Breaking down the Sarasota/Manatee county girls and boys district basketball tournaments
The FHSAA released the final boys and girls basketball rankings of the season locking in the seeds for the upcoming district tournaments.
Districts will kick off Feb. 5 for the girls and Feb. 6 for the boys, the first step on the path to the RP Funding Center in Lakeland, the site of the 2024 state championships.
The Cardinal Mooney Catholic girls are looking to return to the State Championship game for the fourth straight year in search of its first state championship. The Booker High girls have reached the Final 4 the past two seasons.
District pairings: Check out the district girls and boys basketball pairings for Sarasota/Manatee county schools
The most recent boys team to reach the state championship game in 2019 when Lakewood Ranch High fell by five points to Blanche Ely of Pompano Beach in the 8A final.
Here is a breakdown of the seven girls and boys districts involving area teams:
GIRLS
Class 7A-District 12
1. Riverview
2. Sarasota
3. Venice
4. Lehigh
5. North Port
Analysis: The Rams edged out the Sailors and Venice for the top spot in the district. Conceivably, all top three teams could advance to the regionals regardless of the district outcome. Of course, winning the district does have its benefits. Riverview has beaten Sarasota, 65-63, and Venice, 56-45, on back-to-back days in mid December. The Sailors and Venice have not played. Venice has played the tougher schedule among the three. Pick Riverview in another nail-biter over Sarasota.
Class 7A-District 11
1. Sumner
2. Lakewood Ranch
3. Tampa Riverview
4. Strawberry Crest
5. Newsome
Analysis: The Mustangs are going to have to win the district to qualify for the regional tournament. Lakewood Ranch has not played the Stingrays during the regular season. Sumner holds a huge power-point lead over the entire district.
Class 6A-District 10
1. Bloomingdale
2. Armwood
3. Palmetto
4. Tampa Bay Tech
5. Manatee
6. East Bay
7. Lennard
Analysis: Unbeaten Bloomingdale is the class of the district, and it is not even close. For what it’s worth, Venice lost to the Bulls by three points in the Tampa Bay Christmas Tournament. Bloomingdale is 8-0 at home, 10-0 on the road, 5-0 on a neutral court and has outscored its opponents by 518 points, an average of nearly 22 per game.
Class 5A-District 10
1. Parrish Community
2. Sebring
3. St. Petersburg
4. Boca Ciega
5. Braden River
6. Southeast
Analysis: The Bulls, who have not played a district foe, have a 11.969 rating among the teams in their district. The other five teams have a negative rating. This is Parrish Community’s district to lose.
Class 4A-District 11
1. Booker
2. DeSoto County
3. Lake Placid
4. Hardee County
5. Avon Park
Analysis: The same can be said for the Tornadoes, who have a 10.395 rating, along with a 11.04 strength of schedule. Second-seeded DeSoto County is at -4.303 and it goes down from there. Booker is the overwhelming favorite.
Class 3A-District 11
1. Cardinal Mooney
2. Bradenton Christian
Analysis: In a winner-take-all situation, the Cougars have the upper hand, ranked 11th in the state and second in 3A, behind only two-time defending state champion Miami Country Day, which has played the toughest schedule in the state (20.71). Cardinal Mooney has played the fifth-toughest schedule (17.20) in the state. Oh, Miami Country Day has defeated the Cougars in two of the past three Class 3A State Championship games. The Cougars have reached the final three straight years, also losing to Westminster Academy.
Class 2A-District 11
1. Evangelical Christian
2. Gulf Coast HEAT
3. Sarasota Christian
4. Southwest Florida Christian
Analysis: This is Evangelical Christian’s to lose. The Sentinels have a superior rating and strength of schedule over the other three teams.
BOYS
Class 7A-District 12
1. Sarasota
2. Riverview
3. North Port
4. Lehigh
5. Venice
Analysis: The Sailors have had a nine-game winning streak and an 11-game winning streak this season. North Port is the only team to interrupt those two streaks in the opening round of the Chick-fil-A Tournament in late December at Bradenton Christian School. If the Bobcats want another shot at Sarasota, they will have to defeat the Rams in the district semifinal. Sarasota was in a similar situation last season only to have fifth-seeded Riverview win three district games on the road, including an overtime thriller on the Sailors’ home court to take the district crown.
Class 7A-District 11
1. Sumner
2. Newsome
3. Lakewood Ranch
4. Tampa Riverview
5. Strawberry Crest
Analysis: The Stingrays may be the top seed, but they are not invincible by any means. Would not be surprised if Newsome, which defeated Sumner during the regular season, 44-38, pulls off a similar result in the district final.
Class 6A-District 10
1. Palmetto
2. Bloomingdale
3. Tampa Bay Tech
4. Manatee
5. East Bay
6. Lennard
7. Armwood
Analysis: The second-seeded Bulls have a better record than the top-seeded Tigers, but Palmetto has played a much tougher schedule than another else in the district and that should pay off in the district tournament.
Class 5A-District 10
1. Braden River
2. St. Petersburg
3. Sebring
4. Parrish Community
5. Boca Ciega
6. Southeast
Analysis: The class rank in 5A-10 range from 24 to 53 which means this district is wide open. The top five teams in the district have double-digit wins and the sixth-seeded Seminoles have played the toughest schedule among the half dozen teams. Braden River has defeated Parrish Community twice during the regular season. St. Petersburg and Sebring traditionally have huge home-court advantages. All the games should be highly competitive. Go with the Pirates to prevail.
Class 4A-District 11
1. Booker
2. Bayshore
3. Lake Placid
4. Avon Park
5. Hardee County
6. DeSoto County
Analysis: This is another case where the top-seeded Tornadoes are in the plus as far as rating and strength of schedule and the rest of the teams are not. The clear pick is Booker.
Class 3A-District 11
1. Cardinal Mooney
2. Bradenton Christian
3. Imagine School at North Port
4. Out-of-Door Academy
5. Sarasota Military Academy
Analysis: Unlike the two-team, 3A-11 girls district, the boys’ side is beefier and more compelling. The Cougars and Panthers are separated by four spots in the class, less than a point in the ratings (11.902-11.049) and have a similar strength of schedule (6.99-5.66). Cardinal Mooney and Bradenton Christian split two regular-season meetings, both winning away from home. Both were six-point decisions. Go with the homesteading Cougars this time in the final in what should be a classic.
Class 2A-District 11
1. Sarasota Christian
2. Evangelical Christian
3. Southwest Florida Christian
4. The Classical Academy of Sarasota
5. Saint Stephen’s Episcopal
6. Gulf Coast HEAT
Analysis: The top-seeded Blazers and second-seeded Sentinels are separated by 11 spots in the state and one spot in the class, 33rd to 34th. Evangelical Christian has played a slightly tougher schedule, but both are in the negative. In fact, Saint Stephen’s has played the toughest schedule in the district at -2.72. The Blazers lost to the Sentinels, 61-58, in mid-December in Fort Myers. Since the final would be in Sarasota if the top two teams advance, look for Sarasota Christian to gain a measure of revenge.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Analysis of the girls and boys district basketball tournaments
