With the FHSAA revising their playoffs format this coming season to involve Max Preps rankings, now is a good time to forecast what the regional playoffs would look like if the season were to have ended December 31, 2019. Consider this exercise like that of the first “BCS Playoff Rankings” of the year.
For our purposes, it is assumed the highest-rated team in each district is the district winner. From there, the top-rated teams in each region that did not win their district get pulled into the playoffs as the visiting team, regardless of whether it is a re-match of the district final.
We also included notes on each region based on the current FABC-Source Hoops Rankings and MaxPreps.
March to Madness: Class 4A
Region 1 #1 Seed Jacksonville Paxon hosts #8 seed Panama City Bay
Region 1 #2 Seed Tallahassee Godby hosts #7 seed Pensacola HS
Region 1 #3 Seed Panama City Rutherford hosts #6 seed Jacksonville Bishop Kenny
Region 1 #4 Seed Palatka hosts #5 seed Marianna
NOTES: A potent bracket featuring #2 Paxon, perennial playoff teams Godby and Rutherford and #10 Bishop Kenny. Not only is the bracket potent, it is very evenly balanced in terms of Max Prep’s ratings. This could be the most intriguing region regardless of classification.
Region 2 #1 Seed Orlando Lake Highland Prep hosts #8 seed Crystal River
Region 2 #2 Seed The Villages Charter hosts #7 seed Alachua Santa Fe
Region 2 #3 Seed Starke Bradford hosts #6 seed Brooksville Central
Region 2 #4 Seed Anclote hosts #5 seed Eustis
NOTES: Lake Highland Prep (#7), The Villages (#9) and Anclote (#10) are the state-ranked teams. It should be noted at 12/31/19, Eustis had a higher rating than Anclote but would have to face them on the road as Lake Highland Prep has the higher rating in that district. Given Lake Highland Prep’s youth and Anclote’s playoff inexperience, this may be a wide-open region.
Region 3 #1 Seed St. Petersburg Lakewood hosts #8 seed Titusville
Region 3 #2 Seed Titusville Astronaut hosts #7 seed St. Petersburg Gibbs
Region 3 #3 Seed Fort Pierce Lincoln Park would host #6 seed Cocoa HS
Region 3 #4 Seed Avon Park would host #5 seed Tampa Catholic
NOTES: Only Lakewood (#4) and Tampa Catholic (#6) are ranked in this region and should meet in the semi-finals. That winner should be the region rep in Lakeland barring the biggest upset in the playoffs.
Region 4 #1 Seed University School would host #8 seed Pembroke Pines Somerset Academy
Region 4 #2 Seed Miami Gulliver Prep would host #7 seed Hialeah Mater Lakes
Region 4 #3 Seed Fort Lauderdale Pine Crest would host #6 seed Hallandale
Region 4 #4 Seed Miami Springs would host #5 seed Fort Lauderdale Stranahan
NOTES: U-School (#1), Pine Crest (#3), Stranahan (#5), and Gulliver Prep (#8) make up a fearsome foursome at this end of the bracket. Should all four ranked teams or even Hallandale advance, it should set up some epic clashes in the semis and final.
March to Madness: Class 5A
Region 1 #1 Seed Tallahassee Rickards hosts #8 seed Ponte Vedra
Region 1 #2 Seed Jacksonville Lee would host #7 seed Jacksonville Westside
Region 1 #3 Seed Fort Walton Choctawhatchee hosts #6 seed Lynn Haven Mosley
Region 1 #4 Seed St. Augustine hosts #5 seed Orange Park
NOTES: Rickards (#1), Lee (#3) and Choctaw (#7) are the ranked teams in this part of the bracket. A possible Duval County vs Leon County matchup would be reminiscent of the old days.
Region 2 #1 Seed Sebring hosts #8 seed Rockledge
Region 2 #2 Seed Leesburg hosts #7 seed Zephyrhills
Region 2 #3 Seed Land O’Lakes hosts #6 seed Spring Hill Springstead
Region 2 #4 Seed Melbourne Palm Bay hosts #5 seed Auburndale
NOTES: #7 Sebring (MaxPreps) and Auburndale (#10) are the only two teams currently in a top ten. That being the case, Leesburg will likely get into the polls sooner rather than later and could become a favorite out of this region.
Region 3 #1 Seed Tampa Blake hosts #8 seed Naples Barron Collier
Region 3 #2 Seed Naples HS hosts #7 seed Cape Coral Mariner
Region 3 #3 Seed Clearwater HS would host #6 seed Clearwater Countryside
Region 3 #4 Seed Port Charlotte would host #5 seed Tampa Jesuit
NOTES: Only Blake (#8) and Clearwater (#9) are ranked in this region. Naples may be young, but they have some talent and it won’t surprise if they pull an upset or two.
Region 4 #1 Seed Oakland Park Northeast would host #8 seed Riviera Beach Suncoast
Region 4 #2 Seed Okeechobee would host #7 seed Plantation American Heritage
Region 4 #3 Seed Miami Belen Jesuit would host #6 seed Boyd Anderson
Region 4 #4 Seed Miami Norland would host #5 seed Pembroke Pines Charter
NOTES: OMG, is this a monster of a region! Northeast (#2), Pines Charter (#4), Belen Jesuit (#5), Okeechobee (#6) and Boyd Anderson #10) are all state ranked and on any given night, one could beat another. If this bracket comes to pass, it will also be a good reason for the FHSAA change as Northeast, Pines Charter and Boyd Anderson are in the same district.
March to Madness: Class 6A
Region 1 #1 Seed Tallahassee Lincoln hosts #8 seed Tallahassee Chiles
Region 1 #2 Seed Catonment Tate would host #7 seed Gainesville HS
Region 1 #3 Seed Daytona Beach Mainland hosts #6 seed Ocala Forest
Region 1 #4 Seed Fleming Island would host #5 seed Lake City Columbia
NOTES: Not a lot of buzz here as only #7 Tate (MaxPreps) is considered a top ten team. Also, there are a lot of district rematches and some “re-seeding” could be in the works.
Region 2 #1 Seed Bartow hosts #8 seed Orlando Edgewater
Region 2 #2 Seed Lakeland George Jenkins hosts #7 seed Lakeland Kathleen
Region 2 #3 Seed Melbourne hosts #6 seed Sebastian River
Region 2 #4 Seed Tampa Hillsborough hosts #5 seed Winter Haven
NOTES: Bartow (#2) and Winter Haven (#6 in Max Preps) are the only two ranked teams in this region. Bartow, Edgewater, and Winter Haven all come from the same district. Melbourne is a team to keep an eye on.
Region 3 #1 Seed Tarpon Springs East Lake hosts #8 seed Palmetto
Region 3 #2 Seed Punta Gorda Charlotte hosts #7 seed Pinellas Seminole
Region 3 #3 Seed St. Petersburg HS would host #6 seed Fort Myers HS
Region 3 #4 Seed Naples Palmetto Ridge would host #5 seed Land O’Lakes Sunlake
NOTES: East Lake (#3) and Charlotte (#9) are the powers in the region and seeded where we expected them to be at the beginning of the season. Expect a run by Fort Myers regardless of their seeding once junior guard Javion McCollum returns from injury. The Max Prep’s ratings for the “at-large” teams in this region are separated by just .3 of a point.
Region 4 #1 Seed Fort Lauderdale Dillard would host #8 seed Hialeah HS
Region 4 #2 Seed South Miami would host #7 seed Doral Academy
Region 4 #3 Seed North Miami would host #6 seed Hialeah Mater Academy
Region 4 #4 Seed Martin County would host #5 seed Fort Lauderdale HS
NOTES: Hope my cloning machine gets back from the shop before these games tip off! #1 South Miami, #4 Dillard, #7 North Miami, #8 Fort Lauderdale, and #10 Martin County have half of the top ten teams in the classification vying to survive and advance to Lakeland. These games are priority viewing every step of the way.
March to Madness: Class 7A
Region 1 #1 Seed Sanford Seminole hosts #8 seed Winter Garden West Orange
Region 1 #2 Seed Apopka would host #7 seed Orlando Evans
Region 1 #3 Seed Ponte Vedra Nease hosts #6 seed Ocoee
Region 1 #4 Seed Orlando Timber Creek would host #5 seed Orlando Dr. Phillips
NOTES: Seminole (#3) and Apopka (#9) are the favorites but you must keep an eye on the others who are more than capable of advancing.
Region 2 #1 Seed Orlando Oak Ridge hosts #8 seed Bradenton Lakewood Ranch
Region 2 #2 Seed Kissimmee Osceola would host #7 seed Tampa Sickles
Region 2 #3 Seed Tampa Wharton hosts #6 seed Orlando Boone
Region 2 #4 Seed Tampa Riverview hosts #5 seed Orlando Lake Nona
NOTES: Oakridge is the only consensus ranked team in this region while Max Preps is far higher on Wharton that we currently are. Lots of “new blood” in this projected bracket with the likes of Riverview, Lake Nona, and Boone. Should that Oak Ridge/Lakewood Ranch game come to fruition, that could be a very intriguing game. Lakewood Ranch plays a style that drives Oak Ridge nuts.
Region 3 #1 Seed West Palm Beach Forest Hill hosts #8 seed Coral Springs Taravella
Region 3 #2 Seed Palm Beach Gardens Dwyer hosts #7 seed Palm Beach Lakes
Region 3 #3 Seed Deerfield Beach HS would host #6 seed Jupiter HS
Region 3 #4 Seed Lake Worth Park Vista would host #5 seed Wellington
NOTES: Forest Hill (#4) and Dwyer (#6) are “the big dawgs” here, with Deerfield Beach and Jupiter considered #10 in different polls. Wellington has dominated this region the past few years and it wouldn’t surprise if they make it out alive once again.
Region 4 #1 Seed Miramar would host #8 seed Naples Gulf Coast
Region 4 #2 Seed Coral Gables would host #7 seed Davie Western
Region 4 #3 Seed Weston Cypress Bay would host #6 seed Miami Dr. Krop
Region 4 #4 Seed Miami Palmetto would host #5 seed Miami Coral Park
NOTES: Another loaded South Florida bracket! Miramar (#2), Coral Gables (#5) and Coral Park (#8), are deserving of their top ten status. Miami Palmetto, Cypress Bay, and Dr. Krop have the capability of beating anyone at any time. There should be several exciting and entertaining games in this regional playoff!
