Northeast 1 @ Massillon Perry H.S.

Sectional Semifinals – February 11th
#27 Chardon @ #5 Walsh Jesuit, 1:00pm
#17 Madison @ #14 Cleveland Heights, 1:00pm
#34 Euclid @ #2 Canton McKinley, 1:00pm

Sectional Semifinals – February 13th
#19 North Canton Hoover @ #18 Mentor, 6:00pm

Sectional Finals – February 16th
Mentor/Hoover winner @ #9 Painesville Riverside, 7:00pm
#25 Mayfield vs/@ Walsh Jesuit/Chardon winner, 7:00pm
Cleveland Heights/Madison winner @ #13 Akron Ellet, 7:00pm
#32 Canton GlenOak vs/@ McKinley/Euclid winner, 7:00pm

Best Sectional Semifinal Matchups
Madison @ Cleveland Heights – Matchup between 2nd place finisher in the Western Reserve Conference & the 3rd place finisher in the Lake Erie League. Both teams are averaging 55 points per game. Cleveland Heights only losses at home this season came at home against Warrensville Heights (LEL champs) and Shaker Heights (LEL 2nd place) on January 7th and January 11th. Madison hasn’t lost a road game since January 11th @ Riverside.

Hoover @ Mentor – This is a matchup between two teams that had losing records in conference play, but both of their conferences are in the top 3 conferences in Northeast Ohio. Mentor is averaging about five points more per game (49 to Hoover’s 44) and has the home court advantage, but Hoover has played a tougher non-conference schedule. This will be an interesting matchup to consider going to see on Monday evening.

Underrated Sectional Semifinal Matchup
Chardon @ Walsh Jesuit – From a seed perspective, this might not be an enticing matchup. However, Chardon can score points as they’ve scored 59 points or more nine times, 60 points or more seven times, and even scored over 90 points against a D2 Edgewood team that will probably host two tournament games. Walsh Jesuit has had a tougher non-conference schedule, has home court advantage, and is 3-0 vs common opponents while Chardon is 0-2 (Struthers and Notre Dame – Cathedral Latin), but you can’t count out Chardon with how many points they can put on the scoreboard.

Potential Marquee Sectional Final Matchups
Hoover/Mentor @ Riverside – Whoever wins the Mentor-Hoover game on Monday will have a tough task of traveling to Riverside, who has won 19 of their last 20 games and is undefeated at home this season. Riverside won the Western Reserve Conference with a 12-0 conference record and has only lost one true road game (at Stow). Their other two losses came at neutral site against Marlington (at West Branch) and Louisville (at South Range). Riverside beat Mentor 45-37 on January 9th and Hoover has a common opponent with Riverside (Riverside lost to Louisville 61-66, Hoover lost to Louisville 42-60).

Madison/Cleveland Heights @ Akron Ellet – Whether Madison or Cleveland Heights wins on Saturday, this might be one of the best sectional final matchups in Northeast Ohio. Ellet has five losses, but all five are non-conference games against solid opponents in Wadsworth, Norton, Lake, Walsh Jesuit, and Hoban. Ellet averaged around 59 points per game this season and had an average margin of victory in conference play at 46 points differential per game. Only two losses at home for Ellet are Wadsworth (season opener) and Norton (January 18th).

Summary – Canton McKinley is the favorite in this district, but you can’t rule out others like Walsh Jesuit and Riverside. The most entertaining section might be Ellet-Cleveland Hts-Madison. Should be an entertaining game between Cleveland Heights and Madison and another great one between that winner and Akron Ellet. If the top seeds advance, Riverside vs Walsh Jesuit could be the best game in this entire district.

============================================================
Northeast 2 @ Perry H.S.

Sectional Semifinals – February 11th
#28 Kent Roosevelt @ #6 Archbishop Hoban, 1:00pm
#22 Austintown Fitch @ #16 Boardman, 1:00pm
#30 Warren Harding @ #6 Stow-Munroe Falls, 1:00pm
#29 Twinsburg @ #4 Hathaway Brown, 1:00pm

Sectional Finals – February 16th
#26 Cuyahoga Falls vs/@ Hoban/Roosevelt winner, 7:00pm
Boardman/Fitch winner @ #11 Shaker Heights, 7:00pm
Stow/Harding winner @ #3 Green, 7:00pm
#23 Massillon Washington vs/@ Hathaway Brown/Twinsburg winner, 7:00pm

Best Sectional Semifinal Matchup
Austintown Fitch @ Boardman – A matchup between All-American conference opponents in the sectional semifinals. Boardman had a 7-5 record, and Fitch had a 5-7 record with common opponents (Boardman beat West Branch and Howland twice while Fitch lost to West Branch and lost to Howland once). Boardman won 57-48 @ Austintown Fitch on December 21st and Austintown Fitch won @ Boardman 58-51 on January 25th.

Underrated Sectional Semifinal Matchup
Twinsburg @ Hathaway Brown – This one was a little tougher to find an underrated matchup, but if any game is going to be closer than expected, it will most likely be this matchup. Twinsburg has played well down the stretch with a big win over Hudson and a close loss to Nordonia. They also had a close loss to Normandy and Hathaway Brown has some impressive wins this season (North Ridgeville, Shaker Hts, Walsh Jesuit, Louisville, CVCA), but not many of them have been by a huge margin. It will be tough for Twinsburg to go into Hathaway Brown with the crowd and home court advantage, but this could be a closer game than most would be expecting to see there on Saturday.

Potential Marquee Sectional Final Matchups
Boardman/Fitch @ Shaker Heights – Whoever wins the Boardman – Austintown Fitch game will have a tough game at Shaker Heights, as the 2nd place team from the Lake Erie League, has losses to LEL champs, Warrensville Heights, North Ridgeville, Hathaway Brown, and two teams from the best conference in Northeast Ohio (Solon & Strongsville). Only home loss for Shaker Heights was to Warrensville Heights.

Stow @ Green – This might be the best potential Northeast Ohio sectional final matchup in Division I. Stow is the Suburban League – National outright champions and Green is the Federal League co-champions (with Canton McKinley). Although you would say Green has the home court advantage, Green is 5-4 at home this season (losses to Canton McKinley, Hoban, Jackson, and Copley) while Stow is 5-3 on the road (losses to Canfield, Hudson, and Canton McKinley). Against common opponents (Canton McKinley and Massillon Perry), Stow is 1-1 and Green is 3-1. Green is averaging about 44 points per game and Stow is averaging about 41 points per game.

Summary – Anyone who goes to the Perry (Lake) District Semifinals will be in for a treat. Potential Hoban vs Shaker Heights & Green/Stow winner vs Hathaway Brown matchups will be worth the price of admission. Then whoever wins the district semifinal games will be matching up in one of the best district championship games in Northeast Ohio.

============================================================
Northeast 3 @ Ravenna H.S.

Sectional Semifinals – February 11th
#33 Willoughby South @ #1 Solon, 1:00pm
#21 Brush @ #20 Massillon Perry, 1:00pm
#24 Hudson @ #8 Uniontown Lake, 1:00pm

Sectional Finals – February 16th
#35 Ashtabula Lakeside @ Solon/South winner, 7:00pm
Brush/Massillon Perry winner @ #15 Eastlake North, 7:00pm
#31 Nordonia @ #10 Massillon Jackson, 7:00pm
#12 Louisville vs/@ Hudson/Lake winner, 7:00pm

Best Sectional Semifinal Matchups
Brush @ Massillon Perry – From a seeding perspective, this could be a marquee matchup in this district. Brush played a solid regular season schedule to get them ready for postseason play and Perry was in the tough Federal League. Against common opponents (Stow and Jackson), Brush was 0-2 (Loss to Jackson by 41 & Loss to Stow by 3) while Perry was 1-2 (Loss to Stow by 6 & split with Jackson (loss by 13 & won by 17)). Perry has a home record of 4-5 while Brush has a road record of 4-3 (Brush played a lot of neutral site games).

Underrated Sectional Semifinal Matchup –
Hudson @ Lake – Based on seeding, this shouldn’t be a close matchup but Hudson has a big win against a solid opponent and has played some tough teams. Add their tournament win at Louisville last season, and Hudson has a chance at pulling off an upset at Lake. Hudson has a big win over Stow and played tough against Wadsworth later in the season. Lake surprised some people with their play this season in the Federal League and is deserving of their seeding and hosting this tournament game. Lake has a home record of 7-4 while Hudson has a road record of 2-8 this season. Hudson is averaging about 42 points per game while Lake is averaging 53 points per game. Hudson & Lake has one common opponent in Tallmadge. Lake beat Tallmadge 46-40 on November 28th & Hudson lost to Tallmadge 39-46 on January 14th.

Potential Marquee Sectional Final Matchups
Louisville vs/@ Hudson/Lake – The storyline here could be interesting as Louisville will either face the team they lost to in the tournament last year (Hudson), or they will face the team they defeated on the road (Lake) this season (53-49 on February 4th). Louisville is averaging around 52 points per game and has a home record of 6-2 while having a road record of 5-5 this season. Louisville common opponent with Hudson was Western Reserve Academy (Louisville loss @ WRA 53-62, Hudson loss @ WRA 39-54). Louisville common opponents with Lake are Boardman, Dover, Massillon Washington, Canton McKinley, GlenOak, Green, Hoover, Jackson, and Massillon Perry (Louisville 5-4, Lake 10-5)

Brush/Massillon Perry @ Eastlake North – This may not be the season Eastlake North is used to having as they finished 3rd in the Western Reserve Conference, but they still finished the regular season with 15 wins. While averaging about 56 points per game, they have a home record of 8-2 this season (losses to Riverside and Madison). North has no common opponents with Perry but would be a good matchup as it would be a matchup with two of the top 7 conferences in NE Ohio. North has four common opponents with Brush (Lutheran East, Madison, Bedford, and Perry). North is 3-2 (losses to Madison twice) while Brush is 3-1 (loss to Perry).

Summary – Solon is the clear favorite to cut down the nets in Ravenna, but there could potentially be three Federal League (or three Stark County teams if Louisville comes out of that section) joining them in Ravenna. There are a couple interesting sections in this district as both could see any of their three teams make it to the district semifinals. Eastlake North, Brush, or Massillon Perry can make it to the district semifinals and I wouldn’t be surprised at any of them making it. The same would be the section with Lake, Louisville, and Hudson.

============================================================
Northeast 4 @ Valley Forge H.S.

Sectional Semifinals – February 11th
#29 North Olmsted @ #24 Revere, 1:00pm
#30 Berea-Midpark @ #13 Normandy, 1:00pm
#34 Cleveland Rhodes @ #19 Amherst Steele, 1:00pm

Sectional Semifinals – February 13th
#27 Barberton @ #20 Brecksville, 7:00pm

Sectional Finals – February 16th
Revere/North Olmsted winner @ #3 Brunswick, 7:00pm
Normandy/Berea-Midpark winner @ #5 Medina Highland, 7:00pm
Brecksville/Barberton winner @ #7 St. Joseph Academy, 7:00pm
Steele/Rhodes winner @ #3 Midview, 7:00pm

Best Sectional Semifinal Matchup
North Olmsted @ Revere – This is an intriguing matchup as both played in solid conferences as North Olmsted had to face Elyria Catholic, Rocky River, and Westlake (as well as Bay) in conference play while Revere had to face Copley, Highland, and  Tallmadge (as well as Aurora). North Olmsted is averaging 38 points per game while Revere is averaging 41 points per game. North Olmsted has a road record of 3-9 and Revere has a home record of 5-5 going into this tournament game. North Olmsted and Revere have two common opponents (Twinsburg & Elyria Catholic. North Olmsted is 0-2 while Revere is 0-2 as well against those common opponents.

Underrated Sectional Semifinal Matchup
Berea-Midpark @ Normandy – Although this is a mismatch when looking at the seeding, Berea-Midpark plays in one of the top conferences in Northeast Ohio in the Southwestern Conference. Facing teams like Olmsted Falls, Midview, Avon Lake, Avon, North Ridgeville, and Steele will have them ready for tournament play. They only have one common opponent as Normandy is 1-0 (48-33 on 11/22) and Berea-Midpark is 1-1 (48-23 on 12/07 & 44-47 on 01/21). Normandy is averaging 49 points per game while Berea-Midpark is averaging 38 points per game. Normandy has a home record of 10-4 while Berea-Midpark has a road record of 1-9 with the lone win being their last road game against Avon.

Potential Marquee Sectional Final Matchups
Steele @ Midview – Potential Southwestern conference matchup in the Sectional Final could be an intriguing one. Midview won both games in the regular season, but Steele led in their second matchup at Midview through the 1st half. This could be a potential upset. Steele is averaging 48 points per game while Midview is averaging 51 points per game. Steele has a road record of 4-5 and Midview has a home record of 10-1 (loss to Olmsted Falls).

Summary – It’s very likely that this district’s top seeds will advance to the district semifinals. If so, Valley Forge will be one of the top places to be in the district semifinals. Potential Brunswick vs Highland & Midview vs St. Joseph Academy matchups would be a great night of basketball. However, I wouldn’t rule out teams like Normandy, Brecksville, and Steele from playing spoiler from having those be the four teams heading to Valley Forge.

============================================================
Northeast 5 @ Elyria Catholic H.S.

Sectional Semifinals – February 11th
#25 Cleveland JFK @ #23 Cleveland John Marshall, 1:00pm
#21 Cleveland John Hay @ #18 Parma Senior, 1:00pm
#28 North Royalton @ #15 Lakewood, 1:00pm
#33 Elyria @ #6 Medina, 1:00pm

Sectional Finals – February 16th
John Marshall/JFK winner @ #1 Olmsted Falls, 7:00pm
Parma/John Hay winner @ #16 Westlake, 7:00pm
Lakewood/North Royalton winner @ #10 Avon Lake, 7:00pm
#32 Valley Forge vs/@ Medina/Elyria winner, 7:00pm

Best Sectional Semifinal Matchups
Cleveland JFK @ Cleveland John Marshall – A matchup between two of the better Cleveland Senate Athletic League teams, they have one common opponent in Garrett Morgan. John Marshall went 1-0 (55-26 on 02/07) while John F. Kennedy went 1-2 (61-35 on 12/13, 41-44 on 1/17, 32-37 on 2/2). John Marshall is averaging 31 points per game while John F. Kennedy is averaging 45 points per game. JFK has a 2-2 record on the road while John Marshall has a 7-3 home record this season.

John Hay @ Parma – As Parma is wrapping up it’s final season, they’re hoping their final home game is a memorable one with a win. They’ll face a tough task as they take on the CSAL-L champions. Parma is averaging 52 points per game and John Hay is averaging 44 points per game. There is no common opponent, but John Hay has a road record of 6-2 and Parma has a home record of 7-4.

Underrated Sectional Semifinal Matchup
N/A

Potential Marquee Sectional Final Matchups
Lakewood @ Avon Lake – With three common opponents, Lakewood @ Avon Lake could be a marquee matchup. Lakewood went 0-3 while Avon Lake went 1-3 against common opponents (Brunswick, North Ridgeville, Rocky River). Avon Lake defeated North Ridgeville 51-46 on December 5th and lost 39-44 on January 14th. Lakewood lost to North Ridgeville 32-42 on January 23rd. Avon Lake is averaging 48 points per game while Lakewood is averaging 50 points per game. Avon Lake has a home record of 8-2 while Lakewood has a road record of 7-3 this season.

Summary – Olmsted Falls is the clear favorite in this district, but Medina will most likely make it to Elyria Catholic as well. The other two sections are going to be chaotic as John Hay, Parma, and Westlake all have a chance to make it out of their section as well as Lakewood having a potential intriguing matchup at Avon Lake with a berth to Elyria Catholic on the line. Westlake section as well as Lakewood and Avon Lake will have something to say about it, but most likely will be a collision course between Olmsted Falls and Medina.

============================================================
Northeast 6 @ Medina H.S.

Sectional Semifinals – February 11th
#26 Akron Firestone @ #22 Lorain, 1:00pm
#35 Maple Heights @ #9 Wadsworth, 1:00pm
#31 Garfield Heights @ #12 Avon, 1:00pm

Sectional Finals – February 16th
Lorain/Firestone winner @ #2 Magnificat, 6:00pm
#17 Wooster @ #14 North Ridgeville, 7:00pm
#11 Strongsville vs/@ Wadsworth/Maple Heights winner, 7:00pm
Avon/Garfield Heights winner @ #8 Rocky River, 7:00pm

Best Sectional Semifinal Matchup
Firestone @ Lorain – This is a tough one to choose since there are no common opponents and the stats are fairly similar. Lorain is averaging around 40 points per game while in the Lake Erie League and Firestone averaging around 40 pointer per game while in the Akron City Series. Firestone has a 2-6 road record while Lorain has a 4-5 home record. Lorain will have the home court advantage, but this could be the best sectional semifinal matchup in this district.

Underrated Sectional Semifinal Matchup
N/A

Potential Marquee Sectional Final Matchups
Wooster @ North Ridgeville – This is a sectional final matchup already set as there is no sectional semifinal for this section. Wooster plays in the Ohio Cardinal Conference while North Ridgeville plays in the Southwestern Conference. There is no common opponents between these two teams. North Ridgeville is averaging 49 points per game and has a home record of 8-3 this season. Wooster is averaging 51 points per game while having a road record of 3-5 this season.

Strongsville @ Wadsworth – Strongsville and Wadsworth has five common opponents with Strongsville going 0-8 in those games and Wadsworth going 0-5 in those games (Magnificat, Midview, Brunswick, Medina, and Solon). Strongsville is averaging 50 points per game while having a road record of 4-7 this season. Wadsworth is averaging 47 points per game while having a home record of 7-4 this season.

Avon @ Rocky River – A potential matchup of two teams about 11 miles apart, they have five common opponents. Avon is 4-3 against those opponents (losses to Avon Lake, North Ridgeville, and Hathaway Brown) while Rocky River went 6-0 against those opponents. Avon has a road record of 4-5 while averaging 49 points per game this season. Rocky River has a home record of 10-3 while averaging 46 points per game on the season.

Summary – Magnificat will be the favorite in this district but they’ll have to get through some tough competition before that happens. In a potential district semifinal matchup, Magnificat will have the chance to get revenge on North Ridgeville knocking them out of the tournament a couple years ago. North Ridgeville has to get past Wooster before they can think about knocking off Magnificat again. As for the other half of the district, it wouldn’t shock me to see Avon, Rocky River, Strongsville, or Wadsworth in the district championship game. That district semifinal game between Avon-Rocky River winner and Strongsville-Wadsworth winner would be a great one to see along with the potential Magnificat-North Ridgeville district semifinal matchup at Medina High School.