We went 7-1 in our predictions of the Class 3A region semi-finals this past Thursday. Champagnat was the team that went on the road and pulled off a 67-61 win. We spotlighted the Somerset Prep/Village Academy as one of the better matchups and we turned out to be correct as the final margin was only six points, the closest of the night along with Champagnat’s win. Sadly, once again, the other six games were blowouts with the average score being 69-46. While not as bad as Class 2A, still shows too much disparity and things would be better off if Classes 2A and 3A were merged together. That is another discussion for another day.
Best Matchup: It is somewhat interesting that three of the four regional finals games are re-matches of district finals. For that reason, we are going to suggest the St. Francis Catholic at Tallahassee FAMU game is the best of the bunch in the classification Tuesday night. Both teams were pretty much untested at home in the opening round. St. Francis hopes that its stronger schedule and the play of senior guard Nick Baskin will give them an edge on the road in the state capital.
Best Chance for an Upset: The Canterbury/First Baptist Academy tilt in Southwest Florida will be the fourth time the teams have played each other this season. Canterbury won the first two rounds, by ten and five points, respectively. In the district final, FBA turned the tide completely with a 19 point victory on their home court. This one is for “all the marbles” so it looks like Canterbury has a tough but achievable task of winning on the road and pulling an upset.
Our Picks:
Florida A&M over St. Francis Catholic
Orlando Christian Prep over Mount Dora Christian
Canterbury over First Baptist Academy
Somerset Prep over Champagnat
CLASS 4A
Another 7-1 mark in our predictions. While our article chose Palmer Trinity over Florida Christian, Florida Christian was actually at Marathon while Palmer Trinity was at SLAM. That nugget of knowledge would not have change our pick so we’ll own that. At least in this classification, most of the first round games were competitive, save for Westminster and SLAM blowing out overmatched foes.
Best Matchup: The matchup of The Master’s Academy and Carrollwood Day School should be extremely close. The make up the teams are nearly identical in terms of size and personnel. CDS has an advantage with 6’8 Owen Mixon in the middle as TMA doesn’t have anyone of his size. TMA is at home where they are exceedingly tough. The matchup of senior guard Jose Placer of TMA vs. CDS’s Malcolm Whitlow should be fun to watch.
Best Chance for an Upset: With district re-matches in regions three and four, and feeling Providence has a bit too much for P.K. Yonge despite being on the road, we go back to Carrollwood Day School as the team with the best chance for the upset. This could be one of the top games regardless of classification on Tuesday night.
Our Picks:
Providence over. P.K. Yonge
The Master’s Academy over Carrollwood Day School
Westminster Academy over Benjamin
SLAM over Florida Christian