With the IBL playoffs fast approaching, the Vancouver Titans are looking to have an impact in their inaugural post-season.

In any basketball tournament, the one essential ingredient for hoops fans is bracketology. Here’s a guide to understanding the IBL tournament format.
Format:

The IBL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament comprised of the 10 top teams through the regular season, who are seeded based on winning percentage.  Picture a regional bracket from the NCAA’s annual March Madness tournament and you’ve got the 2009 IBL playoff format.

The top 6 seeds get a bye through round one, while seeds 7 through 10 must compete to reach the second round (#7 vs, #10 ; #8 vs. #9).
The 10 teams are divided into two brackets – the American bracket and the National bracket. In the American bracket are seeds #1, #4, #5, #8, and #9. The National bracket seeds are #2, #3, #6, #7, and #10.

Following round one, the matchups are determined by having the highest seeded team play the lowest seeded team within each bracket. (The #1 seed plays the winner of #8 vs. #9, while #4 plays #5. The formula is repeated for the other bracket.)

Schedule:

The first, second, and third rounds of the 2009 playoffs will be played July 1-3 in Monroe, Washington – home of the IBL’s Snohomish County Explosion. The league championship finals will be played on the home court of one of the two final teams on July 18.
With just three regular season games left for most teams, the projections for this year’s IBL tournament have the Vancouver Titans sliding into the 9th position and meeting the home side Explosion in the first round in the 8 vs. 9 game. This match-up will take place next Wednesday, July 1st at 7:15 p.m. 

The winner of that game will face the tournament’s number 1 overall seed in the second round for a berth in the semi-finals.  The final weekend of play will determine whether that distinction will go to the Edmonton Energy or Titans rival Bellingham Slam.

Stay Tuned!

Fans can keep up with the developing playoff picture, and get a look at the playoff brackets at http://iblhoopsonline.com/playoffs.php.
For more information on the Titans please visit www.vancouvertitans.com.