Monday night Conference
The Camels winning has spiced things up on a Monday night with 5 teams battling out for the three remaining final spots. The Bears will kick things off with the opening match against the ladder leading Crocs where a Bears win will leave only 2 spots available. The Toucans, Koalas, Blazers and Camels will all be interested in the outcome of this first matchup.
The 7:30 time slot will see the Koalas and Blazers duke it out in what will be a must win match for the Koalas. If they can pull off an upset the pressure will mount on the Toucans and Camels.
The 9.10 match sees the Toucans taking on the Kraken who will be desperate to win in an attempt to avoid the wooden spoon. The Toucans on the other hand will be fighting for a finals spot.
The late night graveyard game see the Camels fighting for their finals spot against the Dragons. I daresay, this game might have players from the Bears, Toucans and Koalas watching on nervously pending previous results.
Remaining games:
Round 11
Dragons vs Camels
Toucans vs Kraken
Koalas vs Blazers
Crocs vs Bears
Kraken
The Kraken were unable to defeat the Dragons making them firm favourites for the wooden spoon. They could still avoid the spoon if they win their final game against the Toucans and the Dragons lose to the Camels. Assuming this scenario eventuates, the Kraken would overtake the Dragons on head to head advantage.
Highest Possible Finish: 7
Lowest Possible Finish: 8
Likely Finish: 8th
Dragons
In the battle to avoid the wooden spoon the Dragons managed to gain the lead in the 3rd quarter and hang on for a win against the Kraken. This puts them a win clear of the Kraken, but they were not able to win by enough to take back head to head advantage over the Kraken. As such if the Kraken were to win their remaining game and the Dragons lost theirs the Dragons would still get the wooden spoon.
Surprisingly, if results went a certain way, the Dragons could still finish equal with a group of teams on 5 wins which would span rungs 3rd to 7th on the ladder. If all results fell the Dragons way, they could finish as high as 5th (just missing out on finals). The Dragons could potentially leapfrog the Camels if they beat them and the Koalas (should they lose to the Blazers).
Highest Possible Finish: 5
Lowest Possible Finish: 8
Likely Finish: 7th
Camels
The Camels completed the first part of their unlikely push to the finals with a great win against the Koalas. They now have to take defeat the Dragons and hope other results fall their way to push for a top 4 spot. Lose and they could find themselves way back in 7th!
Assuming the Camels win they could definitely make the top 4 due to their head to head advantage over the Koalas, Bears and the Blazers. If the Toucans or the Bears lose and the Camels win that would be enough for the Camels to make it.
Remarkably the Camels could finish as high as 2nd if:
• The Koalas defeat the Blazers; and
• the Bears lose to the Crocs; and
• the Toucans lose to the Kraken; and
• the Camels defeat the Dragons
Best Finish: 2nd
Worst Finish: 7th
Likely Finish: 4th I have my money on the Camels beating the Dragons and sneaking into the playoffs.
Toucans
The Toucans just have to defeat the bottom placed Kraken and they will make finals. It is possible they could make finals even if they do lose due to their head to head advantage over the Camels and Koalas.
Best Finish: 2nd
Worst Finish: 6th
Likely Finish: 3rd
Koalas
The Koalas have made life very hard for themselves by losing to the Camels. They now simply must win their remaining game against the red-hot Blazers. Lose it and they cannot make finals due to the fact every other team currently on 5 wins has head to head advantage over them. Should they win and results fall their way they could finish as high as 2nd.
Best Finish: 2nd
Worst Finish: 7th
Likely Finish: 6th
Blazers
The Blazers all but guaranteed themselves a finals birth by thumping the Bears and obtaining a record high score for the season in the process. Whilst it is possible they could miss out on the finals that would require the Koalas, Toucans and Camels to win and the Blazers to lose.
If the Blazers win they finish 2nd.
Best Finish: 2nd
Worst Finish: 5th
Likely Finish: 2nd
Bears
The Bears have had a strange old season. At times they have had some tremendous wins, but their bad has been truly woeful. Which Bears outfit will show up next week against the Crocs? If they win they will make finals guaranteed. Perhaps that will be the motivation they need.
If they lose they can still make finals but would require other results to fall their way.
Best Finish: 3rd
Worst Finish: 6th
Likely Finish: 5th
Crocs
The final game against the Bears will be a warm up game for the Crocs as they cannot be displaced from top spot regardless of results. Will they rest their superstars and give some extra minutes to their low draft picks, or will they treat this match as finals tune up? Time will tell. The Bears certainly will be hoping it is the former.
Best Finish: 1st
Worst Finish: 1st
Guaranteed Finish: 1st
Tuesday night Conference
Unfortunately for the Tuesday night conference, the Reapers were unable to get the W over the Unicorns. This means the finalists for the Tuesday night are now locked in due to the Ducks holding head-to-head advantage over the Reapers.
The only matter of interest on the Tuesday night, is who will finish 4th and play the Bulldogs. The loser of the Bucks vs Ducks is likely to play the Bulldogs, whilst the winner is likely to face the Unicorns in the other elimination final. This is assuming the Unicorns can account for the winless Tornadoes.
Next week’s opening game between the Penguins and Mambas has no bearing on anything with both teams already locked into their ladder position thanks to the Mambas head-to-head advantage over the Penguins.
The Unicorns will finish 2nd if they can beat the Tornadoes in the nights 2nd game. The Tornadoes however will be desperate to notch up their first win in their final opportunity.
The 3rd game of the night, the battle of the “UCKS” is the one to watch. The winner likely to avoid a finals matchup against the leagues best performing side, the Bulldogs.
Whilst having no bearing on the finals, the Reapers will be looking to show their last win against the minor premiers (the Bulldogs) was no fluke. Can the Reapers defeat the Bulldogs twice in one season? A feat no other team was able to accomplish even once!
Remaining games:
Round 11
Bulldogs vs Reapers
Bucks vs Ducks
Unicorns vs Tornadoes
Penguins vs Mambas
Tornadoes
The Tornadoes lost in yet another close one, and as a result are still yet to register a win this season. The Tornadoes have lost 5 games under 10 points with 4 of those games being 4 points or less. They have been competitive but have lacked the finish down the stretch to close out a game. They have one last chance against the Unicorns.
Highest Possible Finish: 8th
Lowest Possible Finish: 8th
Guaranteed Finish: 8th
Penguins
After round 3 the Penguins were 2 wins, 1 loss and had a percentage of 131%. At this point they would have been rightly eying off a top 2 finish. Unfortunately, they haven’t been able to manage a win since and are on a 7-game losing streak.
Highest Possible Finish: 7th
Lowest Possible Finish: 7th
Guaranteed Finish: 7th
Mambas
After beating the Tornadoes, the Mambas pushed themselves ahead of the Penguins which is where they will finish regardless of the result of their final match. The Mambas will be ruing their 1-point loss to both the Ducks and the Bulldogs.
Best Finish: 6th
Worst Finish: 6th
Guaranteed Finish: 6th
Reapers
The league wanted to see the Reapers win their penultimate match to keep their finals hopes alive but alas it was not to be. Even if they win their final match and finish level on wins with the Ducks, Bucks or Unicorns, they will still They now miss out on finals due to losing against all 3 teams during the season.
Best Finish: 5th
Worst Finish: 5th
Guaranteed Finish: 5th
Ducks
Which team will run AMUCK and which team will SUCK in the battle of the “UCKS” when the DUCKs meet the BUCKs? Will a team become AWESTRUCK, or will it come down to LUCK? The SHMUCK who loses will meet the Bulldogs who most likely don’t give a *UCK. YUCK!
The last time the 2 teams met, the Bucks won by a single point with Trav missing 2 crucial free throws inside the final 30 seconds. If the Ducks win by a solitary point this time it will come down to % which would give the Ducks the upper hand. If the Ducks win, they play the Unicorns. If they lose the play the Bulldogs.
Best Finish: 2nd
Worst Finish: 4th
Likely Finish: 4th Only because I am biased to my beloved Bucks.
Unicorns
The ‘Corns have head-to-head over both the Bucks and the Ducks. They will finish 2nd in either of the following scenarios:
1. They win their final game; or
2. The Bucks lose
Best Finish: 2nd
Worst Finish: 3rd
Likely Finish: 2nd
Bucks
The equation is simple for the Bucks. If they win, they will play the Unicorns in the first final. If they lose, they will play the Bulldogs regardless of the Unicorns result.
Best Finish: 2nd
Worst Finish: 4th
Likely Finish: 3rd Only because I am biased. It could very well be 4th.
Bulldogs
The Bulldogs are on an 8-game winning streak and will want that to continue leading into the finals. Even without one of their starts they were able to account for the Ducks in their last game. They have a lot of firepower and would be the current favourites to take out the title.
Best Finish: 1st
Worst Finish: 1st
Guaranteed Finish: 1st
