CLASS 1A

Unlike last Thursday in the Regional Semi-Finals, the favorites all made it through to Lakeland.  Like last year, Chipley defeated Jay to punch their ticket.  Crossroad and Hilliard had no problems on their respective home courts.  Williston continued to make a mockery of the games against opponents in this classification.  For now, it looks like Williston vs Chipley will be the 1 vs 4 semi-finals and Hilliard vs. Crossroad Academy in the 2 vs 3 game.  We’ll provide our predictions for the semi-final winners and champion before the start of the tournament next week.

CLASS 2A

We did pretty well, going 7-1 with our picks. Our only blemish was Jacksonville University Christian taking down neighboring rival NFEI by a point on the road.  All four #1 seeds advanced to the regional final and three of the four regional finals will feature #1 vs. #2 matchups.  The only “outlier” is #1 Jacksonville Impact Christian hosting #3 Jacksonville University Christian.

Best Matchup: All look to be excellent but there is a LOT of buzz around the Orlando Christian Prep/Lakeland Victory Christian contest.  Lorenzo Cason of VC has been lighting up scoreboards all year while OCP has been winning with an extremely stingy defense.  It isn’t a vintage OCP team as it lacks the size that has made the Warriors so formidable in the past.  Still, OCP is King of the 2A Hill in this region until they get knocked off. This will be OCP’s first regional final on the road in recent memory.

Best Chance for an Upset: Very tough to pick against the top-seeds in this classification.  Tampa SLAM and Sagemont look like very safe bets at home on Friday night.  Depending on whom you talk with, OCP/Victory Christian is a toss-up.  Isaiah Brown is now back and healthy for OCP and the Gator signee is eager to extend his senior season.  Impact Christian was rated #7 in the class going into the district playoffs while University Christian was right behind them, not only at #8 in the class but #154 overall to Impact’s #153 ranking overall.

Our Picks

Jacksonville Impact Christian over Jacksonville University Christian

Orlando Christian Prep over Lakeland Victory Christian

Tampa SLAM Academy over Clearwater Lakeside Christian

Weston Sagemont over Miami True North Classical

CLASS 3A

We finished 7-1 in our picks from the regional semis.  Our only blemish was Melbourne Holy Trinity Episcopal going on the road and taking down Lakeland Santa Fe Catholic.  Both Jacksonville Providence and Fort Myers Gateway Charter had tough wins at home by just two points against strong opponents.  One of the bigger surprises was Westminster Academy of Fort Lauderdale taking down Boca Raton St. Andrew’s by only four.

Best Matchup: We REALLY want it to be Fort Lauderdale Westminster Academy hosting Miami Riviera Prep.  It really is a shame that the #1 vs #2 teams in the classification meet at this stage of the playoffs.  Last year, Westminster blew a double-digit lead and Riviera Prep went on to win the 3A state title.  This should be one of the best games of the playoffs regardless of classification.

Best Chance for an Upset: Providence and Episcopal have played so many times over the years that it wouldn’t surprise who won.  However, it might surprise you to know that the gap between their rankings (Providence #3 and Episcopal #7), is the largest of the four matchups on Friday night.  Both teams are loaded with seniors and each will have a burning desire to extend their season.

Our Picks

Jacksonville Providence over Jacksonville Episcopal

Orlando Windermere Prep over Melbourne Holy Trinity

Tampa Berkeley Prep over Fort Myers Gateway Charter

Fort Lauderdale Westminster Academy over Miami Riviera Prep