they are tied for first or tied for second technically. If you are "third" you don't say you are second.
Standings usually go like this
1 10-0
1 10-0
3 8-2
3 8-2
Also say for example you award $$$ for first and second. Your prize pool is $500. $300 for first $200 for second.
If 2 teams/players tie (like golf for example and there is no tiebreaker) You can't both give guys $300, you only have $500.
This can be applied to points.
1st place is 10 points
2nd is 9
3rd is 8.
So 2 teams tied for first 9.5 seems correct to me.
just my .02
Well, no, they are tied for 1st. They are not tied for 2nd, there is no second.But look, I understand exactly what you're saying, and I completely understand the reasoning behind it. And if it was something finite, like money, as opposed to "made up points", yeah, splitting it would be best since you can't just manufacture the extra money (at least that's what the Secret Service agents keep telling me when I try to buy the ink they use in $20 bills).
I'm just saying that when this situation comes up in sports, it generally is not handled by averaging the points over the positions and giving the average.