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Welcome to the second edition of
Trail Trash for 2009. Due to the Swami having some family obligations,
this edition will be much shorter than our normal product. Please,
please stop all the applauding.
Looking at sectional and
district results from around Northwest Ohio, the Swami posted a 105-44
(70%) win/loss record and correctly picked 7 of the 12 district
champions. Given the parody around NW Ohio as well as a number of
upsets, that isn’t too bad. The Swami really stunk it up in D2 with a
13-14 record to go along with zero district champions (the “expert” went
with Toledo Central Catholic and Tiffin Columbian as his projected
champions).
Speaking of experts, there were
nine teams from NW Ohio across the divisions that were ranked in the
final Associated Press poll. Of those nine, only D4 Plymouth won a
district championship. The two biggest surprises were New Knoxville and
the D3 district at Elida.
Defending D4 state champ New
Knoxville’s amazing streak of forty-nine consecutive wins came to an end
in the district final against Ada. The Swami has attended the state
tournament for the past thirty years, and New Knoxville’s 2008 team was
as good as any D4 team he has ever seen. Unlike the 2008 team, the 2009
team had some close games including an early season win over Ada but was
still able to maintain the streak until the district final. New
Knoxville’s streak was one of the great accomplishments in Ohio high
school basketball history.
Heading into the tournament, the
D3 district at Elida was eagerly anticipated with three of the top seven
D3 teams in the state in defending state champion Ottawa-Glandorf,
Liberty-Benton, and St. Henry. St. Henry didn’t even make it out of the
sectionals and L-B and O-G both lost in the district to Coldwater. I
guess that’s why they play the games.
Time to move beyond Northwest
Ohio. Let’s go to the picks.
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DIVISION
I
Seven of the seventeen teams
ranked in the final Associated Press poll have advanced to the regional
tournament. Six teams (Lakewood St. Edward’s, Mentor, Warren Harding,
Cincinnati Princeton, Cincinnati St. Xavier, Dublin Scioto) are repeat
regional qualifiers from 2008. For Lakewood St. Edward’s and Cincinnati
St. Xavier, this marks a fifth consecutive trip to the regional.
Defending D1 state champion Newark lost to Dublin Scioto in a district
final.
REGIONALS
CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY: #8
Warren Harding is the only ranked team at the Wolstein Center. Warren
Harding defeated #16 Cleveland Heights in a district semifinal.
Semifinals-Mentor over North
Ridgeville; Warren Harding over Lakewood St. Edward’s
Final-Warren Harding over Mentor
COLUMBUS FAIRGROUNDS COLISEUM:
#1 Columbus Northland and #6 Dublin Scioto are ranked teams at the
Barn. Cincinnati St. Xavier eliminated #3 Middletown in a district
semifinal.
Semifinals-Dublin Scioto over
Cincinnati St. Xavier; Columbus Northland over Grove City
Final-Dublin Scioto over
Columbus Northland
XAVIER UNIVERSITY: #2
Cincinnati Princeton, #11 Cincinnati LaSalle, and #16 Centerville are
ranked teams at the Cintas Center. Cincinnati Aiken defeated #5
Cincinnati Moeller in a district final while Centerville eliminated #13
Trotwood-Madison in their district final.
Semifinals-Cincinnati Princeton
over Cincinnati Aiken; Centerville over Cincinnati LaSalle
Final-Cincinnati Princeton over
Centerville
UNIVERSITY OF AKRON: #7
Barberton is the only ranked team at the JAR. The Barberton/North
Canton Hoover semifinal will be played at Akron with the Toledo St.
John’s/Lima Senior semifinal tipping off at the University of Toledo’s
Savage Arena. North Canton stopped #4 Canton Timken in a district final
with Toledo St. John’s eliminating #12 Sylvania Southview in a district
semifinal.
Semifinals-North Canton Hoover
over Barberton; Toledo St. John’s Jesuit over Lima Senior
Final-North Canton Hoover over
Toledo St. John’s Jesuit
STATE
For the twelfth consecutive
year, D1 will close out the state tournament. The semifinals will be
Friday night with the championship game on Saturday night.
Semifinals-Dublin Scioto over
Warren Harding; Cincinnati Princeton over North Canton Hoover
Final-Cincinnati Princeton over
Dublin Scioto
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DIVISION II
Seven of the fourteen teams
ranked in the final Associated Press poll are in the regional
tournament. Just three teams (defending D2 state champ Chillicothe, St.
Paris Graham, Vermilion) also advanced to the regionals in 2008.
Chillicothe is making a third straight trip to the regional. Top-ranked
St. Paris Graham is the only undefeated team in D2. Xavier University
replaces Wright State as a regional site in D2.
REGIONALS
OHIO UNIVERSITY: #2 Circleville
Logan Elm and #11 Chillicothe are ranked teams at the Convo. Carrollton
defeated #6 Dover in a district final.
Semifinals-Cambridge over
Carrollton; Circleville Logan Elm over Chillicothe
Final-Circleville Logan Elm over
Cambridge
XAVIER UNIVERSITY: #1 St. Paris
Graham, #4 Wilmington, and #10 Dayton Thurgood Marshall are ranked teams
at Xavier. St. Paris Graham eliminated #5 Cincinnati Indian Hill and
Dayton Thurgood Marshall stopped #9 Cincinnati Roger Bacon in district
finals while Wilmington defeated #13 Dayton Dunbar in a district
semifinal. Dayton Thurgood Marshall was formerly known as Dayton
Colonel White.
Semifinals-St. Paris Graham over
Columbus Bishop Watterson; Dayton Thurgood Marshall over Wilmington
Final-St. Paris Graham over
Dayton Thurgood Marshall
CANTON CIVIC CENTER: #3 Akron
St. Vincent St. Mary is the only ranked team at Canton. Akron East
upset #7 Cleveland Benedictine and Streetsboro eliminated #12 Poland
Seminary in district finals.
Semifinals-Akron SVSM over
Streetsboro; Akron East over University School
Final-Akron AVSM over Akron East
BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY:
#8 Columbus DeSales is the only ranked team at Bowling Green. This is
the first regional appearance for Galion.
Semifinals-Galion over
Vermilion; Columbus DeSales over Elida
Final-Columbus DeSales over
Galion
STATE
The
D2 semifinals will be the day games on Friday while the championship
game will be played late Saturday afternoon.
Semifinals-St. Paris Graham over
Circleville Logan Elm; Columbus DeSales over Akron SVSM
Final-St. Paris Graham over
Columbus DeSales
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DIVISION
III
Seven of the twelve teams ranked
in the final Associated Press poll are playing in the regional
tournament. Just three teams (Smithville, Cuyahoga Valley Christian
Academy, Anna) are making a second straight trip to the regional
tournament. Defending D3 state champion Ottawa-Glandorf was eliminated
by Coldwater in a district final. Smithville and Seaman North Adams are
the only undefeated teams in D3. Wilmington College replaces Wright
State as a regional site in D3.
REGIONALS
CANTON FIELDHOUSE: #1
Smithville and #9 Cleveland Central Catholic are ranked teams at Canton.
Semifinals-Cleveland Central
Catholic over Leavittsburg LaBrae; Smithville over Campbell Memorial
Final-Smithville over Cleveland
Central Catholic
OHIO UNIVERSITY: #8 Piketon and
#10 Seaman North Adams are ranked teams at OU. Any chance that Jim
Marquette officiates a regional game at Athens?
Semifinals-Seaman North Adams
over Piketon; Grandview Heights over Buckeye Trail
Final-Seaman North Adams over
Grandview Heights
WILMINGTON COLLEGE: #3 Miami
East and #4 Anna are ranked teams at Wilmington.
Semifinals-Anna over Miami East;
Bloom-Carroll over Dayton Christian
Final-Anna over Bloom-Carroll
BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY:
There are no ranked teams at BGSU. In addition to their win over #5
Ottawa-Glandorf, Coldwater also eliminated #2 Liberty-Benton in the
district tournament. This is the first regional appearance for Colonel
Crawford.
Semifinals-Cuyahoga Valley
Christian Academy over Tinora; Coldwater over Colonel Crawford
Final-Coldwater over Cuyahoga
Valley Christian Academy
STATE
The D3 semifinals will be the
Thursday evening games with the championship game being the early
Saturday afternoon game.
Semifinals-Smithville over
Seaman North Adams; Anna over Coldwater
Final-Anna over Smithville
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DIVISION
IV
Five of the fifteen teams ranked
in the final Associated Press poll have advanced to the regional
tournament. Four teams (Oak Hill, Canal Winchester Harvest Prep,
Plymouth, Lockland) were regional qualifiers in 2008. Harvest Prep also
advanced to the regional in 2007 while Lockland will be making a fifth
consecutive regional appearance. Berlin Hiland is the only undefeated
team in D4. Defending D4 state champion New Knoxville was eliminated by
Ada in a district final. Kettering Fairmont replaces the University of
Dayton and Ohio University replaces the Columbus Fairgrounds Coliseum as
regional sites in D4.
REGIONALS
BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY:
#7 Plymouth is the only ranked team at BG. Kalida had a great district
tournament with wins over #14 Delphos St. John’s and #12 Pandora-Gilboa.
McComb eliminated #13 Pettisville in a district final. This is the
first regional appearance for Toledo Christian.
Semifinals-McComb over Toledo
Christian; Kalida over Plymouth
Final-Kalida over McComb
CANTON FIELDHOUSE: #2 Berlin
Hiland and #3 Cleveland Heights Lutheran East are ranked teams at
Canton. Lutheran East advanced to the regional with a win over #6
Bedford Chanel while Berlin Hiland eliminated #11 Malvern in a district
semifinal. This is the first regional appearance for Youngstown
Christian.
Semifinals-Youngstown Christian
over Warren JFK; Lutheran East over Berlin Hiland
Final-Lutheran East over
Youngstown Christian
KETTERING FAIRMONT HIGH SCHOOL:
There are no ranked teams at the Trent Arena. In addition to Ada’s win
over #1 New Knoxville, Lockland eliminated #9 Dayton Jefferson and Fort
Loramie defeated #5 South Charleston Southeastern in district final
games. Cincinnati Summit Country Day eliminated #8 Cincinnati Seven
Hills in a district semifinal.
Semifinals-Lockland over Fort
Loramie; Ada over Cincinnati Summit Country Day
Final-Lockland over Ada
OHIO UNIVERSITY: #4 Oak Hill
and #10 Newark Catholic are ranked teams in the OU regional. The
Harvest Prep/Newark Catholic semifinal will be played at the Fairgrounds
Coliseum with the Oak Hill/Racine Southern semifinal scheduled for the
Convo. Harvest Prep defeated #14 Worthington Christian in a district
final game.
Semifinals-Canal Winchester
Harvest Prep over Newark Catholic; Oak Hill over Racine Southern
Final-Oak Hill over Canal
Winchester Harvest Prep
STATE
D4 will kick off the
eighty-seventh annual Boys State Basketball Tournament on Thursday,
March 26. The championship game will be played Saturday morning.
Semifinals-Cleveland Heights
Lutheran East over Kalida; Oak Hill over Lockland
Final-Cleveland Heights Lutheran
East over Oak Hill
That ends Trail Trash for
another year. We continue to appreciate your support and value your
feedback. All predictions and opinions are those of the Swami. Please
contact
davey1@davey1.com with any opinions, comments, or
corrections. See you in Columbus if not sooner.
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Publisher: Davey1.com
Brackets: Davey1.com
Predictions: The Swami
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