Playoff Picture: D2 Basketball (March 1)

The regular season is done for Division II boys and girls basketball and the playoff pairings are set to be released Monday by the NHIAA.

But who wants to wait until then? Here is our best guess at what the brackets will look like when they are released.

Note: With the NHIAA’s 70-percent rule in place for the postseason, Division II girls and boys will have 14 teams in the playoffs. Standings based off results reported to NHIAA.org and other media outlets. These are not official. 

Division II Girls

Team (record, rating, previous)

1. Laconia (17-1, 3.7778, 1st)
2. Milford (15-3, 3.3333, 5th)
3. Derryfield (15-3, 3.3333, 3rd)
4. Oyster River (14-4, 3.1667, 2nd)
5. Pembroke (14-4, 3.1111, 4th)
6. Merrimack Valley (13-5, 2.8889, 6th)
7. Bow (13-5, 2.8889, 7th)
8. Pelham (12-6, 2.6667, 9th)
9. Lebanon (11-7, 2.4444, 8th)
10. Coe-Brown (8-10, 1.8333, 10th)
11. Kingswood (8-10, 1.7778, 11th)
12. Souhegan (8-10, 1.7778, 12th)
13. Hollis Brookline (8-10, 1.7778, 13th)
14. Plymouth (7-11, 1.5556, 14th)

Eliminated: John Stark (4-14, 0.8889); Bishop Brady (4-14, 0.8889); Hanover (3-15, 0.6667); Sanborn (2-16, 0.4444); Kennett (1-16, 0.2353); ConVal (0-17, 0.0000).

Tiebreakers

• Milford wins the tiebreaker with Derryfield thanks to a head-to-head victory.
• Merrimack Valley wins the tiebreaker with Bow thanks to a head-to-head victory.
• In a three-way tiebreaker, Kingswood (2-0, 4.0000), Souhegan (1-1, 2.0000) and Hollis Brookline (0-2, 0.0000) finish in that order thanks to rating in head-to-head games.

First-round byes (changes in bold)

• No. 1 Laconia
• No. 2 Milford

First-round matchups (changes in bold)

• No. 9 Lebanon at No. 8 Pelham
• No. 12 Souhegan at No. 5 Pembroke
• No. 13 Hollis Brookline at No. 4 Oyster River
• No. 10 Coe-Brown at No. 7 Bow
• No. 14 Plymouth at No. 3 Derryfield
• No. 11 Kingswood at No. 6 Merrimack Valley

Playoff Schedule

• Prelims: March 5, at home of the higher seed.
• Quarterfinals: March 8, at home of the higher seed.
• Semifinals: March 12, at Pinkerton Academy, Derry.
• Championship: March 15, at the University of New Hampshire, Durham.

Division II Boys

Team (record, rating, previous)

1. Pembroke (16-2, 3.5556, 1st)
2. Hanover (15-3, 3.3333, 3rd)
3. Sanborn (14-4, 3.2222, 4th)
4. Pelham (14-4, 3.1667, 2nd)
5. Coe-Brown (14-4, 3.1667, 5th)
6. Hollis Brookline (14-4, 3.1667, 6th)
7. Oyster River (13-5, 2.9444, 7th)
8. Manchester West (12-6, 2.6667, 8th)
9. Bow (12-6, 2.6667, 9th)
10. Merrimack Valley (11-7, 2.4444, 10th)
11. Souhegan (8-10, 1.7778, 12th)
12. Kennett (8-10, 1.7778, 11th)
13. Kingswood (7-11, 1.5556, 13th)
14. ConVal (7-11, 1.5556, 14th)

Eliminated: Milford (5-13, 1.1111); John Stark (4-14, 0.8889); Laconia (4-14, 0.8889); Lebanon (3-15, 0.6667); Bishop Brady (3-15, 0.8889); Plymouth (0-19, 0.0000).

Tiebreaker

• In a three-way tiebreaker, Pelham (8-4, 2.6667) finishes ahead of Coe-Brown (7-4, 2.5455) and Hollis Brookline (7-4, 2.5455) thanks to a better rating against tournament teams.
• Coe-Brown (0.4699) wins the tiebreaker with Hollis Brookline (0.3750) thanks to a better quality of wins against tournament teams.
• Manchester West wins the tiebreaker with Bow thanks to a head-to-head victory.
• Souhegan wins the tiebreaker with Kennett thanks to a head-to-head victory.
• Kingswood wins the tiebreaker with ConVal thanks to a head-to-head victory.

First-round byes (changes in bold)

• No. 1 Pembroke
• No. 2 Hanover

First-round matchups (changes in bold)

• No. 9 Bow at No. 8 Manchester West
• No. 12 Kennett at No. 5 Coe-Brown
• No. 13 Kingswood at No. 4 Pelham
• No. 14 ConVal at No. 3 Sanborn
• No. 10 Merrimack Valley at No. 7 Oyster River
• No. 11 Souhegan at No. 6 Hollis Brookline

Playoff Schedule

• Prelims: March 4, at home of higher seed.
• Quarterfinals: March 7, at home of higher seed.
• Semifinals: March 10, at the James W. Foley Memorial Community Center, Rochester.
• Championship: March 16, at the University of New Hampshire, Durham.