Southwest District Previews: Division I

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's tournament time in Ohio, which means it's time to look at some of the brackets for the Sectional/District rounds. Over the next several days, I will previewing brackets from across the state as we begin the tournament just next week. First up, we have the 4 Districts out of Southwest Ohio.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Southwest 1</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Top Teams: Centerville (1), Mason (6), Anderson (7)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sleeper: LaSalle- The Lancers come out of the always tough GCL South and play a brand of basketball that allows them to beat anyone on any given night. A potential matchup with Anderson could be an upset waiting to happen.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Evaluation: Centerville comes in as the highest seed in the bracket and has been one of the top teams in the state behind <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='867934' first='Gabe' last='Cupps']</strong> (Sr) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1222348' first='Jonathan' last='Powell']</strong> (Jr). The closest seed in their sectional is 12-seeded Vandalia Butler. Mason is well coached and loaded with seniors behind <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1285267' first='Jack' last='Ullom']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1285243' first='Matt' last='Debrosse']</strong> to make a bit of a run out of their sectional. Anderson and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='932777' first='Chandler' last='Starks']</strong> (Sr) have had one heck of a season and could make themselves a District title run if they can get through potential games with LaSalle and Mason.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Expected Final: Centerville vs Mason</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Southwest 2</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Top Teams: Moeller (3), Princeton (5), Kings (8)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sleeper: Withrow- Coach Berdo Allen's team has been phenomenal this year and have the pieces behind <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1462472' first='Alexander' last='Parks']</strong> (Sr) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1421135' first='Michael' last='Johnson']</strong> (Jr) to sneak up on teams. A potential rematch with Moeller could be a fun game to watch.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Evaluation: Princeton is loaded with athleticism and has been playing well in 2023. 3 losses by 5 points or less and focusing on tough-nosed defensive basketball should get the Vikings to the District Semis. There they could see Kings, the ECC champs who have been one of the better teams out of Cincinnati not from the GMC or GCL. <strong>Michael Mussari</strong> (Sr) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1222364' first='Talan' last='Noyes']</strong> (Jr) lead this team as they've won 17 games on the year. Moeller comes out of the bottom half of the bracket behind <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1222360' first='AJ' last='McBride']</strong> (Jr). If the Crusaders are healthy, it's hard to pick against Carl Kramer and Moeller come tournament time. Withrow and Lakota East likely will be the ones meeting Moeller to go to the District Final.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Expected Final: Moeller vs Princeton</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Southwest 3</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Top Teams: Elder (2), Fairmont (3), Sycamore (4), Beavercreek (4)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sleeper: Middletown- The Middies played the role of Cinderella last year beating St. Xavier, and now they could do it again as the 13-seed. Having guards <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1543003' first='Jeremiah' last='Landers']</strong> (So), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1068237' first='Delamarr' last='Blanton']</strong> (So), and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1419904' first='Izaiah' last='Day']</strong> (Sr) could give Middletown enough to challenge the likes of Elder or Sycamore in their Sectional.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Evaluation: Elder is the highest seed in the entire District and make a case to be one of the favorites with their size and coaching. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1163451' first='Carson' last='Browne']</strong> (Sr) brings two-way capability at 6-foot-8. Sycamore returns so many seniors from a year ago, but are without <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1222347' first='Raleigh' last='Burgess']</strong> (Jr) which would be a clear counter for the Panthers should the 2 teams meet. Lakota West and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='922592' first='Nathan' last='Dudukovich']</strong> (Sr) have been to the District Finals the past 2 seasons and have a favorable matchup with Sycamore should they get there. The Firebirds beat Sycamore in December and lost by 1 in OT just recently. The bottom half of the bracket consists of several GWOC schools which could make this wide open. Fairmont and Beavercreek are the highest seeds and are considered the favorites as the two teams faced off earlier in the year with Beavercreek winning by 1. Fairmont has multiple guys from last year's Regional qualifier that played on that team and have the defensive pedigree and non-conference preparation to be ready for this bracket. Springboro and Northmont could be sleepers with some familiarity with these teams.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Expected Final: Elder vs Fairmont</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Southwest 4</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Top Teams: Fairfield (1), Wayne (2), Troy (5)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sleeper: St. Xavier- The Bombers are younger this year than previous seasons, but they are extremely well-coached and play the right way. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1718518' first='Donovan' last='Waleskowski']</strong> (So) has had a breakout year and even though the Bombers have lost 4 straight, they have him to lean on and play defensive basketball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Evaluation: Wayne is the highest seed on the top half and have been one of the best teams all year. It's hard to stop <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='867949' first='Lawrent' last='Rice']</strong> (Sr) and especially during the tournament. The Warriors likely will be seeing the Troy Trojans, who are the highest seed from the MVL. The Trojans have a ton of seniors and will play hard every game they get. Fairfield is the highest seed in the District and has one of the most explosive players in the area in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='867933' first='Deshawne' last='Crim']</strong> (Sr) leading their backcourt. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1161957' first='Ray' last='Coney']</strong> (Sr) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1163452' first='Aamir' last='Rogers']</strong> (Sr) compliment Crim and have been one of the most consistent teams in Cincinnati this year. Turpin and St. Xavier likely are the biggest challengers to the Indians. Turpin has the top scorer in the ECC behind <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1203995' first='Brady' last='Hardewig']</strong> (Sr) while St. X beat Fairfield earlier in the year. A rematch between the two would be highly watched.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Expected Final: Fairfield vs Wayne</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->