Louisiana high school boys basketball playoff preview: Divisions I & II

10 state champions will be crowned next month at Marsh Madness in Lake Charles

David Thibodaux got a first-round bye in Division II select. / DTSMA boys basketball Instagram

There will be 10 state champions crowned in the coming weeks in Louisiana high school boys basketball with the opening round of the playoffs set to unfold Friday.

Here is a look at the top two divisions with favorites, intriguing matchups and potential upsets. You can find the complete brackets here: LHSAA Brackets

Division I nonselect

Top 10 seeds (first four get first-round byes)

1. Zachary (24-6)

2. Central-BR (22-4)

3. Denham Springs (27-3)

4. Natchitoches-Central (23-5)

5. Northshore (22-5)

6. Ruston (16-5)

7. East Ascension (24-4)

8. Sulphur (26-5)

9. Ouachita Parish (18-9)

10. Southside (18-12)

No. 8 Sulphur, led by LHSCA-LHSBCA all-star Ian Malone, drew a District 3-5A rematch against No. 25 Sam Houston (15-13), which lost to the Tors, 48-42. The winner should get a Ouachita Parish team that's hard to figure out. The Lions lost four in a row, including a 31-point loss to Ruston, before beating Division I select No. 5 Alexandria to finish the regular season. Freshman Darren Ford has had a great season for Ouachita.

No. 5 Northshore could get a league rival in the second round in No. 12 Covington (19-10). The Panthers won previously, 88-71. Covington faces No. 21 Slidell (19-12), which lost three of its past five but owns a February win over No. 1 Zachary.

A Baton Rouge area quarterfinal could be ahead for No. 2 Central-BR, which has a huge home-court advantage, and No. 7 East Ascension. The Wildcats and Spartans didn't play in the regular season. East Ascension could take on Southside, which is known for tough defense under coach Todd Russ, in the second round. The best way to go at the Spartans could be to get their 6-foot-8 and 6-foot-9 big men in foul trouble.

Central got 6-foot-8 forward Markell Sampson back from injury recently. Senior Collin Verrett is a matchup problem as a powerful 6-foot-0, 200-pound guard. Ditto for 6-foot-2 junior Jace Conrad, a polished passer who can hit the 3-ball just like Verrett. The Wildcats have length (6-foot-6 Kedrick Franklin, 6-foot-6 Scott Smith) and depth with seniors Steven Ranel and Keithon Womack from the state champion football squad. Smith is ranked the No. 22 junior football prospect in Louisiana by 247Sports.

Our upset special is No. 22 Hahnville (14-15), which is on a five-game win streak highlighted by a win at Bonnabel, over No. 11 South Lafourche (20-5), which dropped four of its past eight games.

No. 6 Ruston, which knocked off No. 1 Zachary in last year's quarterfinals, hosts No. 27 Destrehan (16-16). The Bearcats could travel to Denham Springs in the third round.

If No. 5 Northshore and No. 4 Natchitoches-Central meet in the quarterfinals, expect a high-scoring affair. The Panthers scored more than 80 a few times. The Chiefs put up 93 in a win over Castor at the end of the regular season.

Division I select

Top eight seeds (all get first-round byes)

1. Liberty (23-1)

2. Catholic-BR (27-4)

3. St. Thomas More (25-4)

4. St. Augustine (26-4)

5. Alexandria (26-6)

6. Ponchatoula (20-5)

7. John Curtis (22-6)

8. Jesuit (20-7)

Jesuit lost five of its past seven games without center Ethan Lepeze (injury). The Blue Jays will face a Catholic League rival in No. 9 Holy Cross (24-5) or No. 24 Brother Martin (13-17), which won five of its past six games. The Crusaders lost to Holy Cross in district, 30-29. Brother Martin beat Jesuit in February, 53-44.

No. 15 Scotlandville (18-11), which hosts No. 18 McDonogh 35 (23-10), snapped a four-game losing streak with an overtime win over Central-BR. The Hornets could face District 4-5A rival Catholic-BR in the regionals. Catholic won previously, 67-60.

No. 7 John Curtis and No. 10 Archbishop Rummel could square off in a Catholic League regional. The Raiders, whose last loss was to Curtis (62-55), are on a five-game win streak that includes victories over Holy Cross and Jesuit and 20-plus point road wins at Lake Charles area schools Iowa and Hamilton Christian.

No. 6 Ponchatoula has been on fire, but the Green Wave could tangle with a dangerous No. 11 Huntington team that is 21-8 and recently defeated Natchitoches-Central, which finished as runner-up to Ponchatoula last year in Division I nonselect. The Wave has since moved to select.

No. 12 Captain Shreve (19-11), which hosts No. 21 Carencro (9-11), would travel to Alexandria in the second round. The Gators won five of their past six games with a four-point loss at Peabody.

Liberty has been playing at a higher level than anyone else in Class 5A. The Patriots, who got out to a 20-0 lead in last season's state championship win over St. Thomas More, have shown vulnerabilities. A huge halftime lead shrank to three points in a win at Catholic New Iberia, which held Liberty to 16 second-half points after the Patriots posted 44 in the first half.

Liberty went on to win 62-58 against STM last season. The only in-state loss for the Patriots was in Monroe to Carroll. The game was part of a two-day doubleheader that pitted Zachary and Liberty against Northeast Louisiana powers Wossman and Carroll.

Division II nonselect

Top 10 seeds (first four get first-round byes)

1. Wossman (24-6)

2. Minden (20-3)

3. Opelousas (20-5)

4. Carroll (17-14)

5. Brusly (22-4)

6. Bossier (17-10)

7, Franklin Parish (15-8)

8. Bastrop (17-6)

9. Northwest (14-11)

10. Albany (25-8)

Defending champion Wossman could face its opponent in last year's championship game if No. 17 Iowa (13-11) can win at No. 16 Abbeville (19-13).

No. 21 Cecilia (12-12) began the season 0-7 without its football players. The Bulldogs won five of their past six games, beating Opelousas and mysteriously losing to No. 28 Livonia (11-13). They'll travel to No. 12 Lakeshore (16-8).

No. 25 Breaux Bridge (12-13) has been up and down, winning seven straight games at one point. Kam Thomas and the Tigers travel to Bastrop. The winner should get a dangerous Northwest team that features sophomore Markez Davis, who can bury a 3-pointer from anywhere.

No. 6 Bossier, which hosts No. 27 St. Martinville (15-18), has won 11 consecutive games with wins over Minden, Richwood and at Division III select No. 1 Calvary Baptist. St. Martinville led Peabody by double digits at the half and never trailed Central-BR until the last second of the third quarter in a 42-30 loss to the Class 5A Wildcats.

Division II select

Top eight seeds (all get first-round byes)

1. Archbishop Shaw (24-2)

2. Archbishop Hannan (19-6)

3. Peabody (23-4)

4. Lake Charles College Prep (25-4)

5. Madison Prep (25-9)

6. McKinley (20-7)

7. Northside (24-5)

8. David Thibodaux (25-6)

This bracket, like D1 select, is packed with talented teams. Watch out for Jamond Jacobs and McKinley, who beat No. 15 St. Michael (22-10) by 30 points recently. McKinley, which has won 11 straight games and 15 of its past 16, could travel to Alexandria and Peabody in the quarterfinals if the favored seeds prevail.

No. 10 Vandebilt Catholic (23-6) and guard Jordan Matthews drew what could be a tough first-round game vs. No. 23 George Washington Carver (13-16), which has won nine of its past 10 games with a loss to No. 11 Sophie B. Wright (22-8). Northside, in its first season under coach Ross Rix, will await the winner of Vandy/Carver.

David Thibodaux will host the winner of No. 9 John F. Kennedy (24-6) and No. 24 Booker T. Washington-NO (15-17). JFK, which recently beat Booker T. Washington by one point, had a nine-game win streak snapped in a 20-plus point loss to St Augustine in the final game of the regular season.

A game we'd love to see is No. 5 Madison Prep at No. 4 Lake Charles College Prep. Both teams can play at a slow or fast pace. Madison Prep has recent wins over Scotlandville and No. 13 University Lab (17-9), which could travel to LCCP in the second round.

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