Beavercreek - upper boundary: 7-3; lower boundary: 6-4; Hari has progressed so well as a player over the course of his sophomore year, and he's picked up some help along the way from his teammates. I think they're the deepest team out of the Ohio contingency (although my opportunities to read for Miami Valley have been limited.) I think Beavercreek will find themselves in the 6-2 v 6-2 game. I really do think that. 5-2 is pretty easy to get to; my senior year we went 6-2 and were helped by the fact our opponent in the 5-2 v 5-2 game was a team we knew we could beat (which we did, although incidentally that team went on to eliminate DCC A the next day.) I don't know much about what effect the expansion of the field to 304 has on how the distribution of the field after, say, seven games (plus byes), shapes, but I'm inclined to think
a team that averaged 24.53 ppb on an IS set will do well enough to get to the 5-2 v 5-2, win that, and go on to 6-2. The 6-2 versus 6-2 game is really tough, though.
Boardman - upper boundary: 6-4; lower boundary: 5-5; the 3-7 record last year was a shocker to me. I'm more likely to believe Boardman will make the playoffs than miss. The really weird thing about HSNCT is there are teams that can get into the playoffs when they probably don't
deserve to be there, but make it because they lost enough of their early games and managed to rally through the cards in the 170's and 180's in the afternoon to where they got to like card 92 or whatever miraculously; I think Boardman this year will be a team that
does deserve to be there. If I had to guess, Boardman will probably make it to a 5-3 v 5-3 game. I don't think Boardman really has any PPBs from this year that are a reliable enough measure to assess how they stack versus the field; I can't tell which games in the Mahoning events are on what set, an A-set in October probably
underrates Boardman, Mellon Bowl isn't going to give us a good idea because not all 20 tossups are heard in a game, and the D2 SCT set doesn't tell us anything either.
Brush - upper boundary: 6-4; lower boundary: 4-6; they buzz early, a lot. If they make it to a 4-3 v 4-3, and if they can win, I like their odds to possibly go 6-4. Win the 4-3 v 4-3 and you become a 5-3. If your aggressive buzzing gets you the wins, and if you have two games left just to win one more game to make it in, what are the odds that your aggressive buzzing loses you _both_ games?
Cloverleaf - upper boundary: 6-4; lower boundary: 5-5; this is probably the best team Cloverleaf has had since Brian played there. I read for them at NAQT States and OAC States, and they had some good contributions across the subjects and across the players. They're all juniors, I believe? My prediction here is if they don't make playoffs this year, then they'll definitely make it next year. Go Colts!
Copley - upper boundary: 7-3; lower boundary: 6-4; if the entire Copley A lineup is playing, then I think they'll make 7-3 with ease. If they find themselves in a 5-2 v 5-2 game, I like their odds to win... but if they lose and drop to 5-3 I definitely like their odds to win one of the last two to make it in. Might even get the last two if they drop to 5-3 to go 7-3!
Fisher - upper boundary: 7-3; lower boundary: 6-4; Hunter has played lights out (or close to that) since the abysmal performance FC turned in at NAQT States. I think the problem here is that unless Hunter gets a few tossups to pour in from seats 2-4 in the games that matter most, he's going to get screwed. I have been pretty impressed with Hunter this season, and am thinking if he's firing on all cylinders then FC has a chance to clinch the program's first ever 7-3 on Saturday. (We always underperformed at HSNCT.)
I'll do Miami Valley through Walnut Hills later today or tomorrow. Sleep time!