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Sarachek Format Explained

Updated: Oct 29, 2023

For a long time there were 20 teams that competed in the Annual Red Sarachek Tournament. Last year, the tournament added 4 more teams for a total of 24. Because the format is still new, we wanted to remind everyone of the format for this tournament.


No Tier I Byes.

Historically, the top 4 ranked teams receive a first-day bye, and automatically advance to the Tier I Quarterfinal game. This year, those teams will have to play a Tier I Qualifier on Thursday to earn the right to advance to the Tier I Quarterfinals.


16 teams, Instead of 12, Have a Shot At Tier I.

In years past, there have only been 12 teams that have the chance to play for Tier I, with 5 playing 12 on Thursday, 6 playing 11, etc. Because of the additional 4 teams being added, there are now 16 teams that have a chance to play for Tier I. The Thursday matchups are now 1 vs 16, 2 vs 15, etc.


3 Tiers, Not 4.

In the past, there have been 4 tiers; Tier I included 8 teams, while Tiers II, III, and IV included 4 teams. This year, there will only be 3 tiers, with 8 teams in each tier. This means that in order to win any tiers, a team would have to at least win their last three games, if not go 4-0. When there were 4 tiers, Tiers III and IV only had semifinals and championship games; now, each tier will have quarterfinal games.


No Reseeding.

There will be no reseeding in this tournament. If the 16 seed beats the 1 seed, the 16 seed will then play the winner of the 8 vs 9 game, and the 1 seed would play the 17 seed. If there was reseeding, the 16 seed would play the highest remaining seed left in Tier I.


Scheduling

The Tier I Qualifiers will take place on Thursday between the 1-16 seeds; the 17-24 seeds will not play on Thursday. The winners of those games will move on to the Tier I Quarterfinals on Friday; the losers will compete in the Tier II Quarterfinals against the 17-24 seeds. The winners of the Tier I Quarterfinal games will move on to the Tier I Semifinals on Sunday; the losers will play in Tier I Consolation games on Sunday. The winners of the Friday’s Tier II Qualifier games will move on to Tier II and play in the Tier II Quarterfinals on Saturday night; the losers of the Tier II Qualifier games will drop to Tier III and play in the Tier III Quarterfinals on Saturday night. The winners of the Tier II and Tier III Quarterfinal games will play in Sunday’s Tier II and III Semifinals games, while the losers will play in Tier II and III Consolation games on Sunday. On Monday, each Tier will hold Championship, 3rd Place, 5th Place, and 7th Place games.


Tournament Schedule


Thursday March 23

10:00 AM-#14 Fuchs Mizrachi School vs. #3 Northshore

11:30 AM-#10 Katz Yeshiva HS vs. #7 Ida Crown Jewish Academy

1:00 PM-#9 DRS vs. #8 Magen David

2:30 PM-#11 Maimonides vs. #6 YULA

4:00 PM-#13 Berman Hebrew Academy vs. #4 Frisch

5:30-#16 MTA vs #1 Shalhevet

7:00 PM-#12 Yeshivat Mekor Chaim vs #5 SAR

8:30 PM-#15 TABC vs. #2 Valley Torah

Friday March 24th at YU:

8:00 AM-Tier 1 Quarterfinal

9:30 AM-Tier 2 Qualifier

11:00 AM-Tier 1 Quarterfinal

12:30 PM-Tier 1 Quarterfinal

2:00 PM-Tier 1 Quarterfinal

Friday March 24th TABC GYM ONE:

9:00 AM-Tier 2 Qualifier

10:30 AM-Tier 2 Qualifier

12:00 PM-Tier 2 Qualifier

1:30 PM-Tier 2 Qualifier

Friday March 24th TABC GYM TWO:

9:00 AM-Tier 2 Qualifier

10:30 AM-Tier 2 Qualifier

12:00 PM-Tier 2 Qualifier

Saturday March 25th TABC GYM ONE:

9:00 PM-Tier 2 Quarterfinal

10:30 PM-Tier 2 Quarterfinal

Saturday March 25th TABC GYM TWO:

9:00 PM-Tier 2 Quarterfinal

10:30 PM-Tier 2 Quarterfinal

Saturday March 25th Ma’ayanot:

9:00 PM-Tier 3 Quarterfinal

10:30 PM-Tier 3 Quarterfinal

Saturday March 25th RYNJ:

9:00 PM-Tier 3 Quarterfinal

10:30 PM-Tier 3 Quarterfinal

Sunday March 26th at YU:

8:30 AM-Tier 2 Consolation

10:00 AM-Tier 2 Consolation

11:30 AM-Tier 3 Semifinal

1:00 PM-Tier 3 Semifinal

2:30 PM-Tier 1 Semifinal

4:00 PM-Tier 1 Semifinal

5:30 PM-Tier 2 Semifinal

7:00 PM-Tier 2 Semifinal

8:30 PM-Tier 3 Consolation

10:00 PM-Tier 3 Consolation

Sunday March 26th TABC GYM ONE:

10:00 AM-Tier 1 Consolation

11:30 AM-Tier 1 Consolation

Monday March 27th at YU:

8:00 AM-Tier 3 3rd Place Game

9:30 AM-Tier 2 3rd Place Game

11:00 AM-Tier 3 Championship

12:30 PM-Tier 2 Championship

2:20 PM-Tier 1 Championship

Monday March 27th TABC GYM ONE:

8:30 AM-Tier 1 7th Place Game

10:00 AM-Tier 1 5th Place Game

11:30 AM-Tier 1 3rd Place Game

Monday March 27th TABC GYM TWO:

8:30 AM-Tier 2 7th Place Game

10:00 AM-Tier 2 5th Place Game

11:30 AM-Tier 3 7th Place Game

1:00 PM-Tier 3 5th Place Game


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