The Bernard “Red” Sarachek tournament is back after a two-year Covid-forced hiatus but this year’s 29th installment will be the biggest, deepest and most wide open of them all, with 24 teams, 16 who have a shot at Tier 1 glory.
There will be three tiers, each expected to be highly competitive, with 52 games, more than ever, packed into the same Thursday morning to Monday afternoon format.
Below, Jewish Hoops America takes a peek at Thursday’s opening round matchups in seed order, with game times in parentheses. Rankings in the text are from this weeks JHA National Top 25. Check back at the end of each day for results and a look ahead to the next round matchups.
#1 SAR vs #16 Berman Hebrew Academy (10:00 AM)
Remains to be seen how Sunday’s devastating loss in the MYHSAL championship game will affect the #3 Sting (15-2). Yeshiva League teams have responded both ways following championship game losses in the past: Stepping up with something to prove or wilting as if the league title was the only glory worth pursuing. The latter is doubtful for a team coached by Rafi Halpert, the only person to win at Sarachek as a coach and as a player.
But SAR shouldn’t take too long to decide. Despite the seed differential, the #17 Cougars (15-10) can make noise, with speed, strong outside shooting and team defense.
#2 Valley Torah vs #15 MTA (5:30 pm)
The #18 Lions finished the regular season strong, with an overtime loss to TABC, before a close loss to Frisch in the playoffs. But nobody won as many huge games down the stretch as JHA’s new #1, the Wolfpack (32-4), who reached a California regional final for the first time by taking down three higher seeded teams in succession. JHA leading scorer Johny Dan and Noam Mayouhas lead a potent offense that is used to playing with the shot clock.
MTA will look to slow Valley Torah’s offense down and try to capitalize on a size advantage inside that was the Lions’ bread and butter all year.
#3 TABC vs #14 Fuchs Mizrachi (4:00 PM)
The #6 Storm (17-5) bring to Sarachek one of JHA’s most balanced attacks with seven players regularly contributing to the scoresheet and a mix of strong inside play and outside shooting. They will have to contest with Ephraim Blau, a threat outside and inside, and a #22 Mayhem (15-4) team that rebounds well and can knock down the long shots.
#4 DRS vs #13 YULA (7:00 PM)
Don’t be fooled by the #23 Panthers’ 4-16 record, as they beat Milken this season and narrowly lost to Shalhevet. Sarachek’s most successful program with eight championships is trying to recapture some of that tournament magic - but will need to find the consistency this weekend that they lacked all season.
The #5 Wildcats (12-3) fell in the Yeshiva League quarterfinals after their ferocious comeback came up short against Frisch. Another team with a very balanced attack, Avrum Stein’s squad is looking to prove their four weeks at #1 in the JHA ranking was no fluke.
#5 Shalhevet vs #12 Ida Crown (8:30 PM)
The Aces are a balanced team with no stars that will have to contest with arguably the tournament’s best player in Avi Halpert. If they can bottle him up and the rest of the Firehawks don’t step up, this will be Thursday’s big upset.
#6 Frisch vs #11 Yavneh Dallas (1:00 PM)
Possibly the most talented team in the tournament, the #7 Cougars (14-7) lived up to that only one or two games this season. Led by Alex Zakheim, Ben Haber and Jonny Levine, Frisch will have to contest with the scrappy #9 Bulldogs (24-4), a well-coached squad that plays excellent defense. Yavneh has an inside-outside power of its own in Noah Ohayon and came up just short in their Texas state final.
#7 Ramaz vs #11 Magen David (11:30 AM)
Fans of the #2 Rams (18-4) and many others probably scratching their heads about the team’s low seed. But the seeding was done before they knocked off Frisch and SAR to capture the league championship this week. That leaves them with a rematch of the quarterfinal game against a feisty, never-out-of-it #11 Warriors (12-6). The Rams’ trio of Julius Rubinstein, Caleb Rosenfeld and Cy Aminzadeh are as good as any threesome in the tournament and will look to contain Magen David outstanding double-double machine Asher Melamed.
#8 Flatbush vs #9 Katz YHS (2:30 PM)
The #10 Falcons (11-10) narrowly missed reaching the league semifinals but it wasn’t for lack of trying by Irwin Azar, who torched the Storm for 39 points. They’ll need his scoring again to counter the explosiveness of Jonathan Levy, who will dictate whether the #15 Storm (can crash the Tier 1 party..