MaxMadness hits high school hoops

Unlike college basketball, high school hoops does not have a postseason tournament to crown a true national champion.

Imagine the pandemonium of a local powerhouse from a small state upsetting a dominant program from a big city, or the intrigue of a showdown between one of the nation's top public schools butting heads with a top private school.

Picture some of the country's top high school coaches squaring off and some of college basketball's most coveted recruits locking horns, all trying to survive and advance amidst the tournament chaos.

MaxPreps is bringing the madness from the college ranks to the high school level with MaxMadness presented by Milk, a 64-team online tournament that will let fans determine who advances, who gets upset, and who is eventually crowned high school basketball's champion.

64 of the nation's best

MaxMadness will feature 64 of the country's top high school basketball teams for a chance at virtual glory.

Like the NCAA Tournament, teams will be placed in four regionals: East, South, Midwest and West.

Teams will be seeded 1-16, and one winner will emerge from each section to form a MaxMadness Final Four.

Selection process

While the NCAA Tournament has automatic bids for conference tournament winners, MaxMadness has 50 bids reserved for the top-ranked state champion from each state.

Since states typically have multiple state champions in various classifications, the automatic entry will be given to whichever state champion ranks highest in our Freeman Rankings.

For example, there are multiple state champions in Alabama, ranging from the 1A (smallest) to 6A (largest) classifications. The highest-ranked team is 6A state champion Bob Jones (Madison, Ala.), so the Patriots would earn the Yellowhammer State's automatic bid, while the other state champions would be open to at-large bids.

At-large selections will be made by consulting both the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 Rankings as well as the Freeman Rankings.

The seeding of the teams will be done by MaxPreps' Selection Committee, which will determine official seedings on "Selection Monday." In the interim, teams will be penciled into approximate spots on the bracket once they clinch automatic bids.

Surviving the bracket

The fate of the MaxMadness teams will be placed in the hands of the fans.

With Selection Monday taking place on March 29, fan voting for the first round of games will commence on Thursday, April 1.

Fans will be able to vote for teams during each round of the tournament. The team that garners more votes in each matchup will advance to the next round. Neither the rankings of the teams nor the opinions of the MaxPreps Selection Committee will affect the outcome of the games.

Voting will last three days for each round of the tournament until the MaxMadness champion is crowned on April 22.

Click here to view the MaxMadness bracket.

Already in

Several teams have already secured a spot in the MaxMadness tournament.

In addition to Alabama's Bob Jones, Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Falmouth (Falmouth, Maine) are representing Nevada and Maine, respectively.

Bishop Gorman clinched its second consecutive 4A state title with a 69-48 win over Canyon Springs.

In an overtime thriller, Falmouth beat defending state champion Camden Hills to capture the Class B crown.

Upcoming bids

State tournaments continue throughout and the country, and a number of new bids will be awarded after this weekend.

In Florida, Dwyer and Niceville, who met in the class 4A football finals just three months ago, nearly met in the Class 5A basketball finals. It was not to be, however, as each lost in the semifinals as Bartow held off Sickles (Tampa, Fla.) last night to capture the title and make its case a MaxMadness bid.

North Carolina, Washington, and Arizona have also started to crown some state champions, with more to follow in the coming days.