With the Florida Association of Basketball Coaches/Source Hoops Rankings having come out on Tuesday and the update of the Max Preps Power Rankings on Wednesday, now is a good time to “project” the playoff picture in Boys’ High School Hoops.
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, whether or not it is a re-match of the district final. The numbers in parenthesis represent the team’s ranking in the latest state poll.
March to Madness: Class 1A
Region 1: #1 seed Graceville would play #4 seed Holmes County
Region 1: #2 seed Paxon would play #3 see Milton Central
Notes: Graceville has over-taken Paxon for the top seed in this region since our first bracket forecast at the end of the 2019. Both games would be district re-matches.
Region 2: #1 seed Malone (#5) would host #4 seed Port St. Joe
Region 2: #2 seed Quincy Crossroad Academy (#4) would host #3 Franklin County
Notes: Malone has risen up to grab the top spot from Crossroad Academy. As of now, both at-large bids got to teams in District Four, but Vernon in District Three sits one ranking spot out of the #4 seed.
Region 3: #1 seed Hilliard (#3) would host #4 seed Bell
Region 3: #2 seed Madison County (#5) would face #3 seed Trenton
Notes: Hilliard and Bell would be a District Six re-match. Both Bell and Trenton are out of District and will likely swap seeding positions at least one more time before all is said and done.
Region 4: #1 seed Wildwood (#1) would host #4 seed Pahokee
Region 4: #2 seed Hawthorne (#2) would host #3 seed Williston
Notes: Both of these games would be district re-matches. It’s a shame that the #1 and #2 teams in this classification are scheduled to meet so early in the tournament. Maybe the FHSAA should make the 1A tournament a 16 team event, seed the district winners and at-large team’s appropriately and go from there.
March to Madness: Class 2A
Region 1 #1 Seed Jacksonville Impact Christian (#3) hosts #8 seed Tallahassee FAMU
Region 1 #2 Seed Tally St. John Paul II (#10) hosts #7 seed Jacksonville Seacoast Christian
Region 1 #3 Seed Gainesville St. Francis hosts #6 seed Jacksonville Beaches Chapel
Region 1 #4 Seed Jacksonville University Christian hosts #5 seed Jax North Florida Educational (#4)
NOTES: Because NFEI finishes second in district to Impact Christian, it is given the highest at-large seed, even though it is ranked #6 in the state. Three of the four at-large teams come from District Four (NFEI, Beaches Chapel, & Seacoast Christian). St. Francis has made quite a leap from out of the picture to a three seed.
Region 2 #1 Seed Naples First Baptist (#8) hosts #8 seed Port Charlotte Community Christian
Region 2 #2 Seed Tampa Universal Academy hosts #7 seed Tampa Cambridge Academy
Region 2 #3 Seed Tampa Bayshore Christian hosts #6 seed Fort Myers SWFL Christian
Region 2 #4 Seed Zephyrhills Christian hosts #5 seed Fort Myers Evangelical Christian
NOTES: A Universal Academy/Cambridge game would be a district re-match. Evangelical Christian and SWFL Christian are both out of District Eight.
Region 3 #1 Seed Orlando Christian Prep (#1) hosts #8 seed Leesburg-First Academy
Region 3 #2 Seed Orlando Central Florida Prep (#5) hosts #7 seed Orlando Faith Christian
Region 3 #3 Seed Lake Mary Prep would host #6 seed Lakeland Victory Christian (#10)
Region 3 #4 Seed Vero Beach St. Edwards would host #5 seed Mount Dora Christian (#6)
NOTES: Both Mount Dora Christian (#6) and Lakeland Victory Christian (#10) would be put on the road as they did not “win” their district but are the two highest-rated non-district winners in the region. Districts 10 (CFCA, Mount Dora Christian, First Academy-Leesburg) and 11 (OCP, Victory, Faith) fill six of the eight playoff spots.
Region 4 #1 Seed Miami Schoolhouse Prep (#2) would host #8 seed Somerset Academy Key
Region 4 #2 Seed Boca Raton Grandview Prep (#7) would host #7 seed Avant Garde Academy
Region 4 #3 Seed Hialeah Champagnat (#9) would host #6 seed Miami Christian
Region 4 #4 Seed Lake Worth Christian would host #5 seed Delray Beach Village Academy
NOTES: Schoolhouse Prep and Grandview Prep have swapped spots in the #1 and #2 positions. Likewise, #7 seed Avant Garde Academy and Somerset Academy Key have displaced Pompano Beach Highlands Christian and Miami Beach Hebrew Academy respectively in the #7 and #8 spots at this time.
March to Madness: Class 3A
Region 1 #1 Seed Jacksonville Andrew Jackson (#1) hosts #8 seed Tallahassee Maclay
Region 1 #2 Seed Windermere Prep (#10) hosts #7 seed Orlando The First Academy
Region 1 #3 Seed Tallahassee Florida High (#8) hosts #6 seed Jacksonville Providence (#8)
Region 1 #4 Seed Gainesville P.K. Yonge hosts #5 seed Oviedo The Master’s Academy (#6)
NOTES: All four at-large teams currently have a higher rating than projected District Three champ P.K. Yonge. Master’s Academy, having finished 2-1 at the Montverde Academy Invitational, has swapped seeding with Providence at this stage. A Windermere Prep/Orlando The First Academy contest would be a district re-match.
Region 2 #1 Seed Community School of Naples hosts #8 seed Clearwater Central Catholic
Region 2 #2 Seed Tampa Berkeley Prep hosts #7 seed Seffner Christian
Region 2 #3 Seed Bradenton Christian hosts #6 seed Fort Myers Canterbury
Region 2 #4 Seed Clearwater Calvary Christian hosts #5 seed Tampa Prep
NOTES: There has been quite a bit of shuffling in this region since our last projection. If these seeds hold, Berkeley Prep/Seffner Christian would be a district re-match. Sadly, there are no ranked schools in this region.
Region 3 #1 Seed Lakeland Santa Fe Catholic (#1) hosts #8 seed Jupiter Christian
Region 3 #2 Seed Fort Lauderdale Westminster Academy (#7) hosts #7 seed West Palm Beach Cardinal Newman
Region 3 #3 Seed Boca Raton St. Andrew’s (#4) would host #6 seed Weston Sagemont
Region 3 #4 Seed Melbourne Holy Trinity would host #5 seed Fort Lauderdale Calvary Christian (#3)
NOTES: Jupiter Christian has moved into the #8 position since our last forecast while Melbourne Holy Trinity takes over the #4 seed. Calvary Christian and Sagemont have swapped the five and six spots. St. Andrew’s and Westminster Academy also exchanged seedings. This isn’t surprising given the number of quality teams in the region. Four of the top five teams in the classification are in this region while Districts 11 & 12 have a stranglehold on the at-large spots.
Region 4 #1 Seed Hollywood Chaminade (#5) would host #8 seed Miami Country Day
Region 4 #2 Seed Miami Riviera Prep (#9) would host #7 seed Somerset Academy Silver Palms
Region 4 #3 Seed Miami Westminster Christian (#9) would host #6 seed Miami Ransom Everglades
Region 4 #4 Seed Doral Divine Saviour would host #5 seed Miami Florida Christian
NOTES: Westminster Christian drops to a three seed this time around. Doral Divine Savior has moved up from #7 to a #4 seed in the latest projection. Florida Christian and Ransom Everglades swapped the fifth and sixth seeds since that time.
March to Madness: Class 4A
Region 1 #1 Seed Jacksonville Paxon (#4) hosts #8 seed Jacksonville Bolles
Region 1 #2 Seed Jacksonville Bishop Kenney (#8) would host #7 seed Panama City Rutherford
Region 1 #3 Seed Marianna hosts #6 seed Palatka
Region 1 #4 Seed Pensacola HS hosts #5 seed Gadsden County
NOTES: Pensacola makes its first appearance in bracketology. Tallahassee Godby sits three spots out of the eighth seed in the region.
Region 2 #1 Seed Orlando Lake Highland Prep (#9) hosts #8 seed Wesley Chapel
Region 2 #2 Seed The Villages Charter (#9) hosts #7 seed Starke Bradford
Region 2 #3 Seed Anclote (#10) hosts #6 seed Gainesville Eastside
Region 2 #4 Seed Alachua Santa Fe hosts #5 seed Eustis
NOTES: District rivals Alachua Santa Fe and Starke Bradford have pretty much swapped spots. Alachua Santa Fe now comes in as the #4 seed while Bradford drops to the seven spot. Gainesville Eastside has risen to the sixth seed while Wesley Chapel comes in at the #8 seed.
Region 3 #1 Seed Tampa Catholic (#6) hosts #8 seed Cocoa
Region 3 #2 Seed Titusville Astronaut hosts #7 seed St. Petersburg Gibbs
Region 3 #3 Seed Avon Park would host #6 seed Sarasota Booker
Region 3 #4 Seed Riviera Beach Inlet Grove would host #5 seed St. Pete Lakewood
NOTES: To no one’s surprise, Tampa Catholic and St. Pete Lakewood have swapped the #1 and #5 seeds since our last forecast. They don’t play during the regular season, so the presumptive winner of that district tournament will most likely get the overall one seed for this region. Avon Park has moved up to the three seed while Riviera Beach Inlet Grove has usurped the fourth seed. Booker from Sarasota slides in at six, while Gibbs out of St. Pete stays at seven and Cocoa grabs the eighth and final spot. Three of the four at-large teams come from District 10 (Lakewood, Booker, Gibbs). Of note three of the at-large teams currently have a higher rating than the projected District 11 (Avon Park) and District 12 (Inlet Grove) winners.
Region 4 #1 Seed University School (#1) would host #8 seed Mater Lakes Academy
Region 4 #2 Seed Fort Lauderdale Pine Crest (#3) would host #7 seed North Broward Prep
Region 4 #3 Seed Miami Gulliver Prep would host #6 seed Hallandale
Region 4 #4 Seed Miami Springs would host #5 seed Fort Lauderdale Stranahan (#4)
NOTES: Gulliver Prep and Pine Crest have swapped the two and three seeds since our last forecast. North Broward Prep jumps into the foray at #7 while Mater Lakes drops one spot to #7. A U-School/Mater Lakes and Pine Crest/North Broward Prep clash would be a district re-match. Three of the four projected at-large spots currently reside in District 14 (Stranahan, Hallandale, Mater Lakes).
