Basket. Caen is preparing: the NM1 playoffs in five questions
By Thomas Huve
Published on
the Caen Basket Calvados will start the playoffs, the last stage of an interminable season, on Sunday April 24, 2022 in Lyon. But these playoffs, what is it exactly?
Who are the qualified teams?
The playoffs bring together 16 teams from the upper pool, for nine of them, and from the intermediate pool, for the other seven. The winner of the upper hen, which brought together the first five of the two initial groups of NM1, is exempt from the playoffs. Angers has already validated its ticket for the Pro B. Its nine pursuers will therefore participate in the final stages, like the first seven of the middle group. Tarbes, 17ᵉ in the ranking, can theoretically hope to go up to Pro B. Except that some clubs involved in these play-offs are administratively incapable of rubbing shoulders with the upper floor…
Qualifiers (in order of ranking): Poitiers, Le Havre, Lorient, La Rochelle, Rueil, Chartres, Mulhouse, Caen, Lyon, Vitré, Cergy-Pontoise, Boulogne, Orchies, Andrézieux, Pont-de-Chéruy, Tarbes.
How does the playoffs work?
The competition opens in the round of 16. From this round, and until the final, victory is achieved in two winning matches. The first leg is played with the lowest ranked team. The return and the eventual beauty are made with the best ranked. Logically, the best in the standings faces the last, the second is opposed to the penultimate, etc. Caen and Lyon are right in the middle. These are the closest formations hierarchically.
What’s the calendar ?
Round of 16: Sunday April 24, Friday April 29 and Sunday May 1 (beautiful)
Quarter-finals: Saturday May 7, Friday May 13 and Sunday May 15 (beautiful)
Semi-finals: Saturday May 21, Friday May 27 and Sunday May 29 (beautiful)
Final: Saturday June 4, Friday June 10 and Sunday June 12 (beautiful)
Potentially, the finalists have played up to 48 games to reach Pro B… or stumble on the bottom step.
Who is the favourite?
Naturally, the best teams in the standings are positioned among the favorites of these playoffs. Le Havre, winner 105-79 of Poitiers (with a collective evaluation close to 150!) at the conclusion of phase 2, however seems to stand out. The people of Le Havre made the powder speak. Their two victories over Poitiers and their success against Angers showed that they were extremely efficient against the other leaders. With Valentin Bigote (coming from the Spanish first division) in its ranks, the STB is not far from being a scarecrow…
And Caen then?
The CBC is one of the outsiders. His good momentum suggests that he will have a card to play, even if the teams will be “better armed”, according to Fabrice Courcier. If the Caennais qualify for the quarter-finals, they will probably face Poitiers, whom they beat on April 8, 2022 after losing in extra time in the previous confrontation. The semi-final could potentially oppose them to La Rochelle, against whom they have however lost twice in the high pool. Finally, in a dream scenario, we would be entitled to a Caen – Le Havre final in June. We’re not there yet…
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