Even though the Crusaders Men haven’t played this weekend, two of the teams which they’re fighting against for the playoff spots have, and the race has gotten even tighter. Four teams are fighting for the three last playoff spots.

Glyndwr and Birmingham A’s played over the weekend, with the A’s getting an impressive win at number four Edmonton, while Glyndwr got pounded by number three Mansfield:

Mansfield Giants     112     v     56     Glyndwr Nets
Birmingham A’s     76     v     69     Edmonton Storm

That leaves the current standings like this:

To look at Crusaders chances of making the playoffs you only have to look at the six games remaining involving the four teams:

Breakdown

Each team have two games to play, and any team that wins both their matches will be certain of reaching the playoffs. This is ensured by the fact that two of the games remaining each involves two of the teams fighting for position:

These direct match-ups between the teams will certainly go a long way towards deciding the playoff bound teams, but there are other matches to consider too. Below we’ll take a look at each of the team’s schedules:

Birmingham A’s impressive win this weekend puts them right back into the mix, after they had dropped to ninth. Next they have the match-up with Glyndwr. The first match between the teams was the very first match or the season, and though Glyndwr won it,  it’s difficult to use this as a guide, as both teams have had up’s and down’s since then.

Birmingham are athletic, but sometimes struggle to find consistency. They have played well against some of the top teams, while also losing to the likes of Plymouth Marjon and University of Birmingham.

Glyndwr on the other hand has been very consistent in taking their victories against the bottom half of the league, having recorded no wins against the top four. Glyndwr are well drilled, but they struggle with the the athleticism of the top teams.

The winner of the match will be the team which manages to force their tempo. In a high tempo match Birmingham will probably win, while Glyndwr will have a better chance of prevailing in a more averaged paced match.

Birmingham’s remaining match is against Westminster. Westminster are number five, but have lost the last four straight, and seems to be fading down the stretch. This will still not be an easy match for Birmingham, as Westminster can match their athleticism.

If Glyndwr survive the match-up against Birmingham they will have an almost certain spot in the playoffs, as their last game is against Birmingham Uni, who have only two wins for the season. If they lose to Birmingham they still have a chance to reach the playoffs, but it will come down to the tie-breakers with one or more teams.

Northumbria have the toughest schedule, as they face number two Brixton, but also have a win to give against the other teams. With an expected loss to Brixton Northumbria’s season will come down to the last game against Crusaders.

Crusaders play University of Birmingham next Sunday in Medway, and with an expected Medway win Crusaders and Northumbria will take identical 8 win records into the final game of the season. The winner will be in the playoffs, while the loser will have to rely on other results to make it.

Even if Crusaders lose to Northumbria, they still have a chance to make it through. If they’re tied on wins with Glyndwr Crusaders will have a good chance of going through, due to the rules of tie-breakers. The two teams beat each other by six points in each game, so on head-to-head they’re tied. The next tie-breaker is the overall points score in the league, and here Crusaders are currently plus 10 while Glyndwr are minus 57.

In a tie with Birmingham Crusaders would lose out, as Birmingham has won both games against Crusaders this year.

In a three way tie with Birmingham and Glyndwr unfortunately Crusaders would lose out, due to only having win one of the four games against the two teams.

Conclusion

The conclusion must be: If the men win their two remaining games they will be in the playoffs, and could have a chance to go as high as sixth.

If they lose one they still have an outside chance.