HS Basketball: District tournaments set after latest FHSAA rankings are released
The playoffs for high school basketball are soon to be underway.
With the latest FHSAA rankings announced on Monday, district tournament seedings have now been determined. District tournaments begin next week.
Girls basketball district tourneys will be Feb. 5, 7 and 9, while the boys basketball tournaments are on Feb. 7, 8 and 10.
As a reminder, the top eight teams in Classes 2A-7A will advance to the regional tournaments, with district champions earning an automatic bid to the next stage. In Class 1A, the top four teams will move on with automatic bids to the district champion.
Here's what the district tournaments are looking like and their locations.
BOYS BASKETBALL
District 1-6A
Location: Various sites (higher seeded team hosts)
Area teams featured: Milton, Gulf Breeze, Tate, Navarre, Pace
Last year's district champion: Gulf Breeze (77-64 win against Tate)
Milton has earned the top seed for the District 1-6A tournament, meaning that as long as the Panthers win, they'll host in districts.
The Panthers have lost just four games this year, most recently a 66-64 loss to district foe Navarre on Friday. Milton started the season off red-hot on an 11-game win streak before falling to Mary G. Montgomery on Dec. 20, a top-30 team in Alabama.
Gulf Breeze, the second seed, will look to make it back-to-back district titles after defeating Tate in last year's championship.
District 1-5A
Location: Pine Forest High School
Area teams featured: Booker T. Washington, Pine Forest, Escambia
Last year's champion: Pine Forest (58-54 win against Escambia)
Now in its second year in the 5A classification, Booker T. Washington claimed the top seed in the tournament. The Wildcats are undefeated in district play in the regular season so far, but travel to No. 2 Choctaw on Tuesday.
All regular-season games this week do not count toward the seedings.
After splitting games at a tournament in Jacksonville, the Wildcats find themselves on a five-game win streak. That includes wins against district foes Choctaw, Pine Forest and Tate.
Tournament host Pine Forest, which started the season 1-5, now sitting at 12-10, earned the third seed and will look for its third consecutive district crown.
District 1-4A
Location: Various sites (higher seeded team hosts)
Area teams featured: West Florida, Pensacola
Last year's champion: South Walton (51-49 win against Bay)
Both West Florida and Pensacola will have an uphill battle in their district tournament. Both teams will be on the road in the quarterfinals, with the Tigers traveling to South Walton and the Jaguars going to defending district champion Bay.
District 1-4A is led by top-100 team Walton, ranked 16th in 4A.
After starting off 4-0, West Florida has gone back and forth throughout the regular season. The Jaguars have won their last two games, however, at Tate and against Pace. Pensacola has yet to win in the new year, dropping its last seven games. Most recently was a 54-53 loss to Booker T. Washington on Friday.
The Tigers last won on Dec. 29 against Elberta (Alabama).
District 1-3A
Location: Marianna High School
Area teams featured: Pensacola Catholic, Pensacola Christian Academy
Last year's champion: Maclay (76-68 win against Florida High)
Similar to the 4A tournament, Pensacola Catholic and Pensacola Christian will have to cause some upsets. However, their tournament will be at Marianna, rather than the higher-seeded team hosting.
The Pensacola Catholic is the fifth seed in the tournament, while Pensacola Christian is sixth. The Crusaders snapped a four-game losing streak on Friday against Rocky Bayou Christian, a district foe, while the Warriors have gone back and forth since the middle of January.
District 1-2A
Location: St. John Paul II High School
Area team featured: L.E.A.D. Academy
Last year's champion: Crossroad Academy (74-68 win against Munroe)
In its first year in the FHSAA, L.E.A.D. Academy has had some tough losing streaks throughout the season. Prior to Friday's game against Gulf Pointe Latin, a 72-68 win, the Lions were on a four-game losing streak.
The Lions will travel to St. John Paul II (Tallahassee) for the quarterfinal round of the tournament.
District 1-1A
Location: Various cities (higher seeded team hosts)
Area teams featured: Jay, Central, Northview
Last year's champion: Jay (65-45 win against Paxton)
Jay earned the second seed of the District 1-1A tournament, and – just like last year – the Royals are seeded behind Paxton, the sixth-best team in 1A in the state. Jay already beat Paxton once this year (a 46-35 win at home), and is currently on a four-game win streak, most recently winning on the road at Central on Friday.
Jay will look to earn back-to-back district titles after knocking off Paxton last season. Paxton earned the only bye in the quarterfinal round.
Central got off to a hot start on the season winning six consecutive games, but has struggled as of late. The Jaguars are on a four-game losing streak, three of which have come to the hands of Class 1A opponents.
In the quarterfinals, Jay hosts No. 7 Northview while Central hosts No. 6 Baker.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
District 1-6A
Location: Various sites (higher seeded team hosts)
Area teams featured: Pace, Gulf Breeze, Navarre, Milton, Tate
Last year's champion: Crestview (38-28 win against Pace)
Pace has been hovering around the tops of District 1-6A all season long, and has been behind Niceville for most of the season. The Eagles, ranked 16th in the state, are 18-4 on the season, compared to the Patriots' 16-5 record.
The Patriots fell in the district championship game last season to Crestview, but this year, have beaten the Bulldogs twice. However, Pace has dropped both games to Niceville that were nine days apart.
Gulf Breeze, the third seed, is currently on a four-game win streak, all of which have come on the road. The Dolphins have two home games to close the regular season, and will likely have at least one more home game to start the playoffs.
District 1-5A
Location: Choctaw High School
Area teams featured: Booker T. Washington, Pine Forest, Escambia
Last year's champion: Fort Walton Beach (42-41 win against Pine Forest)
Things have changed in District 1-5A. After Fort Walton Beach earned the top seed and took home the district title, Booker T. would like to change the storyline for 2024.
The Wildcats are ranked fourth in the state, and are the top team in Class 5A. To say Booker T. is the favorite in the district tournament would probably be an understatement. While the Vikings aren't far behind (58th overall, sixth in 5A), Booker T. is 18-1 on the season and hasn't lost in (a seven-game win streak).
Pine Forest, last year's second seed, is No. 4 in the district tournament.
District 1-4A
Location: Various sites (higher seeded team hosts)
Area teams featured: West Florida, Pensacola
Last year's champion: West Florida (55-50 win against South Walton)
The Jaguars had two big upsets in the 2023 district tournament to claim the crown, including wins against No. 2 Walton and No. 3 South Walton. West Florida is, again, the third seed in the tournament.
But, this year, an area team is atop of District 1-4A. Pensacola is 13-8 and is the No. 1 seed of the tournament. The Tigers are fresh off a 51-47 overtime loss to Booker T. Washington on Friday.
District 1-3A
Location: Florida State University High School
Area team featured: Pensacola Catholic
Last year's champion: Florida State University High School is looking for another District 1-3A title after two dominant victories in the 2023 tournament.
Pensacola Catholic, seeded fourth in the tournament, was upset in the quarterfinals by Maclay last year. The Crusaders, fourth again, will host Maclay.
District 1-2A
Location: North Florida Christian
Area team featured: L.E.A.D. Academy
Last year's champion: Munroe (59-26 win against North Florida Christian)
Welcome to the FHSAA, L.E.A.D. Academy. The Lions are the top-seeded team in District 1-2A, ranked 19th in Class 2A overall.
L.E.A.D. is also the only team in Class 2A with a positive rating (4.142) in the rankings. The Lions (12-4) are on a seven-game win streak and haven't lost since Jan. 2 against Jay.
District 1-1A
Location: Various cities (higher seeded team hosts)
Area teams featured: Jay, Central, Northview
Last year's champion: Jay (52-32 win against Paxton)
Jay has been the No. 1 team in District 1-1A all season long and will look for back-to-back district titles. With a quarterfinal round bye secured, the Royals will play the winner of Freeport/Laurel Hill in the semifinals.
Jay is coming off a loss to Central on Friday, the third seed in the tournament. The Jaguars have won both regular-season games against the Royals this season.
FULL AREA RANKINGS
Here are the area rankings listed out for all area teams.
Assuming the top team wins the district tournament, the following boys basketball teams would move on to regionals if the season ended today: Milton (6A), Booker T. Washington (5A) and Jay (1A).
For girls basketball, under the same assumption, these teams would be in if the season ended today: ePace (6A), Gulf Breeze (6A), Booker T. Washington (5A), Pensacola (4A), L.E.A.D. Academy (2A) and Jay (1A).
Note, for girls basketball, Pine Forest is the eighth-ranked team in the region, but there is no District 3 team above them, meaning the Eagles would be knocked out of an at-large bid.
Boys Basketball
6A
Milton (9.492) – first in district, seventh in region, 24th in 6A, 144th overall
Gulf Breeze (4.870) – second in district, 16th in region, 47th in 6A, 231st overall
Tate (3.954) – fourth in district, 18th in region, 57th in 6A, 260th overall
Navarre (1.458) – sixth in district, 23rd in region, 70th in 6A, 331st overall
Pace (-6.301) – seventh in district, 27th in region, 95th in 6A, 524th overall
5A
Booker T. Washington (10.735) – first in district, third in region, 16th in 5A, 111th overall
Pine Forest (4.729) – third in district, ninth in region, 39th in 5A, 236th overall
Escambia (0.866) – fourth in district, 12th in region, 61st in 5A, 350th overall
4A
West Florida (1.766) – fourth in district, 15th in region, 45th in 4A, 319th overall
Pensacola (-1.062) – fifth in district, 17th in region, 58th in 4A, 407th overall
3A
Pensacola Catholic (-7.450) – fifth in district, 17th in region, 80th in 3A, 542nd overall
Pensacola Christian Academy (-8.584) – sixth in district, 18th in region, 84th in 3A, 560th overall
2A
L.E.A.D. Academy (-12.301) – fifth in district, 20th in region, 86th in 2A, 621st overall
1A
Jay (8.474) – second in district, fourth in region, 15th in 1A, 304th overall
Central (-4.080) – third in district, seventh in region, 27th in 1A, 475th overall
Northview (-13.465) – seventh in district, 14th in region, 43rd in 1A, 629th overall
Girls basketball
6A
Pace (14.527) – second in district, fourth in region, ninth in 6A, 51st overall
Gulf Breeze (12.481) – third in district, fifth in region, 13th in 6A, 69th overall
Navarre (4.284) – fifth in district, 17th in region, 44th in 6A, 212th overall
Milton (3.676) – sixth in district, 18th in region, 47th in 6A, 225th overall
Tate (-13.088) – seventh in district, 27th in region, 100th in 6A, 544th overall
5A
Booker T. Washington (24.509) – first in district, first in region, first in 5A, fourth overall
Pine Forest (12.313) – fourth in district, eighth in region, 11th in 5A, 71st overall
Escambia (-6.639) – sixth in district, 20th in region, 69th in 5A, 433rd overall
4A
Pensacola (10.303) – first in district, sixth in region, 18th in 4A, 107th overall
West Florida (3.829) – third in district, 10th in region, 35th in 4A, 220th overall
3A
Pensacola Catholic (-4.249) – fourth in district, 13th in region, 55th in 3A, 384th overall
2A
L.E.A.D. Academy (4.142) – first in district, seventh in region, 19th in 2A, 215th overall
1A
Jay (11.796) – first in district, second in region, fourth in 1A, 79th overall
Central (5.700) – third in district, sixth in region, 11th in 1A, 180th overall
Northview (-11.989) – seventh in district, 12th in region, 35th in 1A, 531st overall
Ben Grieco is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached on X (@BenGriecoSports) and via email at BGrieco@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: FHSAA Rankings: High school basketball district tournaments now set
