Playoff Picture: Division II Boys Basketball (Feb. 23)

With the Division II boys basketball regular season schedule done, here is what we expect the postseason pairings to look like when the NHIAA releases the brackets.

This year, 14 teams will make the playoffs in Division II boys basketball, with the top two seeds getting a bye into the quarterfinals. Here are current standings, along with tiebreakers and matchups. These are not official.

Division II

Team (record, rating, previous)

1. Pelham (17-1, 3.8333, 1st)
2. Hanover (17-1, 3.7778, 2nd)
3. Pembroke (16-2, 3.5556, 3rd)
4. Coe-Brown (14-4, 3.1111, 4th)
5. Manchester West (12-6, 2.6667, 5th)
6. Laconia (12-6, 2.6667, 6th)
7. Bow (12-6, 2.6667, 7th)
8. Sanborn (10-8, 2.2222, 8th)
9. Plymouth (10-8, 2.2222, 9th)
10. Souhegan (9-9, 2.0000, 10th)
11. Merrimack Valley (8-10, 1.7778, 12th)
12. Kennett (8-10, 1.7778, 11th)
13. Kingswood (8-10, 1.7778, 13th)
14. Oyster River (7-11, 1.6111, 14th)

Eliminated: John Stark (6-12, 1.3333); Lebanon (6-12, 1.3333); Milford (5-13, 1.1111); Hollis Brookline (4-14, 0.8889); ConVal (1-16, 0.2353); Bishop Brady (0-18, 0.0000).

Tiebreakers

• In a three-way tiebreaker, Manchester West (2.2857), Laconia (2.1818) and Bow (2.0000) finish in that order thanks to ratings against tournament teams.
• Sanborn wins the tiebreaker with Plymouth thanks to a head-to-head victory.
• In a three-way tiebreaker, Merrimack Valley (1.4545), Kennett (1.2308) and Kingswood (1.0000) finish in that order thanks to ratings against tournament teams.

First-round byes (changes in bold)

• No. 1 Pelham
• No. 2 Hanover

First-round matchups

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

Playoff schedule

• Preliminary Round: Tuesday, Feb. 27 at higher seed
• Quarterfinals: Friday, March 1 at higher seed
• Semifinals: Tuesday, March 5 at TBD
• Championship: Sunday, March 10 at the University of New Hampshire