Another thing, the Bobcats snapped EN's 42-game in section win streak. Pretty impressive.
I'd imagine Paradise might be in line for an at-large birth? They certainly aren't the first to play a freelance schedule. Admittedly IDK what the NS rules are for that sort of thing.
NS rules are a little different. That's why EN was a #3 seed last year, undefeated, and beat a team that the #1 seed lost to.
Playoff points are based upon 3 separate but equal portions: Overall record, League Record & Finish, and SOS.
Overall record points are awarded by multiplying the record by 10. 9-1 = .900 X 10 = 9 points
League Record is the same as above. 4-1 = .800 X 10 = 8
League Finish is 10 points for 1st, 8 for 2nd, 6 for 3rd.
Add both together and divide by 2. 8+8=16 /2 = 8
SOS is where it gets tricky based upon opponents division and win/loss record. If opponent is in the same division you get .75 per the number of games won if you win, 0 of you lose. If opponent is 1 division higher than you, you get 1.0 per the number of wins if you win, and .25 if you lose. If they are 2 divisions higher than you, you get 1.25 if you win, and .50 if you lose. If they are 1 division lower than you, you get .25 if you win and 0 if you lose. 2 divisions down gets you 0 points win or lose. And if you are placed in a league where everyone else is a lower division than you, if you win league you get .50 if you win instead of .25. So if Paradise goes 10-0, EN will get .25 X 10 = 2.5 points. Then divide that # by 2 and you get your SOS points. It gets tricky when you play OOS teams, because you can never be really sure how the Section will determine the multiplier.
Add all 3 together and that's how you get the points. Seeds can be flipped if head to head matchups from regular season were played and the difference in points is around 1 point, but can never be seeded outside of league finish.
So League record and finish are very important to determine the playoff points, so with Paradise being independent I have not heard how their points will be tabulated.