Playoff Picture: Girls Basketball (Feb. 27)

Don’t look now, but the girls basketball playoffs are only a week away.

A lot will be determined between now and then, but you can keep up with where each team in the state stands with daily updates of the playoff picture.

Note: With the NHIAA’s 70-percent rule in place for the postseason, all divisions will have 14 playoff teams, except for Division II, which will have 16. Standings based off results reported to NHIAA.org and other media outlets. This week, the D1 and D2 standings will be updated daily. To see the pairings for D3 and D4, click here. 

Division I

Playoff field (record, rating, previous)

1. Bishop Guertin (16-1, 3.7059, 1st)
2. Merrimack (16-2, 3.5556, 2nd)
3. Manchester Memorial (15-2, 3.5294, 3rd)
4. Bedford (14-3, 3.2941, 4th)
5. Goffstown (12-5, 2.8235, 5th)
6. Manchester Central (11-6, 2.5882, 6th)
7. Pinkerton (11-6, 2.5882, 7th)
8. Concord (11-6, 2.5882, 8th)
9. Salem (11-6, 2.5882, 9th)
10. Londonderry (9-8, 2.1176, 10th)
11. Nashua South (8-9, 1.8824, 11th)
12. Portsmouth (8-9, 1.8824, 12th)
13. Exeter (7-10, 1.6471, 13th)
14. Nashua North (6-11, 1.4118, 14th)

Eliminated: Windham (5-12, 1.1765); Keene (4-13, 0.9412); Winnacunnet (3-14, 0.7059); Dover (3-15, 0.6667); Alvirne (2-15, 0.4706); Trinity (1-16, 0.2353).

Tiebreakers

• In a four-way tiebreaker, Manchester Central and Pinkerton finish ahead of Concord and Salem thanks to a better rating in head-to-head games. Central wins the tiebreaker with Pinkerton thanks to a head-to-head victory. Concord wins the tiebreaker with Salem thanks to a head-to-head victory.
• Nashua South wins the tiebreaker with Portsmouth thanks to a head-to-head victory.

Remaining schedule

• Friday, Feb. 28: Manchester Central at Manchester Memorial, 5:30 p.m.; Alvirne at Portsmouth, 6:30 p.m.; Winnacunnet at Bedford, 6:30 p.m.; Exeter at Windham, 6:30 p.m.; Keene at Concord, 6:30 p.m.; Trinity at Nashua North, 6:30 p.m.; Nashua South at Pinkerton, 6:30 p.m.; Goffstown at Bishop Guertin, 7 p.m.; Salem at Londonderry, 7 p.m.

Scenarios

• Bishop Guertin clinches the No. 1 seed with a win over Goffstown. A loss could drop the Cardinals to the No. 3 seed.
• Manchester Memorial clinches the No. 1 seed with a win over Manchester Central and a Bishop Guertin loss.
• Merrimack clinches the No. 1 seed with losses by Bishop Guertin and Memorial.
• Bishop Guertin, Memorial and Merrimack will finish as the top three seeds.
• Bedford has clinched the No. 4 seed.
• Goffstown clinches the No. 5 seed with a win over Bishop Guertin.
• A loss by Goffstown creates the potential for a five-way tiebreaker between the Grizzlies, Manchester Central, Pinkerton, Concord and Salem at 12-6. Central (3-1) holds the head-to-head tiebreaker with Pinkerton, Goffstown and Concord; Goffstown (2-2) holds the tiebreaker with Concord and Pinkerton; Pinkerton (2-2) holds the tiebreaker with Salem and Concord; Salem (2-2) holds the tiebreaker with Goffstown and Central; Concord (1-3) holds the tiebreaker with Salem. All of those teams can finish no worse than the No. 9 seed.
• Londonderry clinches the No. 10 seed with a win over Salem or with a Portsmouth loss to Alvirne.
• Nashua South, Portsmouth, Exeter and Nashua North have all clinched playoff spots.

First-round byes (changes in bold) 

• No. 1 Bishop Guertin
• No. 2 Merrimack

First-round matchups

• No. 9 Salem at No. 8 Concord
• No. 12 Portsmouth at No. 5 Goffstown
• No. 13 Exeter at No. 4 Bedford
• No. 10 Londonderry at No. 7 Pinkerton
• No. 14 Nashua North at No. 3 Manchester Memorial
• No. 11 Nashua South at No. 6 Manchester Central

Division II

Playoff field (record, rating, previous)

1. Hanover (17-0, 4.0000, 1st)
2. Hollis Brookline (15-2, 3.5294, 2nd)
3. Spaulding (15-3, 3.3333, 3rd)
4. Lebanon (14-3, 3.2941, 4th)
5. John Stark (13-4, 3.0588, 5th)
6. Kennett (13-4, 3.0588, 6th)
7. Bishop Brady (12-6, 2.6667, 7th)
8. Bow (11-6, 2.5882, 8th)
9. Pelham (11-6, 2.5882, 9th)
10. Coe-Brown (10-7, 2.3529, 10th)
11. Merrimack Valley (10-8, 2.2222, 11th)
12. Laconia (10-8, 2.2222, 12th)
13. Sanborn (9-8, 2.1176, 13th)
14. Manchester West (8-9, 1.8824, 14th)
15. Kearsarge (8-9, 1.8824, 16th)
16. Stevens (8-10, 1.7778, 15th)

Outside: ConVal (7-10, 1.6471)

Eliminated: Plymouth (5-12, 1.1765); Souhegan (4-13, 0.9412); Pembroke (4-13, 0.9412); Timberlane (3-14, 0.7059); Kingswood (3-14, 0.7059); Oyster River (0-17, 0.0000); Milford (0-18, 0.0000).

Tiebreakers

• John Stark wins the tiebreaker with Kennett thanks to a better rating against tournament teams.
• Bow wins the tiebreaker with Pelham thanks to a head-to-head victory.
• Merrimack Valley wins the tiebreaker with Laconia thanks to a head-to-head victory.

Remaining schedule

• Thursday, Feb. 27: Coe-Brown at Sanborn, 6:30 p.m.; Manchester West at Pembroke, 7 p.m.
• Friday, Feb. 28: Plymouth at Kearsarge, 5 p.m.; John Stark at Kingswood, 6 p.m.; Lebanon at ConVal, 6:30 p.m.; Pelham at Hanover, 6:30 p.m.; Oyster River at Souhegan, 6:30 p.m.; Hollis Brookline at Timberlane, 6:30 p.m.; Kennett at Bow, 7 p.m.

Scenarios

• Hanover has clinched the No. 1 seed.
• Hollis Brookline clinches the No. 2 seed with a win over Timberlane. The Cavaliers could fall to No. 4 with a loss.
• Spaulding clinches the No. 2 seed with a Hollis Brookline loss. The Red Raiders can finish no worse than third.
• Lebanon clinches the No. 3 seed with a win over ConVal and a Hollis Brookline loss. The Raiders can finish no worse than fourth.
• John Stark clinches the No. 5 seed with a win over Kingswood or a Kennett loss to Bow.
• Kennett clinches the No. 5 seed with a win over Bow and a John Stark loss.
• Bishop Brady has clinched the No. 7 seed.
• Bow clinches the No. 8 seed with a win over Kennett or a Pelham loss.
• Pelham clinches the No. 8 seed with a win over Hanover and a Bow loss to Kennett.
• Coe-Brown clinches the No. 10 seed with a win over Sanborn.
• Merrimack Valley clinches the No. 10 seed with a Coe-Brown loss.

First-round matchups (changes in bold)

• No. 16 Stevens at No. 1 Hanover
• No. 9 Pelham at No. 8 Bow
• No. 13 Sanborn at No. 4 Lebanon
• No. 12 Laconia at No. 5 John Stark
• No. 15 Stevens at No. 2 Hollis Brookline
• No. 10 Coe-Brown at No. 7 Bishop Brady
• No. 14 Manchester West at No. 3 Spaulding
• No. 11 Merrimack Valley at No. 6 Kennett