What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Feb. 1, 2022: Playoff picture still unclear in Class 6A

By: Don Rebel
Monday, January 31, 2022 | 12:01 AM

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Welcome to the start of the February Frenzy. The first two weeks of the shortest month of the year concludes the regular season while the final two weeks feature the first three rounds of the WPIAL basketball playoffs.

One of the boys basketball questions heading into the “stretch run” was, could we see all five teams from Section 1-6A make the playoffs?

The answer is probably not, but those chances could increase depending on the outcomes of the two games Tuesday.

Because every team plays the other four section opponents three times instead of the normal twice, there would have to be a three-way tie for third place or a four-way tie for second place with all the tied teams having the same records against each other for all five teams to qualify.

First-place North Hills (9-0) is in and second-place Pine-Richland (5-3) is in good shape.

Butler and North Allegheny are tied for third with 3-6 section records, one game ahead of 2-7 Seneca Valley.

Seneca Valley needs to win at Butler on Tuesday to realistically have a postseason shot. A win would put Seneca Valley in a tie with the Golden Tornado and the Raiders would own the tiebreaker, 2-1.

Seneca Valley loses the tiebreaker to North Allegheny (2-1), so if the Raiders lose Tuesday, they would need to beat North Hills and Pine-Richland in their final two games to have a shot.

Also on Tuesday, North Allegheny hosts Pine-Richland in the rubber game of their season series.

Four for fourth

This is the time of year where you have to have wandering eyes.

You can’t just focus on the battle for section championships. You also have to pay attention midway down the section ladder for the fight for fourth place.

There are four key WPIAL boys basketball games that fall in that category Tuesday:

• Hampton visits Armstrong in Section 4-5A. The Talbots have a two-game lead, so the River Hawks need a win to split the season series and pull within one game with three section games left.

• Steel Valley hosts East Allegheny in Section 3-3A. The Ironmen have a half-game lead over the Wildcats and a one-game lead over Apollo-Ridge in the effort to crack the top four behind South Allegheny, Shady Side Academy and Ligonier Valley. A home win would give Steel Valley a sweep of the series with EA.

• Northgate travels to Chartiers-Houston in Section 2-2A. The Buccaneers have a one-game lead and a win would be a big step toward dousing the Flames since it would give the Bucs a two-game lead and the tiebreaker.

• Propel Montour is home to West Greene in Section 2-A. The Legends and Pioneers are even in the loss column with four, but West Greene has a half-game lead with two wins to Propel Montour’s one section victory. The Pioneers are also looking for the series sweep with a road victory.

Desperate duo

Speaking of fourth place, time is running out on the playoff hopes for both the Gateway and Franklin Regional girls basketball teams.

The Gators sit in fifth place with a 2-6 section record while the Panthers are a half-game behind them at 2-7.

Currently, Woodland Hills sits in fourth place in Section 4-5A with a 5-4 record.

A desperate Gateway team will host Woodland Hills on Tuesday. A Wolverines win would clinch a playoff berth and eliminate the Gators.

It’s an even tougher assignment for Franklin Regional as it hosts first-place Latrobe on Tuesday.