The N.C. High School Athletic Association boys basketball playoffs begin Tuesday.
In this 3A playoff preview we hand out bracket superlatives, give four favorites and one dark horse for each bracket half, and even make championship predictions (that we're sure nobody will have any problem with and will be shocked if any of them don't pan out, right?).
We also listed the top 10 players in each bracket half. Many of these players are candidates for our all-state teams that are released a few weeks after the regular season. There's a first, second, and third team of 15 players each, plus an honorable mention team of 30.
Before reading, don't miss out on these links to our boys basketball coverage from this year.
3A East breakdown
Bracket superlatives
Best first-round matchup — (24) E.E. Smith at (9) First Flight was a playoff matchup a year ago but the Golden Bulls are much younger.
Best chance at a first-round upset — (22) Williams is 16-9 and heads to the lowest-seeded conference champ in (11) East Wake.
The hardest road — (5) South Central could get (12) White Oak in the second and either (4) Seventy-First or (13) Jacksonville in the third.
The easiest road — (3) Southern Durham's draw seems favorable, though you can't discount how good (6) Southern Lee has been. That would be a third-round game.
Four favorites and a dark horse
Favorite #1 — (2) Westover
Favorite #2 — (3) Southern Durham
Favorite #3 — (5) South Central
Favorite #4 — (1) Swansboro
Dark horse — (12) White Oak
Our top 10 players in the bracket
- Ari Fulton, Westover
- Jackson Keith, Southern Durham
- Coleman Cloer, Orange
- Jermaine Cunningham, Swansboro
- Kaemon Noel, White Oak
- Izeal Mallory II, Northern Nash
- Luke Morgan, Currituck County
- Mason Dobie, First Flight
- Ben Fox, East Wake
- Jordan Matthews, Eastern Alamance
3A West (heading 2)
Bracket superlatives (heading 3)
Best first-round matchup — (29) West Rowan is an underdog, but a talented one, and heads to (4) West Rowan.
Best chance at a first-round upset — (7) A.C. Reynolds. Not even the first round is guaranteed against (26) North Davidson.
The hardest road — (3) Central Davidson would play either (14) Ben L. Smith or (19) Dudley in the second round and potentially (11) Kings Mountain in the third? No easy at all.
The easiest road — (1) Hickory. The Red Tornadoes could have a showdown in the fourth round, but seem poised to roll in the first three.
Four favorites and a dark horse (heading 3)
Favorite #1 — (2) Central Cabarrus
Favorite #2 — (1) Hickory
Favorite #3 — (4) Southern Guilford
Favorite #4 — (5) Crest
Dark horse — (10) Asheboro
Top 10 players in the bracket
- Jerquarius Stanback, Asheboro
- Chase Daniel, Central Cabarrus
- Carson Daniel, Central Cabarrus
- D.J. Kent, Central Cabarrus
- Jucqarie Love, Southern Guilford
- Jamias Ferere, Southern Guilford
- Josh Dalton, Central Cabarrus
- Gage Lattimore, Ben L. Smith
- Amore Connelly, Freedom
- Bradley Floyd, Kings Mountain
Championship and regional final picks
3A East: (2) Westover over (5) South Central
3A West: (2) Central Cabarrus over (1) Hickory
3A championship: Central Cabarrus over Hickory
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