D-I and most of D-II do not play until next week.
Site locations change starting with the district finals. D-I through IV will be played at either UD Arena or the Cintas Center in Cincinnati. Also hosting district finals will be Middletown (D-V and VI), Piqua (D-VII) and Xenia (D-V).
Want to know where to go to check out some of the early round action? Here is a guide of what to expect to see at each site this week.
Centerville
The D-III tournament will be held at Centerville from Tuesday-Friday with double headers each night starting at 6 p.m.
Each of the top-four seeds in the district play each day starting with No. 1 Trotwood on Tuesday, No. 2 Tippecanoe, the Miami Valley League champions, playing on Wednesday, No. 4 West Carrollton on Thursday, and No. 3 Butler on Friday.
Best Game
No. 3 Butler (15-7) vs. No. 8 Chaminade Julienne (10-12), 7:30 p.m. Friday
Butler closed the regular season going 2-4 against a tough schedule, but had wins against Stebbins and Tipp. The Aviators have been one of the best defensive teams in the area, averaging 47.4 points against this season.
CJ played against one of the toughest schedules of any SW District team this season. The Eagles lack a standout win, but rarely are out of any game, as evident by a pair of recent four-point losses against Trotwood and Alter, and have an athletic starting five.
The winner faces either Bellbrook or Belmont, which play one another in the earlier game Friday, at 7:30 p.m. on March 4.
Upset watch?
No. 9 Bellefontaine (11-11) vs. No. 6 Stebbins (15-7), 7:30 p.m. Thursday
Bellefontaine boasts three balancing scoring threats and a pair of three-point shooters facing a Stebbins squad that has struggled from beyond the arc as a team (26.7 3pt%).
Players to watch
CJ Bailey, Tippecanoe (Sr.), 15.1 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 4.8 apg, 36.7 3PT%, 82.7 FT%
Anthony Clemens, Jr., Chaminade Julienne (Jr.), 12.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 45.9 FG%, 45.5 3pt%, 77.3 FT%
Joseph Ingram, West Carrollton (Sr.), 14.2 ppg, 13.0 rpg, 3.3 bpg, 57.4 FG%
Je’Carious Reaves, Trotwood (Sr.), 18.8 ppg, 3.5 apg, 1.6 spg, 51.0 FG%, 39.0 3pt%
Corey Russell, Tecumseh (Sr.), 16.2 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 4.0 bpg, 41.6 FG%
Credit: Steven Wright
Credit: Steven Wright
Piqua
Four days of D-VII games begin Monday reigning state champion Russia playing No. 16 Ansonia. Two games on Thursday and Friday plus a quadrupleheader on Saturday showcase top-seeds Cedarville, Botkins, the Shelby County Athletic League champion, and Lehman Catholic.
Best Game
No. 6 Newton (14-8) vs. No. 7 Jackson Center (11-10), 2 p.m. Saturday
Jackson Center competed well in the SCAL and Newton had a solid Western Ohio Athletic Conference campaign going until its final games.
The winner plays either Franklin Monroe, Russia or Ansonia at 7:30 p.m. on March 4.
Players to watch
Shane Frantz, Lehman Catholic (Sr.), 19.4 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.8 apg, 45.7 FG%, 78.3 FT%
Kris McNeil, Southeastern (Jr.), 21.1 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 50.0 FG%, 36.7 3pt%
Eli Pitts, Botkins (Jr.), SCAL Player of the Year
Jacob Thompson, Legacy Christian (Sr.), 17.7 ppg, 13.2 rpg, 2.5 apg, 62.3 FG%, 77.6 FT%
Brayden Trimbach, Cedarville (So.), 18.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 44.2 FG%, 83.7 FT%
Troy
Multiple sessions of D-VI games will take place this week. No. 1 Tri-Village (22-0), champions of the WOAC and one of nine undefeated teams remaining in Ohio, are in action Monday.
Thursday and Friday games include four-seed Fort Recovery and two-seed Troy Christian. Metro Buckeye Conference champion Emmanuel Christian has a bye and sits out this week as the three-seed.
Best Game
No. 6 Twin Valley South (12-10) vs. No. 7 Riverside (6-16), 6 p.m. Monday
No. 8 Dixie (5-16) vs. No. 9 Northeastern (7-15), 6 p.m. Thursday
Region 24 is a top-heavy district. These seem to be the best chances for competitive games in the early round.
The winner of TVS and Riverside plays Emmanuel Christian at 7:30 p.m. on March 2. Either Fort Recovery or Covington awaits the Dixie-Northeastern winner at 7:30 p.m. on March 3.
Players to watch
Dom Black, Tri-Village (Jr.), 12.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.5 apg, 74.2 FG%
Nate Hudson, Emmanuel Christian (Sr.), 16.9 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 2.0 spg, 51.1 FG%, MBC Player of the Year
Riston Taylor, Troy Christian (Sr.), 18.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 50.9 FG%, 39.7 3pt%, 76.7 FT%
Trey Sagester, Tri-Village (Sr.), 24.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 4.5 apg, 53.4 FG%, 40.3 3pt%, 85.9 FT%, WOAC Player of the Year
Xenia
D-IV games will be held in Greene County. No. 2 Alter is the highest-seeded team heading to Xenia and plays at 6 p.m. Thursday against either Bethel or Thurgood Marshall.
The Saturday doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. involving Urbana, Oakwood, Valley View and either Kenton Ridge or Meadowdale is filled with a solid collection of teams.
Best Game
No. 4 Urbana (18-3) vs. No. 6 Valley View (15-6), 11 a.m. Saturday
Potentially the most exciting matchup of the opening week at any site with two teams matching up that are capable of filling up the scoreboard and advancing to a district title game.
Valley View is the highest scoring team in the Dayton area at 75.1 points per game and boasts the leading scorer in junior Brody Denny (30.3 ppg). Urbana leads the Central Buckeye Conference in team field goal percentage (46.9) and three-point percentage (37.9).
The winner likely gets either Oakwood or Kenton Ridge at 6 p.m. on March 3.
Players to watch
Brody Denny, Valley View (Jr.), 30.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 4.7 spg, 47.0 FG%, 33.5 3pt%
Owen Hoersting, Oakwood (Sr.), 14.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.9 apg, 61.4 FG%
Grady Lantz, Urbana (Jr.), 15.7 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 3.7 apg, 45.0 FG%, 70.9 FT%
William Peagler, Jr., Alter (Fr.), 18.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 3.3 apg, 63.1 FG%, 74.7 FT%
Braedan Smart, Brookville (Sr.), 16.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 43.6 FG%, 35.5 3pt%
Other sites
Just one game will take place at Butler High School on Friday as the D-II tournament gets underway.
Bethel High School hosts D-V games on Thursday with WOAC runner-up Preble Shawnee in action, as well as on Friday with West Liberty-Salem and Carlisle playing.
Northmont High School hosts a tripleheader of D-V games Thursday featuring No. 1 Waynesville and No. 3 Versailles.
D-IV tournament play at Sidney begin Monday. A pair of Thursday games featuring No. 1 Northridge and No. 3 Dunbar could set the stage for those two to play one another in the next round and be one of the premier games to take place prior to the district final round in any division.
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