Boys
The WPIAL has always kept teams from the same section away from each other in the first round of the basketball playoffs. But with so many teams receiving byes this season, and with six classifications, it is almost impossible to keep teams from the same section away from each other in the quarterfinals.
Here is a look at the brackets for each classification. In a few instances, teams from the same section face the possibility of meeting in the quarterfinals. Trying to tinker with the brackets and avoid those matchups can sometimes make the seedings and matchups unfair.
The playoffs begin Friday. So it’s time to play WPIAL basketball bracketology.
CLASS 6A
Byes: Pine-Richland, Mt. Lebanon, Latrobe, Fox Chapel
Matchups: Peters Township (8) vs. North Allegheny (9), winner to play Pine-Richland (1); Upper St. Clair (5) vs. Connellsville (12), winner to play Fox Chapel (4); Butler (6) vs. Penn-Trafford (11), winner to play Latrobe (3); Canon-McMillan (7) vs. Seneca Valley (10), winner to play Mt. Lebanon (2).
The scoop: It seemed there was a lot of debate about what to do with Latrobe, but that was before Fox Chapel beat Upper St. Clair in a non-section game this past Friday. Latrobe could be either a 2 or 3 seed, but that doesn’t really matter because 2 and 3 are on the same side of the brackets. The thought here was to put Latrobe at 3. … The other big question in this classification was what to do with Upper St. Clair? The Panthers have a nice record at 19-3 and own victories against Pine-Richland, Mt. Lebanon and City League member Allderdice. But you can’t ignore the loss to Fox Chapel a few days ago. Really, the only difference between a 4 and a 5 seed is a bye. But Upper St. Clair gets Connellsville anyway and will be a heavy favorite to advance. … I wouldn’t put Seneca Valley ahead of Penn-Trafford. But if Butler is indeed the No. 6 seed, you don’t want to have Seneca Valley at No. 11 because that would mean two teams from the same section meeting in the first round. So Seneca Valley got bumped to No. 10 and PennTrafford to No. 11.
CLASS 5A
Byes: Mars, Moon, Penn Hills.
Matchups: Montour (8) vs. Shaler (9), winner to play Mars (1); Chartiers Valley (4) vs. Albert Gallatin (13); Woodland Hills (5) vs. West Allegheny (12); Franklin Regional (6) vs. Thomas Jefferson (11), winner to play Penn Hills (3); McKeesport (7) vs. Hampton (10), winner to play Moon (2).
The scoop: We could debate who should be the No. seed — Moon or Penn Hills? But 2 and 3 really don’t matter much because they end up on the same side of the bracket. The same with Chartiers Valley and Woodland Hills at 4 and 5. … This is one of the brackets where it was nearly impossible to keep section teams away from each other in the quarterfinals. So, Mars is the No. 1 seed and will face the winner of Montour vs. Shaler. Mars and Shaler are in the same section, but so what?
CLASS 4A
Byes: New Castle, Ambridge, Quaker Valley.
Matchups: Ringgold (8) vs. Derry (9), winner to play New Castle (1); Uniontown (4) vs. Beaver (13); Highlands (5) vs. Belle Vernon (12); Knoch (6) vs. South Park (11), winner to play Quaker Valley (3); Blackhawk (7) vs. Freeport (10), winner to play Ambridge (2).
The scoop: Uniontown is a section champ and gets the No. 4 seed. That might surprise some people. The three teams ahead of Uniontown in the seedings (New Castle, Ambridge and Quaker Valley) all come from the same section. But the teams from Uniontown’s section aren’t strong and that section has done little or next to nothing in the playoffs the past few years, although Belle Vernon did reach the semifinals a year ago. New Castle and Quaker Valley might not be as strong as the past two years when they met for the WPIAL title. But their section is still by far the best in this classification and no other section is even close. That has to mean something. For Uniontown, it’s a case of “show me.” The Raiders’ record is nice at 17-3 and they are certainly good. But how good?
CLASS 3A
Byes: None because of a 16-team field.
Matchups: Lincoln Park (1) vs. Southmoreland (16); Steel Valley (8) vs. McGuffey (9); Washington (5) vs. Beaver Falls (12); Seton LaSalle (4) vs. Valley (13); North Catholic (3) vs. Shady Side Academy (14); Neshannock (6) vs. Keystone Oaks (11); Deer Lakes (7) vs. Charleroi (10); Aliquippa (2) vs. Avonworth (15).
The scoop: Should Aliquippa get the 2 seed, or drop to 4 behind North Catholic and Seton LaSalle? After all, North Catholic and Seton LaSalle tied for a section title and split two meetings. But Aliquippa beat Lincoln Park and almost beat the Leopards twice. Putting the Quips at 2 means Lincoln Park and Aliquippa are on opposite sides of the bracket. North Catholic and Seton LaSalle are on opposite sides of the bracket also. The bottom four seeds also were a little hard to figure. You could almost pull a few names out of the hat for those spots. But in this bracket, Southmoreland gets the last spot.
CLASS 2A
Byes: Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Serra, Sewickley Academy and Winchester Thurston.
Matchups: Sto-Rox (8) vs. California (9), winner to play Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (1); Jeannette (5) vs. Springdale (12), winner to play WInchester Thurston (4); South Side Beaver (6) vs. Brentwood (11), winner to play Sewickley Academy (3); Shenango (7) vs. Summit Academy (10), winner to play Serra (2).
The scoop: Sewickley Academy certainly isn’t the same team without Nate Ridgeway, a senior who left the team a few weeks ago. But Sewickley Academy proved it is still a team to watch by beating Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, even though OLSH played without injured point guard Dante Spadafora. Some might be surprised at a No. 7 seed for Shenango, a fourth-place team in Section 3. But Shenango has played well lately and owns a victory at Sewickley Academy.
CLASS 1A
Byes: VIncentian, Cornell, Nazareth Prep, Monessen.
Matchups: Bishop Canevin (8) vs. Leechburg (9), winner to play Vincentian (1); Union (5) vs. West Greene (12), winner to play Monessen (4); St. Joseph (6) vs. Geibel (11), winner to play Nazareth Prep (3); Greensburg Central Catholic (7) vs. Clairton (10), winner to play Cornell (2).
The scoop: The top three seeds are all from Section 1. St. Joseph is a section champ, but got the No. 6 seed in this bracket. Union is more deserving of No. 5. The Scotties were in the WPIAL title game a year ago. They have a few blowout losses, but they also have wins against Vincentian and Cornell. An intriguing team is Monessen, a section champ under new coach Dan Bosnic.