Breaking down the playoff scenarios for Midlands high school basketball teams
The high school basketball regular season is in the final week for S.C. High School League and S.C. Independent School Association programs.
Here is a look at where area teams stand in their regions and playoff scenarios as of Feb. 9. Region records are in parentheses:
Boys basketball
Region 4-5A: Dutch Fork (8-1) has won the region title. The Silver Foxes are in position for one of the top four seeds in 5A Upper Division II Upper State and are No. 3 in the latest MaxPreps RPI for upper state. But if Byrnes High finishes second in its region, the Silver Foxes have a shot at the No. 2 overall seed. Irmo (6-3) has a one-game lead over Lexington (5-4). Irmo plays Dutch Fork on Thursday and Lexington has River Bluff. White Knoll (4-5) leads Chapin (3-6) and two teams play Thursday. Irmo, Lexington, White Knoll and Chapin all will make the playoffs in their classifications.
Region 5-5A: Ridge View (10-1) and Westwood (10-1) are tied for first with two games left. If they finish tied, Ridge View holds the tiebreaker for the No. 1 seed in the region. Both teams should get first-round byes with Ridge View in 5A Division I Upper State and Westwood in 5A Division II Lower State. Ridge View has a shot for the No. 1 overall seed in Upper State and is No. 1 in the latest upper state MaxPreps Ratings Percentage Index. Westwood is No. 2 in 5A Division II Lower State. Sumter (6-5) is in third with Lugoff-Elgin (6-6), Blythewood (4-6), Spring Valley (3-8) and West Florence (0-10). All but West Florence should make the playoffs.
Region 3-4A: Lancaster (10-1) has clinched the region title. South Pointe (8-2) leads Camden (7-3) for second place and the two teams play Thursday. Dreher (6-6) is in fourth place, followed by AC Flora (5-6), York (2-9) and Richland Northeast (0-11).
Region 4-4A: Gray Collegiate (13-0) has clinched the region title and could have home-court advantage up until the state semifinals. The War Eagles are No. 1 in the latest MaxPreps RPI standings for 4A Lower State. North Augusta (11-2) has wrapped up second and is followed by Brookland-Cayce (8-5), Midland Valley (8-5), Aiken (6-7), South Aiken (4-9), Airport (1-12) and Gilbert (0-12).
Region 5-4A: Wilson (11-1) has won the region. Crestwood (9-2) is second and Darlington (7-4) third. Lower Richland (6-6) is fourth, followed by Hartsville (3-8), South Florence (3-8) and Lakewood (1-10).
Region 4-3A: Keenan and Fox Creek (6-1) are tied for first with two games left. If they finish in a tie, a tiebreaker game will be played Friday at Newberry High School. Even if Keenan wins the region, it still will be on the road the entire postseason because of the sanctions handed down by the S.C. High School League against coach Zach Norris. Silver Bluff (3-4) is third and Newberry (2-5) is fourth. Tuesday. Swansea (0-7) is fifth.
Region 2-2A: American Leadership (7-2) and Saluda (7-2) are tied for first place; each has two games remaining. If the teams finish tied, American Leadership is the No. 1 seed because it swept Saluda. Batesburg-Leesville (5-4) leads Pelion (3-6) and Strom Thurmond (3-6) two games. Ninety-Six (2-7) is in sixth.
Region 3-2A: Clinton (10-0) has won the region title. Fairfield Central (6-2) is in second place with Eau Claire (6-3) in third. The teams play Wednesday, which could decide second place in the region. Mid-Carolina (3-6) is fourth with Columbia (2-7) fifth and Chester (0-9) sixth. Mid-Carolina has a tiebreaker over Columbia.
Region 4-2A: Central (10-1) and Andrew Jackson (10-1) are tied for first with one game remaining. The two teams split the two games in the regular season. Central plays Cheraw (3-8) on Thursday and AJ plays third-place York Prep (8-3).
Region 2-A: CA Johnson (13-0) has clinched the region and has home-court advantage until the state semifinals.
SCISA 4A: Heathwood Hall has clinched the SCISA 1-4A championship and will be a No. 1 or 2 seed when the playoff brackets are released next week. Ben Lippen (7-2) is in second, ahead of Hammond (5-3); the teams play Feb. 17.
Girls basketball
Region 4-5A: Dutch Fork (8-1) leads the region by a game over Lexington (7-2). The Silver Foxes can clinch the region with a win over Irmo on Thursday, or if Lexington loses against River Bluff. If the teams finished tied, a one-game playoff will be held Friday to determine the No. 1 seed. Third place is up for grabs among Chapin (5-4), Irmo (4-5) and River Bluff (3-6). All three teams will make the playoffs.
Region 5-5A: Blythewood (10-0) leads and wins the region with a victory over West Florence on the Wednesday or Ridge View on Friday. Bengals will have a bye in the first round and are No. 3 in latest MaxPreps RPI and will likely be a No. 2 overall seed. Ridge View (9-2) has second locked up and is followed by Westwood (6-5), Spring Valley (5-6), Sumter (4-7) and Lugoff-Elgin (4-8). The top six teams should qualify for the playoffs.
Region 3-4A: South Pointe (10-0) leads the region by a game over Camden (9-1). Both teams two three games left, including a makeup game against each other on Thursday. South Pointe won the first meeting between two teams. AC Flora (8-3) has third locked up and is followed by Richland Northeast (5-6), Lancaster (3-8), Dreher (3-9) and York (0-11).
Region 4-4A: North Augusta (13-0) has won the region and Gray Collegiate (11-2) has wrapped up second. North Augusta is No. 1 in the latest MaxPreps RPI for Class 4A. Midland Valley (9-4) has wrapped up third place. South Aiken (7-6) is fourth. Fifth place and beyond are made up of Brookland-Cayce (4-9), Aiken (3-10), Gilbert (3-10) and Airport (2-11).
Region 5-4A: Darlington (9-2) Wilson (9-2) and South Florence (9-2) are tied for first with one game left. Wilson and Darlington play Thursday and South Florence plays Hartsville. Lower Richland (6-5) is fourth. Lakewood (2-8) is fifth, followed by Crestwood (2-9) and Hartsville (1-10).
Region 4-3A: Keenan (7-0) has clinched the region and home court for the first three rounds leading into state semifinals. Fox Creek (5-2) has wrapped up second. Newberry (3-4) is third and Silver Bluff (2-4) fourth.
Region 2-2A: Saluda (6-0) enters the week in first place and wins the region with one more victory. Ninety-Six (5-2) is in second. Strom Thurmond and Batesburg-Leesville (3-3) are tied for third.
Region 3-2A: Clinton (10-0) has won the region, but the rest of the region spots are up for grabs. Chester (5-4) and Columbia (5-4) are tied for second. Eau Claire (3-6) and Mid-Carolina (3-6) are tied for fourth.
Region 4-2A: Andrew Jackson (11-0) has won the region. Chesterfield (8-4) is second. Cheraw (6-5) is third. There is a tight race between Buford (4-5), Central (4-7) and North Central (4-7) for the final two playoff spots. North Central plays Buford on Thursday.
Region 2-A: Great Falls (11-2) and Lee Central (10-2) are in a race for first place The two teams have split two games in the regular season. Lewisville (8-3) is third. McBee (5-4) is fourth and CA Johnson (5-6) is fifth.
SCISA 4A: Ben Lippen (9-0) leads the region with one game left in the regular season against Hammond (7-1) on Feb. 17. Hammond needs to beat Northside Christian then beat Ben Lippen to have a shot at the region title. Heathwood (5-4) and Northside Christian (4-5) are next in the standings and will make the playoffs.
This story was originally published February 9, 2026 at 4:25 PM.
