OFSAA Today!

The 2012 OFSAA Boys' Basketball championships tip off today with all four sites (A through AAAA) in action.

Here's a quick glance of our 5 teams, and how I project that they might fare:

A - Walkerton

Seeding:  #16 (of 16 teams)

First Game:  Today, 4:00pm vs. #6 London District Christian

Outlook:  The Raiders have been given the #16 seed in the 16-team tournament, which is obviously a very difficult place to be.  Unlike the AA & AAAA 18-team tournaments, where the lower seeds would play a "winnable" game against a similarly-ranked team to get the draw down to 16 teams, a first-round loss and Walkerton goes right up against #1 E-S Algonquin. 

Mark's Prediction:  The youthful Raiders (most of their roster is grade 11 and under) will be looking to gain some valuable experience this weekend.  Their shot at a win comes in the first round, but I'll predict an 0-2 exit.

AA - Lourdes

Seeding:  #15 (of 18 teams)

First Game:  2pm today, vs. #4 ACMT (Hamilton)

Outlook:  I'm a bit surprised by the #15 seed given to the Crusaders, which is where they were last year.  Of course, it's always very difficult to seed the "A" and "AA" tournaments in particular with teams coming from practically across Ontario.

That being said, I think the Crusaders are in tough in their first game against ACMT, but should be able to pull a win against (likely) #17 Westlane in the "second round qualifier" this evening.  This would set up a game with #2 St. Basil tomorrow, which is quite interesting.  Last year, the Crusaders held a 34-22 lead at halftime over the Saints (also ranked #2 in that tournament) before falling 71-54.  The Saints are strong, but can be beaten -- just ask Lourdes' D10 rivals, the Bishop Mac Celtics, who upset St. Basil at the SBCSS tournament earlier this year.

Mark's Prediction:  I'll go with a win in the "round of 16" qualifier, and a single digit loss to #2 St. Basil in the round of 16.  1-2 record.

AAA - Jacob Hespeler

Seeding:  #13 (of 16 teams)

First Game:  12:15pm today, vs #7 Sherwood (Hamilton)

Outlook:  The Hawks played some great basketball at the CWOSSA "AAA" tournament, and they'll be looking to carry that momentum over to Windsor here today.  Seeded #13, the Hawks will need a big first-round effort to avoid a loss, which would likely mean a match-up with #4 Windsor Herman, who are a very strong team (defeated Kitchener St. Mary's 41-38 earlier this year).  JHSS will need to key on Sherwood's Moe Ismail, who netted 25 of his team's 55 in their 55-51 qualifier win over Niagara Falls' AN Myer.

Mark's Prediction:  Though I wouldn't be surprised to see the Hawks come away with a win (especially in the first round), I'll project a close loss to Sherwood in the first-round, and a loss to #4 Herman in round 2. 0-2.  

AAAA - St. Mary's

Seeding:  #10 (of 18 teams)

First Game:  4:15pm today, vs. #9 Westmount (Hamilton)

Outlook:  These teams met last year (2010-11 season), with the Eagles scoring a comfortable double-digit win --- but times have changed.  The Wildcats have made tremendous strides this season, knocking of MacNab (Hamilton) in the city public championships.  The win was Westmount's first city public title since 1978, and their first appearance in the final since 1981.  Don't forget that they have several other quality wins (Mother Teresa, for example) on the year.  

In particular, I'm looking for a GREAT matchup between two top tier power forwards in this one.  6'6" James Miles (Westmount) and 6'7" Adam Voll (St. Mary's).  Both have the capability to perform inside and out, so it should be quite entertaining.  

Meanwhile, St. Mary's shooters (esp. Isaac Lance, Alex Thompson and Telloy Simon, among others) must be "on" against Westmount's zone that really stifled MacNab in the Hamilton Public final. 

The good news for St. Mary's is that a loss doesn't leave them in a very difficult position, unlike teams in other divisions.  The "worst" they can do is play #7 HB Beal with a loss.  A win would put them against the winner of the #8/#14 game (St. Patrick's/Goetz).

Mark's Prediction:  I see the Eagles coming away with at least one win here.  I'll go against the grain and say that they make it to the quarterfinal round, where they'll be in tough against (most likely) either #1 Vaughan or #2 Henry Carr --- but we'll see how things play out!

AAAA - JF Ross

Seeding:  #13 (of 18 teams)

First Game:  2:45pm today, vs #7 HB Beal (London)

Outlook:  Making their third consecutive OFSAA appearance, the Royals certainly have experience on their side.  A win in their opener against Beal, and the Royals would get Ross/Westmount, while a loss means (most likely) #4 Pine Ridge --- although the Royals did beat Pine Ridge in an exhibition match a few weeks ago.

Mark's Prediction:  Arguably the most difficult one of the bunch to make.  I'll (unfortunately) say 0-2, with both being "close" single-digit losses, but I'll be pulling for the Royals and all CWOSSA teams to make some noise!

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Again, good luck to all teams!