Photo by Paul StockmannDiontay Washington, Bridgeport Central
MaxPreps.com’s virtual national high school basketball championship may be all in fun, but voters flocking to the
MaxMadness bracket page are making it a serious competition.
Stepping into fantasy world for a moment, the Sweet 16 matchups are very intriguing and heighten my excitement about someday seeing a true high school national championship tournament. You can vote by hitting on the link above, but here is a quick look at the pairings. Each team’s Xcellent 25 ranking is noted where applicable.
MIDWEST
No. 4 Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia, Pa.) vs. No. 18 St. Patrick (Elizabeth, N.J.)
No. 12 Winter Park (Fla.) vs. No. 7 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.)
WEST
No. 3 Ames (Iowa) vs. Bridgeport Central (Bridgeport, Conn.)
Jackson (Massillon, Ohio) vs. No. 8 Westchester (Los Angeles, Calif.)
EAST
No. 2 St. Benedict’s Prep (Newark, N.J.) vs. No. 19 DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.)
No. 9 Plymouth Whitemarsh (Plymouth Meeting, Pa.) vs. No. 10 Melrose (Memphis, Tenn.)
SOUTH
No. 1 Yates (Houston, Texas) vs. No. 17 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.)
Shelby Valley (Pikeville, Ky.) vs. No. 5 Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.)
Cinderellas sneaking through include the West Region’s Bridgeport Central, which clicked its way to victory over Michigan Class B state champion Detroit Country Day.
Kentucky’s Shelby Valley upset Florida’s Montverde Academy in the South Region and looks to slay another giant in Findlay Prep to advance to the Elite 8.
The most dominating second-round performance was delivered by Ames, which accumulated 82 percent of the vote against Starkville, Miss. Fellow West Region participant Westchester was second with 77 percent of the vote against Trenton Catholic Academy of New Jersey.
Sweet 16 voting continues through Monday.