Welcome back, champs!  #13 TABC Storm returns to the MSAC floor this Thursday night, but this is not the same group that cut down the nets last year. Those core athletes are mostly gone, and what’s left is a team trying to recalibrate while still carrying the weight of a championship identity. They’ve had their ups and downs this season but the impressive wins stand out. Wins over Frisch and SAR twice show the potential is still there. So, expect TABC to come out strong, espe

This Thursday night game is sure to be a good one! Following a one year hiatus, the #5 Ramaz Rams have returned to Sarachek while the #12 YULA Panthers are essentially a new team altogether after 12 out of 15 players from last year’s team graduated, leaving many new players to fill in different roles. The two teams faced off earlier this year at Glouberman, where Ramaz came out on top—but that result comes with context. YULA was without Liam Braun, one of their key players wh

The #2-seeded Shalhevet Firehawks will face off against the host #15-seeded MTA Lions in a Tier I qualifier on Thursday at 5:30pm in the MSAC. Shalhevet enters Sarachek with momentum under Coach Tim Tucker, having played their best basketball down the stretch to finish their season with a 22-8 record. After a disappointing upset loss to Magen David at last year’s tournament, the Firehawks are hungry for redemption. They are led by Sam Jacobson, a dominant force in the paint a

In what promises to be one of the most competitive Tier I qualifiers, the #11 Katz YHS Storm will battle the #6 SAR Sting on Thursday at 4:00 p.m. in the MSAC. SAR enters the tournament as the Yeshiva League runners-up under Coach Rafi Halpert. After a season defined by resilience, the Sting look to improve upon last year’s performance, where they entered as the #5 seed, defeated HA Montreal in the Tier I qualifier, but were ultimately knocked out by TABC in the Tier I quarte

This is one of those matchups that feels a little dangerous, but sometimes a little danger is what makes a great game. Leading the #10 Ida Crown Aces from Chicago, Illinois is Coach Jonathan Rich. While the Ida Crown lost many of their players from last year, they have a good blend of returning players and JV guys who have moved up. The team is made up of disciplined and capable players.  Judah Well will impact the game in many ways: on the glass, defensively, and by stabiliz

Buckle up. This isn’t just one of the better matchups of the day—it might be the most intriguing one on the board. Valley Torah walks in feeling underseeded. Berman walks in with one of the best players in the entire tournament. They already met once this year in Memphis, and Valley Torah won. And now they meet again, this time with everything on the line. For the feisty Cougars, the mission is simple: give Alex August—a Maryland native, 3,000-point scorer, and the greatest p

The #16-seeded HA Montreal Heat will face the #1-seeded DRS Wildcats in a matchup of high-tempo offense versus championship pedigree on Thursday at 11:30 AM in the MSAC.  DRS enters Sarachek as the clear favorite, having secured back-to-back Yeshiva League titles. Despite losing key players from last year's roster, Coach Moshe Cohen’s team hasn't skipped a beat, finishing with a 13-1 league record. The Wildcats are led by Gabie Spodek, the team's "coach on the floor," and Mic

The #14-seeded Fuchs Mizrachi Mayhem will take on the #3-seeded Frisch Cougars in a Tier I qualifier on Thursday at 8:30 PM. Frisch enters the Sarachek tournament as a top contender under Coach Zach Tuchman, who assumed head coaching duties midseason. The Cougars find themselves in a reversed position from last year’s tournament, while ending as a #14 seed. That run included an upset over DRS, capped by a Nathan Neufeld buzzer-beater in the Tier I qualifier, before ultimately

Note: Akiva Poppers has resigned from the panel as he is now an assistant coach at Ramaz. In his place is MacsLive Associate Producer, Zachary Sicklick.  Wednesday picks: HANC vs. JEC Yosef Silver: These two teams played earlier in the year, but both coaches would tell you that they aren’t putting too much stock into the JEC blowout victory. JEC is a talented team with a few nice pieces. In their playoff game, HANC showed us they can hang with some of the best. I think this g

The prestigious Red Sarachek Tournament opens with something new this year: a Tier II play-in game. For the first time, the winner won’t be chasing a Tier I title. Instead, it’s about earning a spot, staying alive, and setting the tone for everything that follows on the YU floor over the next few days. That distinction makes this one even more compelling, because both teams are still trying to figure out who they are. JEC is one of the more confusing teams in the field. On pa