CLASS 6A

Another case in which we came up just short of going “undefeated”.  This time around, it was Fort Myers, a seven seed, going on the road and easily defeating the two seed Palmetto Ridge in Naples.  We were fortunate that Gainesville was able to hold off Orange Park Oakleaf by a single point at home.  In Central Florida, both Edgewater and Oviedo, the one and two seeds in Region Two, had four and five point wins respectively at home.  In Tampa, Clearwater Countryside gave Wharton more than it bargained for but fell by five points.

Best Matchup: Pick either of the two games in Region Four and you won’t be disappointed.  Top seed Pembroke Pines Charter hosts a rugged South Plantation squad while St. Thomas Aquinas hosts a gritty Dwyer team in Fort Lauderdale.  Regardless of who wins, it won’t be a surprise.  Each team has the talent to win it all in this classification.

Best Chance for an Upset: We’ll pick a pair, both in Region Two. Bartow is peaking at the right time and could go into Orlando Edgewater and give the Eagles fits.  Edgewater’s district final and first round regional wins have been much closer than anticipated.  Bartow will look to continue its winning ways.  Stuart South Fork comes in a bit overlooked but shouldn’t be.  They were among the best teams along the Treasure Coast all season long and have a way of sneaking up on teams that don’t give them the respect they more than deserve.  Oviedo needs to be ready this coming Thursday.

Our Picks

Wiregrass Ranch over Gainesville Buchholz

Ponte Vedra over Gainesville

Edgewater over Bartow

Oviedo over Stuart South Fork

Tamp Leto over Tampa Wharton

Punta Gorda Charlotte over Fort Myers

Pembroke Pines Charter over South Plantation

Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas over Palm Beach Gardens Dwyer

CLASS 7A

Our 13-3 record in our opening round picks was okay but the “weakest” of our classification picks overall. In Region One, Ocoee went on the road (though not very far) and defeated Lake Brantley in Altamonte Springs.  Region Three gave us the other surprises as Plant City, the six seed, defeated three-seed Tampa Plant by three while in Sarasota, seven seed Riverview beat crosstown rival Sarasota High by four points.  That later score is a tad ironic as our friend B.J. Ivey is the coach at Sarasota High.  Before that he was an assistant at Florida Gulf Coast and prior to that he was the coach at Riverview.  No doubt he is happy for his kids that he coached at Riverview but sad for his current squad.  We admit to being fortunate that Lake Worth was able to squeak past Wellington by three on the Trojans home court while we went off script in picking Orlando Olympia to go on the road and defeat Fort Pierce Central, which the Titans did.  Finally, have to admit to being a bit surprised that Oak Ridge took down eight seed Kissimmee Osceola by just eleven points.

Best Matchup: The Coral Springs-Miam High matchup intrigues us.  Coral Springs is a group of 6’2 to 6’5 guys that can play multiple positions, various styles, and various speeds.  Miami High is all juniors, has good size and has the ability to punish opponents inside.  No doubt the seniors at Coral Springs (four of the five starters) want their playoff run to last as long as possible.  Also, round three of Olympia vs. Windermere should be a good one.  Windermere has won the two matchups this season, both on Olympia’s home floor.  Can the Wolverines do it a third time?

Best Chance for an Upset: Region One is a toss-up and it wouldn’t shake us if Ocoee were to defeat Evans Tuesday night.  Also, Oak Ridge better not take Lake Worth lightly.  The Pioneers defeated the Trojans in Lake Worth last season in this round and no doubt Lake Worth would like to return the favor.

Our Picks

Orlando Evans over Ocoee

Sanford Seminole over Orlando University

Orlando Oak Ridge over Lake Worth

Orlando Olympia over Windermere

Winter Haven over Tampa Durant

Plant City over Sarasota Riverview

Miami Christopher Columbus over Davie Western

Coral Springs over Miami Senior