The Section VI postseason begins Monday afternoon with a First Round matchup in Class B2 as Medina heads to the Southern Tier to face Southwestern. The winner moves on to participate in the Pre-Quarterfinal Round, which begins on Tuesday night at 7 pm. Between Friday & Saturday, 28 Quarterfinal games will decide which teams move on to Buffalo State and JCC for the semifinals. See all the postseason matchups with dates, times, & locations, along with updated results at Brackets Central - 2023
Below I take a look at some of the best matchups we could potentially see in the Pre-Quarterfinals, Quarterfinals, & Semifinals, and project the classifications with the best championship game, along with sleepers, some winning streaks, & predictions.
** Please note that many of the games below are based on my predictions of who will win in prior rounds.
Most exciting brackets, top to bottom:
7. Class A2
6. Class A1
5. Class D
4. Class C
3. Class AA
2. Class B1
1. Class B2
- How exciting is the Class B2 bracket this postseason? Well for starters, the defending champions from Allegany-Limestone are up to their old tricks again, arriving as the #6 seed just to make things interesting. This is a team that waxed both Depew & Pioneer (the #2 & #3 seeds in Class B1) by 20+ points each, knocked off Randolph, and erased a 16-point halftime deficit at Salamanca in near record time. They only have three loses on the season and all came without the services of Andrew Giardini, who is back after missing all of January.
- Remember when Bennett won Class B1 in 2021 during the 7-week season coming out of the pandemic and no one really saw it coming? Well, I'm the only guy talking about the Tigers this season - the only pollster on the Buffalo News that's voting for them. I'll bet you my seat at Buff State that they are playing there on Thursday, March 2nd when the Class B2 Semifinals tip at 6 pm and the top-seeded Salamanca Warriors have plenty to do to get ready for that game, trust me!
- Speaking of the Warriors, yeah, those guys who played in Glens Falls last season in Class C. They have a legitimate shot at returning there in Class B this season. They went undefeated in what is hands down the toughest small school league in Section VI to earn the #1 seed and have special talent in the school's all-time leading scorer Lucus Brown, who looked at home balling out at Buff State last season & turning heads as a sophomore.
- The Warriors aren't the only undefeated league champion from that bracket - there's still TWO more! Newfane rolled through the N-O & Cleveland Hill did the same in ECIC IV and both teams are good. Cleveland Hill just ended its season with a win at Depew and hasn't lost a game since December. The only game the Panthers have lost in 2023 was against North Tonawanda and as someone who lives in the district & sees a few games in multiple counties each season, I will vouch for the strength of this team and the program as a whole.
- Still aren't convinced the B2 Bracket rules? I will submit Fredonia as further evidence. The Hillbillies have been ranked in the Top 10 for most of the season, walloped the likes of MST Seneca & Westfield, won at Allegany-Limestone, beat East Aurora, and swept Southwestern. They are the #10 seed for crying out loud.
- You want a sleeper for this bracket? Not yet! You'll have to read further. But for now, I will toss out that Southwestern has to win a Play-In game on Monday afternoon as the #16 seed. So they've been a little rocky road this season, but let's highlight a couple of the streets they found to be well-paved in the Southern Tier - the Trojans shot down the Randolph Cardinals in their own gym in a 55-37 win and took a broom to Olean, sweeping the Huskies! The have a stud in Matthew Pannes who has a pair of 40+ point eruptions on the year.
- I know, this is getting long-winded, so I'll wrap it up by pointing out that I've already highlighted 7 of the teams in a 17-team playoff and there are still another five squads from the bracket I haven't even mentioned with double-digit wins on the season: Tapestry (14), Roy-Hart (13), Springville (12), Olmsted (12), & Akron (11).
Sleepers from each bracket
AA - Clarence: For a second straight season, the Red Devils head into the postseason with an 11-9 record and were never a ranked large school this season. Three of their losses happened consecutively to begin the year, so they are 11-6 in their last 17. They won by 20 points on the same court at Lew-Port where Niagara Falls lost three weeks after. They fell behind on the road at McKinley by 18 points in the opening quarter and nearly came back to win the game, and two more of the losses that came after the 0-3 start were at the hands of the top-seed Jamestown Red Raiders, with the second loss coming at the buzzer. Another happened against Health Sciences, after trailing the Falcons by just two points after three quarters, without the services of point guard Sean Gilmartin, who is averaging 12.6 PPG & 4.8 APG. Clarence might have the best big man in WNY in Grayson White and if they get past Frontier in the 8/9 game, they would head back to Jamestown to face the Red Raiders for a third time. The coffee is ready, wake up.
A1 - North Tonawanda: I get all jacked-up just thinking about teams sleeping on these guys! How could you? They have the best coach in NT history, officially now, as Ryan Mountain has surpassed Greg Ross as the program's all-time wins leader. Patrick McNeill is a talent and about as underrated as using attack crows to break up a hostage situation (tell me training those creeping squawkers to harass the bad guys wouldn't work). The only losses on the season for the Jacks have come to ranked teams - Falls, Niagara Wheatfield, & Lockport all twice, along with at Lew-Port. Buckets don't so easy in the postseason & the Jacks are as good a zone squad as there is - they are the only team in Class A1 holding opponents under 50 PPG on the season. You start sawing logs on the Lumberjacks, I'll send in the attack crows!
A2 - CSAT: Tough to find any teams in this bracket that make you feel like someone slipped a Benadryl in your Monster drink, but if there's a team that fits the bill based on past performance, I'll fly with these Eagles. Just two seasons ago, they went into Amherst and knocked off a Tiger squad that had just rolled Lew-Port by 33 points after hanging 92 on them in the quarterfinal. Then, they went to double overtime in the Class A2 Final at Cheektowaga, losing a heartbreaker. Last year, CSAT faced eventual Class A Regional champion Amherst in the semifinals at Buff State and gave them all they could handle for 32 minutes, before bowing out in a 5-point loss. They are an 11-win team on the season and if Starpoint tries slamming that Monster drink for a little extra pep before tip-off, they just might start getting heavy eyes by the third quarter.
B1 - Olean: Can you remember the last time we entered the postseason and no one was talking about Olean? I see you all value beauty rest. Well, I remember. In 2020, the defending B1 champion Huskies lost three league games and entered the postseason as the #7 seed in Class B1. The team waiting to host them in the quarterfinals that year was Iroquois, and the Huskies rolled past the #2 seed, 78-56. They went on that season to win the overall Class B championship. Well, look at what the bracket holds this season…a win over Maryvale would earn a quarterfinal trip to Iroquois. They were my sleeper pick in that 2020 Sectional Preview also. Did I mention that Olean is the defending Class B1 champions? Go grab some mouthwash for your morning breath.
B2 - Fredonia: If you were expecting to see Southwestern here, well, I guess I fooled you. And please don’t even suggest that Allegany-Limestone could be the sleeper with the #6 seed. There is not a chance that any opponent of the Gators moving forward is anything less than terrified at the prospect of facing the defending champs. Anyone pretending to sleep on them is like that dog that keeps raising one eye open. My sleeper here is a team that beat those Gators for one of its 13 wins on the season. The Hillbillies have been outstanding all season, beating every team in their league, with the exception of Salamanca. They have four players averaging over double figures in scoring, with three of them already grabbing over 100 rebounds on the year, and the other knocking down 62 three-point bombs entering the playoffs. That fiddle 'dem boys play is like a sweet lullaby.
C - East: Only five wins all season and two of those were recorded after a week of play in December. They must be terrible. I bet that Hall of Fame coach of theirs with over 400 wins forgot how to coach… I mean it’s been five years since he was able to manage a fourth state championship. They aren’t even the best Yale Cup team in the bracket. The #2 seed from MST Seneca already beat the Panthers during their 9-game win streak. By one point. There is no way a team with three victories since December 9th earns three wins in a row to reach the final four at JCC. I’m going to go lay down, just for 20 minutes or so.
D - Sherman: The Wildcats, who were finalists in Class D a year ago, need a win against Forestville just for a shot at the top seed from Ellicottville, who ran the table in CCAA II East. They are only the #8 seed. But, they are the same team that won its most recent meetings with both Westfield and Panama, two teams that defeated Ellicottville this year. A win in the quarterfinals would likely get them a game at JCC against one of the two teams they recently defeated. And when they last played their rivals from Clymer, who projects to win the whole thing, they only lost by seven points. Can you imagine if Sherman came in as the #8 seed and went on to win the whole zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Top 7 Pre-Quarterfinal Games
7. City Honors @ Albion (B1)
6. Bennett @ Springville (B2)
5. Southwestern @ Tapestry (B2)
4. Middle College @ Cheektowaga (B1)
3. East @ Global Concepts (C)
2. Frontier @ Clarence (AA)
1. Olean @ Iroquois (B1)
Top 12 Quarterfinal Games
12. Silver Creek @ Holland (C)
11. Lockport @ Williamsville North (AA)
10. Sherman @ Ellicottville (D)
9. East @ Frewsburg (C)
8. North Tonawanda @ Williamsville East (A1)
7. Westfield @ Panama (D)
6. Lackawanna @ Olean (B1)
5. Cheektowaga @ Pioneer (B1)
4. Clarence @ Jamestown (AA)
3. East Aurora @ Depew (B1)
2. Fredonia @ Cleveland Hill (B2)
1. Allegany-Limestone @ Newfane (B2)
Most Exciting Potential Semifinals
8. North Tonawanda vs McKinley (A1)
7. South Park vs Williamsville South (A2)
6. Allegany-Limestone vs. Fredonia (B2)
5. Niagara Wheatfield vs I-Prep (A1)
4. Bennett vs Salamanca (B2)
3. Pioneer vs. Depew (B1)
2. Lockport vs. Jamestown (AA)
1. Health Sciences vs Niagara Falls (AA)
Most Exciting Championship Games
5. Class D
4. Class A1
3. Class B1
2. Class B2
1. Class AA
Winning streaks heading into sectionals
Health Sciences: 18
Salamanca: 12 & 15 of the last 16
Cleveland Hill: 12
Newfane: 11 & 15 of the last 16
MST Seneca: 9
Clymer: 7 & 16 of the last 17
Ellicottville: 7 & 11 of the last 12
Niagara Falls: 7
Amherst: 12 of the last 13
Lew-Port: 9 of the last 10
Jamestown: 8 of the last 9
Allegany-Limestone: 8 of the last 9
Williamsville South: 8 of the last 9
McKinley: 8 of the last 9
Frewsburg: 7 of the last 8
Predictions
AA - Health Sciences
A1 - McKinley
A2 - Amherst
B1 - Lew-Port
B2 - Salamanca
C - Randolph
D - Clymer
-centercourt
Why have Nichols and Timon in class B if they are going to be too good? What happened to letting the B school that goes the furthest in the Playoffs represent in states like they used to? Not a good way of showing how dominant MSM is.
Posted by: BballJunkie123 | Monday, February 20, 2023 at 06:47 PM
Classification for catholic schools in NYS is a much different process than public schools. Enrollment is not a factor - it’s all based on talent of the team. NYC took their 7 worst teams at the beginning of the season and classified them as B schools. It would not be fair to send the MSM regular season champ to compete against one of these B’s. In future years, the MSM should classify all top teams as A schools prior to the season to avoid any confusion.
Posted by: DKG | Monday, February 20, 2023 at 10:17 PM