Playoff Picture: Division III Basketball (Feb. 15)

The regular season is done for Division III 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, the boys will have 15 teams in the playoffs and the girls will have 14 teams in the playoffs. Standings based off results reported to NHIAA.org and other media outlets. These are not official. 

Division III Boys

Team (record, rating, previous)

1. Belmont (18-0, 4.0000, 1st)
2. Mascoma Valley (15-1, 3.7500, 2nd)
3. Hopkinton (15-2, 3.5294, 4th)
4. Gilford (15-3, 3.3333, 5th)
5. Stevens (15-3, 3.3333, 3rd)
6. St. Thomas (13-3, 3.2500, 6th)
7. Fall Mountain (11-5, 2.7500, 8th)
8. Derryfield (12-6, 2.6667, 9th)
9. Kearsarge (12-6, 2.6667, 7th)
10. White Mountains (9-9, 2.0000, 10th)
11. Newfound (8-9, 1.8824, 11th)
12. Campbell (8-9, 1.8824, 12th)
13. Prospect Mountain (7-11, 1.5556, 13th)
14. Inter-Lakes (5-12, 1.1765, 15th)
15. Hillsboro-Deering (5-12, 1.1765, 14th)

Eliminated: Winnisquam (4-14, 0.8889); Monadnock (4-14, 0.8889); Raymond (4-14, 0.8889); Somersworth (3-13, 0.7500); Conant (3-15, 0.6667); Newport (2-16, 0.4444); Berlin (1-17, 0.2222).

Tiebreakers

• Gilford wins the tiebreaker with Stevens thanks to a head-to-head victory.
• Derryfield wins the tiebreaker with Kearsarge thanks to a head-to-head victory.
• Newfound (1.2308) wins the tiebreaker with Campbell (0.8000) thanks to a better rating against tournament teams.
• Inter-Lakes (0.3636) wins the tiebreaker with Hillsboro-Deering (0.3077) thanks to a better rating against tournament teams.

First-round bye (changes in bold)

• No. 1 Belmont

First-round matchups

• No. 9 Kearsarge at No. 8 Derryfield
• No. 12 Campbell at No. 5 Stevens
• No. 13 Prospect Mountain at No. 4 Gilford
• No. 15 Hillsboro-Deering at No. 2 Mascoma Valley
• No. 10 White Mountains at No. 7 Fall Mountain
• No. 14 Inter-Lakes at No. 3 Hopkinton
• No. 11 Newfound at No. 6 St. Thomas

Playoff Schedule

• Preliminary Round: Feb. 17, at higher seed.
• Quarterfinals: Feb. 20, at higher seed.
• Semifinals: Feb. 25, TBD.
• Final: Feb. 28, at Keene State College.

Division III Girls

Team (record, rating, previous)

1. Fall Mountain (16-0, 4.0000, 1st)
2. St. Thomas (14-2, 3.5000, 2nd)
3. Gilford (15-3, 3.3333, 3rd)
4. Prospect Mountain (15-3, 3.3333, 4th)
5. Berlin (14-4, 3.2222, 5th)
6. Hopkinton (13-4, 3.0588, 6th)
7. Monadnock (13-5, 2.8889, 7th)
8. Kearsarge (12-6, 2.6667, 8th)
9. White Mountains (11-7, 2.4444, 9th)
10. Raymond (10-7, 2.3529, 11th)
11. Belmont (10-8, 2.2222, 10th)
12. Stevens (8-9, 1.8824, 12th)
13. Mascoma Valley (7-9, 1.7500, 13th)
14. Campbell (6-11, 1.4118, 14th)

Eliminated: Winnisquam (3-14, 0.7059); Newport (3-14, 0.7059); Inter-Lakes (3-14, 0.7059); Newfound (2-15, 0.4706); Conant (2-16, 0.4444); Hillsboro-Deering (1-15, 0.2500); Somersworth (0-16, 0.0000).

Tiebreakers

• Gilford wins the tiebreaker with Prospect Mountain thanks to a head-to-head victory.

First-round byes (changes in bold)

• No. 1 Fall Mountain
• No. 2 St. Thomas

First-round matchups

• No. 9 White Mountains at No. 8 Kearsarge
• No. 12 Stevens at No. 5 Berlin
• No. 13 Mascoma Valley at No. 4 Prospect Mountain
• No. 10 Raymond at No. 7 Monadnock
• No. 14 Campbell at No. 3 Gilford
• No. 11 Belmont at No. 6 Hopkinton

Playoff Schedule

• Preliminary Round: Feb. 18, at higher seed.
• Quarterfinals: Feb. 21, at higher seed.
• Semifinals: Feb. 25, at Bow High School.
• Final: Feb. 28, at Keene State College.