With the regular season finale this Friday Night at Meeker, there is a still a three-way tie for first place in District 2A-2. Jones, Chandler and Crossings Christian are all sitting at 5-1 in District play. Crossings Christian will take on Millwood and Chandler will travel to Prague. With all three of the top teams in action, there are 8 possible scenarios that could impact the Longhorns, as 1st, 2nd and 3rd place are all in play this Friday Night. Things get complicated as Jones beat Chandler, Chandler beat Crossings and Crossings beat Jones.
Here is a look at the scenarios. We’ll start with the scenarios where Jones finishes 1st.
Jones Wins, Chandler Loses, Crossings Loses: Jones 1st, Chandler 2nd, Crossings 3rd
Jones Wins, Chandler Wins, Crossings Loses: Jones 1st, Chandler 2nd, Crossings 3rd
It is that simple, if Jones wins and Crossings loses, Jones would be District Champions. Let’s take a look at the scenarios where Jones finishes 2nd.
Jones Loses, Chandler Loses, Crossings Wins: Crossings 1st, Jones 2nd, Chandler 3rd
Jones Wins, Chandler Loses, Crossings Wins: Crossings 1st, Jones 2nd, Chandler 3rd
By virtue of the head-to-head win over Jones, 4 of the 8 scenarios put Crossings at 1st. Of the scenarios that put Jones 3rd, Chandler usually ends up on top.
Jones Loses, Chandler Wins, Crossings Wins: Chandler 1st, Crossings 2nd, Jones 3rd
Jones Loses, Chandler Wins, Crossings Loses: Chandler 1st, Crossings 2nd, Jones 3rd
There are two scenarios that maintain the three-way tie. If all three teams win or all three teams lose. In that case, marginal points come in to play. Unfortunately, in a three-way tie, Jones is mathematically eliminated from 1st place and only has a slim chance of 2nd place.
Jones Wins, Chandler Wins, Crossings Wins: Crossings 1st*, Chandler 2nd*, Jones 3rd*
Jones Loses, Chandler Loses, Crossings Loses: Crossings 1st*, Chandler 2nd*, Jones 3rd*
*This is where things get a little interesting, in a three-way tie, placing is determined by Marginal points. At this point in the season, Chandler holds a 13 marginal point advantage over Jones and Crossings holds an 8 point advantage over Chandler, mathematically eliminating Jones from 1st place. Meaning, the only way Jones finishes 2nd in a three-way tie when all three teams win, is Chandler wins by 1 point and Jones wins by 14 points or Chandler wins by 2 points and Jones wins by 15 points. ANY other scenario puts Chandler in 2nd place. The same is true in a scenario where all three teams lose. Chandler would need to lose by 15 points and Jones lose by 2 or Chandler lose by 14 and Jones lose by 1. It is worth noting that for marginal points, an overtime victory or loss counts as one point. There are a few point combinations that put Chandler in 1st, but every scenario where Chandler is 1st in a three-way tie puts Jones at 3rd.
There are also a few scenarios where Prague could finish 1st, 2nd, or 3rd. But most of those involve Crossings losing by at least 15 points and Prauge beating Chandler by 6 to 15 points.
The Jones Journal 