After two years of confusion, the 2021-22 postseason marks a return to normalcy. The COVID crisis is fading and fans, players and officials are dropping masks, staying out of quarantine and getting back to the way things always were: Dealing with injuries, blaming the refs and trying to dodge upsets.
We had a couple of the last this past week in the MaxPreps Top 25 high school girls basketball rankings, as Noblesville knocked off previous No. 20 Franklin Community, and St. John's removed previous No. 22 Bishop McNamara.
There will likely be a couple more this week.
In fact, No. 20 St. John's is expected to get a shot at No. 1 Sidwell Friends in the District of Columbia playoffs, and No. 3 DeSoto has two tough games left in the Texas 6A playoffs — and note the combined record of the four semifinal teams is a dazzling 140-10.
Regardless, though, it's great to be focused on press breaks and sideline out-of-bounds plays instead of vaccine status and mask mandates. And it's even better to have the stands full and the excitement build as a tumultuous season comes to a upbeat close.
Jaiden Thomas, Conway
Photo by Ted McClenning
1. Sidwell Friends (Washington, D.C.)
Record: 25-0 |
Last week: 1
The Quakers move to the District of Columbia State Athletic Association playoffs, where new No. 20 St. John's is considered the biggest obstacle — but overlooking Georgetown Visitation could be a mistake.
2. Etiwanda (Calif.)
Record: 28-0 |
Last week: 2
The Eagles drew a first-round bye in the always confusing California Interscholastic Federation Open Division. State officials decided to only put seven teams in the Southern California and Northern California regionals this year, which means top seed Etiwanda doesn't play until Saturday.
3. DeSoto (Texas)
Record: 33-2 |
Last week: 3
The Eagles play 35-2 Clark on Friday, and if they win that, they get the winner of 38-2 Summer Creek and 34-4 South Grand Prairie in the 6A finals. If you win the Texas title, you've earned it.
4. St. John-Vianney (Holmdel, N.J.)
Record: 24-1 |
Last week: 4
The Lancers move into the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Non-Public A playoffs, which lead into the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions with regional and the Non-Public B winners. You can sort it all out, or just figure that St. John-Vianney will be the favorite to win whatever game the Lancers play.
5. Hopkins (Minnetonka, Minn.)
Record: 19-1 |
Last week: 5
The Royals will likely face Minneapolis Southwest in the Section 6AAAA semifinals Saturday but their main rivals — Rogers and Chaska — won't show up in the bracket for a while.
6. La Jolla Country Day (La Jolla, Calif.)
Record: 24-2 |
Last week: 6
The Torreys are the second seed in the Southern California Open Division regionals, but that first-round game against 20-5 Mater Dei is no gimme. Win that one, and the reward will likely be No. 8 Sierra Canyon.
7. Classen SAS (Oklahoma City)
Record: 19-1 |
Last week: 7
The Comets are in the 4A Area 3 playoffs, and play the winner of Sallisaw and Seminole on Thursday. Win that one, and Classen SAS plays again Saturday to move into the state championships.
8. Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.)
Record: 26-2 |
Last week: 8
The third team in the SoCal Open Division, and only one will survive to play the Northern California champ for a state title. And that game, played in Sacramento, is almost always a very hard one to win.
9. New Hope Academy (Landover Hills, Md.)
Record: 27-2 |
Last week: 9
New Hope won the National Association of Christian Athletes' tournament in fine style, outscoring its three opponents by an average of 57.8 points a game. Scotland Campus on Thursday is unlikely to be a stiffer challenge.
10. Incarnate Word Academy (St. Louis)
Record: 22-0 |
Last week: 10
The Red Knights will play for the Class 6 District 3 title Saturday, and it would be a major upset if they lost. But when Rock Bridge shows up on the other side of the scorer's table, it will be, well, a rock fight.
11. Cedar Park (Texas)
Record: 35-0 |
Last week: 11
The Timberwolves' 50-37 win over Liberty Hill was their closest game in the 5A playoffs (their average margin of victory has been 37 points so far). College Station (Friday's opponent) and Frisco Memorial or Amarillo (the other semi) will provide a tougher test.
12. Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.)
Record: 18-3 |
Last week: 12
Montverde is down to one thing: Waiting for GEICO.
13. Conway (Ark.)
Record: 29-1 |
Last week: 13
The Wampus Cats begin the final round of 6A playoffs Friday against the winner of Fayetteville and Central, but since they've already beaten the top teams in the bracket already, it will be a major upset if they don't win it all March 10.
14. DME Academy (Daytona Beach, Fla.)
Record: 23-3 |
Last week: 14
Like Montverde, DME is waiting for GEICO.
15. Lake Highland Prep (Orlando, Fla.)
Record: 25-4 |
Last week: 15
The Highlanders handled Calvary Christian 75-57 to win the 4A championship, but like the other two Florida teams in the top 15, they're hoping to play a couple more games at the GEICO High School Nationals.
16. Fremont (Plain City, Utah)
Record: 22-2 |
Last week: 16
The Silverwolves face the winner of Westlake and Davis on Thursday, but the big one would be against unbeaten and top seed Lone Peak on Saturday for the 6A title.
17. Hazel Green (Ala.)
Record: 33-0 |
Last week: 17
The Trojans draw 30-4 Park Crossing on Wednesday, and if victorious, would move on to the 6A championship game Saturday against either Oxford or Pelham.
18. Johnston (Iowa)
Record: 21-0 |
Last week: 18
The Dragons face 20-2 Pleasant Valley on Thursday, and the other semifinal matches the sixth and seventh seeds, Waterloo West and Valley, which both pulled off upsets in the first round. The 5A final is Friday.
19. Woodward Academy (College Park, Ga.)
Record: 26-2 |
Last week: 19
The War Eagles are in Thursday's AAAAA semifinals against either Greenbrier or Warner Robins. The title game is March 10.
20. St. John's (Washington, D.C.)
Record: 19-4 |
Last week: NR
The Cadets return to the MaxPreps Top 25 thanks to a win over previous No. 22 Bishop McNamara in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championship Monday — and have a chance to move higher this weekend when they will likely face No. 1 Sidwell Friends.
21. Mount Notre Dame (Cincinnati)
Record: 25-0 |
Last week: 23
Mount Notre Dame will likely have to get past always-tough Mason to qualify for the Division 1 final four March 11 and 12. Dublin Coffman and Reynoldsburg are the likely challengers at that point.
22. Duncanville (Texas)
Record: 34-7 |
Last week: 21
The Pantherettes lost to DeSoto once more, ending their season — but despite seven losses, a huge number for a ranked team, Duncanville had enough quality wins all over the country to keep its spot in the MaxPreps Top 25.
23. Garfield (Seattle)
Record: 17-0 |
Last week: 24
The Bulldogs will the winner of Lakeside and Lincoln on Wednesday, with the winner advancing to the 3A championship game Saturday. Unbeaten Mead would be the likely opponent in that one for a classic Spokane-Seattle rivalry matchup.
24. Millard South (Omaha, Neb.)
Record: 25-0 |
Last week: 25
The Patriots head into the eight-team Class A state tournament next week, with Fremont — which has played a somewhat tougher schedule — the biggest roadblock on the path to a Nebraska title.
25. Parkway (Bossier City, La.)
Record: 32-2 |
Last week: NR
The Panthers have lost on the court only to No. 13 Conway. They did lose off the court when 33-3 Walker claimed a forfeit win. Coincidentally, Walker is the likely opponent in Friday's 5A title game.
Dropped out: No. 20 Franklin Community (Ind.); No. 22 Bishop McNamara (Forestville, Md.).
