The playoff field from Austin’s two 6A districts wasn’t determined until Round 15 of 16 in District 25-6A and went to overtime in 26-6A. While Westwood, Vandegrift and Round Rock had already secured their postseason berths, it wasn’t until Vista Ridge defeated Hutto that the Rangers secured the district’s final spot – and decided who all was going into each bracket.
Meanwhile, it was an even bigger mess in 26-6A. Westlake, Lake Travis and Bowie were in. But after the final night of the regular season, Austin High, Akins and Del Valle were all tied for fourth – and remained tied after factoring in all the head-to-head tiebreakers. After some bonus basketball that saw Austin High edge Akins by one point after the Eagles had eliminated Del Valle the night before, the Maroons were in as the final playoff contender and the matchups were set.
As the dust settles, top-ranked and District 25-6A champion Westwood (29-2) opens the playoffs against Bowie (27-7) while Round Rock (23-8) draws District 26-6A co-champion Lake Travis (25-8) in the Division 1 Bi-district round. In Division 2, it’s Vandegrift (27-7) facing Austin High (17-17) while Vista Ridge (21-13) squares off with the other 26-6A co-champion Westlake (27-6).
The survivors head south towards San Antonio and the Corpus area and hope to meet up in the Region IV Finals in a couple of weeks.
The area’s 5A schools are split between three districts spread out over two regions. Hendrickson ran the table in District 23-5A to grab the #1 seed in Division 1. As a result, the Hawks (28-6) take on McCallum (16-13) while District 24-5A champion Anderson (18-16) faces East View (24-9). With all four district champions and runners-up competing in Division 1, that leaves the third and fourth place teams competing in Division 2. Weiss (18-17), 3rd-place in 23-5A, is that district’s top D2 seed and the Wolves meet Austin LASA (12-19) in the opening round. At the bottom of the bracket, it’s Pflugerville (9-22) clashing with Bastrop (17-17).
The winners will look east and face stiff Region III competition from Houston starting with the Area Round.
Meanwhile, teams from the highly competitive District 25-5A get thrown into the San Antonio blender right out of the gate. Runner-up Cedar Park (23-8) earned the top-seed in Division 1 but still faces a tough opening round against Alamo Heights (23-10). Surging Rouse (24-10) looks to cool off 26-5A champion SA Veteran’s Memorial (25-10). District 25-5A champion Glenn (26-9) earned the #1 seed in Division 2 but still faces their own tough first round opponent in New Braunfels (28-7). Leander (14-17) slipped past Liberty Hill into the playoffs and will open against Boerne-Champion (25-9).
The survivors will continue on against San Antonio, Corpus and southwest Texas schools as the playoffs proceed.
Austin LBJ (22-12) swept through District 25-4A and opens the 4A Division 1 playoffs against New Braunfels Long Creek (20-12) while Lago Vista (19-14) drew Davenport (23-10) in the first round. New Tech (27-6) looks to regain momentum against Fredericksburg (19-13) while Legacy Ranch (15-17), the new school in Liberty Hill ISD playing all freshmen and sophomores, plays District 26-4A champion Wimberley (33-2).
With the regular season in the mirror, it’s on to the Alamodome!
