OHSAA Division II Playoff Preview: Regions 5 + 6

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The OHSAA playoff brackets were announced on Sunday and it's time to preview each of the 16 regions with a preview of the top teams and potential upsets to look out for.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Region 5 (Northeast)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Favorite</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With Lutheran West moving to Region 6, this region is now wide open and I don't think any team has established themselves as a clear favorite.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Contenders</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Youngstown Ursuline: After disappointing early exits the past two years, Ursuline looks poised to win a district title and make a real push at a Dayton trip.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>CVCA: A team that has been one of the surprise stories in the state, I think Matt Futch should be a candidate for Division II coach of the year across the state.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Creston Norwayne: Their win over Medina and an unbeaten conference record is what Norwayne can hang their hats on. We'll see if Buchtel was smart to attack them early in the bracket or if they'll avoid a home loss.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Sleepers</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gilmour: A team that usually exceeds playoff expectations due to excellent coaching and late game execution, Gilmour is the fourth seeded team on their side of the district, but don't be surprised if they are the last one standing and make it to another district final.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Holy Name: With two juniors that can take over a game in [player_tooltip player_id='1875366' first='Maxwell' last='Bollin'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2296993' first='Drew' last='Styers'], few teams seeded outside the top 20 can match their firepower. Don't be surprised if they end up in a district title game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Buchtel: It feels weird to list Buchtel in the sleepers category but the 19th seed in northeast Ohio has a chance to emerge from the toughest district top to bottom with Creston Norwayne, Glenville and Canfield alongside them.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Warrensville Heights: Another team that's severely under-seeded, Warrensville Heights pushed one of the top teams in the state in Garfield Heights on the road. They hit some bumps near the end of the season but this team still has the talent to win a district.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Region 6 (Northwest)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Favorite</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lutheran West: A prohibitive favorite in Division II across the state, Lutheran West has a senior group with [player_tooltip player_id='1477054' first='Jayson' last='Levis'], [player_tooltip player_id='1352458' first='Derek' last='Fairley'], Tino Yl-Junnila and [player_tooltip player_id='1068249' first='Dylan' last='Bartchak']. This group is playing its best basketball of the season right now as well with multiple signature wins this month alone. It's going to take a great performance to knock them off.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Contenders</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lexington: Only one loss all season and they hold a head to head win over Shelby already, they could meet again in a district final.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Shelby: They could get revenge on rival Lexington as seniors [player_tooltip player_id='1225066' first='Alex' last='Bruskotter'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1421138' first='Casey' last='Lantz'] will look to make another regional trip.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Sleepers</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Toledo Central Catholic: Playing mostly Division I schools, this young team has experienced a lot of growing paints but still has the talent to make a run if it clicks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bellevue: The toughest district in the region by far is northwest 3 with two clear top dogs and four more teams (Bellevue, Mansfield Senior, Willand and Sandusky Perkins) all capable of making noise. I went with Bellevue because they've gotten revenge on three of the four teams that have beat them this season and they took down Willard as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lima Shawnee: In a wide open district, Shawnee could be the team that makes some noise. They are led by the Bertke brothers who are freshman and sophomores, so they could be a year early to compete this year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->