CLASS 3A

We were so, so close to an unblemished record in our semis picks.  Our lone miss was an absolute thriller in Coconut Creek, where St. Andrew’s made one of two free throws with under a second left to lift them over host North Broward Prep.  Now they face Calvary Christian, considered a top five team in the country.  In North Florida’s Region One, both top seed Andrew Jackson and second seed Newberry advanced easily.  In Region Two, both Lake Highland out of Orlando and The Villages Charter each posted double-digit victories.  This sets up a contest between two of the top eleven teams in the state regardless of classification in #3 Lake Highland and #11 The Villages.  Finally, in South Florida’s Region Four, both home teams got a severe test.  Top seed Cardinal Gibbons survived a two-point contest by a gritty Pine Crest squad.  Across town, NSU University School held of SLAM out of Miami by a single bucket.  The teams met just three weeks ago in the district tournament final where “U-School” won by two points.

Best Matchup: All four regional finals should be superb.  Both Jackson and Newberry can put up points in bunches.  Jackson will need to find a way to contain Newberry’s senior star Juwan Scippio while the Panthers will have to contend with the Tigers’ 6’8 senior Donald Hackworth on the interior.  In Region Two, Lake Highland Prep has been impressive all season long with an outstanding combination of offensive cohesiveness, three-point shooting, and a very connected defense.  They only have one loss on the season.  While The Villages Charter comes in with seven losses on the season, that has more to do with playing a national schedule as well as some of the best teams in the state.  On paper, the Buffaloe has the advantage when it comes to size and supposed “star power”.  However, there have been times where The Villages have come out flat and had to find a way to come through at the end.  They can’t let that happen against the Highlanders.  Region Three’s final is a District 8 rematch in which Calvary won by double-digits.  That will mean very little to either team Saturday night.  Expect St. Andrew’s to make the needed adjustments to make it a close contest.  In Region Four, it isn’t wrong to assume that the success that NSU University has experienced this season is a bit of a surprise.  They own a two-point win over district rival Cardinal Gibbons in the district title game and look to repeat that outcome three weeks later.  Four of Gibbon’s six losses have come by two points or less suggesting they are absolutely itching for the chance at redemption.

Best Chance for an Upset: Simply because Calvary Christian is ranked so high nationally, St. Andrew’s is the only team that can pull off an upset on Saturday.  In the other three games, it really is too close to call.

Our Picks

Andrew Jackson over Newberry

Lake Highland over The Villages

Calvary Christian over St. Andrew’s

Cardinal Gibbons over NSU University

CLASS 4A

Another round of home court dominance as 7 of the eight host teams won on Saturday.  The only outlier was Eastside’s defeat of top seed North Marion in Region Two.  This was the fourth meeting this season between the two district rivals and North Marion had won all three.  In Region One, Bishop Kenny had zero issues with visiting Pensacola while Tallahassee Godby had to work a bit harder to dispatch Fort Walton.  The other matchup in Region Two saw host school Port Orange Atlantic held off Palm Bay.  In Region Three it is no surprise that it comes down to Boca Ciega and Gibbs.  Gibbs is looking for a fourth straight trip to the state semi-finals.  Down in South Florida’s Region Four, Suncoast was able to hold off Mater Lakes Academy while Stranahan looks to be getting into a groove with a double-digit win over Northwestern.  Stranahan is looking to win its second straight title but will have its hands full against a fast and fearless Chargers squad.

Best Matchup: We’ll go with the matchup down south in Region Four.  These district rivals are ranked #2 (Suncoast) and #4 (Stranahan) in the classification.  The Dragons of Stranahan returned four starters from last season’s state champ and were lauded as one of the better teams in the state regardless of class coming into the season.  Based on their 14-13 record, they shouldn’t be ranked so high but that impressive strength of schedule overcomes that.  Stranahan won the district title over Suncoast at Suncoast by a single point, so this game could go either way and it wouldn’t surprise.

Best Chance for an Upset: The only contest that is not a one vs. two is Eastside travelling to the coast to take on Port Orange Atlantic.  The four seed Eastside seems to have gotten on a bit of a roll and looks to keep that going.  In the other three regional finals, no matter what team wins it won’t be a shock.

Our Picks

Bishop Kenny over Tallahassee Godby

Port Orange Atlantic over Eastside

Gibbs over Boca Ciega

Suncoast over Stranahan