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naqt.com wrote:NAQT is pleased to announce that its fifth annual Middle School National Championship Tournament (MSNCT) will be held at the Hyatt Regency DFW hotel on the weekend of May 8-10, 2015.

The field for the tournament is limited to 128 teams.

Full details

Qualified teams may register here

Current field

Wildcard applications for the 2015 MSNCT are now open. To apply, please use this online form.

If you would like to add a team to the standby list for the 2015 MSNCT, please do so here.

This may be premature, but any predictions for this year, assuming that every team in the United States can attend?

Based on the current field, the future seems to be South. (Top Five Teams Below)

1. Kealing: Suffice to say that their performance at last year's MSNCT was disconcerting at best. However, Kealing really proved themselves at the 2014 TQBA Middle Kickoff in Austin, with a shocking 654.4 PPG (shocking because at how far they seemed to had fallen last year). In addition, they proved their dexterity yet again at the 2014 TQBA HoHoHo, once again showing that they have the ability to be fast on the buzzer, but also a deep depth of knowledge; especially in a pool with some of the best teams in the nation. The latter point is especially important because it shows that they retained their ability to exceed at both the MSNCT and HSNCT.

2. Harmony Excellence: Need I say more? It is assumed that William has definitely improved from last year. However, they may encounter problems with an improved Kealing.

3. Saint Theresa: Stats place them here, in addition to their head to head performances against Kealing. They may run into difficulty with the harder questions at the MSNCT, based upon their performance on IS sets, and keeping in mind how Kealing performs on similar sets.

3. TH Rogers: Definitely have proven themselves against powerhouses such as St. John's and Harmony. Also because Shomik is now an eighth grader.

5. Longfellow



Teams I would like to see:

1. Marshall, Rockford IL: I would just really love to see how they do, what with Ethan being an eighth grader

2. Quest Academy, Palatine IL: Same as above, also because Vikas is an eighth grader, and Vikram has really improved

3. St. Johns, Houston TX


Teams I was surprised to see:

1. Alphonsus Arts, Chicago IL: They have a relatively new program, and also because of the costs associated of sending a team from Illinois all the way to Texas

I think Middlesex Middle will make a superb run this year based on their stats so far, with some serious potential to win the national title. I can't say how well I think Delaware teams will fare. Independence seems to be having a weak year and so far the best team in state is the newly formed Alfred G. Waters team, but I think currently they're a second or third round playoff team at best. As for another team in my general region, Longfellow seems solid, but I'm not quite sure what their full A team lineup is. I'll have more to say once I've seen these teams play at Charter Challenge in March.

MoeMoney wrote:I think Middlesex Middle will make a superb run this year based on their stats so far...

http://www.naqt.com/stats/team-performa ... playoffs=1

Look at that Round 8 game vs. Independence A. 30.00 PPB over 18 gets, 13 of them powers? That's absolutely insane. Phipps plays like a high schooler would on MS sets, and he has strong supporters in Evan and Naya.

When I put up my original prediction, Middlesex wasn't in the field yet. However, I was anticipating that they would show up in the field soon. Since they have now officially registered, I would say that they bump Harmony from the number two spot, possibly the number one pick if they participate in any tournaments before the MSNCT. Like Kealing, they had an insane performance in a middle school tournament (Mannheim), showing they are fast on the buzzer, are quick to act on easy questions, and can beat out other elite teams (Longfellow). Furthermore, their performances at Scarsdale and Mountain Lake, while not as impressive as their middle school performance, was still excellent, showing their depth of knowledge that Kealing also has. Also, I believe that a team with two 50 ppg scorers will normally beat a one team with a player that has 100 ppg. One man teams can be more inconsistent, since they rely on one player and all players have bad days. Harmony relies on William, (arguably one of the best MS players in the country), but it may still be prone to inconsistencies that Middlesex lacks because it is not a one man team. Middlesex does not edge out Kealing because I think Kealing has a deeper depth of knowledge, which may be telling on the harder questions at the MSNCT.

UPDATE, teams I would like to see:

Barrington Station, Illinois: Station, Quest, and Marshall are turning out to be the three teams that end up in sudden death at tournaments where all three attend. It would be interesting to see how another face off would play out.

Middlesex played MIT Fall and Yale FaCT, too. They were pretty impressive against HS teams, and even made playoffs at MIT. They seemed to have pretty deep knowledge when we played them, but I don't know how they stack up to the Texas teams.

How do you think Harmony will fare?

There will likely be a shortage of Illinois teams once again at this year's nationals, but, I think we are kidding ourselves if we think any Illinois team is in position to challenge the top teams in the nation. We haven't seen a team capable of putting up 25 PPB in an MS tournament, let alone the 27 we're seeing at the top end on NAQT's results page. Back when Station was the team to beat nationally, our regular season stats reigned on MS sets. This is no longer the case by a long shot.

While I do not think that Marshall or Quest will win the MSNCT or even be within the top five or seven teams, it is not entirely unforeseeable to see either team (especially Marshall), within the top fifteen or ten teams. Marshall was able to achieve 562 ppg and 24 ppb at the Keith Country Invitational, which was on an MS set. In addition, they racked up 405 ppt and 18 ppb at the Auburn Knight's Challenge, which was on an IS set. Quest, while not as strong as Marshall in my opinion, managed to achieve [some accomplishments]. I saw Quest play at Keith (I was moderating), and while I would not say they were as strong as the Station team from last year or two years ago, they have the potential to fare well on the national stage, especially with the improvement of Vikram. However, I would have to see the numbers both teams achieve at the Barrington Invitational and Northwestern to get an accurate assessment of how they would perform at the MSNCT. Otherwise, I am only surmising.

Please don't post the identities of pseudonymous teams. --Mgmt

The problem with your supposition, though, is that both of those teams are IESA schools and will have a conflict, once again, with the date of NAQT nationals, unless they call an audible and scramble together something if/when eliminated in sectionals, as Quest did last year.

http://www.iesa.org/activities/calendar ... tycode=SCB

Oh yes, thank you for reminding me about sectionals, I completely forgot about how that would affect their schedules. Quest and Marshall should win both of their respective sectionals this year (unless Marshall runs into problems with Station). Quest, being a private school, should have no problem going to state, and then immediately flying to Texas. In Marshall's case, that will be much more difficult. Marshall's coach may choose to sacrifice a possible state title for a national trophy, but that is unlikely since there is little chance they can overpower the five teams I ranked previously.

Middlesex just won the Charter Oak tournament, stats are pending.

They "split the squad", essentially, so you're not going to see absolutely incredible numbers from one team. One thing that's often overlooked its the depth that Middlesex has. Although no team averaged more than maybe 25 points per bonus, all 3 of them should be fairly close to that. After all, they had three teams of above 22.9 ppb last week.

How would you rank Middlesex this year, especially because you saw your performance?

#3, although they have a very good shot at winning. It's hard to argue with the sheer numbers being put up by Kealing and Harmony. If anything Middlesex should have a better chance next year because they have so much depth while returning their top two players.

I have them at #2 in my rankings, just behind Kealing.

The fact is that Harmony averaged 22.5 ppb on an A-set. I think Middlesex averages about 20. Additionally, although he is basically a one-man team, William Golden is insanely good.

Yeah, I saw Middlesex at the Charter Oak today and they put up some really impressive numbers- Phipps was insane (he put up something in the ballpark of 130-140 ppg, although he did lose in the finals). I definitely think they might have a shot at winning although I don't know how well they'd fare against Harmony or Kealing.

I am looking at the stats right now. Even though the coach split up the starters, it's impressive that the A-team (and specifically your brother, Julia), racked up 24 ppb. Julia, send my congratulations to your brother. Although their A-set ppb is slightly worse than other high level teams, they still got 21.24 ppb at last year's MSNCT, with the only major lineup change being your graduation, Julia. John, Evan, and Maya have undoubtedly improved, and if the difference between them and Harmony is about 2 ppb, a match between them for the national title could go either way. However, I give the better ranking to Middlesex because John is not such a one man team as William, and one man teams can be prone to inconsistencies.

Michael, it's a shame the Station A-team never got to play Middlesex at the 2013 MSNCT, pity we have never seen one another play

Rockford Marshall's attendance at the MSNCT is confirmed, I expect them to do some damage.

Just some brief stats I came up with, current as of February 25th, 2015:

Middlesex:
IS and A set ppb: 20.56
MS (11,12,13): 26.1
Total(A set and MS sets): 23.3

Harmony (stats only include tournaments with William Golden in attendance)
IS and A set ppb 19.98
MS (11,12,13):23.95
Total (A sets and MS sets):21.97

Make of these stats what you will

The Formiddable Dark Overlord wrote:Just some brief stats I came up with, current as of February 25th, 2015:

Middlesex:
A set ppb: 20.56
MS (11,12,13): 26.1
Total(A set and MS sets): 23.3

Harmony (stats only include tournaments with William Golden in attendance)
A set ppb 19.98
MS (11,12,13):23.95
Total (A sets and MS sets):21.97

Make of these stats what you will

Harmony actually put up 22.52 ppb on an a-set at Holiday Hoedown (the only timed they played one) and 17.44 on an IS Set this year.

I forgot to mention that I glommed together A sets and IS sets. I will edit my typo about the A sets.

The Formiddable Dark Overlord wrote:Rockford Marshall's attendance at the MSNCT is confirmed, I expect them to do some damage.

Damage, sure, but Ethan will have to open up and take some risks if they plan to beat the top-shelf teams. He's as deep as they come, but he is also one of the more reserved players I've seen when it comes to risk-taking.

That is true, I believe there was one tournament last year where he got zero negs.

How do you all think Longfellow will do?

Basing it totally on stats, I think a top 5 finish for Longfellow would be a nice accomplishment. 3rd place or higher? I'd consider that an upset, given what I'm seeing statistically from schools such as Harmony, St Theresa, and Middlesex, to name just a couple of obvious ones, never mind Kealing. Coach Huang will have his kids ready to play, though, and they'll be a tough out.

I second what Jeff said, it would be surprising if they do not get a top five or top six spot. It's not completely out of the question that they could beat Kealing, like they did at Bevo Bowl, but I cannot see them ranking over Middlesex, Saint Theresa, or Harmony.

Will stats be updated (relatively) live?

Yes.

Have any stats been posted yet? If so, I must be looking in the wrong place.

https://www.naqt.com/stats/tournament-t ... nt_id=5699

It looks like Rockford Marshall got off to a nice start, but the relative dearth of powers is going to cost them when they face TH Rogers, Harmony, etc. Ethan must play more aggressively.

EDIT: Added link to live stats

Stats for all 12 prelim rounds are here.

Teams that won at least five prelim games advance to the playoffs tomorrow.

Congratulations to Kealing Middle School (Austin, Texas), who defeated T. H. Rogers School (Houston, Texas) 425-360 in a one-game final to win the 2015 NAQT Middle School National Championship Tournament! River Trail Middle School (Johns Creek, Georgia) finished third; Middlesex Middle School (Darien, Connecticut) claimed fourth.

Complete team and individual stats are now available.

Congratulations to Kealing and their coach Patty Hill! They truly survived the gauntlet - beating the other four top 5 in succession to claim the Championship! I knew Anna, Daniel, Evan, and Ryan were something special when I met them as 6th graders in Chicago, and they gave Mikee, Porter, and the rest of my A team all they could handle!!

I just wanted to say how impressed I was with the depth of the delegations from Georgia and Kentucky. The Georgia group, led by the three River Trail squads, Sutton, Chamblee and North Gwinnett, emphasized the quality of the Peachtree State circuit. So too the Kentucky delegation, led by the top 11 trio of Meyzeek, Noe and Johnson County. It is heartening to watch the quality of the middle school field grow.

Also, a hearty congratulations to our friends from the outstanding Middlesex program, who we have met via camp.

Congratulations to every team that played this year, especially Kealing, Middlesex, and all of the teams from Georgia and Kentucky. It is superb to see how much the quiz bowl program has grown throughout the nation.

Podcasts of selected matches from the 2015 MSNCT are now available on naqt.com.