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 (17-1, 3.7778, 1st)
2. Mascoma Valley (16-1, 3.7647, 2nd)
3. Kearsarge (16-2, 3.5556, 3rd)
4. Campbell (15-2, 3.5294, 4th)
5. St. Thomas (13-3, 3.2500, 5th)
6. Gilford (13-5, 2.8889, 6th)
7. Newport (13-5, 2.8889, 7th)
8. Fall Mountain (11-5, 2.7500, 8th)
9. Raymond (12-6, 2.6667, 9th)
10. Newfound (10-7, 2.3529, 10th)
11. White Mountains (8-9, 1.8824, 13th)
12. Prospect Mountain (8-9, 1.8824, 11th)
13. Hopkinton (7-9, 1.7500, 12th)
14. Conant (7-11, 1.5556, 14th)
15. Stevens (4-12, 1.0000, 15th)

Eliminated: Somersworth (4-12, 1.0000); Inter-Lakes (4-13, 0.9412); Monadnock (4-13, 0.9412); Hillsboro-Deering (2-14, 0.5000); Derryfield (2-16, 0.4444); Winnisquam (0-16, 0.0000); Berlin (0-18, 0.0000).

Tiebreakers

• Gilford wins the tiebreaker with Newport thanks to a better rating against tournament teams.
• White Mountains wins the tiebreaker with Prospect Mountain thanks to a head-to-head victory.
• Stevens wins the tiebreaker with Somersworth thanks to a better rating against tournament teams.

First-round bye (changes in bold)

• No. 1 Belmont

First-round matchups (changes in bold)

• No. 9 Raymond at No. 8 Fall Mountain
• No. 12 Prospect Mountain at No. 5 St. Thomas
• No. 13 Hopkinton at No. 4 Campbell
• No. 15 Stevens at No. 2 Mascoma Valley
• No. 10 Newfound at No. 7 Newport
• No. 14 Conant at No. 3 Kearsarge
• No. 11 White Mountains at No. 6 Gilford

Playoff Schedule

• Prelims: Feb. 18, at home of higher seed.
• Quarterfinals: Feb. 21, at home of higher seed.
• Semifinals: Feb. 26, at Bow High School.
• Championship: March 1, at Keene State College.

Division III Girls

Team (record, rating, previous)

1. St. Thomas (16-0, 4.0000, 1st)
2. Fall Mountain (15-1, 3.7500, 2nd)
3. Newport (15-3, 3.3333, 3rd)
4. Gilford (14-4, 3.1111, 4th)
5. Monadnock (13-4, 3.0588, 6th)
6. Prospect Mountain (13-4, 3.0588, 5th)
7. White Mountains (12-5, 2.8235, 7th)
8. Berlin (12-6, 2.7778, 8th)
9. Hopkinton (11-5, 2.7500, 9th)
10. Conant (10-8, 2.2222, 10th)
11. Belmont (9-9, 2.0000, 11th)
12. Kearsarge (8-10, 1.7778, 13th)
13. Raymond (7-10, 1.6471, 12th)
14. Stevens (6-10, 1.5000, 14th)

Eliminated: Inter-Lakes (5-12, 1.1765); Hillsboro-Deering (4-12. 1.0000); Campbell (4-13, 0.9412); Winnisquam (3-13, 0.7500); Mascoma Valley (1-16, 0.2353); Newfound (1-16, 0.2353); Somersworth (0-16, 0.0000).

Tiebreakers

• Monadnock wins the tiebreaker with Prospect Mountain thanks to a better rating against tournament teams.

First-round byes (changes in bold)

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

First-round matchups (changes in bold)

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

Playoff Schedule

• Prelims: Feb. 19, at home of the higher seed.
• Quarterfinals: Feb. 22, at home of the higher seed.
• Semifinals: Feb. 25, at TBD.
• Championship: March 1, at Keene State College.