Fort Loramie’s Jaden Rose reaches for a loose ball while followed by Lima Bath’s Faith Clark, left, and Gwyn Foust during a nonconference game on Jan. 27 in Fort Loramie. Tournament draw meetings were held throughout the state on Sunday. The Redskins earned a No. 1 seed in a sectional for the seventh consecutive year.
Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News
The first year of seeding determined by MaxPreps RPI looked a lot like recent years when coaches voted to determine seeds.
The chief similarity: Fort Loramie earned a No. 1 seed for the seventh consecutive season.
Girls tournament draw meetings were held throughout the state on Sunday. It’s the first year the OHSAA has determined basketball tournament seeding with MaxPreps’ Ratings Percentage Index, a formula which ranks teams based on their records, the records of their opponents and the records of their opponents’ opponents.
While coaches no longer vote for seeds, they still place themselves on their sectional’s brackets by seed order during draw meetings.
The OHSAA announced in September it was switching from basketball coaches voting for tournament seeding to MaxPreps’ RPI. The association experimented with an RPI last year when it used Martin RPI to determine seeds in the Northwest district. (Though Martin RPI was calculated slightly differently, and is a not-for-profit website run by one individual, as opposed to MaxPreps, a national aggregation website).
Another change affected Fort Loramie and other area Division IV schools: this is the first year of an open Dayton-area Div. IV sectional. Dayton-area teams were previously assigned to sectionals at two locations, which last year were Sidney and Versailles High School. Both sites are being used again this year, but teams had the option of choosing to play in either sectional.
There are 22 teams in the new Dayton Div. IV sectional.
Division IV
Fort Loramie (18-2) opted for the Sidney D-IV sectional and will face Twin Valley South in a postseason opener on Feb. 17, Miami Valley in a sectional final on Feb. 21 and either Lehman Catholic or Tri-County North on Feb. 26 in a district semifinal. The Cavaliers (7-13) were voted the No. 12 seed and will face the No. 13 Panthers on Feb. 21 in a sectional final.
Russia is the No. 7 seed and also chose to play in a sectional at Sidney. The No. 7 Raiders (12-8) will face the winner of Bellefontaine Calvary Christian vs. Newton in a sectional final on Feb. 20, and if victorious will play in a district semifinal on Feb. 26, likely against No. 3 Covington.
Jackson Center is the No. 6 seed and Botkins is No. 10. Both opted for the same sectional at Versailles. The Trojans will face the winner of No. 4 South Charleston Southeastern vs. Ansonia on Feb. 21, and the winner will advance to a district semifinal against either the Jackson Center (13-7) or Springfield Catholic Central on Feb. 28. Jackson Center will face the No. 15 Irish in a sectional final on Feb. 21.
Fairlawn and Riverside both are in the same sectional at Versailles. The No. 16 Pirates (7-13) will face No. 5 Mississinawa Valley in a first-round game on Feb. 17. The No. 20 Jets (2-18) will play in a sectional final on Feb. 20, likely against No. 2 Tri-Village.
Div. IV district finals will be held on March 2 at Troy High School.
Division I
Sidney is the No. 5 seed in the 19-team Dayton Division I sectional and opted for a first-round bye for the second consecutive year.
The Yellow Jackets (16-5) will open tournament play on Feb. 21 in a sectional final at Troy High School against either No. 8 Centerville (12-8) or No. 15 Northmont (6-13). The Elks beat Sidney 51-49 in overtime in a district semifinal last year. The teams played in Sidney on Jan. 11, and the Yellow Jackets won 44-38.
If Sidney wins on Feb. 21, it will advance to a district semifinal on Feb. 24, likely against No. 3 Bellbrook (12-7). The Golden Eagles beat Sidney 53-44 in a district semifinal in 2022.
Division III
Anna is the No. 10 seed in the 21-team Dayton D-III sectional and will face No. 6 Milton Union in a sectional opener on Feb. 15 at Covington High School. If victorious, the Rockets (11-9) will advance to a sectional final on Feb. 21 against either Arcanum or Middletown Madison. If Anna wins the sectional final, it will advance to a district semifinal on Feb. 27, likely against No. 3 Kettering Alter.
Houston is the No. 15 seed and will open postseason play on Feb. 15 against No. 12 New Lebanon Dixie at Northridge High School. If victorious, the Wildcats (6-13) will face No. 1 Miami East in a sectional final on Feb. 20.
Brackets online on SWDAB website
All brackets can be found online on the Southwest District Athletic Board’s website.
Reach Bryant Billing at 937-538-4818, or follow @SidneyOHSports on Twitter and @BryantBillingSDN on Facebook.
