(It's that time of year again - High School basketball sectionals / Photo by Dave DeLuca)
The Section VI postseason begins tonight with first round games, and the winners move on to participate in the pre-quarterfinal games played on Wednesday. Friday night is when the action really kicks up, as 32 quarterfinal games will decide which teams move on to Buffalo State and JCC for the semifinals.
Below I take a look at some of the best matchups we could potentially see in the pre-quarterfinals, quarterfinals, semifinals, and even the championship games, along with sleepers, some winning streaks, and predictions.
** Please note that many of the games below are based on my predictions of who will win in prior rounds
Teams who opted out of sectionals:
- Falconer
- Cattaraugus Little Valley
Most exciting bracket
Class A2
Sleepers for each bracket:
Class AA - Kenmore West
Class A1 - Williamsville East
Class A2 - Lew-Port
Class B1 - East Aurora
Class B2 - Emerson
Class C1 - Chautauqua Lake
Class C2 - Global Concepts
Class D - Maple Grove
Top 10 Pre-Quarterfinal Games (Wednesday, 2/25)
10. Niagara Wheatfield @ Clarence
9. Orchard Park @ Kenmore West
8. Akron vs. CSAT
7. Buffalo Science @ Olmsted
6. Southwestern vs. East
5. Bennett @ Buffalo Arts
4. JFK @ Lackawanna
3. Maryvale @ City Honors
2. DaVinci vs. Emerson
1. Riverside @ West Seneca East
Top 10 Quarterfinal Games (Friday, 2/27)
10. Williamsville East @ Sweet Home
9. Lockport @ Lancaster
8. Frontier @ Niagara Falls
7. Maryvale @ Depew
6. East Aurora @ Albion
5. Maple Grove @ Sherman
4. Kenmore West @ Williamsville North
3. Emerson @ Wilson
2. East vs. Health Sciences *at Nichols
1. Lew-Port @ Cheektowaga
Most Exciting Potential Semifinals
6. Tapestry vs. Salamanca
5. East/Health Sciences vs. Cleveland Hill
4. Niagara Falls vs. Williamsville North
3. Starpoint vs. Olean
2. Lew-Port/Cheektowaga vs. Amherst
1. McKinley vs. Williamsville South
Most Exciting Potential Championship Games
5. Class AA Final
4. Class B2 Final
3. Class C1 Final
2. Class D Final
1. Class A2 Final
Win Streaks heading into sectionals
Sherman 19
Health Sciences 12
Fredonia 11
Silver Creek 10
Cleveland Hill 8
Cheektowaga 8
McKinley 7
Amherst 7
Jamestown 6
Predictions
Class AA - Jamestown
Class A1 - McKinley
Class A2 - Amherst
Class B1 - Depew
Class B2 - Fredonia
Class C1 - Silver Creek
Class C2 - Middle College
Class D - Sherman
-centercourt
Will East a sleeper in A1? I believe they will struggle allot with Sweet Home on Friday. Sweet Home defensively is a top team in the area.
Posted by: Jordan Martin | Tuesday, February 24, 2015 at 02:15 PM
Predictions:
Class AA: Jamestown
Class A-1: McKinley
Class A-2: Cheektowaga
Class B-1: Burgard
Class B-2: Fredonia
Class C-1: Silver Creek
Class C-2: Middle College
Class D: Sherman
Posted by: StateChamps2003 | Tuesday, February 24, 2015 at 02:37 PM
Predictions:
Class AA: Jamestown
Class A-1: Will South
Class A-2: Amherst
Class B-1: Depew
Class B-2: Fredonia
Class C-1: Silver Creek
Class C-2: Middle College
Class D: I-Prep
Posted by: PJB | Wednesday, February 25, 2015 at 12:13 PM
AA - Will North
A1 - Will South
A2 - Cheektowaga
B1 - Who really cares?
B2 - East
C1 - Tapestry
C2 - Middle Early Can't play at ECC
D - North Collins
Posted by: Miguel is God | Wednesday, February 25, 2015 at 12:47 PM
I don't know what to make of the B-1 bracket. It's a toss up really. Depew lost to Cheektowaga twice by 18 and 19 points. Burgard beat East by 2 points but also lost to Bennett by 11 points (also beat them by 3). East had the lead on Cheektowaga with 4 minutes to go and ended up losing by single digits. City Honors lost @ Depew by a point in December but City Honors has also gotten blown out by I-Prep and has lost to Performing Arts. Some weird stuff if going to happen in this bracket.
Posted by: StateChamps2003 | Wednesday, February 25, 2015 at 12:57 PM