Changes brought on by COVID-19 brought changes to the Florida High School Athletic Association’s boys basketball playoff format, but the Orlando area teams that expect to contend for state championships aren’t much different from a year ago.
Class 2A defending state champion Orlando Christian Prep is on a 40-game winning streak entering district tournament play this coming week.
Oak Ridge is No. 1 in Class 7A, followed by five dangerous Metro Conference rivals. Dr. Phillips, Windermere and Olympia are rated 2-3-4 in that order. West Orange is No. 6 and Apopka No. 7.
Edgewater, another Metro school, is No. 5 in Class 6A but is a district underdog to third-ranked Bartow.
Windermere Prep is No. 9 in 3A and its district rival, The Master’s Academy, sits just outside the top 10.
In 2A, third-ranked Central Florida Christian Academy, No. 7 City of Life Christian and No. 7 Mount Dora Christian all are arguably final-four worthy. But they make it to Lakeland only if somebody finds a way to oust OCP.
Due to the pandemic’s impact on regular-season schedules, the FHSAA reverted to its long-standing region tournament format. That means wild-card berths are out for this year.
Instead, the two finalists in each district advance. District champions will host runners-up from adjacent districts (1 vs. 2, 3 vs. 4, etc.) in region quarterfinal games on Thursday, Feb. 18.
Region semifinals are set for Tuesday, Feb. 23, and finals are Friday, Feb. 26, leading up to the March 3-6 state tournament at Lakeland’s RP Funding Center.
District tourney tickets are $6 and in some cases must be bought online.
The toughest ticket is likely going to be for 7A District 3 at Olympia, where four top-10 teams — DP, West Orange, Apopka and the host Titans — are competing for two region berths.
Olympia athletic director Kevin McElveen said tickets for individual games can be purchased online at the GoFan.co website (FHSAA as the search term) and will also be sold at the door for credit/debit card transactions if games are not sold out. That seems like a big if.
The Orange County Public Schools policy on COVID-19 limits crowds to 25% of capacity. The Olympia gym will be cleared between games on Tuesday and Wednesday and spectators will be not be allowed to enter until a previous game is completed and cleared.
At Boone, where Oak Ridge is the top seed, capacity will be limited to 300 people for each game.
OCPS requires all spectators and personnel to wear face masks. Neck gaiters, neck buffs and masks with exhalation valves are not permitted.
Read on for a breakdown for every district involving area teams. There are questions to be answered on the court and we have those covered.
Note that although there were no official district games this season, we have included records against district teams (in parentheses):
Class 7A District 2
Top seed: Seminole (12-7, 3-2) is ranked only 26th in 7A, but that’s deceiving. The ‘Noles started 0-4 without state championship football players and their power rating suffered.
We wonder: Can Lake Mary (8-10, 3-2) advance to region play for the first time in 17 seasons? The third seed Rams are lined up to play No. 2 Spruce Creek (11-6, 3-1) in the semifinal round and they beat the Hawks in the regular season.
Class 7A District 3
Top seed: Dr. Phillips (17-3, 4-1) lost 48-47 to third seed West Orange but edged No. 2 Olympia (18-5, 5-2) in a late-season overtime game to earn the top slot. The margin of error is paper-thin in the “District of Death.”
We wonder: What does it say when sixth seed Lake Brantley (14-8, 2-4) posts a 59-45 win against District 2 favorite Seminole on the eve of the playoffs?
More importantly, who is the hottest squad in the only district in any classification with four top-10 teams?
DP is ranked No. 2 in 7A behind Oak Ridge, which it lost to in a 49-47 game that could have gone either way.
West Orange (17-5) won 16 of its past 17 games.
Olympia, striving for the first district crown in program history, won 18 of its final 21 regular-season games.
Apopka (14-6, 4-4) won six of its past seven.
Class 7A District 4
Top seed: Orlando University (14-7, 5-2) posted a 54-38 win at Oviedo (12-9, 4-1) and edged the Lions for the leading power rating.
We wonder: Is there really a favorite? University split with third seed Winter Park (11-12, 6-1) and was 0-1 against No. 4 Hagerty (12-13, 2-3).
Class 7A, District 5
Top seed: Oak Ridge (18-2, 3-0) is a heavy favorite as the No. 1 team in Class 7A. But the Pioneers know they were stunned by Lake Nona in last season’s district final.
We wonder: Does homecourt advantage in a new gymnasium give second seed Boone (16-9, 4-1) the edge vs. Lake Nona (10-8, 2-0) in a likely semifinal? Nona beat the Braves 60-55 last time they met in the 2020 semifinal round.
Class 7A, District 6
Top seed: Windermere (14-5, 2-0) won at No. 2 Osceola (12-7, 0-2) and at No. 3 Ridge Community (12-4, 4-1) in its only regular-season district games.
We wonder: Osceola lost 59-55 at Ridge on Jan. 21. Will the Kowboys turn the table, this time at home, in a district semifinal with a region berth at stake?
Class 6A District 4
Top seed: Ocala Forest (12-6, 1-1) lost 60-51 at No. 2 Daytona Beach Mainland (7-10, 1-0) two weeks ago but beat the Bucs’ power rating.
We wonder: If fourth seed Wekiva (10-14, 0-1), battle-tested by 7A Metro Conference rivals all season, knocks off the top seeds, will it really shock anybody? The Mustangs’ one district date was a tight 38-35 loss at Forest in early January.
Class 6A District 5
Top seed: Viera (14-10, 2-0), the defending champ, has two wins against second seed Melbourne (7-6, 0-2).
We wonder: Isn’t it something of a victory already for third seed St. Cloud (10-15, 2-0) to have played the allowed 25 regular-season games while so many teams had multiple COVID-19 cancellations?
Class 6A District 6
Top seed: Bartow (14-4, 4-0), the reigning 6A state champ, won 10 of its final 11 regular-season games.
We wonder: Can second seed Edgewater (12-9, 2-1) rebound after closing its rugged regular-season schedule with five losses in its past six games? That included a 78-49 home loss against Bartow.
Class 5A District 4
Top seed: Ponte Vedra (19-4, 1-0) turned things around after going 10-14 last season.
We wonder: Does a five-game win streak give second seed Pine Ridge (11-7, 5-0) confidence if it meets Ponte Vedra for the title in its first meeting with the Sharks?
Class 5A District 5
Top seed: Leesburg (11-4) did not face a district foe in the regular season, nor did second seed Jones (8-12).
We wonder: Can Jones, which had some tough stretches against a schedule rated third toughest in 5A, repeat as district champ? The Tigers topped Leesburg 57-48 in the 2020 final.
Class 5A District 8
Top seed: Defending champ Rockledge (20-4, 6-0) won four of its six district games by 10 points or less.
We wonder: Can second seed Kissimmee Gateway (8-2, 0-0) go from a first-round loss in 2020 to the tournament title?
Class 4A District 7
Top seed: Reigning region champ Lake Highland Prep (9-7, 1-0) has struggled with pieces missing all season but is still rated No. 3 in the region.
We wonder: Does Umatilla (11-6, 3-1), enjoying a rare winning season under new coach Pat Todd, have a prayer of avenging a 21-point regular-season loss to No. 2 Eustis (8-10, 5-1) and earning its first region appearance since 2004?
Class 3A District 4
Top seed: Windermere Prep (15-5, 3-1) has won 10 of its past 11 games.
We wonder: How good could a final be pitting the Lakers against second seed The Master’s Academy (16-4, 2-0), which has won 10 straight? Windermere Prep overpowered the Eagles in 2020 district final.
Class 2A District 9
Top seed: Daytona Beach Halifax Academy (12-6, 1-2) lost its regular-season game against second seed Ormond Beach Calvary Christian (9-12, 2-0), so this is not a great advertisement for the power rankings system.
We wonder: Can 2A districts be revised to have better balance? At No. 37, Halifax is the lowest rated top seed in this classification.
Class 2A District 10
Top seed: Central Florida Christian Academy (17-7, 1-0), ranked No. 3 in 2A, had to juggle its lineup repeatedly against a rugged schedule.
We wonder: Can second seed Mount Dora Christian (19-5, 4-0) use homecourt advantage to turn the tables on CFCA? The Bulldogs played the Eagles close in a 54-49 district-final loss a year ago.
Class 2A District 11
Top seed: Defending state champ Orlando Christian Prep (20-0, 0-0) is ranked No. 1 by the FHSAA, regardless of class.
We wonder: City of Life Christian (22-2, 1-0) has made a huge jump since last season, but are the second-seeded guys from Kissimmee even close to Orlando Christian Prep? OCP pounded the Warriors 84-40 in a district semifinal a year ago, but that was a 10-16 City of Life team.
This report was first published at OrlandoSentinel.com. Varsity Content Editor Buddy Collings can be reached by email at bcollings@OrlandoSentinel.com.
