What to watch for in WPIAL sports for Feb. 11, 2024: Basketball brackets to be revealed on HSSN

By: Don Rebel
Sunday, February 11, 2024 | 7:13 PM

Purchase Photo Options

Did somebody say something about bracketology?

For those who love district high school basketball, Valentine’s Day comes two days early with the release of the 2024 WPIAL playoff brackets.

There are 87 boys basketball teams in the postseason field, with 17 teams qualifying in Class 5A, 16 schools in 4A, 3A and 2A, 14 in A and eight in 6A.

The girls basketball playoff field consists of 81 teams, with 17 in 5A, 16 each in 3A and 2A, 12 in 4A and A and eight in 6A.

Some of the more intriguing questions will be who is No. 2 in boys 6A? Who will be the top seed in girls 6A? How will the committee seed the top eight teams in boys 3A?

The guesswork ends Monday as we run through the brackets during the WPIAL Basketball Playoff Pairings Show at 2 p.m. on Trib HSSN.

Curtain falls on boys basketball regular season

Even though teams will know their postseason path by tip-off Monday night, there are 21 boys basketball nonsection games scheduled for the final night of the regular season.

A dozen of those contests pit playoff-bound teams against each other in one final tip-off before the postseason.

The most intriguing matchup has two teams expected to be top seeds as Moon (18-3) visits Mt. Lebanon (18-3).

The Tigers are expected to be No. 1 in the Class 5A bracket after winning a tough Section 4 with a perfect 10-0 record.

Moon has won six straight games and has been victorious in 17 of its last 18 games.

The Blue Devils will be No. 1 in the Class 6A bracket after winning Section 2 by one game over rival Upper St. Clair with a 9-1 record.

Mt. Lebanon also has six straight wins and has won 10 of its last 12 contests.

The other postseason tune-up games are:

Gateway at Butler

North Hills at Pine-Richland

Peters Township at Baldwin

North Catholic at Central Catholic

Belle Vernon at Thomas Jefferson

South Fayette at Seton LaSalle

Beaver Falls at Central Valley

Eden Christian Academy at Freeport

Knoch at Shady Side Academy

Quaker Valley at Shenango

Rochester at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart

Girls basketball season finales

There are also 21 district girls basketball regular season finales Monday.

Only seven feature playoff-bound teams.

The highlight pits two of the top two teams in their classification when Greensburg Central Catholic visits Peters Township.

The Centurions and Indians are a combined 36-6 this season.

GCC won Section 3-2A and has only lost to three WPIAL teams this season — Oakland Catholic and McKeesport in 5A and North Catholic in 4A.

Peters was undefeated before falling to Canon-McMillan on Friday after victories in its first 20 games.

The other playoff-bound clashes include:

Woodland Hills at North Allegheny

Plum at Chartiers Valley

Central Valley at Chartiers-Houston

St. Joseph at Shady Side Academy

Waynesburg Central at California

Fort Cherry at South Side

Tags: Baldwin, Beaver Falls, Belle Vernon, Butler, California, Central Catholic, Central Valley, Chartiers Valley, Chartiers-Houston, Eden Christian, Fort Cherry, Freeport, Gateway, Greensburg C.C., Knoch, Moon, Mt. lebanon, North Allegheny, North Catholic, North Hills, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Peters Township, Pine-Richland, Plum, Quaker Valley, Rochester, Seton La Salle, Shady Side Academy, Shenango, South Fayette, South Side, St. Joseph, Thomas Jefferson, Waynesburg, Woodland Hills