Column: Culture shock is happening with new Southern Section playoff seeding format

After years of using coaches’ polls and advisory committees to put together basketball playoff pairings while compiling data that placed teams into divisions based on two years of performances, the Southern Section has entered the new world of computer algorithms.

Teams are ranked by wins and losses regardless of region, league or school size. Everyone is instructed to accept the decision of the algorithm like the unseen wizard telling Dorothy what to do from behind a curtain in “The Wizard of Oz.”

To say that this culture change is going down with a few swear words might be an understatement. The early rankings were laughable at best, such as Etiwanda’s girls, the two-time defending state champions, being ranked No. 17. Patience was advised, and to the credit of the Southern Section, things got did get better. But the new format still is going to be shocking for some. Wild-card games have been eliminated and just because you have a .500-or-better record doesn’t mean you get an at-large berth.

It’s a whole new world and not just for basketball. The girls’ water polo pairings had to be revised after there was “faulty data,” according to the Southern Section, which was a misunderstanding of what to do with forfeits.

Then there was this revelation from the Southern Section office sent to athletic directors:

“A few notes about Massey Ratings. A winning record WILL elevate your power ranking. I have yet to find a way to incorporate strength of schedule into consideration. I will work diligently to find a way to do that. Going forward, if you have evidence of coaches that are purposely losing games or sending lower-level teams to play varsity games, then recording those games on their varsity schedule, the Southern Section wants to know about it. We will be in touch with their administrators as those teams do not deserve an invitation to this playoff tournament.”

Now basketball coaches are saying teams lost on purpose to help avoid being Division 1. Loyola boys’ coach Damaine Powell, whose team didn’t receive an at-large berth, said, “There were a lot of people losing on purpose. What are we teaching kids?”

The Southern Section says to turn those people in and action will be taken.

Each sport in the Southern Section chooses its own computer algorithm. The Southern Section has been using CalPreps for football rankings. They’ve worked out except for the annual speculation about how many teams should be in Division 1, which leads to unneeded drama among coaches not wanting to suffer an annual beating by St. John Bosco or Mater Dei.

Basketball uses an algorithm from SB Live to produce its rankings. It used to be that teams .500 or better received at-large berths. No longer. That’s the big culture change. St. Francis, Loyola, Cypress and Orange Lutheran were top-35 boys’ teams and aren’t in the playoffs because there were no at-large spots for them in Division 1.

“It’s ruining high school basketball,” St. Francis coach Todd Wolfson said. “It doesn’t reward teams playing in good leagues.”

Southern Section spokesman Thom Simmons said, “When this was passed, the membership felt it was important teams who qualified in league were given priority.“

There’s trouble brewing in this first year of almost all sports using computer rankings. Harvard-Westlake athletic director Matt LaCour said his boys’ soccer team defeated Sherman Oaks Notre Dame and finished ahead of the Knights in the Mission League but was ranked below them.

“We don’t know how to schedule,” LaCour said. “We don’t mind computer rankings. We just want to know what they’re valuing.”

It’s appropriate to seed teams based on current performance and not from previous years. Preparing for the culture change requires education.

“We will learn to adapt to the new system,” Simmons said.

The big issues that need to be worked out are giving more importance to head-to-head matchups and how much strength of schedule should matter. The City Section still gives priority to teams that win their regular-season matchups. The Southern Section rankings don’t have that same emphasis. It helps explain how Camarillo was ranked ahead of Rolling Hills Prep for so long in the boys’ basketball rankings despite losing to Rolling Hills Prep.

No seedings are perfect, whether done the old way or the new way. It’s important that coaches’ committees are listened to since these early days figure to be a bumpy path. There will be conspiracy theories. Let’s hope people are open to adjustments, for this is a new AI world.

And just wait for the upcoming baseball and softball seasons if you want to see real culture shock.