Division I

Bracketology: Division I boys basketball (Feb. 28)

It’s the final week of the Division I boys basketball season, so here is a look at where each team stands, and who is in and who is out of the postseason race.

With the playoffs right around the corner, these will be updated daily for Sports Insider Members. To signup for a membership, click on the registration button below.

Note: With the NHIAA’s new 70-percent rule in place for the postseason, Division I boys basketball will have 13 playoff teams. Standings based off results reported to NHIAA.org.

Division I

Playoff field

Portsmouth (17-0, 4.0000)
Spaulding (13-3, 3.2500)
Bedford (13-3, 3.2500)
Winnacunnet (12-4, 3.0000)
Exeter (11-5, 2.7500)
Merrimack (11-5, 2.7500)
Londonderry (10-6, 2.5000)
Nashua North (9-7, 2.2500)
Bishop Guertin (8-8, 2.0000)
Manchester Memorial (7-9, 1.7500)
Salem (7-9, 1.7500)
Alvirne (7-9, 1.7500)
Nashua South (7-10, 1.6471)

Outside: Pinkerton (6-10, 1.5000); Manchester Central (5-11, 1.2500); Concord (4-12, 1.0000); Dover (4-13, 0.9412); Keene (3-13, 0.7500); Trinity (0-17, 0.0000).

Tiebreakers

Spaulding wins the tiebreaker with Bedford thanks to a head-to-head win over the Bulldogs.
Exeter wins the tiebreaker with Merrimack thanks to a head-to-head win over the Tomahawks.
Manchester Memorial wins the three-way tiebreaker with Salem and Alvirne thanks to a better rating in head-to-head games.
Salem wins the tiebreaker with Alvirne thanks to a head-to-head win over the Broncos.

Remaining schedule

Tuesday: Winnacunnet at Alvirne, 6:30 p.m.; Bedford at Trinity, 6:30 p.m.; Spaulding at Bishop Guertin, 7 p.m.; Pinkerton at Concord, 6:30 p.m.; Nashua North at Exeter, 6:30 p.m.; Merrimack at Keene, 6:30 p.m.; Londonderry at Manchester Memorial, 6:30 p.m.; Salem at Manchester Central, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday: Alvirne at Portsmouth, 6:30 p.m.
Friday: Bishop Guertin at Bedford, 6:30 p.m.; Spaulding at Concord, 6:30 p.m.; Dover at Salem, 6:30 p.m.; Exeter at Pinkerton, 6:30 p.m.; Nashua South at Keene, 6:30 p.m.; Nashua North at Londonderry, 7 p.m.; Winnacunnet at Manchester Central, 6:30 p.m.; Manchester Memorial at Merrimack, 6:30 p.m.

Top four seeds

No. 1 Portsmouth: The Clippers will be the top seed in the tournament.
No. 2 Spaulding: The Raiders would get the No. 2 seed by winning our. They hold the head-to-head tiebreaker with Bedford, Winnacunnet and Exeter.
No. 3 Bedford: The Bulldogs would need to finish a game ahead of Spaulding to get the No. 2 seed. Bedford holds the head-to-head tiebreaker with Winnacunnet, but loses it to Exeter.
No. 4 Winnacunnet: The Warriors would need to win out and get some help to move higher than fourth, as they lose the tiebreakers to Spaulding and Bedford. But with wins over Exeter, Merrimack and Londonderry, Winnacunnet would likely hang onto the fourth seed.

What if?

Nashua North started the season with four straight losses and was 1-5 in mid-January. Two of those loses were by one point, and another was by six, and since that start, the Titans are 8-2, including a win over Spaulding. If any of those three close loses swing the other way, North would have a home game locked up instead of fighting for the eight seed.

Free fall

Alvirne and Nashua South both got off to good starts this year, with the Broncos winning five of their first six and the Panthers starting 6-4 with two last-second losses. But since, Alvirne has gone 2-8 since, while South has lost six of seven and is in danger of not making the playoffs.

First-round byes