Who’s clinched? Most area basketball teams already know their fate
Only a few days remain in the high school basketball regular season but many local teams already know if their fates will consist of a postseason.
The number of area girls teams to qualify for the WPIAL playoffs is set at nine. So far, 10 boys teams have qualified and that number can grow to as many as 12 by the conclusion of this week.
The WPIAL will hold its annual pairings meeting at 7 p.m., Tuesday night at the DoubleTree Hotel in Green Tree. The district playoffs will begin Friday and Saturday, continuing throughout the next two weeks with the finals at the Petersen Events Center being held at the end of the month.
The nine girls basketball teams advancing to the postseason are Trinity in Class 5A, Belle Vernon in Class 4A, Charleroi in Class 3A, Burgettstown and Chartiers-Houston in Class 2A, and West Greene, Avella, Monessen and California in Class A.
On the boys side, Peters Township has clinched in Class 6A, a South Fayette victory over West Mifflin Tuesday night earned the Lions a spot in Class 5A, Belle Vernon and Ringgold made it in Class 4A, Charleroi, Washington and McGuffey are in from Class 3A, California in Class 2A, and Monessen and West Greene will go in Class A.
Two local boys teams – Trinity and Chartiers-Houston – could both still get in.
The Hillers, who started 9-2, were plagued by a five-game losing streak in the heart of their Class 5A Section 2 schedule to put them in jeopardy. Trinity (7-6, 12-8) is tied with West Allegheny for the final playoff spot in the section; however, the Indians own the tiebreaker because they defeated Trinity in both regular-season meetings.
It’s simple for the Hillers, win and in. A win, even with a West Allegheny victory over Chartiers Valley, would create a three-way tie for the final two spots. West Allegheny would get the first spot based on tiebreakers. South Fayette and Trinity would have split regular-season meetings, meaning Trinity would join the Lions and Indians in the playoffs.
Chartiers-Houston also needs help in Class 2A. The Bucs not only have to defeat Carmichaels in a Section 2 game Friday but have Bentworth, which has yet to win a section game, upset California. A win from the Bearcats would put Chartiers-Houston into the postseason.
Teams will finish section play over the next two days and some will play in non-section games as late as Monday. The non-section games Monday will have no impact on seeding because the basketball committee meets earlier that day to construct the brackets.