Another Boys Hoops Roundup...

We're down to the final stretch in high school basketball before the playoffs begin. So let's take a look at where boys team's stand and how the playoffs might shake up.

Only one local team has clinched a playoff spot and that's Longwood in League I. The Lions face first-place Brentwood at home tonight for a chance to earn a share of the league title. If the Lions can win out these next two games, including a home game against Sachem East, the real interesting question will be which team gets the higher seed? Brentwood or Longwood? The Lions would have the better overall record, but Brentwood played the tougher schedule. Longwood did beat St. John the Baptist, a team Brentwood lost to. An Indians win tonight makes it a moot point. Brentwood has won three straight against Longwood, all at Brentwood. Longwood won its last home meeting against the Indians last year.

Here are the current standings:

Brentwood 9-1

Longwood 8-2

Lindenhurst 6-3

Pat-Med 5-4

Floyd 3-6

Sachem East 2-7

Ward Melville 0-10

The only other local team with a chance to clinch a playoff berth is Shoreham-Wading River in League VI. The Wildcats are 6-7 and should get their seventh win when they play Mount Sinai Monday at home. Miller Place and Mt. Sinai are eliminated from contention.

Here are the standings:

East Hampton 12-1

John Glenn 10-3

Amityville 9-4

Bayport 9-4

SWR 6-7

Miller Place 4-9

Mt. Sinai 1-12

Westhampton 1-12

In League V Rocky Point is eliminated from contention with a 4-9 record.

Harborfields 11-1

Huntington 10-2

Kings Park 10-3

Comsewogue 7-6

Islip 6-7

Rocky Point 4-9

Hauppauge 3-10

Sayville 0-13

So let's take a look at possible playoff positioning:

In Class A the bracket is set up for seven teams, but we'll have more teams make it. As of now there are eight teams clinched with another two as possibilities. Shoreham should make it nine and an Islip win against Rocky Point would make it 10 teams. So we're looking at outbracket games to get in the dance. Shoreham will definitely be an outbracket team, playing either a Comsewogue or Islip.

My guess would be if 10 teams get in that the 9 and 10 would play an outbracket for the right to play the No. 1. Then the 7 and 8 would play for the right to play the No. 2.

Something like this:

9. Comsewogue

vs.

10. SWR

7. Amityville

vs.

8. Islip

1. East Hampton

vs.

9-10 Winner

4. John Glenn

vs. 

5. Kings Park

3. Huntington

vs.

6. Bayport-Blue Point

2. Harborfields

vs.

7-8 winner

That'd be a tough bracket right there.

Back to Class AA:

This is where things get real tricky. A lot of good teams without a couple really dominant teams as sure 1 and 2 seeds. This won't be easy to break down and the season's final few games will go a long way toward determining these final seeds.

So far 11 teams have clinched a playoff spot. The bracket is set up for 16 teams. From League I through IV there are at least one or two teams that stand one win away from clinching. So within the next few days we'll have a better picture of what teams are in. There are simply too many important games left to accurately predict how the seedings may fall. Among them are Longwood-Brentwood tonight, Hills West-Bellport, Whitman-Bay Shore and Copiague-North Babylon. These games all have huge ramifications toward playoff seeding and potential league titles.

It should make for an exciting prelude to the playoffs.

Smit named Swimmer of the Week

Mount Sinai graduate and Olympic medalist Julia Smit was named the collegeswimming.com Collegiate Swimmer of the Week for NCAA Division I women based on her performances from Nov. 2-9.

A Stanford junior, Smit was honored for the fourth time in her career (twice as a freshman, once last year).

Smit dominated at the two-day Anteater Shootout hosted by UC Irvine. She won five individual events in the 100 free (twice), 200 back, 200 IM and 400 IM. She recorded NCAA 'A' standard times in the 200 IM (1:56.06) and the 400 IM (4:06.89). Her three other victories were 'B' times. Her time of :48.48 in the 100 free moved her into fifth place on Stanford's all-time top-10 list for the event.

Smit returns to the pool with Stanford Nov. 28-30 in Toronto, Canada for the Bell Invite.

Playoff Brackets Posted!

We'll start with boys soccer.

The brackets are pretty similar to how I predicted earlier. Mount Sinai did earn the No. 2 seed despite falling into a tie with Miller Place. So good news for the Mustangs, who won't have to face Comsewogue until a county championship. Miller Place meanwhile gets Sayville in the first round. Yikes! Here's the rule with Sayville in soccer: You never, ever want to play them. I don't care what their record is.

So here it goes:

1. Comsewogue

vs.

8. Bayport-Blue Point vs. 9. Harborfields

5. Sayville

vs.

4. Miller Place

3. Hauppauge

vs. 

6. SWR

7. Westhampton

vs.

2. Mt. Sinai

The outbracket game is Monday and the first round games are Thursday with the semifinals to be played Monday, Nov. 3. The county championship will be Thursday, Nov. 6 at Dowling Sports Complex.

I'd feel real good about Mt. Sinai winning its first game against Westhampton. The Hurricanes have struggled down the stretch and I think the Mustangs got their bad game out of the way Wednesday at Shoreham. 

Our other two schools, however, I think are prime for one and done. I never pick against Sayville and Shoreham has been very inconsistent the last three weeks. If they play like they did Wednesday, they can win. If not, Hauppauge can run away with that game.

Onto FIELD HOCKEY:

Three local teams made it as expected.

1. Sayville

vs.

8. Huntington

5. East Hampton

vs.

4. Rocky Point

3. SWR

vs.

6. Bayport-Blue Point

7. Harborfields

vs.

2. Miller Place

I like all of our teams to win Tuesday and advance to the semis Thursday. The real confusing part of the bracket is how in the world Miller Place earned a higher seed than Shoreham-Wading River. Shoreham led Division III all year until at the very end, Miller Place jumped the Wildcats in power points. If anyone cared about field hockey, this would be causing a major stir right now. But it's field hockey, so I'm sure no one has noticed outside of Shoreham or Miller Place.

But Miller Place finished 12-2, 14-3. Shoreham finished 13-1, 15-2. OK, so Shoreham had a better record. But why would something like better records matter in determining standings? It comes down to power points. So MP gets the edge with 170.o10 to Shoreham's 166.43.

But look closer. Who did Miller Place lose to? Shoreham. TWICE! 

Miller Place is a very good team that can win a county championship, but the Panthers have no business finishing ahead of Shoreham and to do so makes an absolute mockery of Suffolk County field hockey. Last I checked the Wildcats were defending county champions. And the Wildcats have won six of the last seven games between the two schools, including in the playoffs last year. Now this lower seeding doesn't hurt the Wildcats that much. It just means they have to play at Miller Place as opposed to home in the second round. But it's still perplexing and shouldn't be.

You can argue the power points could work into Miller Place's favor had Shoreham played a significantly worse schedule. They did not. The Wildcats' only loss came to Rocky Point, 1-0. The Eagles are pretty good this year, right? Seeded fourth in the playoffs?

Breaking down their schedules, Miller Place played:

SWR: 13-1

Rocky Point: 11-3

Pierson: 12-2

Port Jeff: 7-7

East Hampton: 7-7

Comsewogue: 5-9

Hampton Bays: 2-12

SWR played:

MP: 12-2

RP: 11-3

Port Jeff: 7-7

Riverhead: 7-7

East Hampton: 7-7

Comsewogue: 5-9

Southampton: 3-11

So Miller Place's opponents went: 57-41, a .582 percentage

Shoreham's opponents went: 52-46, a .531 percentage

One more note: SWR outscored opponents 54-7. MP outscored opponents 50-13.

Sorry, but that's nowhere near enough to give Miller Place a higher seed after losing TWICE to Shoreham. Unbelievable.

Onto GIRLS SOCCER:

1. Islip

vs. 

9. Mt. Sinai vs. 8. Rocky Point

5. SWR

vs.

4. John Glenn

3. Harborfields

vs. 

6. Bayport-Blue Point

7. Hauppauge

vs.

2. Sayville

Should be a quick girls soccer postseason. I like RP over Mt. Sinai for the right to lose to Islip. SWR should take care of Glenn and then the Wildcats will fall victim to Islip. 

I'd be shocked to see anything but Islip playing Sayville for the county title.