach at Colony since 2001 before taking his post at the section office in 2023.

GRIPES ABOUT COMPUTER RANKINGS

The biggest gripe from coaches in the system's second year of implementation is the 'lack of transparency' within the computer rankings. The computer rankings used to determine playoff placement and seeding are revealed once a week on High School On SI. However, basketball and soccer coaches this winter were kicking up dust when a new edition of the rankings was not released the same week as the playoff announcements.

The CIF's thought on not releasing rankings the same week is loosely based on the hopes that teams won't attempt to manipulate their ranking in that final week by potentially throwing games, or adding one.

Additionally, the day the playoff pairings were released, it was easy to see teams that experienced large rises and drops in the rankings, but coaches found it hard to justify some of the movement considering the team's latest results. For example, recent head-to-head wins/losses or league finish.

That said, De Fabiis is sympathetic to the gripes. He's listening. He wants the system to be better. He wants the schools, programs and coaches he serves to feel better about what they're up against each season.

POTENTIAL CHANGES COMING

De Fabiis joined the CIF Southern Section Basketball Bracket Reveal Show via FATTAL FACTOR and shared some potential changes that could be coming to the current system, including the infusion of a human element to the rankings.

"We've talked about looking at things after two years (of this model)," De Fabiis said. "The human element is something that would have to be passed by council ... but I think what people have to understand about the human element: that's easy to do at the top for teams 1-50 or 100 teams ... but what do you do with teams 101 through 516?"

"You can'y say those teams don't matter," De Fabiis added. "Those teams do matter and where they fall (in the playoffs) counts."

De Fabiis was candid about the potential use other computer systems (MaxPreps, Massey) to create a 'composite ranking'.

"With a composite, you can take care of outliers. That might be the way to go," De Fabiis shared. "We always have a debriefing meeting inside the office and with the committees. I know it's something we've kicked around and something we'll look at."

BASKETBALL BRACKET REVEAL SHOW

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