Tiebreaking Procedures for Seeding  
Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tiebreaking Procedure for Seeding
 
Teams will be seeded according to winning percentage.
 
The minimum number of games required to be included in the seeding process is 10 games (50 percent of the Conference schedule).  For those teams that play fewer than 10 games, the Conference Office* will appropriately place these teams in the bracket with consideration given to actual games played and game results.
 
* The Conference reserves the right to adjust the minimum games depending on trends of games played
 
Two-Team Tie:
If two teams are tied, the following steps are taken in order:
 
1. Regular season head-to-head results. If the tied teams split their two games or did not play, then proceed to Step 2. If the teams play only once, that still satisfies the series. In the event that the teams play more than twice, and those games are considered conference games, all games will be considered.
 
2. Each team’s winning percentage vs. the team or tied [group of] teams occupying the highest position in the standings, not including teams which have fallen below the 10 conference game threshold. Only common opponents will be considered. If an advantage is not determined, proceed to the next team or group of tied teams in the standings for comparison. Continue down through the standings until one team gains an advantage.
 
3.  Each team’s winning percentage vs. the team or group of teams that did not meet the 10 conference game threshold. Only common opponents will be considered.
 
4.  Compare each team’s total wins in conference play.
 
5. Each team’s total wins vs. the team or tied teams occupying the highest position in the standings, not including teams which have fallen below the 10 conference game threshold. Only common opponents will be considered. If an advantage is not determined, proceed to the next team or group of tied teams in the standings for comparison. Continue down through the standings until one team gains an advantage.
 
6.  Each team’s total wins vs. the team or group of teams that did not meet the 10 conference game threshold. Only common opponents will be considered.
 
7. Coin Flip. If any ties still exist after implementing all of the above tie-breaking procedures, a coin flip is required. The coin flip takes place at the BIG EAST Conference office (or may be conducted virtually) immediately following the conclusion of the last regular season conference game. Commissioner Val Ackerman or her designee will administer this procedure. This session is open to the media and to athletic department representatives of the tied teams.

 
Multiple-Team Tie (3 or more teams)
If three or more teams are tied, the following steps are taken in order:
 
1. Teams are viewed as a “mini-conference” when comparing head-to-head results. The team, or teams, with the best winning percentage vs. the other teams in the mini-conference gains the advantage, and the team, or teams, with the worst winning percentage vs. the other teams in the mini-conference is/are seeded the lowest. Only common opponents will be considered.
 

1. If only two teams have the same best winning percentage in the mini-conference, the higher seed goes to the team winning the head-to-head series. If the two teams did not play or split, proceed to step “b”.
    
2. If the two teams split their two games or did not play, then proceed to Step 2 under the Two-Team Tie. To seed the remaining team(s) in this mini-conference, proceed to (e) below.
    
3. If three or more (but not all) teams have the same best winning percentage in the original mini-conference, then those tied teams create a new mini-conference and follow this same procedure beginning of Step 1 (Multiple Team Tie).
    
4. If all teams in the mini-conference have the same mini-conference winning percentage or have no common opponents within the mini-conference, proceed to Step 2 below.
    
5. After the top or bottom teams in a mini-conference are determined, the remaining teams are ranked by their winning percentage in the original mini-conference.
   1. If there are any remaining teams tied by their winning percentage in the mini-conference, then head-to-head results will determine the higher seed.
   2. If the teams split two games or did not play, then proceed back to the two-team tie breaking procedure.
   3. If there are at least three teams remaining tied by their winning percentage in the mini-conference, they would then form a new mini-conference and follow the procedure again at the beginning of Step 1 (Multiple-Team Tie).

 
2. Compare each team’s winning percentage vs. the team or group of tied teams occupying the highest position in the standings not including teams which have fallen below the 10 conference game threshold. Only common opponents will be considered. If an advantage is not determined, proceed to the next team or group of tied teams in the standings for comparison. Continue down through the standings until one or more teams gain(s) an advantage. If two teams have the exact same advantage (i.e., having the same and better winning percentage against a compared team relative to their mini-conference), they are separated at that point by the two-way tiebreaker procedure. The next step would take you back to Step 1 (e) (Multiple-Team Tie).
 
3.  Each team’s winning percentage vs. the team or group of teams that did not meet the 10 conference game threshold. Only common opponents will be considered.
 
4.  Compare each team’s total wins in conference play.
 
5. Each team’s total wins vs. the team or tied teams occupying the highest position in the standings, not including teams which have fallen below the 10 conference game threshold. Only common opponents will be considered. If an advantage is not determined, proceed to the next team or group of tied teams in the standings for comparison. Continue down through the standings until one team gains an advantage.
 
6.  Each team’s total wins vs. the team or group of teams that did not meet the 10 conference game threshold. Only common opponents will be considered.
 
7. Coin Flip. If any ties still exist after implementing all of the above tie-breaking procedures, a coin flip is required. The coin flip takes place at the BIG EAST Conference office (or may be conducted virtually) immediately following the conclusion of the last regular season conference game. Commissioner Val Ackerman or her designee will administer this procedure. This session is open to the media and to athletic department representatives of the tied teams.