Bracketology: Division I Girls Basketball (Feb. 21)

The Division I girls basketball regular season is down to its final week and there is still a lot to be decided before the postseason begins on Feb. 28.

This week, we’ll be updating the playoff picture when necessary for Sports Insider Members. To signup for a membership, click on the register button below.

Note: With the NHIAA’s 70-percent rule in place for the postseason, Division I will have 12 teams. These are not official pairings.

Division I

Playoff field (record, rating)

1. Bedford (18-0, 4.0000)
2. Pinkerton (15-2, 3.5294)
3. Manchester Memorial (14-3, 3.2941)
4. Merrimack (14-3, 3.2941)
5. Bishop Guertin (12-5, 2.8235)
6. Manchester Central (10-7, 2.3529)
7. Winnacunnet (9-9, 2.0000)
8. Londonderry (8-9. 1.8824) ⇑
9. Salem (8-9, 1.8824)
10. Exeter (8-9, 1.8824) ⇓
11. Nashua North (7-10, 1.6471) ⇓
12. Nashua South (7-10, 1.6471)

Eliminated: Concord (5-12, 1.1765); Keene (5-12, 1.1765); Spaulding (4-12, 1.0000); Dover (3-14, 0.7059); Alvirne (3-14, 0.7059); Trinity (1-16, 0.2353).

Tiebreakers

• Manchester Memorial wins the tiebreakers with Merrimack thanks to a head-to-head victory.
• Londonderry wins the three-way tiebreaker with Salem and Exeter thanks to a better rating in head-to-head games.
• Salem wins the tiebreaker with Exeter thanks to a head-to-head victory.
• Nashua North wins the tiebreaker with Nashua South thanks to a better rating in head-to-head games.

Schedule

• Friday, Feb. 23: Salem at Alvirne, 6:30 p.m.; Concord at Nashua North, 6:30 p.m.; Manchester Central at Nashua South, 5 p.m.; Merrimack at Dover, 6:30 p.m.; Manchester Memorial at Exeter, 6:30 p.m.; Trinity at Spaulding, 6:30 p.m.; Keene at Londonderry, 7 p.m.; Pinkerton at Bishop Guertin, 7 p.m.

First-round byes

• No. 1 Bedford: Bulldogs have clinched the top seed.
• No. 2 Pinkerton: Astros have clinched a bye and would clinch the two seed with a win, or with a Merrimack loss, or with a loss and a Memorial and Merrimack win.
• No. 3 Manchester Memorial: Crusaders have clinched a bye and need a win or a Merrimack loss to finish third.
• No. 4 Merrimack: Tomahawks have clinched a bye and could get the two seed with a win and a Pinkerton and Memorial loss. Would clinch the three seed with a win, a Pinkerton win and a Memorial loss.

Other scenarios

• Bishop Guertin has clinched the fifth seed.
• Manchester Central has clinched the sixth seed.
• Winnacunnet, Salem, Exeter, Londonderry, Nashua North and Nashua South have clinched playoff spots.

First-round matchups (changes in bold)

• No. 9 Salem at No. 8 Londonderry
• No. 12 Nashua South at No. 5 Bishop Guertin
• No. 10 Exeter at No. 7 Winnacunnet
• No. 11 Nashua North at No. 6 Manchester Central