2025-26 NATIONAL FINAL
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
D1 TOURNAMENT FORMAT
1. Division I Group Stage
Composition of Groups A and B.
The top two teams from the North Regional Qualifier and the top two teams from the South Regional Qualifier shall advance to the National Elite 8. These four teams shall be assigned to Group A and Group B, with each group comprising one first-place team and one second-place team from opposite regions.
Opening Matchups.
Each regional first-place team shall compete against the second-place team from the opposing region (e.g., North 1 vs. South 2; South 1 vs. North 2).
Determination of Group Rankings.
The opening matchups are conducted to establish competitive balance and determine second-round opponents.
The winner of each opening match shall determine the group (Group A or Group B), and the losing team shall enter the winner’s group.
Final group rankings (A1, A2 and B1, B2) shall be determined solely based on the results of the second game.
2. Composition of Groups C and D
Assignment of Remaining Teams.
The six remaining teams that register for the National Championship shall be assigned to Group C and Group D, with three teams in each group.
Group Play and Advancement.
Teams shall compete in round-robin play within their respective groups. The top two teams from each group shall advance to the National Elite 8 as C1, C2 and D1, D2.
3. National Championship Knockout Stage
Determination of Cross-Group Pairings. Upon completion of all group play, a coin toss shall determine the pairing structure for the quarterfinals.
If the coin lands heads, the matchups shall be:
Group A vs. Group C ( A1 vs C2, C1 vs A2)
Group B vs. Group D ( B1 vs D2, D1 vs B2)
If the coin lands tails, the matchups shall be:
Group A vs. Group D ( A1 vs D2, D1 vs A2)
Group B vs. Group C ( B1 vs C2, C1 vs B2)
Quarterfinal winners shall advance to the semi-final round. Semi-final winners shall advance to the National Championship Game, which shall determine the overall champion.
5-8 RANKING:
Teams defeated in the Quarterfinals shall advance to the 5–8 classification bracket.
Quarterfinal losers will compete against the opposing Quarterfinal loser within the same bracket, following the same advancement format as the 1–4 bracket to determine final placements.
D2 TOURNAMENT FORMAT
1. Division II Group Stage
The opening matchups are conducted to establish competitive balance and determine second-round opponents.
Division II teams shall be randomly drawn into Group E and Group F, with two teams in each group.
Teams shall first compete within their assigned groups to determine a group winner and a group loser.
Following the opening matches, the losing team from each group shall enter the opposite group and compete against that group’s winning team to determine final group placement.
Final group rankings (E1, E2 and F1, F2) shall be determined solely based on the results of the second-round matches.
2. Division I Drop-Down Matches
The two Division I teams that do not advance to the National Elite 8 shall enter Division II.
Each Division I team shall compete against a Division II second-place team:
C3 vs E2
D3 vs F2
Winners shall be designated as the final E2 and F2.
Losers shall compete to determine 5th and 6th place.
3. Division II Knockout Stage
Semifinals:
E1 vs F2
F1 vs E2
Placement Matches
Winners advance to the 1st / 2nd place game
Losers compete for 3rd / 4th place
Final Division II rankings shall be determined as 1st through 6th place.
4. Division I and Division II Injury Exception
A player may only roster and participate on one division (Division I or Division II) per tournament.
Exception – Injury Replacement:
If a Division I player is unable to continue participating in the tournament due to injury or personal circumstances and will not return, a player from the Division II team of the same school may be added to the Division I roster for the remainder of the Division I games.
The substitute player remains eligible to participate in Division II games.
Conditions:
Both Division I and Division II teams must represent the same school.
The substitute player must meet the school eligibility requirements.
The injured Division I player may not return to play in the tournament.
SEEDING AND BRACKETING
She Got Buckets Chinese Women’s College Basketball League (“SGB College League”) includes two phases: conference tournaments and the national finals.
At the national final, the seed teams will be selected based on the results from the conference tournaments and previous competitions. We aim to use a more reasonable group division method instead of past random draws to enhance the competition experience for all teams.
The number of seed teams will be determined based on the number of teams registered for the finals. For example, if 12 teams are registered, it is expected to be divided into 4 groups, with the 1st to 4th ranked in points as the first-tier seeds, the 5th to 8th as the second-tier seeds, and the 9th to 12th as the last-tier seeds.
Seeds in the same group will be randomly drawn and assigned to groups. For instance, the four first-tier seed teams will be randomly assigned to four different groups through a draw, and the teams from the second and last tiers will also be drawn and assigned to groups respectively. The ultimate goal is for each group to consist of one team from the first, second, and last tiers, thereby avoiding the creation of "groups of death" and enhancing the competition experience!
We welcome everyone to sign up for the divisional games/finals, start your team's first battle, and join in the joy of basketball!