To Early 517 District Predictions – Div 3 MHSAA Boys Basketball
Published On: February 17, 2024
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- District 73 – Maple Valley (9-11), Potterville (6-14)
- Maple Valley started the season hot with 4 straight wins, but quickly hit a conference wall dropping 7 games in a row. Potterville has also struggled to find wins with a challenging schedule against some of the better teams in the 517. Unfortunately for the 517, District 73 is very unlikely to see either team winning a District Title this season. This district should easily go to the 17-2 Pirates of Pewamo-Westphalia.
- District 80 – Bronson (13-7), Union City (12-8), Quincy(8-12), Reading (4-16), Homer (5-15)
- District 80 is going to be a tough district to predict with a wild card like Union City. Bronson and Centerville currently have the better records, but neither team has a clear path to the District Title game. Non 517 Centerville currently has the best record, but has one of the weaker schedules in this district. Bronson has fallen to some tough teams, but has also kept a couple games much closer than expected in the regular season. Union City could be a potential sleeper in this district. Union City gave Bronson two tough battles in the regular season, with Bronson taking both wins by very tight margins. Quincy has been a very up and down team this year and has not been able to secure a real solid win this season. The big question in this district is whether or not Bronson can beat Union City 3 times in a row. Union City, regardless of who they play first, should win in a close battle and move on to face Centerville. Bronson will more than likely fall on the other side of the bracket to play and convincingly defeat the winner of a toss up match between Reading and Homer. The final game should be a MPR predicted matchup between Centerville and Bronson with Bronson coming out on top in a tough fought win over Centerville.
- District 82 – Laingsburg (21-0), Stockbridge (14-6), Dansville (10-10), Perry (11-8), Leslie (7-14), Bath (4-16)
- While we are not ready to say Breslin bound, District 82 goes to Laingsburg convincingly. The Wolfpack have had a challenging schedule this season facing off against tough opponents like Pewamo-Westphalia and Freeland and have still been able to remain undefeated. Even though teams still have games left in the regular season, it is hard to imagine any major shifts in the seeding. Laingsburg takes the #1 seed and will play the winner of Dansville and Perry. Dansville has defeated Perry twice this season, but with injury potentially slowing down the Aggies, Perry takes this first round win. On the other side Leslie will face off with Bath. Leslie is a very talented young team who has a lot of potential in the years to come. The Blackhawks should defeat a struggling Bath program convincingly in this matchup, but will then fall to a much more mature Stockbridge team. The final matchup in District 82 will see an unbeaten Laingsburg team hosting Stockbridge with the Panthers having to wait until next year for a District Title win.
- District 83 – Lumen Christi (17-2), Napoleon (17-3), Michigan Center (17-3), Springport (13-6), East Jackson (7-12)
- First off let’s talk about Springport and the season they have had as they rebuild their program, already winning more games this season than the last 4 combined. The Spartans are a young squad and should be one of top teams in the area next year. With that being said District 83 makes you realize there are levels to this game. The top 4 teams in this division all have the potential to dominate their neighboring districts, but for now there can only be one champion. Prior to the start of the season, East Jackson was dealt a big loss due to injury and has not been able to find their stride, leaving this district unbalanced. Lumen Christi has had the tougher schedule this season, solidifying their #1 seed. The #2 seed will more than likely go to Napoleon, but stranger things have happened, and Michigan Center is just .005 points behind the Pirates in the MPR. Regardless, the #2 seed will have to face off against Sprinport who will be ready to stake their claim, but either Michigan Center or Napoleon should be able to prevail in this matchup, sending them to a District Final. For now, we anticipate a District Final matchup with Lumen Christi facing off against Napoleon. Lumen Christi has earned a (17-3) record with a constantly changing lineup due to injuries. Including a big win over the previously ranked BCAM #1 Riverview Gabriel Richard while missing starting freshman Lundon Hampton and 3 rotational players. On the other side, Napoleon has a (17-3) record stacking up 12 straight wins. This all while missing senior guard and U of M Baseball commit Grant Bradley for the majority of the season. With both teams healthy you can expect this match up to be the game of the year for the Rose City region. Napoleon’s strength will come from their height and length. The Titans defense has been a formidable force this season and will require Napoleon’s backcourt to be on their A game. Lumen Christi has also struggled to break traps and will have to be able to push the ball up the court against a long Napoleon team. This matchup should ultimately come down to ball pressure and who handles it the best. This game will more than likely be tight until it nears the 4th quarter, at which point the Titans should pull away with a win that reflects their postseason potential.
- District 84 – Concord (15-5), Hanover-Horton (14-7), Jonesville (15-5), Hillsdale (8-12), Hudson (2-17), Addison (5-15)
- This is another unbalanced district that will see two equally talented teams having to battle it out for an appearance in the District Finals. This is also a district where the #2 seed has an easier path due to the MHSAA aligning teams in alphabetical order. At the bottom of this district we find a struggling Hudson team and an Addison squad that has struggled to gain traction due to injury early in the season. Sitting just under .500 is a Hillsdale team who beat Jonesville early in the season but has been unable to replicate that success again. In the first round of districts we should see Jonesville easily defeating Hudson and Hillsdale defeating Addison. Hanover-Horton, the projected #2 seed, will more than likely face off against Hillsdale and should win this game convincingly. On the other side #1 Concord will have to face off with an equally talented Jonesville squad and overcome the mental frustration of their draw. This game will be close with a possible O/T finish. Jonesville and Concord will match up well in size, but the game defining advantage will go to Jonesville’s backcourt led by Warrick Elder and Caleb Blonde. With Jonesville coming in hot off a first round win, we see the momentum carrying them past Concord in a big upset, and on to a District Finals matchup vs Hanover-Horton. The District Finals will be a rematch of the Comets. The last time these two teams met, Hanover-Horton came out on top in OT, with a big conference deciding win. Jonesville has a slight size advantage in this matchup, but Hanover Horton’s back court will be the deciding factor in this game. Led by Senior, Logan Blackledge and Junior, Luke Soper, the Comet’s backcourt combined for 55 points against the Comets in orange during their last meeting. There is a very good chance we see another O/T battle in this matchup. If Hanover’s backcourt shows up to play and their bigs find a way to clog up the paint, Hanover will advance to the next round. However, if Jonesville finds a way to stretch out the court and slow down Hanover’s backcourt duo, they will advance to the next round.
- District 85 – Blissfield (11-9), Clinton (9-11), Sand Creek (9-11)
- District 85 is up for grabs and Blissfield has recently put Whiteford on notice, the Royals aren’t going away without a fight. In the final stretch of the regular season, Blissfield walked away with an O/T win over a tough Dundee team and nearly beat a proven Onsted squad. Barely above .500 the Royals have two tough games left in the regular season, including a potential District Finals matchup preview against Ottawa Lake Whiteford. With the regular season coming to an end, Blissfield should have the #2 seed secured. This should pair Clinton up against Monroe St Mary CC. Clinton has struggled this season but has played a slightly tougher schedule and should be able to win this game and move on to play Blissfield. Clinton and Blissfield have played each other twice this year with the Royals winning both games. Even though it’s tough to beat a team three times, Blissfield is our pick to win this game and move on. On the other side Sand Creek should take on an Erie Mason team who has played a tough schedule this season. Regular season aside, we are going to give our 517 squad a slight advantage, and the Aggies should move on to the next round. Unfortunately for Sand Creek this will more than likely be where their journey ends, when they go up against a tough Whiteford team. In the District 85 Finals we expect to see Blissfield take on Whiteford. This would be the second time in about a week these two would play each other, both times being at Blissfield and the 3rd game Whiteford will have played on the road in the same gym. In a close game we have Blissfield coming out on top and moving on with a win.
- District 86 – Grass Lake (10-12)
- Grass Lake sits alone in District 86 when it comes to 517 teams. The Warriors finish the season just under .500 with a big win over Div 2 Columbia Central, leveling the season matchup to one game a piece. First year Head Coach Marshawn Norris is in the beginning phases of his overhaul with the Warriors and has seen some measurable success compared to last year’s overall record. We look forward to seeing this team in action next season and a +.500 record that reflects their offseason efforts. The Warriors should begin districts on the road facing Whitmore Lake where they should be able to bring home a victory with a convincing win. They will then move on to play the #1 seed AA Greenhills, a slightly better team that has played a tougher schedule this season. Grass Lake wont go down easy, but will more than likely find themselves down when the clock runs out bringing their 2023-24 season to an end.
