Regional sites set for area district winners

Regional sites have been announced for the boys and girls basketball state tournaments, which will begin in less than a month. The districts are seeded using the MaxPreps RPI rankings, which get updated weekly for boys and girls basketball. The formula — used to determine the seeding in each district — is 40 percent winning percentage, 35 percent opponent's winning percentage, and 25 percent opponent's opponent's winning percentage. The Division III Northwest District 3 at Willard, which features Norwalk (5-9) along with powers such as Sandusky (9-4), Lexington (12-2) and Mansfield Senior (9-4) will play in the region semifinals at 6 p.m. March 5 at the University of Toledo's Savage Arena. The district winner will play the Northeast 5 winner, which currently features Akron powers Hoban (12-1) and St. Vincent-St. Mary (6-5) at the top along with Garfield Heights (11-1). In Div. V Northwest 2 at Lakota, Margaretta (15-0) remains the top seed in a district that includes No. 7 Edison (1-9) and No. 9 Willard. That district winner heads to Mansfield Senior's Pete Henry Gymnasium against the Central winner at 7 p.m. March 5. The Central district also features no shortage of powerhouses, as the top four seeds currently included Gahanna Columbus Academy (13-0); Columbus Bishop Ready (15-1); Columbus Africentric (13-1); and Canal Winchester Harvest Prep (9-6). The Div. VI Northwest 3 winner from Ontario, which currently has Colonel Crawford (12-1) and Crestview (11-1) at the top, will go to the Stroh Center at Bowling Green State University for a 6 p.m. tip on March 4. That district also includes No. 4 Monroeville (7-5), No. 6 Western Reserve (4-8) and No. 9 New London (1-11). Awaiting at BGSU for that district winner includes another Northwest district champion, which currently has Sycamore Mohawk (10-1) and Toledo Ottawa Hills (11-3) as the top two seeds. Lastly, the Div. VII Northwest 5 district winner from Shelby — which currently has Firelands Conference foes St. Paul (8-5) and Plymouth (6-7) as the top two seeds — will be the second game (8 p.m.) March 4 at Barberton High School. That district winner will draw the Northeast 2 winner. In the Northeast, 26 teams will get seeded and split into three districts that make up the rest of the regional. The top four seeds currently in the Div. VII Northeast districts include Warren JFK (8-4), Willoughby Cornerstone Christian (8-5), Hillsdale (10-3) and Vienna Mathews (12-3). GIRLS Norwalk currently top seed The Truckers (15-1) continue to maintain the top spot in the Div. III Northwest 3 district at Buckeye Central, with Ashland (11-3), Columbian (10-5) and Sandusky (5-9) among the teams behind them. That district winner will make the long trek to Bluffton University for an 8 p.m. game against another Northwest district, which currently has Toledo Notre Dame (12-4) and Toledo Bowsher (13-3) at the top. In Div. V Northwest 3 at Shelby, Clear Fork (15-2) is the top seed ahead of No. 2 Willard (11-4). Edison (8-8) is the current fifth seed. That winner is the 8 p.m. game Feb. 26 at the Morral Ridgedale regional site against the Central 2 district. Like the Div. VII Northeast boys, the Div. V Central girls filters 20 teams into two districts. The current top four seeds include Richwood North Union (15-1), Amanda-Clearcreek (11-5), Johnstown-Monroe (13-3) and Columbus Africentric (11-4). The Div. VI Northwest 3 district at Willard has Margaretta (13-4) and Colonel Crawford (14-1) as the top two seeds ahead of New London (12-4). Monroeville (11-5) is the No. 6 seed and Western (3-10) is eighth. That district winner also heads to Bluffton for the 8 p.m. game Feb. 27 against the Northwest 4 winner. Northwest 4 currently has Convoy Crestview (15-3), Harrod Allen East (13-3) and Columbus Grove (16-2) at the top. Lastly, the Div. VII Northwest 5 winner from Shelby will play in a regional at 6 p.m. Feb. 27 at Massillon Perry High School. Danbury (13-2) is the current top seed, while locally Plymouth (5-9) is fourth and St. Paul (2-14) and South Central (1-15) are sixth and seventh, respectively. The top seeds from the Northeast currently include Warren JFK (12-3), Cortland Maplewood (12-1) and Mogadore (14-3). -------------------- BOYS DISTRICTS Division III NW 3 1. Sandusky (9-4); 2. Lexington (12-2); 3. Mansfield Senior (9-4); 4. Ashland (8-5); 5. Tiffin Columbian (6-9); 6. Norwalk (5-9); 7. Mansfield Madison (4-11). Division V NW 2 1. Margaretta (15-0); 2. Findlay Liberty-Benton (14-1); 3. Genoa (10-3); 4. Huron (11-3); 5. Fostoria (7-7); 6. Oak Harbor (2-10); 7. Edison (1-9); 8. Galion (2-11); 9. Willard (3-10). Division VI NW 3 1. Colonel Crawford (12-1); 2. Crestview (11-1); 3. Seneca East (10-4); 4. Monroeville (7-5); 5. Mansfield Christian (7-7); 6. Western Reserve (4-8); 7. Bucyrus Wynford (1-11); 8. Bucyrus (1-13); 9. New London (1-11). Division VII NW 5 1. St. Paul (8-5); 2. Plymouth (6-7); 3. St. Mary CC (3-9); 4. Buckeye Central (6-7); 5. Crestline (4-8); 6. Danbury (2-11); 7. Lucas (2-12); 8. South Central (2-10); 9. Mansfield St. Peter's (2-4). GIRLS Division III NW 3 1. Norwalk (15-1); 2. Ashland (11-3); 3. Tiffin Columbian (10-5); 4. Sandusky (5-9); 5. Mansfield Madison (6-9); 6. Mansfield Senior (2-11); 7. Toledo Waite (1-10). Division V NW 3 1. Clear Fork (15-2); 2. Willard (11-4); 3. Port Clinton (10-6); 4. Huron (6-8); 5. Edison (8-8); 6. Crestview (7-7); 7. Galion (3-14). Division VI NW 3 1. Margaretta (13-4); 2. Colonel Crawford (14-1); 3. New London (12-4); 4. Bucyrus Wynford (10-5); 5. Mansfield Christian (11-2); 6. Monroeville (11-5); 7. Buckeye Central (6-10); 8. Western Reserve (3-10); 9. Bucyrus (1-15). Division VII NW 5 1. Danbury (13-2); 2. Seneca East (11-4); 3. Lucas (9-6); 4. Plymouth (5-9); 5. Crestline (2-11); 6. St. Paul (2-14); 7. South Central (1-15); 8. St. Mary CC (1-15).