Just when you thought the season was over for the Washington State 4A champion Auburn Riverside girls basketball team, one more challenge remains.
Today the Ravens, along with 64 other girls high school basketball teams, kicked off the “Massey Virtual National Championship” tourney on HighSchoolSports.net.
The simulated tournament, sponsored by USA Today and Gannett’s HighSchoolSports.net Web site, features 50 state champion teams, along with 14 “at large” picks chosen by sports editors at USA Today, competing in computer simulated games to determine the best high school hoop team in the country.
The tourney uses the same algorithm that powers the BCS National Championship and all the game simulations are programmed by Ken Massey, author of the Massey Ratings high school ranking system, which ranks varsity football, girls and boys basketball and boys baseball teams within their league, state and the rest of the country.
Auburn Riverside finished the season ranked the No. 40 team in the country according to the Massey Ratings.
“We’re very thrilled to bring this exciting new format to fans of high school basketball,” said Monte Lorell, managing editor of sports at USA Today. “This virtual championship is a unique offering and will feature the rich assets of HighSchoolSports.net. I’m sure we’ll have some fun along the way.”
Round One tipped off today, with Auburn Riverside, the No. 6 seed out of the West Bracket, knocking off No. 11 Coeur d’Alene 55-51. The Ravens will take on powerhouse No. 3 seed Brea Olinda from Brea, Calif. tomorrow. Brea Olinda finished the season ranked the No. 3 team in the country according to the Massey Ratings.
“I’m sure the results will lead to plenty of debate across the country in locker rooms and family rooms, just as the BCS rankings do in college,” said Jason Rine, content manager at HighSchoolSports.net. “I can’t wait to hear the response for a simulated basketball tournament since our virtual football tournament was a huge success in January.”
The winning school will be awarded a trophy presentation at their school.
To follow the tourney Find a list of participating schools and seeded tournament brackets at
