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4A East
Computer favorite: North Point
Contenders: North Point, Meade
Upset pick: No. 3 Old Mill over No. 1 Meade in the Section 1 finals
Sleeper: No. 3 Old Mill
Potential games to watch:
No. 3 Old Mill at No. 1 Meade in the Section 1 finals (season series split at 1-1)
No. 1 North Point at No. 1 Meade in the region championship (SMAC champs North Point travel to 4A defending state champs, Meade. Sounds like an intriguing match-up to me)
Computer projected region championship: North Point (-3) over Meade
4A West
Computer favorite: Quince Orchard
Contenders: Quince Orchard, Richard Montgomery, Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Gaithersburg, Walt Whitman
Upset pick: No. 4 Montgomery Blair over No. 1 Richard Montgomery in the Section 1 semifinals
Sleepers: No. 3 Kennedy, No. 4 Blair, No. 5 Churchill
Potential games to watch:
No. 4 Blair at No. 1 Richard Montgomery in the Section 1 semifinals (Blair def. Richard Montgomery 43-40 earlier this year in only meeting)
No. 4 Clarksburg at No. 1 Quince Orchard in Section 2 semifinals (in two games between the two this year, both were decided by a buzzer-beater and a double overtime thriller. With Clarksburg fully healthy, I only suspect them to give the computer favorites, Quince Orchard, a run for their money)
No. 3 Walt Whitman at No. 1 Richard Montgomery in the Section 1 finals (season series split at 1-1)
No. 1 Richard Montgomery at No. 1 Quince Orchard in the Region championship (Montgomery County’s two best going head-to-head with state tournament implications on the line, what more could you ask for?)
Computer projected region championship: Quince Orchard (-7) over Richard Montgomery
4A North
Computer favorite: Perry Hall
Contenders: Perry Hall, Sherwood, Howard
Upset pick: No. 4 Springbrook over No. 1 Sherwood in the Section 2 semifinals
Sleeper: No. 4 Springbrook
Potential games to watch:
No. 4 Springbrook at No. 1 Sherwood (Springbrook dropped current top-seed Sherwood, 69-58, earlier this year)
Computer projected region championship: Perry Hall (-4) over Howard
4A South
Computer favorite: Eleanor Roosevelt
Contenders: Bladensburg, Wise, Bowie
Upset pick: No. 3 Bowie over No. 2 Wise in the Section 2 semifinals and No. 1 Eleanor Roosevelt in the Region championship
Sleepers: No. 3 Bowie, No. 4 C.H. Flowers
Potential games to watch:
No. 4 C.H. Flowers at No. 1 Eleanor Roosevelt in the Section 2 semifinals (down to the wire 6-point contest in only meeting this year)
No. 2 Wise at No. 1 Eleanor Roosevelt in the Section 2 finals (this is probably the real state championship and would make a bid for game of the year being a clash of intra-county rivals ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the MSA Top-25. Give me this one over any other game in the playoffs. Eleanor Roosevelt won the lone meeting, 53-51 in overtime)
No. 3 Bowie at No. 1 Eleanor Roosevelt in the Section 2 finals (season series split at 1-1)
Computer projected region championship: Eleanor Roosevelt (-10) over Bladensburg
4A Power Rankings
- Eleanor Roosevelt (South)
- Wise (South)
- North Point (East)
- Bowie (South)
- Meade (East)
- Perry Hall (North)
- Quince Orchard (West)
- Bladensburg (South)
- Richard Montgomery (West)
- C.H. Flowers (South)
Projected 4A semifinals: North Point (-3) over Quince Orchard AND Eleanor Roosevelt (-13) over Perry Hall
Projected 4A state championship: Eleanor Roosevelt (-5) over North Point
McFadden’s take: Unlike the other classes, 4A has somewhat of a clear-cut favorite, and that is PG County stalwart Eleanor Roosevelt.
Led by one of the most recruited guards in the state, Naji Marshall (6-6) the Raiders will be a tall task to go up against given their overwhelming size (11 players of 6’3″ or taller and four 6’6″ or taller). However, it will not be an ER cakewalk to Xfinity Center as they will have to go through stout teams like C.H. Flowers, Bowie or Wise and possibly Bladensburg.
The North is a bit of a snoozer in my opinion, as I see Perry Hall getting out with not much competition. In the East, we could potentially see a match-up in the region championship of SMAC power North Point and defending 4A state champions, Meade.
As for the West, it’s relatively a toss-up due to the parity within the region, but if I had to bet money on two teams vying for a state tournament bid, it’d be the top teams Montgomery County has to offer in Quince Orchard and Richard Montgomery.
