Division I

Bracketology: Division I boys basketball

While the girls side is looking wide open, the Division I boys basketball landscape is perhaps even more wide open than originally thought. Nine teams have at least eight wins, and six more have at least five, and all of those six teams are capable of knocking off one of those nine on any given nigh

While the girls side is looking wide open, the Division I boys basketball landscape is perhaps even more wide open than originally thought.

Nine teams have at least eight wins, and six more have at least five, and all of those six teams are capable of knocking off one of those nine on any given night.

And on any given night, the standings could change drastically. One loss or one win could make a big difference.

How the playoffs stand

Here's a look at the first-round matchups if the playoff started Friday. No tiebreakers have been applied.

No. 16 Spaulding (3-10) at No. 1 Pinkerton (12-2)
No. 9 Nashua South (8-6) at No. 8 Winnacunnet (8-5)
No. 12 Alvirne (5-8) at No. 5 Mancherster Memorial (10-3)
No. 13 Keene (5-8) at No. 4 Manchester Central (10-3)
No. 15 Trinity (5-9) at No. 2 Nashua North (11-3)
No. 10 Londonderry (6-7) at No. 7 Bedford (9-5)
No. 14 Salem (5-8) at No. 3 Exeter (10-3)
No. 11 Bishop Guertin (6-8) at No. 6 Merrimack (10-4)

Top four

Pinkerton (12-2): The Astros were cruising right along, winning nine in a row, many of them by double digits, when Pinkerton failed to break 40 points in a 59-39 loss to Bedford last Friday. Pinkerton has three home games left, but after playing Bishop Guertin (Friday) and Concord (Feb. 23), the Astros head to Exeter (Feb. 26) and finish the regular season against Merrimack (March 4). Best wins: Manchester Central (61-43), Manchester Memorial (79-67), Nashua North (75-54). Bad losses: Bedford (59-39). PPG: 67.4. PA: 51.7.
Nashua North (11-3): After Thursday's win over Nashua South, the Titans have won five in a row, scoring over 70 points in each of the last four. North has been helped by the emergence of sophomore Alonzo Linton as another scoring option. The Titans final three games are tough, as they host Exeter and Londonderry before heading to Merrimack on March 1. Best wins: Winnacunnet (51-48), Bedford (76-58). Bad losses: None. PPG: 66.8. PA: 62.6.
Exeter (10-3): After a 3-2 start, the Blue Hawks have won seven of their last eight, with the one loss an 11-point defeat Central. In those eight games, Exeter scored over 60 in all of them, over 75 points in five of them, and over 80 in three. The Blue Hawks have a tough remaining schedule, with games at Memorial, North and Bedford left, plus a game against Pinkerton. Best wins: Nashua South (84-73), Winnacunnet (61-56). Bad losses: Londonderry (65-49). PPG: 71.8. PA: 62.0.
Manchester Central (10-3): The Little Green can score the ball with the best of them, but when things aren't going well for Central, it can get real bad. Two of Central's losses are to teams with losing records. Of its five remaining games, the Little Green only plays two - Nashua South and Winnacunet - against teams with winning records. Best wins: Manchester Memorial (78-70), at Nashua North (81-42), Exeter (86-75), Merrimack (69-53). Bad losses: at Bishop Guertin (56-53), Londonderry (78-62). PPG: 65.5. PA: 57.9.

Next four

Manchester Memorial (10-3): The Crusaders are officially no longer a sleeper team. Memorial has won eight of its last nine, scoring over 80 points seven times in that stretch, and nine times this season. The Crusaders have one of the toughest remaing schedules, with Exeter (Friday), at Londonderry (Feb. 23), Merrimack (Feb. 26), Nashua South (March 1) and at Salem (March 4) the rest of the way. Best wins: at Nashua North (82-75), Bedford (80-76). Bad losses: None. PPG: 79.0. PA: 63.3.
Merrimack (10-4): The magic number for the Tomahawks appears to be 60. If they hold teams below that, they're 8-0; when they don't, they're 2-4. After hosting Keene (Feb. 23), Merrimack has road games at Memorial (Feb. 26) and Pinkerton (March 4) around its final home game against North (March 1). Best wins: Bedford (51-26), Exeter (79-77), Winnacunnet (54-42). Bad losses: at Bishop Guertin (66-49), Alvirne (62-57). PPG: 57.9. PA: 51.0.
Bedford (9-5): At the start of the month, the Bulldogs looked like a team that would win - and lose - the games it was supposed to, and then Bedford beat Pinkerton by 20 points. Given the way the division is up and down, the regular-season finale at home against Exeter (March 4) could be huge in terms of seeding. Best wins: Winnacunnet (59-58), Pinkerton (59-39). Bad losses: Merrimack (51-29). PPG: 61.7. PA: 56.4.
Winnacunnet (8-5): By now, everyone has seen the shot and has an opinion on it, and whether it was good or not, the Warriors were given the win. Hopefully, it's impact on the postseason is minimal, but the way things are going, it probably won't be. Even with that win, Winnacunnet has been struggling, dropping three of its last five. Central is the Warriors only remaining opponent with a winning record, but Alvirne and Keene have been playing well of late. Best wins: Manchester Memorial (69-53), Pinkerton (63-53), Nashua South (71-46). Bad losses: None. PPG: 56.4. PA: 50.2.

Rest of the field

Nashua South (8-6)
Londonderry (6-7)
Bishop Guertin (6-8)
Alvirne (5-8)
Keene (5-8)
Salem (5-8)
Trinity (5-9)
Spaulding (3-10)

On the rise: After starting the year 2-7, Alvirne has won three of five, including a big win at Merrimack last Friday. If the Broncos continue to play well down the stretch, they could up right in the middle of things. Londonderry had a brutal stretch of seven games in 16 days, and went 1-6. But the Lancers played Pinkerton tough at the end of that run, and followed it up with an upset of Central and a dominating win over Dover.

Trending down: Nashua South has struggled on the road, and after going 6-3 in its first nine games, with six games at home, the Panthers played six road games after the halfway point. At midseason, Trinity looked like it would fit in the category above, winning four of five after a 1-4 start. But the Pioneers have lost three straight, and finish the year with three roads games.