Margin of Victory Comparison over Past 25 Years

[OldSchoolLion]

The second round games in 7A and 8A this weekend were, based upon final scores, the least competitive second round games I have seen in the past 25 years.  Is this year a one-off?  Time will tell.  Last year was very competitive.

One thing is pretty certain.  15 years ago and prior, on average, there were consistently less blowouts and more "close" games in the second round in the upper classes.   Seeing 10 of 16 games this year decided by 21 or more points was shocking for me.  Such games used to be the exception at this point in the playoffs, but this year it was the norm.  Will the trend continue?  Or maybe we are simply going to see much broader swings in the level of competitiveness from year to year compared to years past.  Either way, it's likely a bad thing for attracting fans.

The first number below represents the number of games in the 2 largest largest classes decided by 21 or more points in the second round of the playoffs.  The second number the number of such games decided by 10 points or less.

1994(5A/6A)- 2 games/10 games

1996(5A/6A)- 2 games/10 games 

1998(5A/6A)- 4 games/8 games 

2000(5A/6A)-5 games/7 games

2002(5A/6A)-3 games/11 games

2004(5A/6A)-6 games/7 games

2006(5A/6A)-8 games/6 games

2008(5A/6A)-5 games/9 games 

2010(7A/8A)-5 games/4 games

2011(7A/8A)-3 games/5 games

2013(7A/8A)-7 games/5 games 

2014(7A/8A)-6 games/5 games

2015(7A/8A)-4 games/4 games

2016(7A/8A)-7 games/7 games

2017(7A/8A)-3 games/10 games

2018(7A/8A)-10 games/4 games