Wooster
pulled out a hard-fought
63-52 win
over Grove City as both teams played great defense throughout the evening.
ProfessorBriggs.com
THE Sports
Authority in Mercer County!
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Professor's Proverbs -- March 12, 2010
March is one of Professor Briggs' favorite months of the season. Not only is spring on the horizon but there's plenty of exciting basketball action this month. Of course, the state playoffs in high school basketball in the Commonwealth got underway Tuesday night with a handful of preliminary games in the four classifications.
One of the things I've always enjoyed looking at is the state tournament brackets/pairings in the various classifications in basketball. As most of the loyal readers would concur, we are pretty familiar with the teams in the WPIAL, District 10 and the Pittsburgh City League. We're even familiar with some of the western District 6 and 9 teams too, especially from a geographic standpoint (i.e. we know where Elk County Catholic is).
Yet many of the schools on the western half of the bracket may be a mystery to some of us. So, for starters, Professor Briggs will take a look at some of the schools on the sheet that don't exactly ring a bell. This isn't your standard "who's going to win and why" examination. This is more "notebook" type of stuff.
Forbes Road, located in Waterfall, Pa. (Fulton County) gets to make a nice 3-hour ride to Clarion to face perennial power Elk County Catholic in the opening round of the tournament. Do not fret though. District 9 teams also get to log some miles in the opening round. Coudersport has a ride of nearly four hours to North Hills High School to face District 7 champion Sewickley Academy Friday night.
An interesting matchup is between District 10 champion Rocky Grove and District 9 power Keystone. Keystone, under the guidance of the legendary - yet underrated - head coach Greg Heath, pulled a couple of upsets in the District 9 tournament this year. Don't be surprised to see Keystone pull another upset Friday night at Oil City's "House of Hustle."
The Eastern Region features some of Professor Briggs' favorite names in commonwealth basketball, including District 12 top entry Math, Civics & Science. Also in the tournament is Constitution High School of Philadelphia. Articles of Confederation didn't make the tournament this year.
Plenty of miles will be logged in the opening round of this tournament also, including a trip out of state and back into the Commonwealth for Duke Center-based Otto-Eldred High School. Otto-Eldred will face Vincentian at North Allegheny High School Saturday. Of course, the Kennedy Catholic girls aren't exactly going next door with a 150-mile trek to Altoona where defending state champion Bishop Guilfoyle awaits. (Professor Briggs will also be making this trip Saturday).
The eastern portion of the bracket features Philadelphia's top entry (Palumbo) and its pedestrian 9-8 record. Keep an eye on the two District 6 teams sent to the east, Northern Cambria and Bishop Carroll. Both will be tough outs. Last year, District 6 had three teams among the final eight in Class A girls with Bishop Guilfoyle winning the title by thumping Pottsville Nativity Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM).
Eisenhower, which eliminated Sharpsville from contention in the District 10 consolation game, is rewarded with a 150-mile ride to Ambridge where a very talented Rochester squad awaits. A very interesting game is set up on the bottom of the eastern bracket where Camp Hill Trinity faces Strawberry Mansion, the No. 4 team out of Philadelphia. Strawberry Mansion is 24-1 this year, so Trinity can't be thrilled with that "reward." Those teams met in the first round last year with Trinity winning.
Keep an eye on South Fayette in that upper half of the bracket.
It's District 10 entry North East that gets to make a nice long trip to Chartiers Valley High School for an opening-round game. With a few upsets, we could get North East vs. North Star in the western semis. Probably unlikely, considering that Villa Maria is looming in that portion of the bracket. Don't be surprised to see local favorite Greenville make a nice run again this year.
The east features Bodine High School of Philadelphia as the District 12 No. 4 team in "AA". No word on whether the school is named after him.
The "What Did We Do to Deserve This?" award goes to Washington's Trinity High School as the Hillers get to play District 9 champion Bradford at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. It's a nice 200-mile trip for the Hillers. Red ribbon to York Suburban of District 3, which gets to move into the western bracket and play District 6 kingpin Johnstown at Richland High School, which happens to be a suburb of Johnstown.
For some reason, Class AAA boys tends to have a Cinderella more often than others. Last year, Greensburg Salem made it all the way to the state finals after winning its last three western games by a combined four points. In 2007, Grove City won three straight overtime games to make the state semifinals while Greencastle-Antrim came out of nowhere to make the state finals.
Who are the candidates this year? Professor Briggs thinks that the Hickory Hornets could be this year's Cinderella in Class AAA boys. The Hornets have a veteran coach, solid veterans, some youthful exuberance and most importantly, have been playing very well down the stretch.
One thing to keep an eye on is the progression of Chartiers Valley. Chartiers Valley has struggled in the state tournament the past handful of years. Professor Briggs feels that Oliver may be the best team in the west that no one is talking about. Chartiers Valley and Hampton have soaked up a lot of the proverbial oxygen in the Pittsburgh metro area this year.
In the east, Neumann-Goretti is considered the power, along with undefeated Eastern York.
It's odd to look at the Class AAA girls draw and not see Lewistown from District 6 on the board. It is good to see two local teams however in Slippery Rock and Sharon. Sharon gets to face Indiana, which was supposed to play Slippery Rock a couple of times this year, but each time, the weather failed to cooperate. It is not unreasonable to think that Sharon could face Mercyhurst Prep in the second round.
Each of the last two years, District 10's No. 3 team has defeated the WPIAL champion in the opening round. Last year, Franklin whipped New Castle while in 2008, Mercyhurst Prep defeated Hampton on its way to the state finals. Those of us around here know how strong girls basketball is in District 10 despite the monolithic presence of the WPIAL.
It is surprising that both New Castle and Mercyhurst must travel south to Ambridge High School. It would be more logical to play that game at Slippery Rock University. The game is supposed to be a "home game" for District 7 and some would point out that the Slippery Rock School District is in District 10. Yet, according to the PIAA map, Butler County is District 7. So to have the game there would not have been out of line.
Slippery Rock could face an old nemesis in the second round in Hopewell. Hopewell eliminated Slippery Rock in the western semifinals in 2007 and also beat the Hi-Rockets earlier this year. Could this be a "third time's the charm" deal for Slippery Rock? The Rockets can't look past Blackhawk however. Professor Briggs thinks that District 10 will go 3-0 Saturday in this tournament.
While the Class AAA bracket is generally devoid of crazy road trips in the opening round, District 10 entry Cathedral Prep gets to make a 3 1/2-hour trip to Altoona Saturday to face Hollidaysburg. That game is the second of two before the Kennedy Catholic girls play Bishop Guilfoyle.
Mount Lebanon is probably the team to beat among those on this end of the state. The east would appear to be wide open with several great teams from Districts 1, 3 and 12. In each of the last two seasons, the Class AAAA boys title game has been an all-East affair.
Mount Lebanon is aiming for a second straight state title in Class AAAA and would appear to be the favorite. The west not as strong as it's been in some seasons. Like on the boys side, the east is chock full of very good teams who could all end up in University Park for the state title game. It'll take a special team to knock off Mount Lebo though.
> College tournaments got underway last week with
the NCAA Division III
men's and
women's Championship Tournaments commencing at a variety of sites around the
country. Professor Briggs' beloved Grove City Wolverines visited Wooster in the
opening round March 5 at Timken Gymnasium.
Wooster
pulled out a hard-fought
63-52 win
over Grove City as both teams played great defense throughout the evening.
It was a real thrill for me to be at the game and able to call it for Grove City's WSAJ-FM 91.1 (left). There's something really cool about being able to say "You're listening to the NCAA Tournament on 91 FM, W-S-A-J" when going into a break.
The next night, Wooster defeated highly-regarded Wisconsin-Whitewater. UW-Whitewater, physically, looked like it should be competing in Division II, not Division III.
Overall, it was a tremendous experience for our outstanding student-athletes who acquitted themselves quite well, both on and off the court. It was really neat to watch our guys come into the facility in coats and ties. You could sense that the folks in attendance were quite impressed by that and how it was refreshing for them see a team show up not looking like a bunch of transients.
It's one of the many, many reasons I am proud and thankful to work at Grove City College.
The NCAA Division II Championship Tournament in both men's and women's basketball begin this weekend. On the men's side, Indiana (Pa.) is hosting a regional tournament while on the women's side, both Gannon and California (Pa.) are hosting regional tournaments. Gannon's women are 33-0 and undefeated this season, which is quite impressive to say the least.
> I've had the good fortune to watch a lot of basketball this year in person, both high school and college. I've also watched a fair amount of college basketball on television, especially this month. It seems -- and I have no scientific evidence -- as if the 1-3-1 zone defense has really become a popular option for coaches this winter. Teams have trapped out of it, packed it inside the three-point line and really done a lot of other things with it. It's been boys, girls, college, high school - all of them at various times.
It seems that teams have generally had difficulty with the 1-3-1 from an offensive standpoint this year. Teams have generally had trouble getting into their offense against it this year. In theory, it makes sense because a defense is taking away the middle of the floor between the sidelines. It's hard to get the ball from one side of the floor to the other and it's also difficult to get into the lane.
Of course, the corners and baseline are the vulnerable areas against the 1-3-1. But it does seem to slow down even the most efficient of offenses, even for a while.
Professor Briggs has always been fascinated with the 1-3-1 but until recently, it would appear only sparingly at some point. Typically late in the season, a coach would pull it out of mothballs in a must-win game or something along those lines. Will the 1-3-1 be a permanent part of basketball or is it just another fad that is en vogue? It definitely merits watching.
> The Shenango Valley Modified Softball League is seeking new teams and players for the 2010 season.
> Send all suggestions, thoughts, questions or comments to: ryanbriggs@zoominternet.net