Many N.C. High School Athletic Association automatic girls basketball playoff bids have been decided as of Tuesday, but there are still some that need to be worked out.

Here is a look at the playoff bids that have been secured and the ties that need to be broken during this week’s conference tournaments.

Keep in mind the following intricacies:

• In single-classification conferences, the overall champion wins a trophy, gets to hang a banner, and is seeded with the other first place teams first in the N.C. High School Athletic Association’s state playoffs.
  • In the instances where there is a tie for first place, the teams will be considered co-conference champions. A head-to-head victory of one tied team over the other doesn’t matter when it comes to hanging a banner. While each team will get the trophy, only one can be seeded first with the other conference champions in the playoff brackets. Most often, this piece comes down to who won the head-to-head matchup.
    • For example: Team A & Team B finish tied for the conference championship in a 4A-only league. Team A & Team B will be considered co-conference champions. Team A beat Team B in their matchup, but Team A lost to Team C to force the tie with Team B. Since Team A has the head-to-head tiebreaker over Team B, Team A will be treated as the only conference champion when it comes to the playoff seeding process. All first place teams are seeded first in the process and will host a game in the first round.
• In split-classification conferences, the overall champion wins a trophy/hangs a banner, but the highest finishing conference opponent in the other classification will also be seeded as a top playoff seed in its separate playoff bracket, provided that that other team finishes with an overall win percentage of .500 or better OR finishes in the top three of the final overall conference standings. If the team does not meet this criteria, it’s still guaranteed a spot in the playoffs, but will be placed among the at-large teams in the RPI-based playoff seeding process.
  • For example: In a 3A/4A split classification conference, the top overall finisher/conference representative could be a 4A team, but the highest 3A team will also be considered a 1-seed in the 3A bracket, as long as the 3A team was .500 or better OR finished in the top three spots in the standings.
    • All top finishers out of a split classification will be seeded first with the 1-seeds from single-classification conferences, as long as they meet the criteria of finishing .500 or better OR in the top three of the conference standings.
• For conferences with six or more teams, the second place team will receive an automatic playoff spot. This team will still be seeded with the other at-large teams, but it would assure that they get into the group of 32 playoff teams from their region. For conferences with nine or more teams, the third place team will also receive and automatic playoff spot.
• The Leapfrogging Provision: The standings of the conferences are important for playoff qualification. A team cannot make the playoffs if a team that finished above it in the rankings does not make it, thanks to the NCHSAA’s leapfrogging provision. For example, if a team that finished in fourth place had an RPI good enough to be one of the 32 teams to make the playoffs, but the third place team is outside of that top 32, the fourth place team will be boxed out of the playoffs by the third place team.

NCHSAA Tiebreaker Procedure

1. Head-to-head competition
2. If the two teams are tied after being eliminated from the conference tournament, or if a conference tournament is not held, a special playoff game can be played. Both teams can mutually agree to forego this step if they agree to break the tie in another fashion. A special playoff game cannot violate the daily or weekly limitations for a particular sport though. A meeting between the two tied teams in a conference tournament would count as the tie-breaker game.
3. If both teams are eliminated from the conference tournament and can play the playoff game without violating the weekly limitations, the game should be played unless a team advances to the conference tournament championship game. In that case, the team that gets to the finals wins the tie-breaker.
4. If three or more teams are tied, the team that advances furthest in the conference tournament will win the tie-breaker.
5. If the tie cannot be broken after step No. 4, all previous head-to-head competition is used to break the tie. This step cannot be used when there are multiple ties though.
6. If there is still a tie, the tie will be broken based on how the teams fared against the rest of the conference, starting with the No. 1 team and moving down the list until the tie is broken.
7. If the tie is still not broken, the RPI ranking will be used to break the tie.
8. On the off chance the two teams have the same RPI, a random draw will be held.

As an HSOT Insider, you have access to our playoff projections, as seen below:

Now, let’s get to the clinching scenarios for all of the conferences.

4A Conferences

Cap-6

• Sanderson has clinched the Cap’s top playoff seed and outright conference championship. Due to a three-way tie for second place, the tiebreaker procedures had to be used. Broughton won out over Cardinal Gibbons and Leesville Road as Broughton went 3-1 vs. the other two while Cardinal Gibbons went 2-2 and Leesville Road went 1-3.

Central Piedmont

• West Forsyth clinched the top playoff spot out of the CPC. Mount Tabor will be the automatic second place bid.

DC-VI

• Jordan has clinched the DC-VI’s conference championship and top playoff seed in the 4A East bracket.
• Chapel Hill will receive the conference’s second place automatic bid. The Tigers finished the year in a tie for second place with Hillside, but they swept the Hornets, which breaks the tie.

Greater Metro

• Lake Norman won the Greater Metro outright and clinched the top playoff seed out of the conference. Mooresville secured the second place automatic bid.

Greater Neuse

• Garner has the Greater Neuse clinched. Clayton has secured the automatic second place bid.

Metro

• Northern Guilford won the Metro Conference outright and clinched the conference’s top playoff seed. Southwest Guilford secured the second place automatic bid.

Northern Athletic

• Knightdale won the NAC outright and clinched the top playoff seed.
• Heritage and Millbrook ended the regular season tied for second place with 7-3 records after splitting the head-to-head matchups. However, Heritage defeated Millbrook on Monday in the conference tournament to officially break the tie and secure the conference’s second place automatic bid.

South Meck

• Myers Park won the conference outright and clinched its top playoff seed in the 4A West playoffs. South Mecklenburg secured the second place automatic bid.
• TIEBREAKER TO SOLVE – Ardrey Kell and Olympic finished the season tied for third place with 7-5 records. They split the season series. Whichever team advances further in the conference tournament would get the third place slot. If not, Ardrey Kell would get the break becuase it performed better against first place Myers Park (1-1) than Olympic did (0-2).

Southern Carolina

• Weddington won the conference and clinched it’s top seed in the 4A West. As a five-team conference, there is no automatic bid granted to the second place finisher.

Southwest Wake

• TIEBREAKER TO SOLVE – Green Level and Holly Springs finished as co-conference chamions after splitting their head-to-head matchups. The conference tournament will likely solve this tie. If not, Green Level would get the nod as it performed better better against T3 Apex Friendship (2-0) than Holly Springs did (1-1)

Southwestern

• Independence and Charlotte Catholic finished as co-conference champions, but Independence clinched the top playoff spot because it’s sweep over Catholic broke the tie. Catholic will receive the second place automatic bid.
• Butler and East Mecklenburg finished tied for third place, but Butler held a sweep over East Mecklenburg to break the tie.
• Providence and Rocky River finished tied for fifth place, but Providence held a sweep over Rocky River to break the tie.

3A/4A Conferences

All-American

• Overhills and Pine Forest tied for first place among the 4A teams in the All-American at 7-7 after splitting the head-to-head matchups. However, Overhills defeated Pine Forest on Monday night in the first round of the conference tournament to break the tie and clinched the conference’s top 4A seed. Overhills did not finish top three in the conference standings, but its overall winning percentage of over .500 will grant it a seeding in the group of 4A East conference champions.
• E.E. Smith clinched the conference championship and top 3A East playoff seed from the conference. Triton, as the second place finisher among the six 3A teams, will receive an automatic playoff berth.

Big Carolina

• New Bern has clinched the top 4A seed out of the Big Carolina.
• J.H. Rose has clinched the top 3A seed out of the Big Carolina.

Mideastern

• New Hanover has clinched the top playoff spot among the 4A teams and won the conference outright.
• West Brunswick has clinched the top playoff spot among the 3A teams. West Brunswick didn’t finish in the top three in the standings, but it did finish with an winning percentage of over .500, which will grant it seeding with the 3A East conference champions.

Mountain

• McDowell has clinched the top 4A seed out of the conference.
• A.C. Reynolds has clinched the top 3A seed out of the conference and won the outright conference championship.

Northwestern

• TIEBREAKER TO SOLVE – 4As Watauga and South Caldwell finished the regular season as co-conference champions. They split the regular season series. This tie will likely be broken by which lasts longer in the conference tournament. If not, Watauga will get the edge because it performed better against third place Freedom.
• Freedom has clinched the 3A part of the Northwestern.

Queen City

• North Mecklenburg has clinched the 4A side of the Queen City Conference, as well as an outright conference title.
• West Charlotte has secured the 3A side of the Queen City and an automatic playoff spot, but the Lions will not be seeded wtih the rest of the 3A West conference champions as they were unable to finish top three in the conference or with a .500 overall record.

Sandhills

• Richmond has clinched the top 4A seed out of the Sandhills.
• Southern Lee has clinched the top 3A seed out of the Sandhills.

United 8

• Lumberton clinched the top 4A seed out of the conference.
• Seventy-First ran away with the other side of the conference and clinched the top 3A seed out of the league and won the overall conference championship.

3A Conferences

Big South

• Ashbrook clinched the conference championship and top playoff seed. Crest secured the second place automatic bid.

Central

• TIEBREAKER TO SOLVE – Person and Eastern Alamance finished as co-conference champions after splitting the season series. If one of the teams performs better in the conference tournament, that team will get the break and top playoff seed. If needed, Eastern Alamance performed better against third place Orange (2-0) than Person did (1-1). As this conference gets two automatic bids, both have already secured playoff berths.

Coastal

• With two games to play, Swansboro leads the conference at 8-0. White Oak is 6-2. Swansboro and White Oak are set to play again on Friday. Swansboro plays West Carteret on Wednesday. One more win for Swansboro clinches the conference.

Mid-Piedmont

• Ledford has finished its games and won the conference championship/clinched the top playoff spot out of the league for the 3A West playoffs.
• Oak Grove (7-3) and Central Davidson (7-3) tied for second place at the end of the regular season, but Oak Grove defeated Central by 40 points in the conference tournament on Monday to secure the second place automatic bid.

Mid-State

• Dudley clinched the top playoff spot out of the Mid-State and the outright conference championship. Ben L. Smith will receive the second place automatic bid.
• High Point Central and Northeast Guilford tied for the third place spot in the conference, but the tie will be broken with High Point Central’s win over first place Dudley. Northeast went 0-2 against Dudley.

Mountain 7

• East Henderson won the conference championship and clinched the top playoff spot out of the Mountain 7 in the 3A West. Franklin secured the second place automatic bid out of the conference.

Quad County

• East Wake didn’t have much of an issue to clinch the Quad County. The Warriors lead by three games with one to play. C.B. Aycock secured the second place automatic bid.

South Piedmont

• Jay M. Robinson ran away with the conference and clinched the championship/top seed for the 3A West playoffs.
• With nine teams in the conference, the second and third place finishers will receive an automatic playoff spot. Northwest Cabarrus and Concord tied for second place, and that tie will have to be broken, however, as both teams are gauranteed a spot it does not matter which gets the 2 or the 3. Once both are in, RPI will be used to sort them into the playoff seeds.
• Carson and Central Cabarrus finished the year tied for fourth, but the tie has been broken by virtue of Carson advancing further in the conference tournament.

Western Foothills

• North Lincoln won the conference championship and clinched the Western Foothills’ top playoff seed. Hickory secured the second place automatic bid.
• East Lincoln finished in a tie for third palce with Statesville, but the tie will be broken by East Lincoln’s head-to-head sweep over Statesville.
• TIEBREAKER TO SOLVE – North Iredell and St. Stephens finished tied for sixth place after splitting the season series. They both were knocked out in the same round of the conference tournament and won the same games in regular season play. This will be broken by RPI, of which St. Stephens is well ahead.

2A/3A Conferences

Big East

• Northern Nash has clinched the top 3A seed and overall conference championship.
• Roanoke Rapids has clinched the top 2A seed.

Northeastern Coastal

• First Flight ran away from Currituck County to clinch the top playoff spot from the league in the 3A East playoffs.
• Northeastern ran away from Hertford County to clinch the top playoff spot from the league in the 2A East playoffs. Hertford County secured an automatic playoff spot as the second team out of the six 2As.
• Pasquotank and Holmes finished tied for fourth place among the 2A schools, but Pasquotank swept Holmes in the head-to-head matchups, which will break the tie.

Northern Lakes

• Southern Durham easily clinched the top 3A seed from the Northern Lakes.
• South Granville easily clinched the top 2A seed from the Northern Lakes.

Rocky River

• Piedmont clinched the top 3A seed out of the Rocky River and crucially finished third in the conference standings. Split conference champs are required to finish in the top three in the overall conference standings or with a .500 overall record.
• Monroe clinched the top 2A seed out of the Rocky River and won the overall conference championship.

2A Conferences

Catawba Valley

• Maiden and Lincolnton finished the season as co-conference champions, but Maiden clinched the top playoff spot thanks to its sweep over Lincolnton in head-to-heads. Lincolnton will be the automatic second place bid.

East Central

• TIEBREAKER TO SOLVE – Southwest Onslow and Kinston finished as co-conference champions. The top seed for the playoffs will be determined by which team performs better in this week’s conference tournament. Both teams will be in the playoffs, as this conference gets two automatic berths.

Eastern Plains

• Farmville Central has clinched the Eastern Plains conference championship and top playoff seed. Washington has secured the second place automatic bid.
• TIEBREAKER TO SOLVE – Ayden-Grifton and West Craven finished tied for sixth place and will play on Tuesday to break the tie. This is an important one because Ayden-Grifton’s RPI is in the top 32 for the 2A East but West Craven’s is outside. If West Craven wins, Ayden-Grifton will be boxed out by the leapfrog rule.

Foothills

• North Surry has clinched the conference championship and top 2A West playoff spot from the league. Surry Central secured the automatic second place bid.
• North Wilkes and West Wilkes finished tied for fifth place, but North Wilkes went 2-1 against West this season and lasted longer in the conference tournament, which breaks the tie.

Mid-State

• Reidsville ran away with the Mid-State and clinched the top playoff seed in the 2A West out of the league. Walkertown secured the second place automatic bid.
• T.W. Andrews and Morehead finished tied for fourth place. However, Morehead won the tiebreaker game in the first round of the conference tournament.

Neuse

• Eastern Wayne clinched the conference championship and top 2A East playoff spot out of the Nuese. Goldsboro secured the second place automatic bid.
• Beddingfield and Spring Creek finished tied for third place in the standings. However, Beddingfield advanced to the second round of the conference tournament while spring creek did not, so Beddingfield will get the break for third.
• Princeton and North Johnston finished tied for fifth place. Princeton won in the first round of the conference tournament and North Johnston lost, giving Princeton the tiebreaker.

Southeastern

• West Bladen has clinched the conference championship and top 2A East seed from this league. Fairmont secured the second place automatic bid from the league.

1A/2A Conferences

Catawba Shores

• Lincoln Charter has clinched the top 2A spot out of the Catawba Shores.
• Corvian Community has clinched the top 1A spot out of the Catawba Shores.

Central Carolina

• Salisbury has clinched the top 2A seed from the Central Carolina.
• North Rowan has clinched the top 1A seed from the Central Carolina.

Coastal Plains

• East Carteret is the only 2A team in the conference and therefore has special requirements to get an automatic spot in the conference, neither of which it has achieved. East has to either finish in the top two in the conference standings or with a .500 overal record. East is 4-13 and in fifth place overall as of Thursday.
• TIEBREAKER TO SOLVE – Lejeune and Northside-Pinetown finished as co-conference champions. The top overall 1A East playoff seed out of this conference will come down to which team performs the best in the conference tournament.

Four Rivers

• Martin County is the only 2A team in the conference and has special rules to qualify for the playoffs, both of which it has accomplished. Martin will be a top seed in the 2A East.
• Washington County and Tarboro tied as co-conference champions at 10-2 after splitting the head-to-head matchups. However, Washington County has clinched the top seed out of the Four Rivers for the 1A East playoffs after Tarboro was upset in the first round of the conference tournament by Bertie. Washington County lasted longer and therefore won the tiebreaker.

Mid-Carolina

• Northwood ran away and clinched the conference championship as well as the top 2A East seed out of the league. Southeast Alamance secured the second place automatic bid that is granted to the seven 2A teams in the Mid-Carolina.
• TIEBREAKER TO SOLVE – Cummings and Jordan-Matthews finished tied for fourht place among the 2A teams and were both knocked out of the conference tournament on Monday. This one could come down to a tiebreaker game or RPI.
• Chatham Central easily clinched the top 1A East seed out of the conference, building a 10-game lead over North Moore.

Mountain Foothills

• Hendersonville has clinched the top 2A spot out of the Mountain Foothills and the conference championship. R-S Central secured the second place automatic bid.
• Patton and East Rutherford finished tied for fourth place among the 2A teams, but Patton won the tiebreaker game in the conference tournament.
• Polk County is the only 1A team in the conference and therefore has special requirements to get an automatic spot in the conference, neither of which it has achieved. Polk has to either finish in the top two in the conference standings or with a .500 overal record. Polk is 5-17 and finished in sixth place overall.

Piedmont Athletic

• Randleman ran away from the rest of the 2A teams in the Piedmont Athletic and clinched that top playoff spot out of the league.
• Eastern Randolph has clinched the top 1A spot out of the PAC.

Southern Piedmont

• TIEBREAKER TO SOLVE – Burns and Shelby finished as co-conference champions. To determine the top 2A playoff seed out of the Southern Piedmont, it will come down to which performs better in this week’s conference tournament.
• Thomas Jefferson Classical clinched the 1A side of the Southern Piedmont.

Super Seven

• TIEBREAKER TO SOLVE – Franklin Academy and NCSSM: Durham tied for a co-conference championship. They split the regular season series, so the top 2A East playoff seed from the Super Seven will be determined by this week’s conference tournament. If not, it will be determined by RPI.
• Research Triangle and Raleigh Charter finihsed the regular season tied for third place among the 2A teams, but Research Triangle broke the tie by advancing further in the conference tournament.
• Wake Prep dominated the conference and clinched the top seed for the 1A teams with a six-game lead.

Waccamaw

• This conference tournament was canceled.
• Whiteville and Trask finished as co-conference champs and the top 2A seed will be determined in a tiebreaker game on Friday at Whiteville.
• East Bladen, East Columbus, and Pender finished tied for first place among the 1A teams in the Waccamaw at 4-8. Pender won out this tiebreaker and clinched the top 1A seed by performing 3-1 against the other two teams combined.
  • Important Note: Pender has not met the requirements for a split conference team to be seeded at the top of the bracket with the other conference champions as it did not finish in the top three in the standings or with a .500 or better record.

Western Highlands

• Owen clinched the top 2A seed out of the Western Highlands.
• Mountain Heritage ran away and clinched the 1A part of the Western Highlands. Mitchell secured the second place automatic bid among the six 1A teams.

Yadkin Valley

• Mount Pleasant turned it on in conference play and clinched the top 2A seed out of the Yadkin Valley.
• South Stanly easily clinched the top 1A seed out of the Yadin Valley.

1A Conferences

Atlantic

• Ocracoke has clinched the Atlantic’s conference championship. Bear Grass Charter secured the second place automatic bid.

Carolina

• Lakewood has clinched the Carolina with a two-game lead and one game to play. North Duplin will be the automatic second place bid.
• Neuse Charter and Rosewood finished in a tie for fourth place, but Neuse Charter won in the conference tournament rematch on Monday to break the tie.

Central Tar Heel

• Southern Wake Academy has clinched the Central Tar Heel.
• Chatham Charter and Woods Charter ended the regular season tied for second place, but Chatham Charter won the conference tournament rematch to break the tie and secure the second place automatic bid.
• TIEBREAKER TO SOLVE – Clover Garden School and Triangle Math & Science finished tied for fourth place. This one might be broken by RPI.

Metro 8

• Queen’s Grant has clinched the conference championship and top 1A West playoff seed out of the league. Carolina International secured the second place automatic bid.
• TIEBREAKER TO SOLVE – Jackson Day and Sugar Creek Charter finished tied for third place at 4-6 after splitting their head-to-head contests. The conference tournament could solve this. If not, Jackson Day performed better against fifth place Piedmont Community Charter (2-0) than Sugar Creek Charter did (1-1) and that would break the tie.

Northwest

• South Stokes ran away with the conference title and clinched top 1A West playoff seed with a five-game lead and one game to play.
• East Wilkes and Mount Airy finished tied for second place, but East Wilkes swept Mount Airy for the second place automatic berth.
• Alleghany, Elkin, and North Stokes finished in a tie for fourth place while splitting their head-to-head matchups evenly. North Stokes has lasted in the conference tournament the longest and will get the fourth place spot. Alleghany and Elkin’s fifth place spot might come down to RPI.

Northwest Piedmont

• Bishop McGuinness finsihed the season perfect in conference play and clinched the title as well as the top playoff spot out of the league in the 1A West. College Prep & Leadership Academy secured the second place auomatic bid and Carver secured the third place automatic bid.

Big Smoky Mountain

• Robbinsville has clinched the Big Smoky with a two-game lead and one game to play. Cherokee secured the second place automatic bid by sweeping Andrews.

Little Smoky Mountain

• Hiwassee Dam has clinched the Little Smoky with a two-game lead over Nantahala.

Tar-Roanoke

• Northampton County won the conference outright and clinched the top seed out of the Tar-Ronaoke. Wilson Prep secured the second place automatic bid and Warren County secured the third place automatic bid.
• KIPP Pride and Northwest Halifax finished tied for sixth place after splitting their season series. However, KIPP won the conference tournament rematch to win the tiebreaker.

Triangle North

• Voyager Academy has clinched the Triangle North with a two-game lead and one game to play. Vance Charter will be the automatic second place bid.