Automatic Qualifier
The Conference automatic qualifiers for the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Division I Basketball Tournaments shall be determined by Conference tournaments at the conclusion of the regular season. If a member transitioning from Division II to Division I wins the championship and is not eligible to represent the conference in an NCAA tournament, the tournament runner-up shall be the conference AQ representative. Should the runner-up not be eligible or unable to participate, the AQ representative shall be the semifinalist that had the highest remaining seed going into the tournament.
Tiebreaker Rules
• Ties involving teams higher in the standings are always broken before ties involving teams lower in the standings.
• If a tie between three or more teams in the standings is reduced to a tie between two teams, the two-team tiebreaker formula will then be utilized.
• Higher winning percentages shall prevail in tiebreaker situations, even if the number of games played against a team or group is unequal (i.e., 2-0 is better than 3-1; 1-0 is the same as 2-0; 2-1 is the same as 4-2; 1-0 is better than 1-1; 0-1 is the same as 0-3). If the winning percentage of the tied teams is the same against a team, or a group of tied teams, the process shall continue down through the standings until one team gains an advantage.
If two teams are tied in the standings
1. Records in head-to-head competition are compared with the higher seed going to the team that has the higher winning percentage against the other;
2. In the event step 1 does not resolve the tie (i.e., if the two teams split during the regular season), then the records for the tying teams against the highest seeded common opponent shall be compared. The team with the higher winning percentage against that seed shall gain the higher seed. The process continues through the No. 11 team, if necessary.
3. When arriving at tied teams, each team’s winning percentage against the collective tied teams as a group (prior to their own tie-breaking procedures) shall be used rather than the performance against the individual tied teams.
4. In the event this process does not resolve the ties, a coin toss will be the final alternative.
If three or more teams are tied in the standings
1. Composite records between tying teams will be evaluated to determine if one team has higher winning percentage against the other tying institutions (in which case that team would receive the higher seed) and/or one team has the lowest winning percentage among the tied teams (in which case that team will receive the lowest seed), and /or two teams have the same composite record (in which case the two-team tiebreaker scenario shall be utilized);
2. In the event this process does not resolve the multiple ties or reduce the multiple ties to one tie, then a comparison of records of the tying institutions against the highest seeded common opponent will occur. The team among the tying institutions with the higher winning percentage against that seed will receive the higher seed. The process continues through the No. 11 team, if necessary.
3. When arriving at tied teams, each team’s winning percentage against the collective tied teams as a group (prior to their own tie-breaking procedures) shall be used, rather than the performance against the individual tied teams.
4. In the event this process does not resolve the ties, a coin toss will be the final alternative.