Our panel is back at it again with picks for Saturday night’s Tier II and III Quarterfinal games!
Tier II Quarterfinals @ TABC Gym 1
Ari Schopf (AS): DRS physicality proves too much for RASG. DRS by 13
Akiva Poppers (AP): Ben Farkas will get his, but can the rest of the Warriors provide enough scoring against DRS’ physical defense? I’ll take the Wildcats to roll by 10.
Oren Glickman (OG): RASG one of two unbeaten teams in Tier 2 after beating MTA. DRS is a different type of test. I think this’ll be a lot closer than people think and I’m going to fancy the Warriors in an upset with Farkas having a special night.
AS: Rubber match between two teams that many consider to be on the same level.
AP: Should be a fun one between two rivals with a lot of camaraderie.
OG: These two Maryland schools seem to face off against each other more in NY/NJ than they do in their own state. This is the third game overall. They last played in the Tier II final at Satran. Two teams that know each other extremely well. I’ll be abstaining. I will say again though that Jon Rosen is a sniper.
Tier II Quarterfinals @ TABC Gym 2
AS: Ida Crown struggles with the smaller court as they turn it over nearly 20 times in this game. Benlolou and TABC prevail in a 5 point win.
AP: Ida Crown catches a break by playing in the hockey gym, a great floor for their 1-3-1. I think TABC is the slightly better team. This one will be a battle down to the wire, but it is the pressure of the Aces on the small court which prevails and sends ICJA to a 5-point victory.
OG: I’m taking TABC here. Home crowd is the sixth man again. It’ll definitely be interesting to see TABC playing a home game though in a gym that they don’t use for their games.
AS: Fuchs Mizrachi controls this game from start to finish. Fasman has no answer for the size and strength of Ephraim Blau. Fuchs by 15.
AP: Skokie Yeshiva pulled the one real Tier II Qualifier upset against a reeling Maimo team. I have my doubts they will be able to pull another one. Jacobs scores 20 and Mizrachi wins by 18.
OG: Fuchs put egg on my face after my JEC call. Not making that same mistake again. Jacobs and Blau roll here and give Skokie their first loss at Sarachek after an impressive opening win against Maimo.
Tier III Quarterfinals @ Ma’ayanot
AS: MTA gets their first win of the tournament behind a strong shooting day from their guards. MTA by 8.
AP: DR Wogan will be a problem for MTA, but I don’t think Cooper has enough experience to upset the Lions. MTA by 13.
OG: MTA get on the board after losses at YU and TABC. Rudman and Halpert carry. Lions by 16.
AS: Kohelet made a run at Berman late on Friday and showed they can score at a high level. Wallace puts on another strong performance. Kohelet by 11.
AP: This game will be an up and down track meet and will be decided by which team can keep the other in the halfcourt enough. I think Kohelet will be able to hit enough shots to do so--barely. Kings by 4.
OG: The Kohelet Kings had some impressive spurts against Berman despite coming up short. I think Or Chaim are too sloppy defensively. Wallace scores 20 and Kohelet wins by 11.
Tier III Quarterfinals @ RYNJ
AS: Mesivta gets their first win of Sarachek behind the play of their two stars. Farber rallies at the end with a couple of threes but it is not enough. Mesivta by 10.
AP: Mesivta got a reality check on Friday, but will respond after Shabbos with an easy 18-point win over Farber, who will be overmatched in terms of size and talent.
OG: Mesivta got a rude awakening that they were perhaps not worthy of a shot at Tier I. However, Farber are just too inferior to them in all areas. Mustangs by 18.
AS: JEC sends Maimo out of Tier III title contention with a second half comeback. JEC by 3.
AP: It is very tough to compete at a high level in Tier III when you had expectations to make a Tier I run. I think this one is destined to be a battle. I’ll take JEC by 2 due to the mental difficulties the M-Cats will be facing.
OG: What a disastrous tournament for Maimo so far. Now they suddenly find themselves in Tier III. I’m not sure they pull it together for this one. I think JEC can win this in a tight battle. Thunder by 3 on a heroic play by Yosef Heller.