Sports

Northern Region Basketball Report

Handicapping the boys region tournament

This year's Northern Region tournament on the boys' side figures to be as unpredictable as ever, as fourth-seeded teams from the Patriot and Concorde districts are just as dangerous as the teams at the top of the bracket. Before we start to diagnose the potential postseason madness, let's update the standings.

Boys:

Concorde District

Find out what's happening in Falls Churchwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Team Overall District Herndon 12-2 3-0 Chantilly 12-3 3-0 Westfield 9-5 2-1 Robinson 10-5 1-2 Centreville 4-10 0-3 Oakton 0-14 0-3

Patriot District

Team Overall District T.C. Williams 11-0 6-0 Annandale 8-4 4-2 Lake Braddock 6-7 4-2 West Potomac 9-4 3-3 South County 8-6 3-3 Woodson 8-6 3-3 West Springfield 2-10 1-5 Lee 0-9 0-6

National District

Find out what's happening in Falls Churchwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Team Overall District Yorktown 10-4 6-0 Edison 9-4 4-2 Mount Vernon 8-4 4-2 Wakefield 6-8 3-3 Washington-Lee 5-8 3-3 Falls Church 2-11 2-4 Stuart 2-11 1-5 Hayfield 2-12 1-5

Liberty District

Team Overall District Langley 8-6 6-0 Fairfax 8-6 5-1 McLean 8-4 4-2 South Lakes 6-7 4-2 Jefferson 6-7 2-4 Madison 4-9 2-4 Stone Bridge 2-12 1-5 Marshall 3-11 0-6

Girls:

Concorde District

Team Overall District Oakton 14-1 3-0 Robinson 11-3 2-1 Westfield 7-5 2-1 Centreville 10-5 2-2 Chantilly 7-7 1-2 Herndon 2-11 0-4

Patriot District

Team Overall District West Springfield 12-1 6-0 South County 9-4 5-1 T.C. Williams 8-6 3-3 Woodson 7-6 3-3 Annandale 7-6 3-3 Lake Braddock 5-8 3-3 West Potomac 1-9 1-5 Lee 0-10 0-6

National District

Team Overall District Mount Vernon 11-2 6-0 Edison 10-2 5-1 Yorktown 8-5 4-1 Hayfield 5-8 3-3 Washington-Lee 4-7 2-4 Falls Church 3-9 2-5 Wakefield 3-8 1-5 Stuart 0-13 0-6

Liberty District

Team Overall District Stone Bridge 13-1 5-1 Fairfax 10-4 5-1 Madison 9-4 5-1 Marshall 6-8 3-3 McLean 5-8 3-3 South Lakes 4-9 1-5 Jefferson 2-9 1-5 Langley 1-12 1-5

Bracketology, Northern Region style

We’re halfway through the district season, which means it’s as good a time as any to start thinking about the playoffs. Let’s start with a primer on how the postseason format works in the Northern Region.

Each district holds its own district tournament. The four teams that make it to the semifinals advance to the Northern Region tourney. Results from the district tournaments determine regional seeding. The bracket of 16 teams is divided into four pods of four teams, one from each district.

This year, the Patriot and National are matched up with one another in the first round, while the Concorde and Liberty will meet in first-round games. With that in mind, let’s take the first look at what the regional tournament might look like (bracket to the right).

Of course, those teams and seedings are not set in stone. There are some things we do know. Teams like Herndon, Chantilly, T.C. Williams, Yorktown, Edison and Langley are going to finish toward the top of their districts. We know that it’s going to be a fight for teams in the Patriot District simply to make it to regionals, as six Patriot teams all have a legitimate chance to win the district title.

The Titans, Chargers and Hornets, along with the Annandale Atoms, have started to separate themselves from the rest of the pack, with the Woodson Cavaliers, Edison Eagles and Yorktown Patriots lurking in the next tier. Even though these matchups aren’t likely to hold, we can extrapolate a little bit and already see some pivotal games, even a month before the field is set.

Top-seeded National vs. fourth-seeded Patriot: We don’t know which two teams will play in this game, but we already know it’s likely to be the most competitive game of the first round. Both teams will likely rank between six and 10 our Northern Region Coaches Poll. If the tournament started today, it would pit No. 5 Woodson and No. 7 Yorktown against one another. What’s more, the winner will almost certainly play the second seed out of the Concorde District, a team likely to be either Chantilly or Herndon, currently ranked second and third in the coaches poll, respectively. That pod looks like the most challenging one in the whole tournament.

Top-seeded Liberty vs. fourth-seeded Concorde: Similar to the matchup above, this one will go a long way toward determining which team from this pod makes the final four. Right now, the fourth-seeded team in the Concorde District is No. 9 Robinson, while Langley, currently just outside the Top-10, is the overwhelming favorite in the Liberty District. The winner of this game is likely to draw the second seed from the Patriot District, who could be any one of a number of elite teams, including Annandale, T.C. Williams and Woodson.

Emerging from either of these pods will be easier said than done. And remember, that doesn’t even guarantee you a spot in the state tournament. That just gets you into the semifinals, where you’ll have to pull off another banner win to advance to states.

There are hurdles no matter where you look in the Northern Region. The best part of all this is we still have one more month of exciting regular-season action before we get to the playoffs.

Player of the Year Watch

Name School Last Week 1. Austin Hamilton Herndon 1 2. Mike Rice Robinson 2 3. Jake Weigand Chantilly 3 4. John Schoof Woodson 4 5. D’Angelo Boyce Annandale N/R

Next up: Tyrell Sitton (T.C. Williams) Daryl Copeland (West Potomac), Marquiece Johnson (South County), Jack Earley (Yorktown), Matt Murphy (Edison)


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here