COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Division II tournament play kicks off on Monday, as the march to the Schott begins for the area's state title hopefuls. Let's take a look at what to watch for in the Division II district tournament. 

Simply put, this is Beechcroft's bracket to lose. The Cougars opted to jump into the Columbus 1 district, which will send its champion to the Bowling Green regional. What is new this year is that neither of the district champions will have the chance to go to the Athens regional, which has been fairly kind to local teams in years' past.

As the No. 1 seed, Beechcroft will have two nearly guaranteed wins before a potential district semifinal matchup against what could be No. 5 Bexley or No. 8 Granville. Beechcroft has a distinct size and athleticism advantage over any team in the bracket and should not really be challenged until the district finals. A matchup against Bishop Hartley is the most likely scenario, as Beechcroft should be favored in that game. The Cougars will have a gauntlet in the regional tournament if they are to get there. Beechcroft will likely have to beat Holy Name and Wauseon in back-to-back games to get to the state tournament. 

No. 4 Bishop Hartley is the second best team in this district. The Hawks have three scholarship level players in senior Garrett Tipton (Bellarmine) and juniors Payton Collins and Morgan Safford. Hartley will have to likely go through three-straight City League teams to win this district. 

Other sleepers in the district are No. 5 Bexley, who has won 11 of its last 12, as the Lions finished the regular season at 17-5 with a share of an MSL title. No. 7 Independence has shown the potential to play with some of the division's top teams, but will have a tough challenge when it opens tournament play against a tough No. 10 East team.

No. 12 Centennial is a team to keep an eye on, as the Stars have quality guard play and size, but suffer from a lack of depth. Centennial will match up with Hartley if it is to beat Licking Valley in the first round.

No. 1 Beechcroft - 85%

No. 4 Bishop Hartley - 10%

No. 5 Bexley - 2.5%

No. 10 East - 2.5%

For the second-straight year, we could see a district final between Eastmoor and South. The Warriors took down the top-seeded Bulldogs in the district title game a season ago, as Eastmoor is looking to do that once more.

Seeded No. 2 in the division, Eastmoor made the smart choice to go away from Beechcroft and jump into this bracket. The winner will head to Dayton where it will not be a cake walk to win the region. Eastmoor has the best chance of any team in this bracket, but there are some quality teams in Columbus 2.

At No. 3, South is in another great spot to make a run to a district title. The Bulldogs have reached that stage in three-straight seasons, losing to Johnstown and Eastmoor in back-to-back years after winning in 2015. South has two winnable games in the sectional tournament before a likely matchup against No. 9 Bishop Watterson, will not be an easy game for the Bulldogs.

Continuing with Watterson, the Eagles finished the regular season strong, winning a share of the CCL title by sweeping Bishop Ready. Watterson will always be one of the division's best teams, as the Eagles are led by junior guard Zach Sawyer, who has been a breakout player in the area this year. 

Other quality teams include No. 6 Jonathan Alder, who finished the regular season at 18-4, but did not face the strength of schedule that other teams in the district did. The Pioneers will have to take down the winner of No. 11 Linden and No. 13 DeSales in the sectional finals, which will not be an easy matchup by any means. 

That first round matchup between Linden and DeSales is the best game of Monday's slate. The Stallions ended the regular season by beating St. Charles and then giving Beechcroft a scare last Tuesday. With enough talent to put together a run, DeSales could be a sleeper team to reach the district semifinals. Linden has a great deal of size and athleticism, but have been up and down all season long, as that inconsistency could come back to bite them.

No. 2 Eastmoor - 65%

No. 3 South - 30%

No. 9 Bishop Watterson - 5%