The SAR Sting will be the top-seed next week when the Bernard “Red” Sarachek Tournament returns after a two-year hiatus.
The seeding was announced tonight on MacsLive. Sarachek is the largest Jewish high school basketball tournament and this year’s 29th annual event will be the biggest yet, with 24 teams.
The top 5 is rounded out by Valley Torah at #2, TABC, DRS and Shalhevet and the tournament includes 17 of the teams ranked in the Jewish Hoops America National Top 25.
This year’s tournament runs from March 24 to March 28 and will have 10 Yeshiva League teams, the largest contingent ever. Yeshivat Mekor Chaim from Baltimore is making its first-ever appearance, making it the 59th school to participate since the tournament began in 1992.
Shalhevet, winners in 2018 and 2019, will seek to become the first school ever to threepeat at Sarachek They would have been the top-seed in 2020 but the tournament was cancelled after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, which caused its cancellation last year as well.
The additional teams necessitated a change in the tournament format, with three tiers instead of four and a slightly higher percentage of teams having a shot at Tier 1 than in the years since the tournament expanded to 20 teams in 2009.
The competition tips off next Thursday morning with the top 16 seeds vying to qualify for Tier 1. The final 8 seeds will then compete on Friday against the losers from Thursday’s games to qualify for Tier 2. The losers of those games will play in Tier 3.
The Tier 1 quarterfinals are also on Friday, making it the first day in the tournament’s history to feature 12 games - though two more such days will quickly follow on Sunday and Monday.
With the same five-day window and no games late Friday afternoon through Shabbat the 52-game tournament must include more games away from the Max Stern Athletic Center than in the past.
SEEDING
1.SAR Sting/Bronx,NY
2.Valley Torah Wolfpack/Valley Village, CA
3.TABC Storm/Teaneck,NJ
4.DRS Wildcats/Lawrence,NY
5.Shalhevet Firehawks/Los Angeles,CA
6.Frisch Cougars/Paramus,NJ
7.Ramaz Rams/New York,NY
8.Flatbush Falcons/Brooklyn,NY
9. Katz YHS Storm/Boca Raton,FL
10.Magen David Warriors/Brooklyn,NY
11.Yavneh Bulldogs/Dallas,TX
12.Ida Crown Aces/Skokie,IL
13.YULA Panthers/Los Angeles,CA
14.Fuchs Mizrachi Mayhem/Beachwood,OH
15.MTA Lions/New York,NY
16.Berman H.A. Cougars/Rockville,MD
17.HAFTR Hawks/Lawrence,NY
18.Hillel Heat/Deal,NJ
19.Maimonides M-Cats/Brookline,MA
20.Mekor Chaim Cyclones/Baltimore,MD
21.Beren Stars/Houston,TX
22.SoCal Yeshiva Hawks/San Diego,CA
23.H.A. Montreal Heat/Montreal,Quebec
24.Mesivta Mustangs/Bala Cynwyd,PA
OPENING ROUND
Thursday, March 24
10:00 - #1 SAR (14-1) vs #16 Berman H.A. (14-10)
11:30 - #7 Ramaz (16-4) vs #10 Magen David (12-6)
1:00 - #6 Frisch (14-6) vs #11 Yavneh Dallas (24-4)
2:30 - #8 Flatbush (11-10) vs #9 Katz YHS (10-6)
4:00 - #3 TABC (17-4) vs #14 Fuchs Mizrachi (15-4)
5;30 - #2 Valley Torah (32-4) vs #15 MTA (9-6)
7:00 - #4 DRS (12-3) vs #13 YULA (4-16)
8:30 - #5 Shalhevet (26-9) vs #12 Ida Crown (12-7)
Check out MacsLive.com and follow on Twitter @MacsLive and @JHAHoops for full coverage throughout the tournament.