Championship Week Set To Tip: Who Are The Senior Favourites....And Darkhorses?

Starting tomorrow, within a week we'll know the champions in all four of the "power conferences" in CWOSSA (D5, D10, WCSSAA and D8).

The D5 (Brantford) league is already set for their best-of-three final, which will feature third-seeded St. John's and top-ranked North Park.

Here are my unscientific "probabilities" of teams taking home a title this coming week:

D5 - Brantford

North Park - 80%

St. John's - 20%

As a "best of three" affair in the D5 championship final, you would certainly think that the favourite would be at a further advantage given that the underdog has to win an extra game.

That said, over the years we've seen some interesting finals going the distance -- including a few that many observers thought might be over in two games.  

St. John's was impressive in their semifinal win over Assumption, and while I think it's clear that the Trojans have been the class of the league in Brantford, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Eagles take a game at the very least and make things interesting in Brant County.....again.

District 8

St. Benedict - 80%

St. Mary's - 12.5%

Resurrection - 5%

St. David - 2.5%

With semifinals on Wednesday, and the championship final set for Friday night, it's a quick turnaround for the victors of the two D8 semifinals.

Top-ranked St. Benedict, undefeated in league play, has the inside edge to hosting championship night on their home floor.  A win over St. David would secure that, and given that the Saints defeated the Celtics by 19+ points both times they met, they are certainly heavy favourites for that to occur.

The only reason I don't have the Saints as a "higher favourite" to take home the title is the nature of the D8's "one and done" playoff structure.  In essence, one off night could spell the end of a team's season.

Also, St. Mary's seems to be at their best with their backs against the wall -- many have discounted an Eagles group that has a lot of experience at the junior and senior levels in winning playoff games.

Resurrection has been playing well as of late, but having to win two games in three days on the road is certainly a tough task.

District 10

Bishop Mac - 85%

JF Ross - 10%

Other - 5%

Much like St. Benedict in the D8 league, the top-ranked Celtics have been untouchable through that league's regular schedule.

The closest margin of victory for the Celts during the regular schedule was 14 points (two times), so most are probably wondering who might have a chance of knocking off the favourites.

JF Ross, one of those teams who lost to BMAC by 14, seems like the most logical candidate as the second seed in the playoffs.  Furthermore, they may be peaking at the right time given their tournament success of late, which included a victory at the Brampton Notre Dame tournament and a win over WCSSAA #2 seed, Eastwood.

This may be one of the deeper D10 fields in recent memory, and I wouldn't be surprised to see any of the top six teams in the league make the finals, depending on how things all shake out.

WCSSAA

SJAM - 70%

Eastwood - 20%

Grand River/WCI Winner - 5%

Other Team - 5%

The undefeated SJAM Highlanders have certainly been the class of the WCSSAA league, and arguably CWOSSA (alongside St. Benedict), this season.

After topping Eastwood 55-44 in their regular season finale, the 'Landers will enter the WCSSAA playoffs with the #1 seed --- and arguably, a tougher path to the finals.

SJAM, assuming they win their QF game, would play the winner of two teams that are playing very well right now, the #4 Grand River Renegades and the #5 WCI Vikings.

I actually like the Rens as my "darkhorse" in the playoffs, but I think their extraordinarily tough schedule (WCI, probably SJAM then another difficult game in the finals) might just be too tough to overcome.

The two teams in the #3 vs. #6 matchup also are not to be overlooked in terms of making a deep playoff run.

Those who have been around WCSSAA basketball for some time know that it's unwise to bet against a Nick White coached KCI team come playoff time.  Furthermore, the Raiders have one of the better backcourts in WCSSAA, which is a huge point in their column.

FHCI, meanwhile, only lost to the Raiders by four during the regular season, and have a veteran roster that certainly won't want their season to end.  Personally, that KCI-FHCI game and the GRCI-WCI game are "must-watch" affairs tomorrow.

Anyways, like every year, don't be surprised to see an upset or two at any point along the road to the finals.

Good luck to all teams!