What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Feb. 18, 2022: Basketball playoffs tip off

By: Don Rebel
Thursday, February 17, 2022 | 9:39 PM

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Welcome to the Path to the Pete.

Opening night of the 2022 WPIAL boys and girls basketball playoffs is set for Friday with nine Class 4A and A first-round boys games and four Class 3A first-round and three 2A preliminary round girls contests.

One other girls basketball game set for Friday is the lone Class 6A first-round game as Peters Township hosts Butler.

The 6A girls have the smallest field of the 12 district postseason tournaments with only nine teams. The Golden Torando-Indians winner will face top-seeded Mt. Lebanon in the quarterfinals Wednesday.

Meanwhile, pigtail games used to be commonplace in the WPIAL basketball playoffs; however, only the girls Class 2A field has more than 16 teams, thus the three preliminary round games slated for Friday.

All three are rubber-game matches between section rivals.

Carmichaels visits Frazier with the winner earning the No. 16 seed and visiting top-seeded Our Lady of the Sacred Heart on Monday in the first round.

Springdale hosts The Ellis School on Friday with the winner getting the No. 15 seed and traveling to defending champion Neshannock on Monday.

Both Aliquippa and South Side earned their playoff spots in the last couple of days of the regular season. The Rams visits the Quips with the winner earning the No. 14 seed and visiting Serra Catholic on Monday.

Defending the crown

Eighty-six boys and 81 girls basketball teams have qualified for the district basketball postseason, including all 12 2021 district champions.

Of those 12, eight of the defending champs are either a top seed or a No. 2 seed in this year’s postseason.

Two of the four that may be considered darkhorses to repeat are in action on opening night.

Defending boys 4A champion Lincoln Park is a No. 5 seed after finishing tied for second place in Section 2-4A with Montour. The Leopards are 15-6 and big favorites when they host Yough (13-9) on Friday.

The other 2021 WPIAL champion in action Friday is Mohawk. The girls 3A champs from last season are a No. 7 seed after an 8-13 season and a third-place finish in Section 1-3A. The Warriors host Shady Side Academy (9-11) in the opening round.

Keep in mind, the Mohawk girls finished in third place last year as well on their way to a WPIAL crown.

Beautiful day in the Neighborhood

Six years ago, Nazareth Prep and The Neighborhood Academy weren’t even part of the WPIAL.

Now these two small private schools collide in the first round of the WPIAL boys Class A playoffs Friday.

Nazareth Prep (5-17), the artist formerly known as Holy Family Academy, made a big splash in the district hoops scene when in the first year after changing the school’s name, the Saints defeated Vincentian Academy, 69-62, to win the 2019 WPIAL Class A championship.

The Neighborhood Academy joined the WPIAL in boys basketball last year and elected not to participate in the district’s open playoffs after finishing only 2-4.

So not only with this be the Bulldogs’ first WPIAL home playoff game, it is their first District 7 postseason contest following an 11-7 season.