Plenty still at stake heading into Wesco basketball finales

Published 1:30 am Sunday, February 9, 2020

Three of the four Wesco boys and girls basketball league titles already have been decided.

But with first-round byes and playoff berths still up for grabs — as well as the Wesco 3A/2A girls title — there’s still plenty to sort out before the postseason tips off.

Below is a league-by-league breakdown heading into Monday night’s Wesco 3A/2A regular-season finales and Tuesday night’s Wesco 4A finales, as well as a primer on the district and bi-district tournament formats:

4A postseason format (boys and girls)

The top two Wesco 4A teams and top two KingCo 4A teams receive byes into the quarterfinals of the 12-team 4A Wes-King Bi-District Tournament.

Wesco 4A seeds 3-6 play loser-out games against KingCo 4A seeds 3-6, with the winners advancing to the bi-district quarterfinals.

This year, the bi-district has four 4A state berths.

Wesco 4A boys

Glacier Peak has clinched its third Wesco 4A title in four years. The unbeaten Grizzlies are 13-0 in conference play and hold a two-game lead over Mariner, which has secured a second-place league finish.

As the top two seeds in Wesco 4A, Glacier Peak and Mariner have earned byes into the bi-district quarterfinals.

Jackson and Kamiak are tied for third place in Wesco 4A with 7-6 conference records. Both have clinched bi-district berths.

Lake Stevens, Mount Vernon and Monroe are battling for Wesco 4A’s final two postseason spots.

Lake Stevens and Mount Vernon are tied for fifth place at 5-8 in league play. Monroe is seventh, trailing both teams by one game. All three teams went 1-1 against each other.

Wesco 4A girls

Glacier Peak has clinched its third Wesco 4A crown in four years. The Grizzlies are 13-0 in conference play and have won 31 consecutive league games.

Glacier Peak holds a two-game lead over Lake Stevens, which has secured a Wesco 4A runner-up finish. As the league’s top two seeds, the Grizzlies and Vikings have earned byes into the bi-district quarterfinals.

Jackson is locked into third place in Wesco 4A at 9-4 in conference play.

Mount Vernon, Monroe and Kamiak have clinched Wesco 4A’s remaining postseason berths. Mount Vernon and Monroe are tied for fourth place at 6-7 in league play. Kamiak is sixth at 5-8.

3A, 2A postseason formats (boys and girls)

For both the 3A Northwest District Tournament and 2A Northwest/Sea-King Bi-District Tournament, seeding is determined by a Ratings Percentage Index (RPI).

At the 3A level, the top six seeds in the district-wide RPI receive byes into the district quarterfinals. Seeds 7-10 square off in loser-out, first-round district games. This year, the district has three 3A state berths.

At the 2A level, the top four seeds in the bi-district RPI receive byes into the bi-district quarterfinals. Seeds 5-12 square off in four loser-out, first-round bi-district contests. This year, the bi-district has three 2A state berths.

Wesco 3A/2A boys

Marysville Pilchuck has clinched its second consecutive Wesco 3A/2A title. The Tomahawks are 13-0 in conference play and have won 26 straight league games.

Stanwood is locked into second place at 11-2 in Wesco 3A/2A, with both of its conference losses coming in overtime.

The top 10 teams in the 3A district RPI are: Marysville Pilchuck (1.21), Stanwood (1.00), Shorecrest (0.84), Meadowdale (0.81), Edmonds-Woodway (0.81), Arlington (0.72), Marysville Getchell (0.70), Squalicum (0.60), Shorewood (0.52) and Ferndale (0.46). Everett is a distant 11th (0.25).

In the 2A bi-district RPI, Mountlake Terrace is third and Lakewood is fourth. Cedarcrest is seventh and Archbishop Murphy is 11th.

Wesco 3A/2A girls

Shorecrest and Arlington are tied atop the Wesco 3A/2A standings at 12-1 in conference play. Shorecrest holds the head-to-head tiebreaker by virtue of its 58-43 win over the Eagles on Dec. 20.

If the Scots beat Lynnwood in their regular-season finale, Shorecrest clinches the Wesco 3A/2A crown. Arlington needs both a win over Marysville Getchell and a Shorecrest loss to claim the league title.

The top 10 teams in the 3A district RPI are: Shorecrest (1.12), Arlington (1.12), Meadowdale (0.90), Ferndale (0.87), Edmonds-Woodway (0.82), Snohomish (0.81), Lynnwood (0.70), Everett (0.61), Stanwood (0.43) and Marysville Getchell (0.42). Squalicum is a distant 11th (0.24).

Archbishop Murphy is fourth in the 2A bi-district RPI. Cedarcrest is seventh, Mountlake Terrace is 10th and Lakewood is 13th.