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Tournament Week: Games to watch

By Zach Fleer, 02/18/20, 4:15PM EST

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We preview the top matchups in the opening weekend of the district tournament

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Tournament time is upon us in Central Ohio. With the Division I and IV sectional tournaments beginning this week, let’s take a look at some of the more intriguing matchups on deck.

See the full tournament schedule HERE.

See the full brackets HERE.

Division I

No. 28 Westerville North (9-13) at No. 21 Marysville (14-7)  - Friday, 7 PM

Tipping off on Friday at 7 p.m., Marysville will host Westerville North in the second matchup between these two programs. Westerville North picked up one of its best wins of the season on Jan. 7 when the Warriors took down Marysville, 51-45. North will be looking to pull the upset and complete a season sweep over the Monarchs on Friday in what could be one of the best games of the first round.

The winner will advance to the sectional finals to play on the road at No. 16 Chillicothe on Friday, Feb. 28.

No. 27 Dublin Scioto (11-10) at No. 17 Reynoldsburg (12-10) - Saturday, 1 pm

In another game that is a rematch of a non-league game earlier in the year, Reynoldsburg will host Dublin Scioto for the second time this year. Just barely squeaking by the Irish on Jan. 18, 48-47, Reynoldsburg will have a tougher challenge on its hands without longtime coach Scott Davis, who has been suspended indefinitely. The Raiders have been up and down all year and could fall victim to an upset-minded Scioto team in an always-tough rematch scenario. 

The winner will advance to the sectional finals to play on the road at No. 15 New Albany on Friday, Feb. 28.

No. 19 Upper Arlington (13-8) at No. 14 Canal Winchester (14-7) - saturday, 7 pm

On paper, this is the best first round matchup of the weekend. Two top 20 seeds that both advanced to the district semifinals a year ago. Upper Arlington comes in hot after knocking off Dublin Coffman to force a three-way tie atop the OCC-Central last Friday, while Canal has struggled as of late, losing two of its last three games. Both teams live and die by the three, as the hotter shooting team will likely come out on top. 

The winner will advance to the sectional finals to host No. 22 Whitehall on Friday, Feb. 28.

No. 25 Big Walnut (12-9) at No. 12 St. Charles (17-5) - saturday, 11 am (Pickerington North)

This game is a bit unusual, as it will tip off on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Pickerington North. Due to St. Charles not having a regulation size court, the Cardinals will hit the road to take on a Big Walnut team that has had plenty of ups and downs this year. The ups? Blowing out Fairfield Union and Canal Winchester by 48 combined points on back to back nights in January. The downs? Losing four-straight games immediately following that breakout weekend. For St. Charles, the Cardinals share Division I’s longest win streak at 11 games and have not lost since Jan. 4. Something will have to give on Saturday morning.

The winner will advance to the sectional finals to take on No. 18 Delaware Hayes on Friday, Feb. 28. 

No. 24 Watkins Memorial (17-5) at No. 23 Grove City (11-11) - saturday, 7 pm

Coming in as winners of 11-straight games, Watkins Memorial likely enters the district tournament feeling disrespected with the 24th seed after winning the Licking County League and a decade-high 17 games. The Warriors can prove that the area coaches got it wrong on Saturday when they hit the road to take on Grove City in one of the most exciting games of the first round. 

Watkins Memorial has been led primarily by seniors Marcus Peaks and Reece McNeely who have put up big time numbers. Grove City has their own primetime trio in juniors Brock Waits and Alex Coffey and senior Cole Crager. We look forward to watching this clash of styles between the LCL and OCC.

The winner will advance to the sectional finals to play at No. 13 Westerville Central on Friday, Feb. 28.

No. 30 Groveport Madison (10-12) at No. 11 Westerville South (14-8) - saturday, 1 pm

Looking at this matchup from the outside, it appears that Groveport is a heavy underdog. We tend to disagree, as this Cruisers team has shown a bit of promise this year, namely in its upset of Newark in early January. Facing them is a Westerville South team that has greatly rebounded from a 6-win campaign in 2018-19 by winning the OCC-Buckeye and snatching a top 12 seed. The ‘Cats are led by a cast of quality contributors, as this matchup should be one of the most physical of the day.

The winner will advance to the sectional finals to take on No. 26 Briggs on Friday, Feb. 28.

No. 31 Dublin Jerome (10-12) at No. 20 Olentangy Orange (14-8) - saturday, 1 pm

Meeting for the second time this season, Dublin Jerome and Olentangy Orange will do battle on Saturday afternoon. Two teams that started off hot with a handful of quality wins, Orange and Jerome combined to go 8-16 in league play, as both seemed to sputter down the stretch. Orange won the previous matchup against the Celtics 51-46 on Dec. 27 and have won its last three games, picking up some much-needed momentum. Jerome has been a model of inexperience, as the Celtics went through some early season success by jumping out to a 3-0 start with wins over Newark and London, but have since fallen back to earth after dropping its OCC finale on the road at Dublin Scioto.

The winner will advance to the sectional finals to play either No. 10 Dublin Coffman or No. 35 Hilliard Darby on Friday, Feb. 28. 

Division IV

No. 16 Kipp Columbus (7-12) at No. 5 Newark Catholic (10-11) - thursday, 7 pm

The winner will advance to the sectional finals to play at No. 4 East Knox on Tuesday, Feb. 25. 

No. 13 Granville Christian (10-10) at No. 11 Millersport (8-13) - thursday, 7 pm

Millersport won the last matchup on Dec. 14, 66-43. 

The winner will advance to the sectional finals to play at No. 3 Berne Union on Tuesday, Feb. 25.

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