Basketball tournament seedings set as postseason brackets take shape

The first round of brackets was set this past weekend as the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s RPI scores ranked teams throughout the state and coaches placed themselves on brackets with tournament play just a week or so away.

Girls teams in Divisions III-VII saw their postseason seedings finalized by the state, which uses MaxPreps.com’s RPI, or Ratings Percentage Index, to seed teams. The formula began last year and eliminated seeding meetings and voting.

Highland’s girls were ranked No. 2 out of 48 Northeast Ohio teams in Division III. At 19-2, the Hornets were behind only 15-5 Lyndhurst Brush.

The Hornets, who will play in District 5 (Wooster/Triway), will kick off their postseason at 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14, at home against Cleveland Garrett Morgan (2-6). The winner will play at 7 p.m. Feb. 25 against either No. 30 CVCA (5-14) or No. 29 Westlake (6-14), who play Feb. 21.

Cloverleaf, at 16-4 overall, earned the 10th seed among 37 Division IV teams in Northeast Ohio. The Colts will play in Northeast District 2 (Lordstown) and face No. 30 Ravenna (4-16) in a 7 p.m. sectional game at home Feb. 19. The winner will play at 7 p.m. Feb. 24 against either No. 9 Streetsboro (13-6) or No. 31 Pepper Pike Orange (4-13). The Colts lost 56-48 to Streetsboro on Jan. 6 but beat the Rockets 50-48 on Feb. 4.

Buckeye, at 6-12, was seeded 25th and placed in District 5 (Macedonia/Nordonia). The Bucks will play at No. 23 Hubbard at 7 p.m. Feb. 19. The winner will play at 7 p.m. Feb. 24 at Cleveland Heights Lutheran East (8-5), the No. 8 seed.

Games on Feb. 24 are district semifinals in the smaller divisions, with district finals set for Feb. 28 at neutral sites.

The new format is not popular with everyone. Cloverleaf coach John Carmigiano sees positives and slight negatives with the system.

“The tournament seeding and draws have definitely changed a lot over the years,” he said. “I do like having some choice in the super-districts because it allows for the correction of having too many loaded teams in one place. You can spread some of the talented teams out.

“However, I miss the rivalries that had formed when you met with the same coaches and teams each year for the draw. We used to go out to breakfast with all the coaches in the district and discuss all the teams, and then head over for the draw. It was a big event and a big deal. Now, it is hard to know who half the teams and coaches even are with over 37 teams at the draw.”

Seedings for big-school girls teams will be announced this weekend. Medina’s girls were ranked No. 10 among 18 Northeast Ohio teams in Division I. The Bees were 12-9 with three regular-season games left.

Boys

In boys basketball, brackets for Divisions III-VII will be completed Feb. 15, with Divisions I and II to be set Feb. 22.

Locally, Medina’s boys were ranked No. 10 among 18 Northeast Ohio Division I teams. The Bees were 10-7 with five regular-season games remaining.

In Division II, Highland’s boys were ranked No. 4 among 33 Northeast Ohio teams. The Hornets were 14-4 with four games to play.

Buckeye was 11-7 with four games left and ranked No. 22 out of 51 Northeast Ohio teams in Division III. In Division IV, Cloverleaf was 16th among 35 Northeast Ohio teams. The Colts were 9-7 with more than a quarter of the regular season remaining.

Medina Christian, looking to surprise some teams in the postseason, was 9-8 with five games left. The Knights were ranked No. 7 out of 26 schools in Division VII.