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It works like this: top 4 teams from each district tournament advance to the regional tournament. Top seed from District 1 plays #4 team from District 2, and so forth. Then, the champion and runner-up from each regional tournament play in a sub-state game. Champion of Region 1 hosts runner-up from Region 2; R1 champ hosts R2 runner-up. Winner goes to Murfreesboro for the state tournament.
In this scenario, the top team in the district (Blackman) was the top team in the state. The No. 4 seed from the same district would not have to face Blackman until the regional final, if they made it that far. Then, even if they lost, they would get to play a sub-state game and still have a chance to get to the state tournament.
A team could theoretically lose three times in the postseason - district semifinal, district consolation game, regional championship game - and still win the state title. Perhaps this incident will cause the TSSAA to revisit the way they structure the basketball postseason. Problem is, the state makes way too much money off all these extra tournament games to change much of anything.
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