The MIAA boys and girls basketball brackets are out, and three Lynn teams have drawn top seeds.
The first games of the tournament begin Monday.
Both the St. Mary’s boys and girls are the No. 1 seeds in Division 3, and have been awarded byes into the quarterfinals. The Lynn Classical girls were also seeded first in Division 2, and are not slated to play until next Saturday against either Saugus or Wilmington.
In the case of the St. Mary’s boys, the Spartans have had any home games they might have played in the tournament taken away from them. With the bye, that only amounts to one, a quarterfinal game that will be played Thursday either at Lynn Tech or Newburyport. Those two teams will play each other at Newburyport Tuesday.
The MIAA has a policy that states that teams who have gone to court to gain eligibility for the tournament is automatically seeded last.
The Spartans did not go to court to gain eligibility as they were 17-3, well above the .500 cutoff. However, last December, the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Council denied waivers to two Peabody boys who had transferred to St. Mary’s and that resulted in a court case on behalf of one of them.
The MIAA rules state that any student with varsity experience who transfers to another school must sit out a year before being eligible to compete. The two schools involved in the transfer can agree between themselves to waive the rule and allow the student to play. If no agreement is reached, a waiver request must be filed with the state. In this case, the MIAC denied both students waivers, which was the last step in the appeal process.
While St. Mary’s took no legal action on behalf of the boys, the family of one of them, junior Chibuikem Onwuogu, sought an injunction that would allow him to play. The injunction was granted in Lawrence Superior Court, and Onwuogo played during the season.
The MIAC ruled two weeks ago that the Spartans would seeded last in Division 3, regardless of where they were ranked. St. Mary’s appealed that ruling, and Wednesday the MIAC came down with a compromise. St. Mary’s would retain its ranking, but be forced to play all its games on the road.
After the quarterfinal round, all games are at neutral sites.
The St. Mary’s girls also drew a bye, and will play next Friday at home against either East Boston or Bishop Fenwick.
The full brackets are as follows
BOYS
Division 1 North
SEEDS: 1. Everett (19-1), 2. Lawrence (18-2), 3. Cambridge (18-2), 4. Lowell (16-4), 5. Lynn English (16-4), 6. Central Catholic (15-4), 7. St. John’s Prep (15-5), 8. Chelsea (16-6), 9. Waltham (14-6), 10. Malden (13-7), 11. Methuen (12-8), 12. Peabody (12-8), 13. Lynn Classical (12-8), 14. Boston Latin (11-9), 15. Andover (11-9), 16. Medford (10-10), 17. Chelmsford (8-12).
Preliminary Round
Tuesday
Chelmsford at medford (7)
First Round
Monday
Methuen at Central Catholic (7)
Tuesday
Waltham at Chelsea (7)
Classical at Lowell (7)
Andover at lawrence (7)
Malden at St. John’s (7)
Wednesday
Peabody at English (7)
Boston Latin at Cambridge (7)
Thursday
Medford/Chelmsford at Everett
Division 2 North
SEEDS: 1. Beverly (15-5), 2. Arlington (15-5), 3. North Andover (15-5), 4. Belmont (15-5), 5. Masconomet (15-5), 6. Winchester (14-6), 7. Brighton (13-7), 8. Woburn (13-7), 9. Somerville (12-8), 10. Burlington (12-8), 11. Marblehead (12-8), 12. Melrose (11-9), 13. Charlestown (10-9), 14. Salem (10-10), 15. Gloucester (10-10), 16. Malden Catholic (3-17).
First Round
Monday
Salem at North Andover (7)
Melrose at Masconomet (7)
Gloucester at Arlington (7)
Tuesday
Somerville at Woburn (7)
Charlestown at Belmont (7)
Burlington at Brighton (6)
Marblehead at Winchester (7)
Wednesday
Malden Catholic at Beverly (7)
Division 3 North
SEEDS 1. St. Mary’s (17-3), 2. Lynnfield (17-3), 3. Hamilton-Wenham (17-3), 4. Bedford (15-5), 5. Whittier (14-6), 6. Pentucket (14-6), 7. Watertown (14-6), 8. Newburyport (13-7), 9. Lynn Tech (13-7), 10. Essex Tech (10-10), 11. Amesbury (7-13), 12. Weston (6-14), 13. Saugus (5-15), 14. Wilmington (5-15), 15. Swampscott (3-17).
First Round
Tuesday
Tech at Newburyport (7)
Saugus at Bedford (7)
Weston at Whittier (7)
Essex Tech at Watertown (7)
Wilmington at Hamilton-Wenham (7)
Wednesday
Swampscott at Lynnfield (7)
Amesbury at Pentucket (7)
Thursday
St. Mary’s at Newburyport/Tech (7)
Division 4 North
SEEDS: 1. Pope John (19-1), 2. Austin Prep (16-4), 3. Mystic Valley (15-5), 4. Fenway (12-5), 5. Matignon (14-6), 6. Snowden (12-6), 7 Maimonides (9-5), 8. Excel (12-7), 9. Winthrop (9-11).
First Round
Wednesday
Winthrop at Excel (at Madison Park 6)
Quarterfinals
Tuesday
Maimonides at Austin Prep (7)
Snowden at Mystic Valley (7)
Thursday
Matignon at Fenway (5)
Saturday, March 3
Winthrop/Excel at Pope John (7)
GIRLS
Division 1 North
SEEDS: 1. Woburn (18-2), 2. Central Catholic (18-2), 3. Masconomet (17-3), 4. Belmont (17-3), 5. Revere (16-4), 6. Lowell (16-6), 7. Billerica (14-6), 8. Everett (13-7), 9. Beverly (13-7), 10. Reading (12-8), 11. North Andover (11-9), 12. Andover (10-10).
First Round
Monday
Beverly at Everett (7)
Tuesday
Reading at Billerica (7)
Wednesday
Andover at Revere (7)
North Andover at Lowell (7)
Quarterfinals
Friday
Everett/Beverly at Woburn (7)
Reading/Billerica at Central Catholic (7)
Saturday, March 3
Revere/Andover at Belmont (7)
North Andover/Lowell at Masconomet (7)
Division 2 North
SEEDS: 1. Lynn Classical (19-1), 2. Pentucket (20-2), 3. Melrose (17-3), 4. Wakefield (15-5), 5. North Reading (15-5), 6. Danver (15-5), 7. Newburyport (14-6), 8. Wilmington (13-7), 9. Saugus (12-8), 10. Tewksbury (12-8), 11. Somerville (11-8), 12. Hamilton-Wenham (11-9), 13. Burlington (10-10), 14. Arlington Catholic (10-10).
First Round
Monday
Burlington at Wakefield (7)
Tewksbury at Newburyport (7)
Somerville at Danvers (7)
Tuesday
Arlington Catholic at Melrose (7)
Wednesday
Saugus at Wilmington (7)
Ham-Wenham at N. Reading (7)
Quarterfinals
Thursday
Tewksbury/Newburyport at Pentucket (7)
Saturday, March 3
Saugus/Wilmington at Classical (7)
Division 3 North
SEEDS: 1. St. Mary’s (16-6), 2. Amesbury (13-7), 3. Shawsheen (13-7), 4. Greater Lawrence (13-7), 5. Manchester-Essex (12-8), 6. Latin Academy (12-8), 7. Bedford (11-9), 8. Bishop Fenwick (11-9), 9. East Boston (9-9), 10. Whittier (10-10), 11. Charlestown (9-9), 12. Winthrop (6-14), 13. Stoneham (5-15).
First Round
Monday
Winthrop at Manchester-Essex (7)
Whittier at Bedford (7)
Tuesday
East Boston at Fenwick (7)
Wednesday
Stoneham at Gr. Lawrence (7)
Charlestown at Latin Acad. (7)
Quarterfinals
Thursday
Bedford/Whittier at Amesbury (7)
Friday
East Boston/Fenwick at St. Mary’s (7)
Saturday, March 3
Charlestown/Latin Acad. at Shawsheen (7)
Division 4 North
SEEDS 1. Matignon (20-0); 2. Fenway (18-2), 3. Mystic Valley (17-3), 4. Snowden (14-5), 5. Maimonides (8-4), 6. Northeast Reg (10-8), 7. St. Joseph’s Prep (11-9), 8. Lowell Catholic (11-9), 9. Presentation of Mary (11-9), 10. Mt. Alvernia (11-9), 11. Green Academy (7-11).
First Round
Tuesday
Mt. Alvernia at St. Joseph’s (7)
Green Acad. at Northeast (7)
Wednesday
PMA at Lowell Cath. (7)
Quarterfinals
Thursday
Maimonides at Snowden (at Madison Pk 7)
Friday
Lowell Cath/PMA at Matignon (7)
Mt. Alvernia/St. Joseph’s at Fenway (at Mystic Valley, 6)
Northeast/Green at Mystic Valley (7:30)