The Atlantic conference in 1999 returned to a 6-team single knockout tournament, as usual held at Halifax Metro Centre. It was not uncommon to see a #5 or #6 win the previous night then come out and flatten the #1 or #2 seed after sharpening their shooting eye in the Metro Center. GPAC in 1999 reverted back to its 3-team format from its 1998 experiment when all four teams made the playoff. Now they are back to four. WIth the addition of a 7th team, Canada West in 2000 began a new 6-team format with Quarterfinals. 

Wild cards came about because of a need to make the national championship a fairer tournament. Using only the six conference winners creates an imbalanced draw. One conference champ may have to play 3 games to win the event. Another may reach the final with only a single victory. Adding two more teams creates a balanced, fair draw. 

The last two teams accepted into the Final Eight are Wild Cards selected from the best of the remaining teams. This is done by a special CIAU committee who hold their final discussions and announce a decision on the Sunday evening prior to the Final Eight. Some conferences are still playing that afternoon, deciding their representative. The selection committee also seeds the teams into the championship draw. Contrary to popular opinion, the selection committee is not the same committee that isssues weekly polls over the course of the season. It is a brand new committee.

Teams must actually apply to be considered as wild cards. A top team that does not formally apply will not be considered. This dates from the old days when a team might not be able to afford or choose to travel to the championship, or simply chose not to play. But, since the Final Eight found a permanent home in Halifax 15 years ago, the tournament has generated more than enough revenue to help deserving teams get there. This reminds us of the situation years ago when the NCAA actually had to force its top teams to play in its own championship. They did much better financially by going to the NIT in Madison Square Gardens in New York. It took legal action to make the top teams play in the NCAA Championship. 

An obvious choice for a wildcard is a team that has been winning all season, has been high in the rankings, has led its league, but is unexpectedly upset in a sudden-death playoff game. But, if four such dominant teams are upset in conference playoffs, the committee has a bad problem. 

Less common is for 6 season-long favorites to win their conference berths in the Final Eight. Then, the committee must decide between the next cluster of lesser teams ranked 7, 8, 9, and 10. 

Teams are chosen on merit. But where there is a toss-up the committee has the option to lean in the direction of selecting a wild card applicant from the home conference. It is felt this helps boost attendance and the revenue so necessary to maintaining the Final Eight as a prestige event. 

Notes by 1999 Committee Member James Hillis: 
Based on criteria laid out by the NABCC, teams that apply for a wild card berth are ranked 1 through 6 (or 1 through whatever) on each of the ten criteria below. Six points for 1st rank, 5 points for second etc. After all teams are ranked on all criteria, a tally is done. The low team on the list is dropped. The ranking occurs again. Low team is dropped again .....and so on until two remain. The process is purely objective, with no allowance for interpretation by the committee (one coaches' rep from each conference plus a chair). Thus, criticize the system if you will, but no basis for comments of politics etc. The process itself will be reviewed at the upcoming NABCC meetings. 

The Voting Criteria 
1. Final regular season conference record and standing 
2. Playoff Performance 
3. Games vs other conference champions (regular season) 
4. Games vs other teams under wild card consideration. 
5. Team results in the last 10 games of conference play. 
6. Game results non-conference (vs CIAU opponents) 
7. Game results non-conference (vs CIAU opponents outside of own conference) 
8. Final CIAU top ten ranking 
9. Total number of weeks as a top ten team. 
10. Position in the top ten over last 5 weeks of the ranking

Admission for each Double Header
.... Adult $18
.... Senior/Student $12 .... Youth (u-12) $6
Ticket Orders: (902) 451-1221 

One of the corners is designated No Alcohol.

Be sure to ask about it if you like to sip a

cold one while watching the games.

Metro Centre Seating

 Here is a simple seating plan of the Metro Centre. Use it to select your preferred locations before calling in to order tickets.

 Some prefer watching basketball from the corners, like Sections 4 and 5.

 Seating Rows:
Lower Bowl: A-S
Upper Bowl: A-V

 Row V is quite high, yet still a good place to watch championship basketball in a full house.
 
 
 
 

Staying downtown?

(These maps are a couple of years old. Some names may have changed but the places are essentially the same. A pub or hoterl may have a new name, but odds are you'll find the same bartender there.)

A secret to picking a good location is to study the pedways and tunnels, the coloured lines on the map. If the weather is bad, (it seldom is in Halifax) you will be mostly indoors, under cover.

 You can stay at the Prince George, and be totally indoors for the three days of the tournament, by taking the tunnel to the World Trade Centre, then escalators up to the Metro Centre.

From hotels connected through Scotia Square you can now walk directly in to the World Trade Center and Metro Centre through a new tunnel under Duke Street, opened in 1996.

The passage from WTC to the Metro Centre is through an office corridor that may be shut down after hours. If it is closed, you can easily step outside and re-enter through a nearby door to continue on your way.

Don't ask about amenities. The hotels all have their own, and the area is crammed with eating and drinking spots. Check out Argyle and Grafton Streets to begin.

A block left on Granville Street is NS Sport Heritage Museum. Worth a visit, if you want to get outside and get some fresh air. While there you can shoot some baskets, play a bit of one-on-one, or shoot some pucks at a Tony Esposito.