One of the most fun and exciting times of the season is the week of the Public Schools Athletic League Borough Championships. It's the one chance a year you can see Class A and Class B teams take on the big boys from the Class AA Division and show what they can do when given the chance to face off with who are considered the best of the best.
The official seeds for the Borough Playoffs will come out on Saturday with the opening round of games to be played on Monday, then it will be the quarterfinals played on Tuesday, the semifinals to be followed then on Thursday, with the championships for each of the four boroughs taking part to be played on Saturday.
Before we get to Saturday's seed release we at NYCHoops.net have evaluated all the eligible teams and we bring to you now our Mock Seeds for the PSAL Borough Playoffs, with how we expect and hope to see things play out when the release from the PSAL is made official.
BRONX
1- Eagle Academy
2- Wings Academy
3- Harry Truman
4- Adlai Stevenson
5- KIPP NYC College Prep
6- Lehman
7- Bathgate Educational Complex
8- South Bronx Prep
9- Fannie Lou Hamer
10- Albert Tuitt Educational Campus
Maybe they haven't been the most consistent team all season as they have a couple of head scratching losses but the wins that Eagle Academy have reeled together including beating Thurgood Marshall Academy just last week allowed them to finish 13-2 in the Bronx AA and be the easy choice for the #1 seed in the Bronx.
Wings Academy didn't have the great start to the season but finishing the year with a strong 11-4 record in the Bronx AA makes them the easy call at #2.
Needing a win in their final game to finish above .500 and gain a spot in the Borough Playoffs, the Mustangs of Harry Truman got the job done with a win over Mott Haven, and when you add to the fact that they defeated Wings Academy and WHEELS on the season, it's easy to see they have the quality to make a run as the #3 seed.
Adlai Stevenson has some big non-league wins over a pair of AA teams in Mott Haven and Campus Magnet, won the Bronx A East regular season, and played both Mount St. Michael and Holy Cross tough in the non-league as well putting them at #4. We question if they should be eligible because they went over the 24 game allotment of games allowed playing 27 in total, but unless the PSAL steps in and rules them ineligible for postseason play we are going to keep them here for now.
Because of their loss in league play at home to Stevenson on a buzzer beater you have to have KIPP NYC College Prep behind them so they come in at #5 meaning if things go the way we believe you will see a rematch of one of the more thrilling regular season games of the season.
A team who are built for a deep postseason run are the Lions of Lehman as they actually beat Truman earlier this season in December but because they were 16-2 in Bronx A East play, with their two losses coming to Stevenson and KIPP it's tough to value them ahead of those two at this point in the season putting them at our #6 position.
14-2 in the Bronx B2 Division, Bathgate are our #7 seed as they have quality wins over Baruch College Campus and South Bronx Prep, the defending Class B PSAL champions, while also playing a solid Beacon team on the road tough losing by just single digits.
South Bronx Prep comes in at #8 because of their 67-66 loss to begin the year to Bathgate, a key loss that will/should have big Bronx Borough Playoff seeding implications. They will play another big Class B power if we are right in our #9 seed Fannie Lou Hamer in what would be a very fun and intriguing game between two of the best in the B Division for some time now.
Our last team to make the boroughs will be Albert Tuitt Educational Campus as they were a number of teams we looked at here but finishing 13-2 in a solid Bronx B1, including winning 11 of their last 12 with their lone loss coming to South Bronx Prep in a single digit game allows them to earn the final spot nod.
BROOKLYN
1- Boys & Girls
2- South Shore
3- Brooklyn Collegiate
4- Thomas Jefferson
5- Canarsie
6- Benjamin Banneker
7- Bedford Academy
8- Uncommon Charter
9- Transit Tech
10- Summit Academy
Because of the forfeit loss that South Shore took on January 14th to Boys & Girls (a game that was played and was initially a Vikings win), that means that with identical league records in the Brooklyn AA, and with the Kangaroos holding a pair of wins over South Shore that it's Boys that gets the #1 seed in the boroughs.
Brooklyn Collegiate, even having lost 8 of their last 10 overall, are still the #3 seed based on their 10-4 Brooklyn AA league mark that really stands up because of their strong early season play in December and for a good portion of January.
Thomas Jefferson and Canarsie are the 4/5 as they each have had up and down years in the Brooklyn AA, but both can score and having split the season series in a couple of high scoring affairs the third matchup should be a doozy.
After that things go to the lower divisions in Brooklyn. Benjamin Banneker are unbeaten in Brooklyn A5 league play and have a 23-1 record overall, winning their league games by an average of 31 points. They have been as dominant a team in Class A in the PSAL this season and earn the #6 seed and an opening round bye.
The #7 seed and the first team to play in Monday's opening round should be Bedford Academy. They have two blowout wins over perennial Brooklyn A power Brooklyn Law & Tech this season, and on top of that are also one of the highest octane teams in Brooklyn averaging over 80 points per game this season.
Coming in at #8 is one of the best teams in New York State in Class B in Uncommon Charter as they haven't even come close to losing in Brooklyn B East league play and have lost only twice overall to an undefeated Watchung Hills team out of New Jersey, and one of Section 2 Class AA's best in Green Tech by a 2 point margin.
Transit Tech should be the #9 seed as they may not have as much talent as in years past but they have a dynamic scorer who can go for 40+ on any night and play in one of the more competitive A Division's in the PSAL, the Brooklyn A4.
Rounding out the 10 teams’ field in the Brooklyn Borough Playoffs should be another Class B team in Summit Academy. A perfect 14-0 in the Brooklyn B West Division, the Eagles haven't lost a game at all since December 20th and haven't lost to a New York team since November. They own a win over a CHSAA A Division team in Nazareth, winning that one by 21 points to show they deserve the #10 spot.
MANHATTAN
1- Thurgood Marshall Academy
2- W.H.E.E.L.S.
3- Manhattan Center
4- Murry Bergtraum
5- Beacon
6- Graphics Campus
7- Louis Brandeis
8- Pace
9- Baruch College Campus
10- H.S. For Math, Science, & Engineering
It should be no question that Thurgood Marshall Academy are the #1 seed for the Manhattan playoffs as the Panthers went 13-1 in league play having defeated Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School (W.H.E.E.LS.) both times they play, with their only loss in league coming to a Bronx team in Eagle Academy in crossover play.
W.H.E.E.L.S. are the #2 seed to us even though they and Manhattan Center are both 9-5 in league play. The Wolves get the second seed as they have more quality wins such as Eagle Academy, John Bowne, and Brooklyn Collegiate. The Rams don't have those wins on their marker which means they come in at #3.
Coming in from the Manhattan A I Division it's Murry Bergtraum who were a perfect 15-0 in league play and really have the offensive fire power to give anyone issues as they averaged over 90 points per game in league play and have a dynamic force in the backcourt in Dior Davis '21 who can be among the best players in NYC moving forward.
Another lower division team in Beacon should be the #5 seed as they also were unbeaten in league play, playing in the Manhattan A Northwest II, and were 24-1 overall with their lone loss coming by 10 to Benjamin Banneker out of Brooklyn. They hold an AA win over Susan Wagner and are consistently one of the best defensive teams to take the floor.
Graphics Campus is another Manhattan A Northwest A II team and their two losses on the year both came in single digit defeats to Beacon putting them at #6.
While they challenged themselves on a consistent basis in the non-league, Louis Brandeis didn't win many of those games outside of a game on Long Island against a quality Westbury teams though the majority of their defeats are to teams that are in the borough playoffs as well, and with a 13-3 record in the Manhattan A Northwest I Division they are a strong #7 seed.
From #8 to #10 it's three Class B teams with Pace, a 14-0 team from the Manhattan B South II getting the nod at #8 as they played the toughest schedule in the non-league, and do come out of the strongest of the B league's in Manhattan if you evaluate their competition.
Baruch College Campus has a win over Goldstein in the non-league and played Bathgate, a top Brooklyn B team tough as well, and being 14-0 in the Manhattan B Central gives them the slight edge over our #10 who are H.S for Math, Science, & Engineering as while they had a pair of Class A wins in the non-league this season, they had a loss in the Manhattan B North causing them to be the final team in.
QUEENS
1- Benjamin Cardozo
2- John Bowne
3- Hillcrest
4- Queens H.S. of Teaching
5- Far Rockaway
6- Francis Lewis
7- H.S. for Construction
8- Eagle Academy III
9- Academy of American Studies
10- Townsend Harris
At 24-0 and a perfect regular season it's the Judges of Cardozo who are the easy choice for the #1 seed. John Bowne whose only losses in the Queens AA came in tight losses to the Judges are the clear choice for the #2 seed.
That's where the easy choices end as if the PSAL values head to head performances then a Class A school in Hillcrest, who are 22-1 overall, should be the #3 seed as they hold a double digit visit over a 10-6 team in the Queens AA in Queens H.S. of Teaching. Teaching is the team with the third best record in the highest Queens level but a head to head victory for a very good Hawks team should put them at the #3 spot, with QHST at #4.
Far Rockaway should be the #5 seed if you go by quality as they went 15-1 in the Queens A East I, and have enough strong non-league victories to put them over the next two Queens AA schools as we have a 9-7 Francis Lewis at #6, and an 8-8 H.S. for Construction team sneaking in at the #7 spot.
Eagle Academy III handed Hillcrest their only loss on the season back in December, and while the Hawks were able to get revenge for that defeat the win still is a strong one Eagle can hang their hats on to come in at #8.
Academy of American Studies comes in at #9 with two quality wins in the Queens B West Division over perennial power Maspeth which gives them the edge for that spot over a 22-0 Townsend Harris team who may have been perfect on the season, but playing in the weaker Queens B East I and not having a strong non-league slate puts them in at #10.
