The CIAC boys basketball state tournament brackets were released on Wednesday, and local teams will be taking aim at state championships in all five of the divisions.
We’ll start with Division I and work from there:
Division I
Sacred Heart is the No. 4 seed and gets a first round bye, one of 12 byes. That’s what happens when there are just 20 teams in the division. The Hearts get the winner of No. 13 Fairfield Prep and No. 20 Trinity Catholic — that’s a first round matchup?! — on Thursday at 7 p.m., at Alumni…
Wait no, Sacred Heart will play its second round game at…Wilton High School. Say what? All games after the first round in Division I will be played at neutral sites. (I don’t agree with that decision at all, but I’m not the one making the decisions.)
Anyway, Holy Cross is the other local team in Division I. The Crusaders are the No. 16 seed and will play defending Division I champion Notre Dame-Fairfield, the No. 17 seed, on Monday at 7 p.m. inside “The Pit.” Holy Cross and ND-Fairfield share a common opponent, Waterbury Career Academy. The Crusaders went 1-2 against the Spartans while the Lancers were 1-0.
East Catholic, Notre Dame-West Haven and Bassick are the top three seeds.
Division II
Crosby, WCA and Kennedy find themselves in this bracket. The Bulldogs are the No. 11 seed and will host No. 22 Brien McMahon of Norwalk on Monday at 6 p.m. The Spartans are the No. 13 seed and will “host” No. 20 Enfield at Kennedy on Monday at 7 p.m. (WCA’s gymnasium is too small to host a state tournament game.) The No. 29 Eagles are on the road against No. 4 Manchester on Monday at 6 p.m.
WCA and Enfield share Weaver as a common opponent. The Spartans lost their lone game against the Beavers while the Eagles won via a forfeit because the Beavers used an ineligible player.
The top three seeds are Waterford, Glastonbury and Wilton.
Division III
St. Paul and Bristol Central will be starting their state tournament runs on the road. The No. 20 Falcons are at No. 13 West Haven on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The No. 23 Rams will be at No. 10 New Milford on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Bristol Central and New Milford each played Hall this season. The Rams lost to the Warriors while the Green Wave won their lone encounter.
The top four seeds are Wamogo, Prince Tech, Farmington and Wilcox Tech.
Division IV
Wolcott is the lone local team in this bracket. The No. 12 Eagles host No. 21 East Hampton on Monday at 7 p.m. Ironically, the Bellringers return to the same gym where they lost their Division V semifinal game to Wamogo last season.
The top four seeds are Cromwell, Classical Magnet, Granby Memorial and New Canaan.
Division V
Kaynor Tech checks in as the lone local team. The No. 12 Panthers host No. 21 Derby on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Kaynor and Derby each had Woodland, Wilby, Kennedy and Seymour as common opponents. The Panthers went 1-3 with a win over Wilby while the Red Raiders were 2-2 with wins over Woodland and Wilby.
The top four seeds are Innovation, Somers, Old Lyme and Nonnewaug.
