High school basketball playoffs are right around the corner, so here is a look at how the brackets would look if the season ended today. Check out the possible bracket, and read on why it is set up the way it is.
Bracketology comes with a disclaimer:
– Hence the title, this would be the bracket if the playoffs started TODAY. There is one week left to go, and games to be played that can and will change the seeding.
– Where tiebreakers are needed (and known by our staff), they are reflected in the seeding
– Two teams are listed on the same line if they are tied for a position in the standings, but have not played yet. These will be updated as the season continues.
– RPI rankings consider the entire state.
5A – DIVISION 1
STRUCTURE
– Division 1 Upper State teams that are in the top four of Regions 1, 2, 3, and 5 automatically qualify. Division 1 Upper State teams in the top three of Region 4 also automatically qualify.
– All region champions are seeded first, then all runners-up, all third place finishers, and fourth place finishers in order.
– After automatic bids are distributed, the rest of the bracket is filled with non-automatic qualifiers based on MaxPreps RPI.
TEAMS
– #1 Byrnes, #2 River Bluff
– The Rebels and Gators both are in first place in their respective regions, and will go in the bracket first. Byrnes is the top team in RPI while River Bluff is 10th, so the Rebels get the top seed.
– #3 Dorman, #4 Blythewood, #5 Dutch Fork, #6 Mauldin
– Four teams set to compete in the 5A Division 1 playoffs are in second place today. RPI breaks the tiebreaker to sort out the seeding, which will give out the two remaining byes to the three and four seed, and the five and six seeds play in the first round at home. The RPI sees Dorman at 7th, Blythewood at 8th, Dutch Fork at 12th and Mauldin at 16th.
– #7 Clover
– One of two Division 1 schools in Region 3, Clover is in third place and goes in at the #7 seed as the only Division 1 Upper State team in third place between Regions 1-5.
– #8 Boiling Springs, #9 JL Mann
– Boiling Springs sits in solo-fourth place in Region 2, and JL Mann is tied for 4th in Region 1. For this exercise we sorted the Bulldogs ahead of the Patriots based on RPI with Boiling Springs in 22nd and JL Mann in 42nd.
– #10 Spartanburg, #11 Rock Hill, #12 Lexington
– Just as in football season, once the automatic spots are claimed, the rest of the bracket is filled exclusively based on the best RPI teams. Today, Spartanburg is the highest in RPI of teams not in automatic qualifier spots at 39th, with Rock Hill in 49th and Lexington in 51st to fill out the bracket.
– #8 Dorman
– Up next is fourth-place teams, just Dorman who has finished its regular season. Dorman is the 8-seed in the bracket, and with no other fourth-place team RPI doesn’t matter.
– #9 Lexington, #10 Boiling Springs, #11 Blythewood, and #12 Mauldin
– These teams represent the finishers from outside the automatic qualifying spots, and receive playoff bids strictly based on RPI. This can still change with Lexington, Boiling Springs and Mauldin playing games on Friday. For now, they are seeded on RPI where Lexington is 7th, Boiling Springs is 8th, Blythewood is 11th, and Mauldin is 12th.
5A – DIVISION 2
STRUCTURE
– The exact same as Division 1, replaced with Division 2 teams in the same regions with the same method.
TEAMS
– #1 Greenville, #2 Fort Mill
– Greenville and Fort Mill are the only Division 2 schools in first place in its region, and based on RPI the Red Raiders get the top seed at 2nd in the RPI and Fort Mill sitting 6th.
– #3 Indian Land
– Same reasoning as above, except Indian Land is the only second place Division 2 team in Regions 1-3. They get the third seed and a first round bye.
– #4 Riverside, #5 TL Hanna
– RPI plays a big factor here, giving Riverside the last first round bye as a third place team with a better rating than TL Hanna. The Warriors are 15th in RPI with the Yellow Jackets in 26th
– #6 Greenwood, #7 Northwestern
– The last automatic spots in the bracket go to fourth place teams, which for Division 2 only applies to Greenwood (tied with Division 1-JL Mann) and Northwestern. Greenwood gets the edge over the Trojans with a 24th ranked RPI compared to 45th.
– #8 Hillcrest, #9 Woodmont, #10 Nation Ford, #11 Easley, #12 Catawba Ridge
– Just like the Division 1 bracket, once all of the automatic spots are filled the rest of the field is completed solely based on RPI. There are no other Division 2 teams currently in the top four of its region. RPI sorts these teams in order: Hillcrest (32nd), Woodmont (34th), Nation Ford (36th), Easley (37th), and Catawba Ridge (40th)
4A
STRUCTURE
– Very similar to 5A, with the highest finishers in each region being placed first.
– Auto-bids stay, with larger regions getting more slots
– At-large spots remain, but there are fewer than in 5A, decided based on RPI
TEAMS
– #1 Lancaster, #2 Wren, #3 Greer
– The region champions are slotted into the bracket first, and the current leaders grab the top three seeds and are sorted based on RPI.
– #4 South Pointe, #5 Fountain Inn, #6 Blue Ridge
– The next three seeds are for second-place finishers in each of the three upper state regions. South Pointe is second in Region 3, Fountain Inn sitting in 2nd in Region 1 and Blue Ridge in second in Region 2.
– #7 Laurens, #8 Westside, #9 Daniel, #10 Dreher, #11 Seneca, #12 AC Flora, #13 Berea, #14 York
– Third and fourth place teams get auto bids, as well as fifth place teams front the larger regions in Regions 2 and 3. They are sorted on RPI and put into the bracket accordingly.
– #15 Camden
– Just like in football, there is an Upper State at-large that goes into the bracket in the 15th seed, and the highest RPI ranking that doesn’t have an automatic spot is Camden
– #16 Emerald
– The final slot in the upper state playoffs gets the whole state involved. Out of both the upper state and lower state, the highest ranked RPI team without an automatic berth gets in at the 16th seed. Out of 41 teams, the highest ranked team this week without a bid is Emerald.
3A
STRUCTURE
– Teams are assigned positions into the bracket based on region finish
– RPI is not a factor in seeding.
– Every team makes the playoffs but the 16 seed will be won in a play-in game between two last place teams in Regions 2 and 3.
2A
STRUCTURE
– Teams are assigned positions into the bracket based on region finish
– RPI is not a factor in seeding.
