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Seven things to watch for the week of Jan. 21-26 * The wrestling post-season officially begins Wednesday as the WPIAL will hold seven section tournaments to determine seeding for the upcoming WPIAL team tournaments. The top five teams from each section qualify for the WPIAL team tournaments. At each of the section tournaments, the first place finisher from each sub-section will wrestle the second place team from the other sub-section. The two winners face-off to determine the section champion, while the two losers wrestle for third place. A match between the two third-place teams in each section will determine the fifth participant. The results of the section tournaments will play a big part in the seeding for next week's WPIAL tournaments. The winners of the seven tournaments will be among the top seeds in their class. * We’re into the second half of basketball section play, and one of the most anticipated boys matchups will come Tuesday when Class 3A No. 2 Aliquippa (10-4, 6-1) travels to No. 1 Lincoln Park (12-1, 7-0) in Section 1. Lincoln Park, which has won 83 section games in a row (it’s the second longest streak in WPIAL history), won at Aliquippa, 73-69, in overtime Dec. 18. Aliquippa held a lead late in regulation and appeared to be headed for the win, but a clock error allowed Lincoln Park to score the tying points to force overtime. Other big boys games Tuesday include Butler at North Allegheny, Latrobe at Fox Chapel, and Mars at Shaler. * What is going in Class 4A boys basketball? Quaker Valley held the No. 1 ranking since the preseason and was rolling right along with a 10-0 record. But after consecutive Section 2 losses, the Quakers (10-2, 4-2) find themselves in third place in their own section. The latest team to beat them was now-No. 1 Ambridge, which then three nights later lost by 10 points at Beaver, which is just 3-9. Friday, the top two teams in the section, Ambridge (10-5, 5-1) and No. 3 New Castle (11-3, 5-1), meet with sole possession of first place on the line. The game will be played at Ambridge. This is the first meeting between the teams this season. * Some top boys teams will play in the Pittsburgh Basketball Club Hall of Fame Classic next weekend. The event will be held Saturday and Sunday at Montour and Saturday at Moon. One of the best matchups will take place Sunday when Class 5A No. 1 Mars (14-1) takes on Class 4A No. 1 Ambridge (10-5). Saturday, Class 2A No. 1 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (13-1) plays Class 3A No. 3 Seton LaSalle (12-1), and City League No. 1 Allderdice (12-3) faces off against Class 3A No. 2 Aliquippa (10-4). All of those games are at Montour. Also Saturday, Class 5A No. 3 Penn Hills (12-2) plays Class 2A No. 3 Serra Catholic (11-2) in the Shootout at Seton Hill University. * Will any WPIAL team beat the Chartiers Valley girls this season? In his first season as coach, former Chartiers Valley boys coach Tim McConnell has guided an ultra-talented Colts team to the No. 1 ranking in Class 5A, a 16-0 overall record, and an 8-0 mark in Section 1. Right behind the Colts in the section is Thomas Jefferson (10-5, 6-2), which will try to spring a big upset when it hosts the Colts on Thursday. Chartiers Valley defeated Thomas Jefferson, 68-50, Jan. 16. Also Thursday, Class 5A No. 2 Penn Hills (11-4, 7-1) plays at Latrobe (9-3, 5-3) in Section 3. Penn Hills, which saw its six-game win streak end last Thursday, beat Latrobe, 60-48, Dec. 21. * North Allegheny might not be as big of a WPIAL title favorite in Class 6A as Chartiers Valley is in Class 5A, but the two-time defending champion Tigers are still the team to beat. Top-ranked North Allegheny (15-0, 8-0) hits the road to take on Seneca Valley (11-3, 5-3) in a Section 1 game Monday. Seneca Valley has won six of its last seven games, but lost at North Allegheny, 67-47, Dec. 17. A few other important girls games Monday are Mars at Gateway and Oakland Catholic at Latrobe. Gateway, the defending WPIAL champion and ranked No. 4 in Class 5A, has won eight of its last nine games. The Gators lost at Mars, 54-42, Dec. 17. |