OHSAA boys basketball tournament brackets set for Divisions III through VII

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Tournament time is almost here.

The OHSAA boys basketball tournament brackets are set for Divisions III through VII. Coaches picked their spots on brackets Sunday in orders based on the MaxPreps RPI used by the OHSAA. Next weekend, Divisions I and II will do the same.

Here’s what to know, including early games to watch, who are the teams to beat and links to all brackets:

How has the format changed?

First things first. This is the second year of the OHSAA’s seven-division format, up from four divisions that were commonplace since 1988. The higher seeds will host games through the district semifinals.

Multiple neutral sites will serve as hosts for district finals. Many will have doubleheaders on Saturday, March 7. Two rounds of regionals will follow at college and high school sites before the state semifinals, which begin March 19 with games at Wright State and the University of Dayton.

The semifinals and finals will be on back-to-back days for each division. For example, the Division I state semifinals are Saturday, March 21 at Wright State with the finals the next day at UD Arena. Division IV will have its semifinals on Thursday, March 19 at Wright State and the finals on March 20 at UD Arena.

The full breakdown can be found here on the OHSAA website, which notes dates and times are subject to change to avoid scheduling conflicts.

First-round games to watch

⦁ Chardon at Rocky River: Junior guard Luke Galfidi can fill it up for the Hilltoppers, who trek from east of Cleveland to the west side. Coach Michael Murray’s squad at Rocky River (15-5) is a seasoned one, led by 6-foot-2 senior Jacob Radcliffe and junior guard Danny Berg. They will meet in a Division III bracket that leads to North Royalton.

⦁ Padua at Nordonia: While Padua got to the Division III regional semifinals last season, coach Brian Ansberry has two freshmen guards and a sophomore forward on this team with leading scorer Antione Wooten and big forward Jack Boswell. Nordonia (11-9), which has a nonleague game Monday at Archbishop Hoban in Akron, is led by senior forward Max Poulin and has former Cornerstone Christian guard Hudson Funk.

⦁ Villa Angela-St. Joseph at Westlake: VASJ (10-9) is seeded 30th in Division III, but has endured a gauntlet with a signature win against Cleveland Central Catholic. Coach Ash Ward’s Vikings also played Division I powerhouse St. Edward within five points and remained within single digits on the road against St. Ignatius. They also have close losses on the road to University School and Gilmour Academy (in overtime). Their record is deceiving and an example of where the RPI ranked them lower than the coaches probably would have in a traditional vote. Westlake (14-7) has won six of its last seven, with the only loss coming vs. Elyria, and a tough road game remaining against Canton McKinley. Westlake senior guard Ryan Turk is capable of igniting his team on a run.

⦁ Independence at Oberlin: Independence (9-11) just visited Oberlin (13-9) last month and played the Phoenix tight. Oberlin won by a point, so they will meet again to open their Division VI bracket that leads to Salem. Both could get to a potential district final vs. top-seeded Kirtland.

Smooth ride to Dayton?

Lutheran East is Northeast Ohio’s lone defending state champion and again a heavy favorite in Division V. The Falcons (17-2) also won’t have to travel for the next few weeks.

As a No. 1 overall seed, they open the tournament Feb. 28 against Beachwood with the winner playing Pymatuning Valley or Wickliffe. The district final is at Cleveland Heights High School, so coach Sam Liggins’ squad isn’t leaving their city until regionals at the Canton Memorial Fieldhouse, unless someone can send them home for the offseason.

The next highest seed in their district bracket is No. 12 Wooster Triway. The district also features one of Division V’s top players outside of Lutheran East with Brooklyn senior guard Devin Hardwick, whose Hurricanes open Feb. 28 at home vs. St. Martin de Porres.

Toughest road to Dayton?

As the sixth seed, Hawken had the chance to be the top seed in a bracket while looking to build off last year’s run to the state semifinals. Coach Anthony Burns didn’t do that.

He took a Warren Harding bracket that will head west to the University of Toledo for regionals, but also once again took a bracket with favored Youngstown Ursuline as a potential roadblock. The Fighting Irish are the third seed and could see Hawken in the district finals a year after the Hawks’ 84-66 win in the Division IV district semifinals.

Both moved up to Division III, and the stars are back for both teams, including Hawken’s trio of Greg Price, Da’Ron Hill and Ice Taylor. Jaylen Gunter is averaging 29.9 points for Ursuline with Noah Bell (24.4 points), two years after they helped the Irish to Dayton as a freshman.

To get there, Hawken must first beat Madison in the first round before a potential district semifinal vs. Copley or University School. The Hawks beat US, 74-67, last month.

If the bracket holds to form, grab your popcorn and reserve a ticket for Warren Harding on March 7.

Division III brackets

*District final host sites are in parenthesis.

Division IV brackets

Northeast 1 (North Ridgeville) | Northeast 2 (North Ridgeville) | Northeast 3 (Wooster) | Northeast 4 (Wooster)

Division V brackets

Northeast 1 (Cleveland Heights) | Northeast 2 (Firestone) | Northeast 3 (Cleveland Heights) | Northeast 4 (Firestone)

Division VI brackets

Northeast 1 (Salem) | Northeast 2 (Gilmour Academy) | Northeast 3 (Gilmour Academy) | Northeast 4 (Salem)

Division VII brackets

Northeast 1 (Mineral Ridge) | Northeast 2 (Smithville) | Northeast 3 (Smithville)