Conference Championship Week & Playoff Edition: "Final Top 15 Rankings " MD Public Girls Basketball

SamBuckMDPrepHoops. “Top 15” Final Reg. Season State Public School Rankings

#1 CH Flowers: (18-2) PG County-4A

#2 Clarksburg: (17-4) Montg. County-4A

#3 Pikesville: (18-2) Baltimore County-1A

#4 North Point: (17-3) Charles County-4A

#5 Bethesda: (21-3) Montg. County- 4A

#6 Annapolis: (20-1) AA County-4A

#7 Forest Park: (19-4) Baltimore City -1A

#8 South River: (16-6) Anne Arundel County- 3A

#9 Oakland Mills: (17-3) Howard County-3A

#10 Western: (16-3) Baltimore City-4A

#11 Oakdale (19-2) Frederick County- 3A

#12 Seneca Valley: (19-3) Montg. County-4A

#13 Westminster: (19-2) Carroll Cnty-3A

#14 Poly: (15-8) Baltimore City -3A

#15 Frederick: (16-6) Frederick. County-4A

**Congratulations to all the Conference Championship Participants: Schedules Below

• Baltimore County: Milford Mill vs Pikesville: Tuesday 2/25 at Pikesville High: 5pm

• Baltimore City: Poly vs Forest Park: Monday 2/24 at Morgan State University

• Anne Arundel County: Annapolis vs South River: Saturday 2/22 at Broadneck High: 12 Noon

• Howard County: River Hill vs Oakland Mills: Tuesday 2/24 at River Hill

• PG County: Tuesday 2/25 Oxon Hill vs Flowers

• Carroll County Champions: Westminster Owls

• CMC: Tuesday 2/25: Urbana vs Oakdale: at Governor Thomas Johnson 5:30pm

• CMC Tuesday 2/25: Williamsport vs Catoctin: at North Hagerstown High 5:30pm

• Montgomery County: Wednesday 2/26: Bethesda vs Clarksburg

• Harford County: Edgewood vs Fallston: TBD

• SMAC: North Point vs Leonardtown: Tuesday 2/25 at North Point 630pm

We are now in Playoff mode. MPSSA’s version of March Madness. Every team now has the potential to be one and done. The rankings and records no longer matter at this point. Programs must take things one game at a time, play sound defense, make your free throws, box out and do not turn the ball over. Sounds simple. Before the season began, I made the final four predictions in each region. Please refer to my articles back in November. Most of my predictions are now participants in conference championship. I will stick with my picks for some regions, it is playoff time. This is your one stop shop for all region previews. We try to be as accurate as possible, so we encourage teams to please submit your game scores to MaxPreps, scorebooklive.com, twitter, teams IG page or on your school’s athletic page.

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1A Region Preseason Final 4 Prediction: Forest Park, Southern Garrett, Pikesville, Catoctin

The 1A North-1 seems like a potential Forest Park and Edmondson Game. Southern vs Allegany will be a battle in the 1A West 1 region. Another good matchup could be Smithburg and Catoctin in the 1A West II region. For the third consecutive year, we are hoping to get Pikesville vs Forest Park at the Xfinity Center. Please keep in mind this is merely my predictions based on watching teams throughout the year. Good luck to all teams in the region.

My Current Final 4 Prediction for the 1A Region: Championship Game (Pikesville vs Forest Park), Southern Garrett, Smithsburg.

2A Region: Preseason Final 4 Prediction: Fallston, Gwynn Park, New Town, Francis Scott Key.

This is by far the most unpredictable region. All year I could not get a feel for who is to team in this region. The teams Wicomico, Parkside, and Queen Anne’s seemed to have the best records, however as we all know the strength of schedule matters. I’m looking for FSK and Williamsport to battle in the 2A West I. Hammond and Wilde Lake should determine the 2A West II. Dunbar and Eastern Tech could be regional finals. The 2A North II is filled with Baltimore County programs. New Town, Hereford, and Carver A&T all have a legitimate chance, depending on which version of their teams will show up. I believe the winner out of the 2A South I Region between Largo, Frederick Douglass-PG and Gwynn Park will ultimately win the state title. All have the talent to also make a run. Lastly, we cannot forget about Fallston, who won a state title 4 years ago. I am sure in this region I will be wrong, however Queene Anne’s beat Bethesda, who has been in the Top 5 program all year, so I actually like their chances to reach the final four. Please keep in mind this is merely my predictions based on watching teams throughout the year. Good luck to all teams in the region.

My Current Final 4 Prediction for the 2A Region: Championship Game (Gwynn Park vs Hammond), New Town, Queen Anne’s.

3A Region: Preseason Final 4 Prediction: Oakland Mills, Poly, South River, Howard

Outside of the 4A region, the 3A region has some good teams. There are about 5-7 teams that I feel if they play their style of basketball, they can win it all. The 3A West I offers Westminster, Oakdale and Linganore. The 3A North has Towson, Milford and Dulaney. Dulaney may be the sleeper. Defending state champion Poly and Edgewood should matchup in the 3A North II. The 3A south winner should make it to at least the final four. This is the region that has Oakland Mills and River Hill. South River and Severna Park always have great games around this time of year I region. Oxon Hill is always ready for the playoffs. Simply because of their styles of play and strength of schedule, I like Poly and South River to play for the championship this year. I still believe that the Lady Engineers from Cold Spring Lane will put it all together in the playoffs to win back-to-back titles. Please keep in mind this is merely my predictions based on watching teams throughout the year. Good luck to all teams in the region.

My Current Final 4 Prediction for the 3A Region: Championship Game (Poly vs South River), Oakland Mills, Dulaney.

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4A Region: Preseason Final 4 Prediction: North Point, Western, Flowers, Seneca Valley

By far, it is the most competitive region all year. Nine out of the Top 15 ranked schools are in 4A. This region has about 15-18 good teams. It is unreal. In the 4A West I we have the defending champions Clarksburg, Seneca, Frederick, and Urbana. To get out of this region, you must play your “A” game. It is a shame that these quality teams must play so early. In the 4A West II we have the same issue, Bethesda, Whitman, Walter Johnson, and Churchill are all in the same region, makes for some great games early. Western and Reservoir should win their regions. Flowers, Parkdale and Wise should be a battle in the 4A South II. The 4A East II has Bowie, Broadneck, Annapolis, Leonardtown, and North Point. As I stated before, the 4A region in my opinion is the primary reason the MPSSA should investigate ranking the top eight teams from regular season and then give them each a region similar to the NCAA tourney. Many of the top teams are packed into 3-4 regions. For the last 2 years I have predicted Seneca Valley to get over the hump and finally beat Clarksburg and make it down to Xfinity Center. Flowers has played like the number 1 public school all year. The Montgomery Schools have essentially beat up on one another all year. North Point and Leonardtown will play for their conference championship. I am going to go out on a limb and say Montgomery County gets two teams in the final four again. Now which two who knows they had the best conference in the state this year. It is so hard in any sport to beat a team three times in one year, for that reason I am going to keep my final four prediction of Seneca making it to the final four for the first time. Annapolis, Leonardtown and Broadneck have had phenomenal years, however I believe the strength of schedule and level of competition that North Point has played will help them significantly in the playoffs. These are merely predictions because Annapolis could have the best pure scorer in the region. The reseeding in this region could be the key, either way we are getting quality final four matchups in the second round of the playoffs. As far as my pick is concerned to win the state championship, I must go with C. H. Flowers. Their press/traps are disruptive, and they do not let up. I expect them to bounce back from their PG County championship loss with a state title. Good Luck to all teams.

My Current Final 4 Prediction for the 4A Region: Championship Game (C.H. Flowers vs North Point), Seneca Valley, Western.

Region Quarterfinals - Friday, February 28 (Girls) / Saturday, March 1 (Boys) (Regional Sites)

• Region Semifinals - Monday, March 3 (Girls) / Tuesday, March 4 (Boys) (Regional Sites)

• Region Finals - Wednesday, March 5 (Girls) / Thursday, March 6 (Boys) (Regional Sites) - Tickets

• State Quarterfinals - Friday, March 7 (Girls) and Saturday, March 8 (Boys & Girls) (Regional Sites) - Tickets

• State Semifinals - Tuesday, March 11 and Wednesday, March 12 (Predetermined sites to come) - Tickets

• State Championships - Friday, March 14 and Saturday, March 15 (U. of Maryland - College Park) - Tickets