On March 4th 2022, on the court of Doherty Gymnasium at Malden Catholic High School, the Nauset Mariners, ranked #32 in the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletics Association (MIAA) Division 2 (D2) Boys Basketball tournament, underwent an over-three-hour drive from the picturesque sands of Provincetown to the cold industry of North Boston, to face off against one of the most heavily lauded teams in the Commonwealth: Malden Catholic High School, ranked #1 in the division. The absurdity of the matchup was unrivaled; both teams held an 18-2 record, but Malden Catholic was ranked first and The Nauset Mariners last.

After the basketball tournaments were canceled for the last two years due to the pandemic, the MIAA decided to retool the tournament format. What they emerged with is a convoluted and unfair system which rewards the most privileged schools, to the detriment of underdogs like the Mariners. 

Nauset plays in the Cape and Islands League, often described as gritty, hard-nosed, and rough by coaches and players alike. They ran the table in the league this season—only losing to Nantucket and their notorious home court advantage. According to their coach, John McCarthy, the Mariners revolutionized their tactics, changing from a choppy and tough “in the paint attack” (more typical of the Cape) to an “East-West passing scheme” which stretched the court, leaving Cape rivals in the dust. Pre-pandemic tournaments would have rewarded this kind of play with a top 10 seed and at least two home playoff games. Along with the imposing home court advantage of Cape teams, Nauset would have been a tough out in the opening rounds. The new format, in contrast, not only ranks teams based on record, but also on the strength of schedule. Nauset’s rating had been docked severely thanks to the relative weakness of the Cape and Islands league.

Nauset should not be punished by the MIAA for being part of the Cape and Islands league, nor should more privileged leagues like the Catholic Conference (Malden Catholic’s league) get an unfair advantage because more powerful opponents frequently show up on their teams’ schedules. Private schools have a larger endowment for athletics and also have the ability to select players from around the state, so they can access a much larger skill pool.

“Nauset shouldn’t be playing us,” John Walsh, the coach of the Malden Catholic Lancers, told the Register Forum. “The new [tournament] system is … interesting for sure.” Walsh went on to say that “it ensures a more accurate rank of skill, than pure record.” Despite Walsh’s claims that the system was sound, Nauset was indeed completely destroyed, losing by 49 points. What was a dream run came to a screeching halt at a foreign venue over 3 hours away. The MIAA’s new system looks like it is here to stay, but the question remains: how many times will the clock strike midnight an hour early before there is a cry for change?