It's that time of year again.  With the final games of the regular season kicking off tonight in the Southeast part of the state, all eyes are focused on the playoff qualifiers, and where teams will be seeded in the field of 224.

Our Division 1 Bracket Expert Eric Boehm has put together his prediction of the Division 1 bracket,  Sean Oberholtzer has posted a prediction of the Division 2 bracket and the Division 3 bracket, and we are working tirelessly today to get more projections up.  The picture should be even clearer after tonight's games.

As a preview, a few big games tonight that will be very competitive and have implications on multiple teams are:

Sussex Hamilton at Brookfield Central

Hamilton has already clinched, and were the team to knock the Lancers out of the playoffs last year.  Central, surprisingly, needs this victory to qualify, and none of the experts are projecting them into the field.

Coach Doug Lange had his team up for the game last week and they crushed West Allis Central to knock them from the playoff ranks.

If Central wins, it will affect numerous teams in the lower divisions that are on the projected cut lines between the upper and lower divisions based on their enrollment size.

 

Oak Creek at Racine Park

With Park already in the field of 224, Oak Creek must get a victory to play another week.  If they pull off the upset, it has huge implications for Oconomowoc, who will most likely slide down to Division 2 if Oak Creek wins.

Other teams that need a win to qualify are listed below in bold.  They are separated into three groups:

Favored to Clinch

West Bend East (0-8) at Slinger

Kaukauna (0-8) at Oshkosh West

Mayville at Lomira (1-7)

Kettle Moraine at Pius XI (2-6)

Madison West at Madison LaFollette (2-6)

St. Johns NW Military Academy at Wayland Academy (2-5)

Milwaukee North Division (3-5) at Milwaukee Madison (2-5)

Close Games to Watch

University School (4-4) at Kenosha St. Josephs (4-4)

Milwaukee Lutheran (4-4) at Whitefish Bay (5-3)

Burlington (4-4) at Union Grove (5-3)

Racine St. Catherines (3-5) at Martin Luther (4-3)

HUGE Upset needed

Homestead (8-0) at Germantown (5-3)

Appleton North (8-0) at Appleton East (4-4)

Monona Grove (8-0) at Stoughton (4-4)

Kettle Moraine Lutheran (4-4) at Winnebago Lutheran Academy (7-1)