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Northeast Dallas County Basketball Playoffs Picture
By DEVIN HASSON, dhasson@starlocalnews.com
As the regular season winds down, some area basketball teams have already secured their spot in the playoffs, while many others are still battling it out. The girls basketball season is scheduled to conclude on Tuesday, with the boys season winding down to its final games on Feb. 12.
Here is a quick look at the postseason races in Northeast Dallas County.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
In: Rowlett (10-1), Naaman Forest (9-2), Lakeview (8-3), Sachse (7-4)
Notes: With just one game left in the regular season, there are tiebreaker situations still in play for every one of the four seeds. Rowlett has already won a share of the district title, but a victory over Lakeview on Tuesday would do much more than just give them the outright crown. The 11-5A top seed will play Longview, who is in fourth place in 12-5A and appears to be a big step down from the other three teams in that district--Horn, Mesquite and Rockwall--who should all provide formidable first-round opponents.
Here are the scenarios:
Rowlett beats Lakeview, Naaman Forest beats Sachse: Rowlett (1), Naaman Forest (2), Lakeview (3), Sachse (4).
Rowlett beats Lakeview, Sachse beats Naaman Forest: Rowlett (1), Naaman Forest (2), Sachse and Lakeview tie for third and require coin flip or play-in game.
Lakeview beats Rowlett, Naaman Forest beats Sachse: Rowlett and Naaman Forest tie for first and require coin flip or play-in game, Lakeview (3), Sachse (4)
Lakeview beats Rowlett, Sachse beats Naaman Forest: Rowlett (1), Naaman Forest and Lakeview tie for second and require coin flip or play-in game, Sachse (4).
12-5A
In: Horn (10-1), Mesquite (10-2), Rockwall (8-3), Longview (6-5)
Notes: While there is still a chance that the Horn and Mesquite could share the 12-5A title should the Jaguars slip up on Tuesday, the district's seeding is set. Horn will be the top seed followed by Mesquite, Rockwall and Longview.
Who they face in the first round, however, is still up in the air due to a congested 11-5A field. Here is a look at how it would stand if the season ended today, along with the other possible opponent:
Horn vs. Sachse (Lakeview)
Mesquite vs. Lakeview (Sachse, Naaman Forest)
Rockwall vs. Naaman Forest (Lakeview, Rowlett)
Longview vs. Rowlett (Naaman Forest)
10-4A
In: Carrollton Newman Smith (12-1), Highland Park (11-2), West Mesquite (10-3), Carrollton Creekview (7-6)
Notes: Carrollton Creekview finally rounded out the playoff field when it defeated Terrell on Friday to clinch the fourth postseason spot.
Although the top three seeds are not official, there appear to be few fireworks set to go off on the final day of the regular season, as Newman Smith (Forney), Highland Park (Terrell), and West Mesquite (Poteet) are all heavy favorites to win and hold on to their current seeding.
Looking ahead, Creekview knows it will be the fourth seed and it will have to contend with 9-4A champion Frisco Liberty, which is ranked 13th in the latest Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Class 4A state poll.
The other 9-4A spots are up for grabs. Frisco Centennial (10-3) currently leads Frisco Heritage (9-4) by one game for second place. Those two teams will meet on Tuesday. If Centennial wins, it will be the second seed and Heritage the third. If Heritage wins, they will move into a tie and after splitting the head-to-head series, they will require a coin flip or a play-in game.
There is a similar situation for the fourth seed, where Frisco Wakeland (7-6) leads The Colony (6-7) by one game. The teams split the season series, but whereas Wakeland must play undefeated Liberty on Tuesday, The Colony squares off with Little Elm (2-11), meaning a tie and a play-in game is very possible.
12-2A
In: Gunter (11-0), Sunnyvale (9-2)
In the hunt: Leonard (6-4), Farmersville (5-6)
Notes: Gunter has already clinched the district championship and the first round bye in the playoffs. Sunnyvale is the second seed and will play the third-place team from District 11-2A. Prior to its game against Van Alstyne on Friday, Leonard needed just one win in its final two games or one loss by Farmersville to wrap up the final postseason spot.
BOYS BASKETBALL
11-5A
In: Lakeview (9-0), Rowlett (9-1)
In the hunt: Naaman Forest (5-5), Sachse (4-5), Garland (3-6), South Garland (3-7)
Notes: Lakeview and Rowlett are assured of the top two spots and they meet on Tuesday. Lakeview will clinch the district title and the top seed in the playoffs with a win, while Rowlett can force a tie for first if it can avenge its earlier loss.
The race for the third and fourth playoff berths just got a lot tighter with Naaman Forest and Sachse losing on Friday. The Rangers and Mustangs are still leading Garland and South Garland, but that smaller gap leaves little room for error down the stretch.
Naaman Forest and Sachse will meet on Tuesday, with the winner taking a giant step toward the playoffs and the loser falling back into a more precarious position.
The good news for the Rangers and Mustangs is that the Owls and Colonels do not have easy roads.
Garland, which is behind by just one in the loss column, must close the season with Lakeview and Rowlett.
South Garland, which trails by two games in the loss column and has one fewer game to play, needs to win out against Naaman Forest and North Garland to even have a chance.
12-5A
In: Mesquite (9-1), Longview (8-2)
In the hunt: Horn (6-3), Tyler Lee (6-4), North Mesquite (3-6)
Notes: What looked as if it was going to be a compelling race at one point on Friday lost a lot of drama when Longview stunned North Mesquite with a buzzer-beating victory and Tyler Lee took down Horn.
With that turn of events, the Lobos join Mesquite in the playoffs and the Jaguars and Red Raiders each need only one more win or one more Stallion loss to secure their spots.
There are still plenty of things that can happen in regards to seeding. Mesquite and Longview will meet on Friday in what could be a battle for the district championship, although the Skeeters must also face Horn, who handed them their only 12-5A loss.
The Jaguars have a one-game lead over Tyler Lee for third place, but the Red Raiders swept the season series and would have the head-to-head tiebreaker if they finish even in the standings.
10-4A
In: None
In the hunt: Carrollton Newman Smith (9-2), West Mesquite (8-3), Highland Park (8-3), North Forney (7-4), Poteet (6-5)
Notes: Just when it seemed like Newman Smith might pull away to the district title, Highland Park reeled them back in on Friday as the Scots and West Mesquite moved back to within a game of the 10-4A top spot. North Forney also picked up a huge victory over Poteet on Friday to move into sole possession of fourth place with three games left to play.
The Falcons are suddenly in good position. Not only do they hold a one-game edge over the Pirates, they also swept the season series to earn the tiebreaker and they have a favorable schedule with games against Carrollton Creekview and Terrell down the stretch.
Poteet, conversely, must play road games against West Mesquite and Carrollton Newman Smith and will likely need at least one upset, if not two, to have a chance.
While the top three teams are still jockeying for seeding position, it seems unlikely that any of them would fall back to where its playoff spot would be jeopardized.
In addition to the game against Poteet, West Mesquite plays Carrollton Creekview and Terrell in its final two games.
Highland Park plays Terrell and Forney in its next two contests, while Newman Smith will clinch with a victory over Forney on Tuesday.
12-2A
In: Farmersville (9-1)
In the hunt: Sunnyvale (7-2), Leonard (7-3), Gunter (4-3)
Notes: Farmersville is in and controls its own destiny to the district title and the first-round bye. However, they can not afford to slip up, as Sunnyvale is only behind by one in the loss column and the two teams split the head-to-head series.
The Raiders have a one-half game lead over Leonard, with those teams also having split the head-to-head meetings.
Gunter is still alive, but faces a treacherous road down the stretch, taking on all three contenders with games against Sunnyvale on Tuesday, Leonard on Friday and Farmersville next Tuesday.
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