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 5A
Region 1 #1 Seed Jacksonville Lee (#3) hosts #8 seed Ponte Vedra
Region 1 #2 Seed Tallahassee Rickards (#5) would host #7 seed Jacksonville Westside
Region 1 #3 Seed Fort Walton Choctawhatchee (#7) hosts #6 seed Orange Park
Region 1 #4 Seed St. Augustine hosts #5 seed Lynn Haven Mosley
NOTES: Lee and Rickards have swapped the #1 and #2 spots since our last look. Mosley and Orange Park have done the same with five and six seeds.
Region 2 #1 Seed Sebring hosts #8 seed Zephyrhills
Region 2 #2 Seed Orlando Jones (#10) hosts #7 seed Lake Gibson
Region 2 #3 Seed Land O’Lakes hosts #6 seed Leesburg
Region 2 #4 Seed Rockledge hosts #5 seed Auburndale
NOTES: Orlando Jones has been on a run and jumps into the picture at the #2 spot. Rockledge has jumped from #8 into the #4 position, Leesburg has tumbled to #6 while Lake Gibson comes in at #7 and Zephyrhills slides down one spot to eight.
Region 3 #1 Seed Clearwater (#8) hosts #8 seed Cape Coral Mariner
Region 3 #2 Seed Tampa Blake (#9) hosts #7 seed Gulfport Boca Ciega
Region 3 #3 Seed Naples HS would host #6 seed Bradenton Southeast
Region 3 #4 Seed Port Charlotte would host #5 seed Tampa Jesuit
NOTES: Clearwater moves from #3 to the #1 seed in this forecast, meaning Blake and Naples each slide down one position. Bradenton Southeast takes over the #6 seed. Boca Ciega makes its move into the forecast in the seven seed spot.
Region 4 #1 Seed Pembroke Pines Charter (#2) would host #8 seed Coconut Creek
Region 4 #2 Seed Okeechobee (#4) would host #7 seed Plantation American Heritage
Region 4 #3 Seed Miami Norland would host #6 seed Boyd Anderson (#9)
Region 4 #4 Seed Miami Belen Jesuit would host #5 seed Oakland Park Northeast (#1)
NOTES: This time around, Pines Charter is the one seed while Northeast comes in at five. Norland and Belen Jesuit switch the three and four spots from last time. As it stands now, District 14 sports five of the eight playoff spots, including all four at-large berths. That particular district tournament will make a big impact on how the regional bracket is set up.
March to Madness: Class 6A
Region 1 #1 Seed Tallahassee Lincoln (#7) hosts #8 seed Jacksonville First Coast
Region 1 #2 Seed Catonment Tate would host #7 seed Tallahassee Chiles
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 (#10)
NOTES: The only change from our last forecast is Tally Chiles sliding up to #7 while Jacksonville First Coast moves in at #8. A Mainland/Forest contest would be a district re-match.
Region 2 #1 Seed Bartow (#1) hosts #8 seed Melbourne HS
Region 2 #2 Seed Lakeland Kathleen hosts #7 seed Lakeland HS
Region 2 #3 Seed Tampa Hillsborough hosts #6 seed Lakeland George Jenkins
Region 2 #4 Seed Sebastian River hosts #5 seed Winter Haven
NOTES: Sebastian River moves up from a six seed to a three seed this time around. That move drops Melbourne down to the eighth spot. Kathleen up to a two-seed while Lakeland slides in at the seventh seed.
Region 3 #1 Seed Tarpon Springs East Lake (#4) hosts #8 seed Land O’Lakes Sunlake
Region 3 #2 Seed Seminole hosts #7 seed Fort Myers HS
Region 3 #3 Seed Punta Gorda Charlotte would host #6 seed St. Petersburg
Region 3 #4 Seed Lehigh would host #5 seed Palmetto
NOTES: Lots of movement since the last forecast. Seminole moves into the two-seed while Charlotte and Lehigh take slots three and four respectively. Palmetto moves up to the fifth seed while St. Pete, Fort Myers, and Sunlake all drop but remain in the hunt.
Region 4 #1 Seed Fort Lauderdale Dillard (#2) would host #8 seed McArthur
Region 4 #2 Seed South Miami (#3) would host #7 seed Fort Lauderdale HS
Region 4 #3 Martin County (#9) would host #6 seed Doral Academy (#8)
Region 4 #4 Seed North Miami (#6) would host #5 seed Mater Academy (#5)
NOTES: Martin County and North Miami flip-flopped seeding since our last forecast. Mater up to #5 and Doral to #6 while Fort Lauderdale moved down to #7. McArthur has replaced Hialeah as the eight seed. Ely continues to lurk just one spot out of that final playoff spot.
March to Madness: Class 7A
Region 1 #1 Seed Sanford Seminole (#3) hosts #8 seed Winter Garden West Orange
Region 1 #2 Seed Apopka (#10) would host #7 seed Orlando Evans
Region 1 #3 Seed Oviedo hosts #6 seed Dr. Phillips
Region 1 #4 Seed St. Augustine Nease would host #5 seed Ocoee
NOTES: There has been a bit of movement in this region. Oviedo now occupies the #3 seed while Nease moves down to the four slot. Ocoee and Dr. Phillips have swapped the fifth and sixth seeds. An Apopka/Dr. Phillips contest would be a district re-match. All of the at-large teams are from District Three, so that district tourney will have a major say in who plays where come regionals.
Region 2 #1 Seed Kissimmee Osceola (#7) hosts #8 seed Orlando Lake Nona
Region 2 #2 Seed Orlando Oakridge would host #7 seed Tampa Riverview
Region 2 #3 Seed Bradenton Lakewood Ranch hosts #6 seed Sarasota Riverview
Region 2 #4 Seed Tampa Wharton hosts #5 seed Windermere
NOTES: Osceola moves into the top spot while Oakridge drops down to the two-seed. Lakewood Ranch moves all the way from and eight to a three while Wharton comes in a the four seed. Windermere and Sarasota Riverview move into the picture as at-large bids. A Lakewood Ranch/Sarasota Riverview contest would be a district re-match.
Region 3 #1 Seed West Palm Beach Forest Hill (#1) hosts #8 seed Palm Beach Central
Region 3 #2 Seed Palm Beach Gardens Dwyer (#2) hosts #7 seed Lake Worth Santaluces
Region 3 #3 Seed Lake Worth Park Vista would host #6 seed Coral Springs Taravella
Region 3 #4 Deerfield Beach HS would host #5 seed Wellington (#10)
NOTES: Deerfield Beach and Park Vista swap the three and four seeds in this rendition of Bracketology. Taravella moves up to the sixth seed while Santaluces and Palm Beach Central take the seven and eight seeds respectively. A Forest Hill/Central contest would be a district re-match.
Region 4 #1 Seed Miramar (#6) would host #8 seed Weston Cypress Bay
Region 4 #2 Seed Coral Gables (#5) would host #7 seed Miami Christopher Columbus
Region 4 #3 Seed Davie Western would host #6 seed Miami Dr. Krop
Region 4 #4 Seed Miami Palmetto would host #5 seed Miami Coral Park (#4)
NOTES: Davie Western moves into the #3 position while Columbus takes up residence as a seven seed and Cypress Bay becomes the eighth seed. A Coral Gables/Columbus game would be a district re-match.