Division I

Bracketology: Division I boys basketball

The regular season is in the books and the Division II boys basketball tournament is scheduled to begin on Wednesday.

The regular season is in the books and the Division I boys basketball tournament is scheduled to begin on Wednesday.

But the pairings won’t be released by the NHIAA until Monday, so here’s a look at which 16 teams are in the tournament, and where they should end up. Nothing here is official.

Top Four

Nashua North (15-3)
Pinkerton (14-4)
Manchester Central (14-4)
Exeter (13-5)

During a stretch in January, North was blown out by both Pinkerton and Central in its own gym. The Titans haven't lost since that game against Pinkerton and enter the tournament as perhaps the hottest team in the division, and they'll do so as the No. 1 seed. The Astros get the No. 2 seed thanks to the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Little Green, while Exeter will be the fourth seed.

Next Four

Merrimack (12-6)
Bedford (12-6)
Winnacunnet (12-6)
Nashua South (11-7)

The Tomahawks win the three-way tie with Bedford and Winnacunnet thanks to head-to-head wins over both teams. Bedford also holds the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Warriors, so it gets the sixth seed, while Winnacunnet comes in seventh. Nashua South grabs the No. 8 seed thanks to its head-to-head win over Manchester Memorial.

Middle Four

Manchester Memorial (11-7)
Londonderry (10-8)
Salem (9-9)
Bishop Guertin (7-11)

Memorial lost four of its final five games of the year, including to South on Tuesday, to fall out of the top eight. Londonderry and Salem are going in the other direction, as the Lancers won six of their last seven to finish 10th and the Blue Devils were 7-3 in their last 10 games to come in 11th. Bishop Guertin takes the 12th seed, which will mean a matchup with Merrimack, who it beat by 17 points.

Bottom Four

Spaulding (6-12)
Keene (6-12)
Trinity (6-12)
Alvirne (6-12)

A four-way tie for the final four spots and Spaulding, which won three of its last five, gets the No. 13 seed based on the head-to-head tiebreaker. Keene then takes the 14th seed, also based on head-to-head matchups, and Trinity comes in at No. 15, again on the head-to-head tiebreaker.

On the outside

Concord (3-15)
Dover (2-16)
Pembroke (0-17)

First-round matchups

Here's what the playoffs should look like when they get underway on Wednesday. These matchups are not official; the NHIAA will announce seedings on Monday.