Who’s in, who’s out? Playoff picture for Midlands HS basketball teams in final week
The high school basketball regular season in South Carolina is entering its final week, and there is still plenty left to decide regarding the postseason.
Playoffs begin Feb. 13. Here is a look at scenarios for Midlands boys and girls teams, with region records in parentheses. Records are through Feb. 6.
Boys Basketball
▪ Class 5A
Region 3: Blythewood (7-2) clinched the region championship but the rest of the region is up for grabs. Nation Ford and Fort Mill are tied for second at 5-4. Clover and Spring Valley are one game back at 4-5.
Region 4: Lexington (7-0) has clinched the region title. White Knoll (4-4) is in second followed by River Bluff (3-4), Chapin (2-5) and Dutch Fork. RB plays Chapin on Thursday while Lexington plays Dutch Fork.
▪ Class 4A
Region 4: North Augusta (7-0) leads the region and plays second-place Aiken (6-1) on Thursday. Midland Valley (4-4) finishes third and South Aiken (2-6) is fourth seed.
Region 5: Ridge View (8-1) and Westwood (8-1) are tied for first. If they finish in a tie, RV wins the tiebreaker based on margin of victory in the two games between the two teams.. AC Flora (6-3) has wrapped up the third spot while Richland Northeast (3-6) and Irmo (2-7) battle it out for final spot. RNE has Westwood while Irmo has Lugoff-Elgin to close the season.
▪ Class 3A
Region 5: Lower Richland (8-1) is in first by a game over Orangeburg-Wilkinson (7-2) and Dreher (7-2). LR is at Dreher while O-W hosts fourth-place Brookland-Cayce (4-5) on Thursday. LR wins the region by beating Dreher. If Dreher wins and O-W beats B-C, O-W is region champion and Dreher is second, LR third.
Region 6: Crestwood (10-0) won the region and Darlington (8-2) finished second. Marlboro County (5-5) was third and Camden (4-6) finishd fourth.
▪ Class 2A
Region 2: Newberry (7-0) leads the region and plays Abbeville (6-1) for region title on Thursday. If Abbeville defeats Newberry to force a tie, the two teams will play again at Saluda on Friday in a neutral-site game. Mid-Carolina (3-4) and Saluda (2-5) will play for third place on Thursday.
Region 3: Fox Creek (7-0) leads the region and wins it by defeating Strom Thurmond (6-1) on Thursday. If ST and Fox Creek finish tied, first place will go to a tiebreaker. Silver Bluff (3-4) is third and Batesburg-Leesville (2-6) fourth.
Region 4: Gray Collegiate (8-0) has won the region because the other region teams forfeited games against the War Eagles. Keenan (4-3) and Eau Claire (4-3) are tied for second. If teams finish tied, Keenan holds the tiebreaker. The fourth spot is between Fairfield Central (1-6) and Columbia (1-6).
Region 5: Andrew Jackson (11-0) has clinched the region, but the rest of the region is up for grabs. York Prep (8-3) is in second place followed by North Central (7-4), Cheraw (6-5) is fourth and Central (5-6) fifth. Only the top four teams in the region make it.
▪ Class A
Region 3: CA Johnson (7-2) and Great Falls (7-2) are tied for the region title and will play each other Friday. Lewisville (6-3) is third and McBee (5-4) fourth.
Girls Basketball
▪ Class 5A
Region 3: Rock Hill (9-0) is region champion. Blythewood (6-3) is second while Spring Valley (5-4) and Clover (5-4) are tied for third. SV plays Blythewood and Clover plays Rock Hill on Friday. Fort Mill (2-7) is fifth.
Region 4: Dutch Fork (7-0) leads the region and clinches the title with a win over Lexington (6-1) on Thursday. If Lexington defeats DF, a one-game tiebreaker for region will happen on Saturday at 1 p.m. Chapin (3-4) has clinched third spot. Final spot is between River Bluff (1-6) and White Knoll (1-7).
▪ Class 4A
Region 4: North Augusta (7-0) has won the region while Aiken (5-2) is second, South Aiken (4-4) third and Airport (3-5) fourth.
Region 5: Ridge View (9-0) leads the region and clinches the championship with a win over A.C. Flora (8-1). ACF can win the region by beating RV by three points or more. Westwood (5-4) is third and Irmo (3-6) fourth. RNE (2-7) is fifth.
▪ Class 3A
Region 5: Lower Richland (9-0) has clinched the region and Orangeburg-Wilkinson (8-1) is second. Third and fourth place will be determined by Gilbert (5-4) and Swansea (4-5) matchup on Thursday.
Region 6: Camden (10-0) won the region and Crestwood (8-2) is second. Darlington (5-5) and Lakewood (5-5) are tied for third.
▪ Class 2A
Region 2: Mid-Carolina (6-1) leads the region and plays Saluda (5-2) on Thursday. M-C is region champion with a win. If Saluda wins, it will go to a tiebreaker. Newberry (2-5) is fourth seed.
Region 3: Silver Bluff (6-0) leads and can clinch the region by defeating Strom Thurmond (5-1) on Tuesday. ST two wins, one over SB and two SB losses to win the region outright. If teams finish tied, they will go to a tiebreaker. Fox Creek (4-3) is third. Batesburg-Leesville (1-6) can clinch fourth by defeating Pelion (0-6). Pelion needs to beat B-L and SB to finish fourth.
Region 4: Gray Collegiate (8-0) has won the region. Keenan (5-2) is second, Fairfield Central (3-4) is third Eau Claire (1-5) and Columbia (1-5) are tied for fourth.
▪ Class A
Region 3: Lewisville (7-1) won the the region McBee (5-1) is second. CA Johnson (3-3) is third and Great Falls (2-5) is fourth.
This story was originally published February 5, 2024 at 2:05 PM.
