{"id":83474,"date":"2020-02-03T19:00:15","date_gmt":"2020-02-03T19:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandbox.web.rcn.net\/rcntv\/?p=83474"},"modified":"2023-02-17T21:31:37","modified_gmt":"2023-02-17T21:31:37","slug":"epc-playoffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/epc-playoffs\/","title":{"rendered":"EPC Playoffs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><em>The views expressed in this blog are<\/em> <em>those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This past Thursday, the <a href=\"http:\/\/epc18.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Eastern Pennsylvania Conference<\/a> announced that both the semifinals and the championship finals for the boys and the girls would be played at the <a href=\"http:\/\/ppl.centerallentown.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">PPL Center<\/a>.\u00a0 The dates for the semis and finals are February 10 &#8211; February 13.\u00a0 This is, indeed, exciting news.<\/p>\n<p>I am sure many of you recall that it was three years ago that the <a href=\"https:\/\/districtxi.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">District XI<\/a> 6A semifinals were held there before more than 7,600 fans.\u00a0 It was a night that is now etched into the memories of every local high school basketball fan.\u00a0 All four teams were outstanding \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/aln.allentownsd.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Allen<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eastpennsd.org\/ehs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Emmaus<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/phs.parklandsd.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Parkland<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pmsd.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pocono Mountain West<\/a>.\u00a0 The games did not disappoint.<\/p>\n<p>It is hard to imagine that this year can match the excitement generated three years ago, but it is certainly a fitting venue for the Conference playoffs.\u00a0 What seems to be the mystery, however, and a question I get asked throughout the year is how the teams get there and how they are seeded.<\/p>\n<p>So, before the quarterfinals are played on Feb. 7, let me try to clear up the process:<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Selecting the eight teams:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Division Winners get automatic bid, BUT NOT automatic 1, 2, 3\u2026<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For example, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esasd.net\/Domain\/17\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">East Stroudsburg South<\/a> will be the Mountain Division champion, but will not be the #1, 2, or 3 seed because of their record.\u00a0 Allen, <a href=\"https:\/\/basdwpweb.beth.k12.pa.us\/liberty\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Liberty<\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.acchs.info\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Central<\/a> will have better records and will fill those slots.<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Seeding:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Overall EPC Record (16 games) is the first criteria.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As I write this seven of the eight slots are filled with the order yet to be determined (Allen, Liberty, Central, Easton, Parkland, Freedom, and East Stroudsburg South).\u00a0 It appears right now that Bethlehem Catholic will be the 8<sup>th<\/sup> team.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>If teams are tied:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Head to Head competition will be used, ONLY if ALL Tied Teams played one another.<\/p>\n<p>If the teams did not play one another, District XI Ranking Points will be used (using ONLY EPC 16 Games).<\/p>\n<p>There could be a coin flip if ALL of the above have teams still tied (This is a distinct possibility for Allen and Liberty to determine seeds #1 and #2).<\/p>\n<p>Central Catholic could also finish with the same record, but the District XI Ranking Points could keep them from the top two spots.<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Conclusion:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The final regular season games are played on Monday and Tuesday and then the brackets will all be determined.\u00a0 This has been a very competitive year so every game promises to be extremely exciting.<\/p>\n<p>I urge all fans to come to the games, but if you cannot, RCN-TV will have the boys\u2019 semifinals LIVE on Monday, Feb. 10 and the boys and girls championship finals on Feb. 13.<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)<\/u><\/strong><strong><u>\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>The first half of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nfl.com\/super-bowl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Super Bowl<\/a> may not have been as riveting as we expected, but the second half sure made up for it. I am bewildered that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.49ers.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">49ers<\/a> did not attempt to score at the end of the first half.\u00a0 They could have made life miserable for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chiefs.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chiefs<\/a> with two consecutive possessions (end of first half and beginning of second half) allowing them to put points on the board.\u00a0 You defer when you win the coin toss just to set up that situation.\u00a0 They had time-outs to use and did not use them wisely.\u00a0 It was a good time to go for the jugular.\u00a0 They did not.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li>Patrick Mahomes, at 24, became the youngest QB to be named the MVP of the Super Bowl. Tom Brady had that spot before Sunday Night.\u00a0 The irony is that Mahomes did it in his third season while it took his head coach, Andy Reid, 21 seasons to get it done.\u00a0 And being on the cover of the <em>Madden \u201920 <\/em>video game did not jinx Mahomes either.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li>Andy Reid is now guaranteed a spot in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.profootballhof.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NFL Hall of Fame<\/a> \u2013 he is 7<sup>th<\/sup> in regular season wins; he has won 222 total games; he is 4<sup>th<\/sup> in playoff runs and 4th in playoff appearances for coaches with 10 or more seasons. Even <a href=\"https:\/\/www.philadelphiaeagles.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Philadelphia<\/a> fans have to be happy for the 61-year-old.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ol start=\"4\">\n<li>NFL draft pick spots are determined now that the season has come to a close. The Bengals, Redskins, Lions, Giants, and Dolphins have the first five selections.\u00a0 The Ravens, Titans, Packers, 49ers, and the Chiefs have the last five.\u00a0 The Eagles will pick #21.\u00a0 Of course, all of those slots could be changed due to trades.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ol start=\"5\">\n<li>The regular season of high school basketball comes to a close this week with games on Monday and Tuesday night. Easton takes on Freedom on Monday at 7:00 PM and on Tuesday night, rivals Wilson and Notre Dame finish out their Colonial League season on RCN-TV at 7:00 PM.\u00a0 Lafayette men are off this week, but we will have the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lafayette.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lafayette<\/a>&#8211;<a href=\"https:\/\/www1.lehigh.edu\/home\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lehigh University<\/a> men\u2019s game on Saturday, Feb. 8 LIVE at 2:00 PM.\u00a0 And then it is on to the PPL Center starting Monday, Feb. 10.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong><u>GARY\u2019S GUESSES (LAST WEEK \u2013 1-0)\u00a0 (YEAR-TO-DATE) \u2013 175-90-1\u00a0 (66%)<\/u><\/strong><strong><u>\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>I PICKED THE SUPER BOWL WINNER!<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>KANSAS CITY<\/strong><\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company. This past Thursday, the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference announced that both the semifinals and the championship finals for the boys and the girls would be&#8230;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"Yoast SEO Relevanssi index exclude","inline_featured_image":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-83474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-behind-the-mic"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>EPC Playoffs - ATVN<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"EPC Playoffs - ATVN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company. 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