What if Arizona HS basketball had a tournament like March Madness?
- Jacob Seliga
- Mar 21
- 3 min read
By Jacob Seliga
Lead Writer
March is a special month in the state of Arizona. Yearly, the top basketball champions from the high school ranks are determined as teams finish up their state tournaments and reach the ultimate goal of playing at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Meanwhile, throughout the state from the NAIA level, with teams such as Ottawa and Arizona Christian University, to the Division I level with Grand Canyon and Arizona, teams are prepping for postseason play and the opportunity to compete for a national championship.
Thursday marked the beginning of March Madness, the biggest and best stretch of basketball regardless of level yearly.
Arizona is in the middle of a basketball renaissance and with that, the maximization of high school basketball must be thought about especially now a couple of weeks removed from the state tournaments.
Below is a fun hypothetical postseason format that takes the open division to another level and could create exciting never before seen matchups and scenarios for high school basketball in the state.
What if the Arizona high school basketball playoff format was the same as March Madness?
The process
There’s 41 regions in the state, the winners of those region championships will be auto bids.
The PowerPoint system then will be used to fill in the remaining 27 at-large bids in order of the highest to lowest number corresponding to each team as well as for seeding the teams in the tournament.
Auto Bids
6A: Sunnyslope, Cibola, Boulder Creek, Red Mountain, Highland, Cesar Chavez, Perry, Tucson, West Point
5A: La Joya, Canyon View, Notre Dame Prep, Central, Ironwood, Catalina Foothills, Buena
4A: Dysart, St Mary’s, ALA Gilbert North, Cholla, Prescott, Salpointe, Paradise Honors, Deer Valley
3A: Valley Christian, Snowflake, Gilbert Christian, Page, Sabino, Yuma Catholic
2A: Rancho Solano, San Tan Charter, Northland Prep, Morenci, Phoenix Country Day, North Valley Christian,
1A: Joseph City, Valley Lutheran, Dischii’bikoh, The Gregory School, Anthem Prep
Seed List
1’s Perry, Sunnyslope, Millennium, Basha
2’s: O’Connor, Valley Christian, Notre Dame, Boulder Creek
3’s: Gilbert Christian, Ironwood, Highland, Liberty
4’s: Willow Canyon, Higley, Phoenix Country Day, Sahuaro
5’s: Canyon View, Ben Franklin, West Point, Prescott
6’s Yuma Catholic, San Tan Charter, Brophy, St Mary’s
7’s: Tucson, Deer Valley, Mountain Pointe, Arizona Lutheran
8’s: North Valley Christian, Hamilton, Williams Field, Cactus Shadows
9’s: Casteel, Florence, Rancho Solano, Red Mountain
10’s: Pima, Salpointe, Central, ALA Gilbert North
11’s: Catalina Foothills, Mesa, Apollo, Page
12’s: ALA Ironwood, Palo Verde, Buena, Dysart,
13’s: Desert Vista/Saguaro, Parker/Mountain View, Coolidge/Mica Mountain, Chavez/Cienega
14’s: La Joya, Cholla, Paradise Honors, Sabino
15’s: Anthem Prep, Northland Prep, Morenci, Cibola, 16’s: Dischii’bikoh, The Gregory School, Joseph City, Valley Lutheran
The slight change is that unlike the NCAA Tournament, the 13 seeds are the last teams to make it in and would play in a de-facto “first four” game similar to what you’d see in the tournament.
Here’s what a potential bracket would look like:
The Southeast Region
No. 1 Perry vs No. 16 Dischii’bikoh
No. 8 North Valley Christian vs No. 9 Casteel
No. 5. Canyon View vs No. 12 ALA Ironwood
No. 4 Willow Canyon vs No. 13 Desert Vista/Saguaro winner
No. 6 Yuma Catholic vs No. 11 Catalina Foothills
No. 3 Gilbert Christian vs No. 14 La Joya
No. 7 Tucson vs No. 10 Pima
No. 2 O’Connor vs 15. Anthem Prep
The North-Central Region
No. 1 Sunnyslope vs No. 16 The Gregory School
No. 8 Hamilton vs No. 9 Florence
No. 5 Ben Franklin vs No. 12 Palo Verde
No. 4 Higley vs No. 13 Parker/Mountain View winner
No. 6 San Tan Charter vs No. 11 Mesa
No. 3 Ironwood vs No. 14 Cholla
No. 7 Deer Valley vs No. 10 Salpointe
No. 2 Valley Christian vs No. 15 Northland Prep
The Southwest Region
No. 1 Millennium vs No. 16 Joseph City
No. 8 Williams Field vs No. 9 Rancho Solano
No. 5 West Point vs No. 12 Buena
No. 4 Phoenix Country Day vs No. 13 Coolidge/Mica Mountain winner
No. 6 Brophy vs No. 11 Apollo
No. 3. Highland vs No. 14 Paradise Honors
No. 7 Mountain Pointe vs No. 10 Central
No. 2 Notre Dame Prep vs No. 15 Morenci
The Far East Region
No. 1 Basha vs No. 16 Joseph City
No. 8 Cactus Shadows vs No. 9 Red Mountain
No. 5 Prescott vs No. 12 Dysart
No. 4 Sahuaro vs No. 13 Cesar Chavez/Cienega winner
No. 6 St Mary’s vs No. 11 Page
No. 3 Liberty vs No. 14 Sabino
No. 7 Arizona Lutheran vs No. 10 ALA Gilbert North
No. 2 Boulder Creek vs No. 15 Cibola
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