Division I

Throw seedings out the window for this year’s Division I boys basketball playoffs

The best way to explain the Division I regular season may be to look at what the Londonderry High School boys basketball team has done this season.

The Lancers, this year’s sixth seed entering the tournament, picked up wins over fellow top eight teams Bedford, Manchester Memorial, Manchester Central, Winnacunnet and Alvirne. But then they also lost to lower-seeded playoff teams, like Merrimack, Salem and Dover, and one that didn’t make the postseason, Pinkerton.

Londonderry certainly wasn’t the only team that fell victim to the unpredictability of the division this year. Bedford also lost to Pinkerton. One of Trinity’s two wins was against Spaulding. Two of Bishop Guertin’s three wins came against Nashua South and Memorial.

After a regular season where anything seemed to happen, a tournament that could be the same way is scheduled to begin Wednesday. All that’s known for certain is that the top three teams – Portsmouth, Exeter and Bedford – have byes into the quarterfinals. Here’s a look at the first round games.

No. 9 Spaulding (10-8) at No. 8 Winnacunnet (12-6)

No one would have predicted this to be the No. 8-9 matchup when these teams met on Jan. 9, a game Winnacunnet won 55-49. Spaulding was in the middle of a 1-6 start to the season, while the Warriors won 10 of their first 11 games. But after the slow start, the Red Raiders won seven in a row and nine of their final 11 games to climb all the way up to ninth. Meanwhile, Winnacunnet went into a tailspin, going 2-5 in its final seven, including a three-game losing streak to end the year. That including a loss in the finale to Central in which the Warriors scored just 34 points and lost by 31.

No. 13 Nashua South (7-11) at No. 4 Manchester Memorial (13-5)

For the last six weeks, South looked like the 14th team in a 13-team playoff. But after a season that saw the Panthers lose six games by an average of 4.7 points, South won its final two games while the other teams in line for the final playoff spot lost. Of course, all that means for sure is the Panthers will have one more game against a Memorial team that beat them 86-54 on Jan. 16. While that was the highest-scoring game of the year for the Crusaders, it was also one of 14 times this season they held an opponent under 60 points.

No. 12 Salem (8-10) at No. 5 Manchester Central (13-5)

These two just played on Feb. 27, and it was not pretty for Salem, as Central won by 20 points on the Blue Devils senior night. It was part of a six-week slump for Salem, as the Blue Devils went 3-8 after a solid start to the season. After missing the playoffs a year ago, Central could be on its way back to Durham. The Little Green ended the year by winning eight of their final nine games, including their final three games by an average of 24.7 points. After allowing an average of 64 points in their first three games, Central hasn’t given up more than 59 since.

No. 10 Merrimack (8-10) at No. 7 Alvirne (12-6)

Alvirne enters this game having averaged 65.2 points scored against the other 17 teams in the division, but when these teams met in the regular season, the Broncos scored just 39 points in a one-point victory. Merrimack held 12 opponents to 50 points or less this season, and the Tomahawks were 7-5 in those games. But they also had 11 games where they scored fewer than 50 points and were 3-8. Alvirne started the year by winning nine of its first 11 games, was just 3-4 down the stretch.

No. 11 Dover (8-10) at No. 6 Londonderry (12-6)

This game could be a microcosm of what the season has been in D1. Londonderry allowed more than 60 points just twice all season – once in a 67-62 win over Alvirne and in an 81-45 loss at Dover. That was a season-high total for a Green Wave team that averaged 63.1 points in its 17 other games, and it was part of a 2-3 finish to the regular season for Dover. For the Lancers, it was their only loss in their final six games that also included the win over Alvirne, plus wins over Central and Memorial.

Bye: No. 1 Portsmouth (16-2)

The Clippers ended the regular season with an 11-game winning streak behind some great perimeter shooting and stout defense. Portsmouth gave up an average of 45.3 points during the streak, with only two teams – Nashua North and Exeter, two teams at opposite ends of the standings – scoring more than 60.

Bye: No. 2 Exeter (14-4)

The Blue Hawks’ offense surged to the end of the regular season, as Exeter averaged 74 points in its final five games, going 4-1. But throughout the year, the Blue Hawks were just 1-3 against the other top five seeds in the tournament. Exeter scored an average of 66.3 points per game for the season, and was 8-0 when it reached that total.

Bye: No. 3 Bedford (14-4)

The Bulldogs were one of the more consistent teams in the division, scoring between 57 and 70 points in their final 15 games, while allowing more than 60 just four times during that stretch. In all, Bedford gave up that many points six times and went 2-4.