It’s really, really close. Which prep hoops teams are fighting to make the playoffs?
It’s the final week of the basketball regular season and many region races could go down to the final day of the season on Friday.
Here is a look at some of the top races in the region. Playoffs for SC public schools begin Feb. 17. Private school playoff begin Feb. 21 and seeding will determine the bracket.
Boys
Region 4-5A
Irmo (7-0) has clinched the region title but the second and third place spots are up for grabs. Blythewood and Sumter are tied at 3-3 with Lugoff-Elgin 3-4. Blythewood plays Lugoff-Elgin on Tuesday and Spring Valley on Friday. Sumter faces Spring Valley on Tuesday and Irmo on Friday. If three teams finish 4-4, the playoff second and third spots will go to a tiebreaker or point differential. The fourth-place team can go for an at-large bid which will be determined by the 5A committee at the end of the regular season.
Region 5-5A
Dutch Fork (5-2) can clinch the region with a win Thursday against White Knoll. Lexington, River Bluff and White Knoll all are tied at 3-3 and each play two region games this week. Chapin is a game back at 2-5. Only the top three teams are guaranteed a playoff spot and the fourth-place team can go for an at-large bid.
Region 3-4
Ridge View (7-1) is one-game ahead of Richland Northeast for the region lead and can clinch the title with two wins this week or a RNE loss. RNE can wrap up second place with wins over Lancaster on Tuesday and York on Friday. Westwood (5-3) is guaranteed a playoff spot and can finish anywhere from second to fourth place. The top four teams in the region earn a playoff spot.
Region 4-4A
AC Flora and Lower Richland are tied for the region lead at 7-1 and play each other Tuesday. Flora can clinch the region with a win in that game. LR must beat Flora and Orangeburg-Wilkinson to win the region. Lower Richland can also win with a win over Flora on Tuesday and if Flora loses to Dreher on Friday.
Region 5-4A
Airport, Brookland-Cayce and Midland Valley are in a three-way tie at 2-6 for the fourth and final playoff spot in the region. The two teams are one game back of third-place South Aiken. Airport plays South Aiken on Tuesday and Brookland-Cayce on Friday. B-C also plays region-leading Aiken on Tuesday.
Region 3-3A
Newberry (5-4) is in third and Mid-Carolina (4-5) fourth for the final playoff spot in the region. The two teams play against each other on Tuesday. If Newberry wins, it clinches third place. If M-C wins, a deciding game against the Bulldogs will be played at a neutral site Friday. If MC and Emerald both lose Tuesday, a tiebreaker game would be played at a neutral site to determine No. 4 spot in region.
Region 4-3A
Keenan (8-0) clinched the region by defeating Indian Land, 64-51, on Monday. Camden (5-3) is tied with Indian Land for second place. The Bulldogs play Indian Land on Tuesday and Keenan on Thursday. Indian Land gets the second spot with a win over Camden on Tuesday. Camden finishes second with wins over Indian Land and Keenan.
Region 5-3A
Gilbert (3-3), Swansea (2-5) and Pelion (1-5) are in the mix for the third and fourth playoff spots. Gilbert leads the way with games against Edisto on Tuesday and Pelion on Friday to close out the season. Swansea plays Edisto on Thursday while Pelion has Strom Thurmond on Tuesday and Gilbert on Thursday.
Region 2-2A
Saluda (4-4) is in third and can finish second with wins over Abbeville on Tuesday and Batesburg-Leesville on Friday and if Fox Creek loses to Batesburg-Leesville on Tuesday and on Silver Bluff on Thursday.
Region 3-2A
Gray Collegiate (6-1) wrapped up the region and Columbia (5-3) secured third place. CA Johnson and Eau Claire (both 1-6) are tied for the final spot with one game left. If they finish tied, Eau Claire makes the playoffs because of the point differential between the two teams.
Girls
Region 4-5A
Irmo (7-0) can win the region Friday with a victory over Sumter (5-1) or if Sumter loses to Spring Valley on Tuesday. If Sumter beats SV and Irmo, it will go to a region tiebreaker. Spring Valley (3-3) has clinched third place in the region.
Region 5-5A
Lexington and River Bluff are tied for the region lead at 5-1 with two games left. Lexington has Chapin on Tuesday and River Bluff on Thursday. On Tuesday, River Bluff plays third-place White Knoll (4-2), which has clinched a playoff spot and can still win the region. The Wolves also play on Thursday against Chapin.
Region 3-4A
Westwood (8-0) can wrap up the region if it wins its final two games. Ridge View (6-2) leads South Pointe (5-2) for second place. RV plays York on Tuesday and Westwood on Friday to close out the season. SP has three games this week, including a matchup against Westwood on Tuesday. Richland Northeast and Lancaster (both 2-6) are tied for the final playoff spot. RNE can earn it by defeating Lancaster on Tuesday.
Region 4-4A
Lower Richland (5-3) has clinched a playoff spot and will finish either second or third. LR will finish second if it beats AC Flora (2-6) on Tuesday and Orangeburg-Wilkinson on Friday. Dreher (3-5) will clinch fourth place with a win in its final two games. AC Flora (2-6) can get an at-large berth determined by 4A committee.
Region 5-4A
Airport (6-2) has clinched second place in the region and will get a home playoff game.
Region 3-3A
Newberry (3-6) clinches the No. 4 seed in the region with a win over Mid-Carolina on Tuesday.
Region 4-3A
Keenan (8-0) leads Camden (7-1) by a game and each team has two games left. Keenan can clinch the region title with a win over Camden on Thursday. Fairfield Central (4-4) is in third place by a half of a game over Indian Land. FC can finish third with a win over Indian Land on Thursday.
Region 2-2A
Saluda (8-0) has clinched the region. Batesburg-Leesville (3-5) can clinch fourth with wins in its final two games.
Region 3-2A
CA Johnson and Calhoun County are tied for the region lead at 5-2 and play each other Tuesday. The winner of that game will be the region champion and the loser will take second. The third and fourth place spots are between Gray Collegiate (3-4), Columbia and Eau Claire (2-5). If GCA beats EC on Tuesday, the War Eagles will be third and Columbia fourth. If EC wins, all three teams will be tied and go to a tiebreaker.
This story was originally published February 10, 2020 at 3:13 PM.
