OHSAA Division I Playoff Preview: Region 4 (SW)

Michael Roth February 19, 2024 @ 03:18 PM

<p>We're going through the OHSAA playoffs by taking a region by region look at who the projected top teams are and who could shake the bracket up. In this article we'll be starting Division I with the first region to tip off, southwest.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Favorite</h2>   <p>Archbishop Moeller: A team that didn't have the preseason hype of some other teams around the state, Moeller has handled their business and finished off a 21-1 regular season that included numerous difficult games. [player_tooltip player_id='1688316' first='Eric' last='Mahaffey'] has blossomed into a star, Aj McBride has slowly gotten his feet under him after recovering from a summer injury. [player_tooltip player_id='2023893' first='Noah' last='George'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1068241' first='Kyle' last='Havens'] play big roles as experienced seniors. [player_tooltip player_id='1617820' first='Alex' last='Kazanecki'] provides a scoring punch, [player_tooltip player_id='1432033' first='Kingston' last='Land'] is their interior presence. This team is deep, experienced, have winning pedigree, they are the clear favorite in this region. Their lone loss comes to potential regional opponent, Centerville.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Contenders</h2>   <p>Cincinnati St Xavier: Their Junior duo of [player_tooltip player_id='1462534' first='Jacob' last='Wassler'] and Donovan Waleskowki scored 22 of their 39 points in their win over Elder to split the season series. The Bombers have a tough sectional draw with either conference rival La Salle or Lakota East in their first playoff game. Then they'd likely see Hamilton or Fairfield to try and advance to a district title.</p>   <p>Centerville: A team that has been up and down all season, the Elks are the lone team to beat Moeller all season. With seniors like [player_tooltip player_id='1222348' first='Jonathan' last='Powell'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1426736' first='Baboucarr' last='Njie'] plus the Greenberg twins, this team has enough talent to make a run. Their inconsistency makes it hard to trust them right now though.</p>   <p>Cincinnati Elder: They were unbeaten in Ohio for a majority of the season, but late season losses to Moeller (Twice) and St Xavier has slowed their momentum heading into tournament play. They'll need junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1462535' first='Cam' last='Williams'] to be at his best to win a district title.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Sleepers</h2>   <p>Oak Hills: A team that's disciplined and playing hot at the right time, Nate Riep, [player_tooltip player_id='1950571' first='Bobby' last='Stidham'] and company could shake things up with a potential battle against CMAC champion Cincinnati Aiken in the second round.</p>   <p>Middletown: In a district with Winton Woods and Centerville in it, Middletown has a tough group to make it out of, but with juniors [player_tooltip player_id='1543003' first='Jeremiah' last='Landers'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1773217' first='Chandler' last='Shields'] leading the charge as Juniors, this could be the year for the Middies to compete. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='1511821' first='Isaac' last='Stamper'] provides physicality in the paint as well, going to be necessary if they meet up with [player_tooltip player_id='1222345' first='Tyler' last='McKinley'] and Winton Woods in the playoffs.</p>   <p>Springboro: I'm very intrigued by the potential Beavercreek Vs Springboro playoff game, for a spot in a district final. These teams split for second place in the conference despite Beavercreek taking both regular season meetings. [player_tooltip player_id='2405956' first='Andrew' last='Hoerner'] led the GWOC in scoring this season.</p>

We're going through the OHSAA playoffs by taking a region by region look at who the projected top teams are and who could shake the bracket up. In this article we'll be starting Division I with the first region to tip off, southwest.