March 26, 2015

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – For the Bloomington Flex, playoff seeding hasn’t been much of a worry in the team’s four-year history.  But in 2015, playing in a more competitive league, the Flex, while already qualified for the playoffs, can finish anywhere from the first seed to the third, depending on what they do, and what their Midwest Professional Basketball Association rivals do in the next ten days.

                    The Flex are currently tied atop the MPBA standings with the Champaign Swarm at 13-4, but the Flex hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Swarm by virtue of a 3-1 season series in favor of Bloomington.  However, the St. Louis RiverSharks sit at 11-4, and if the Flex and RiverSharks tie, St. Louis would hold a tiebreaker over the Flex because they won that season series 3-1.

                    The Swarm and RiverSharks cannot finish with an identical record—they play each other on March 29 in St. Louis.

                    “Our fate is mostly in our hands,” said Flex head coach Carlnel Wiley, Jr.  “We have to take care of business.  We won a big game the other night (a 2OT thriller over Gateway on March 22), but we can’t let up.  We can’t assume other teams are going to lose games.  We have to peak going into the playoffs.”

                    The schedule benefits the Flex, as they play two of their final three games at home, and all three are against the bottom two teams in the MPBA, the Chicago Force and Windy City Groove.  But both teams, despite a combined 7-27 record, are still alive for the fourth and final playoff spot.

                    “So they’re going to be hungry,” Wiley said.  “They’re not going to just hand it to us.”

                    The Flex host the Groove first, Friday at 7:05 p.m. at, U.S. Cellular Coliseum, then the Force Sunday at 4:05.

                    Fans can watch the games live and in high definition free of charge on the MPBA website, www.theMPBA.com.