Looking back at PIAA hoops predictions and setting the scene for this week

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/

FROM KEITH GROLLER

OK, so I am going to toot my own horn here.

Like I always say, if I don't toot my horn, who will? In our business, people aren't inclined to praise nearly as much as they love to criticize. Pat on the back? Nah. Usually it's just a knife in the back.

So here were my predictions for our six area boys teams who were in action, followed by the actual results:

4A

Prediction: Parkland 64, Central Bucks West 54            Score: Parkland 63-51

Prediction: Abington 65, Emmaus 59                             Score: Abington 65-52

Prediction: Hazleton 71, Stroudsburg 63                        Score: Hazleton 63-53

3A

Prediction: Central Catholic 69, West York 54                Score: CCHS 67-54

2A

Prediction: Del Val Charter 65, Notre Dame 57               Score: DVC 60-45

1A

Prediction: Pius X 63, Old Forge 50                               Score: Pius X 44-31

OK, I was way off on the amount of points scored in the Pius X game, but at least I had the margin of victory correct for the Royals.

Bottom line is these weren't extremely difficult games to get right. I admit it. Past history helped.

Parkland and CCHS won their first-round games last year, for example, and we're just not a good matchup against District 12 in Class 2A.

Pius X has had some past success against Old Forge and our No. 2 and No. 3 teams in Class 4A generally lost in the first round.

But this coming week is where we'd like to change history and it's where I have to weigh what I'd like to see happen with what I actually think will happen.

The three teams who won first-round games this past week -- Parkland, CCHS and Pius X -- all lost in the second round last year.

Parkland lost by three to Great Valley, CCHS by nine to Donegal and Pius X fell by five to Sankofa Freedom in 2013.

Can any, or al,l of these teams get by this second-round hurdle and get to the middle weekend of the state tournament?

Absolutely. Central Catholic and Parkland are clearly better than they were last year with more depth and experience.

Pius X, manwhile, is not getting a District 12 team this year. The Royals are getting a District 3 team with nine losses in New Hope Academy.

All games seem winnable although it will take extraordinary effort, especially by CCHS which is facing a two-loss Bishop McDevitt team that will have as much talent as any team the Vikings have faced all season.

The sites were released early Sunday afternoon and as expected, Central Catholic is headed north to Pottsville to take on McDevitt at 7:30 Tuesday night.

Parkland is headed to Reading to face Bayard Rustin of West Chester at 7:30 on Wednesday.

We know how to get to those venues, but we have no idea what's going to happen.

All I know is that it's going to be a fun week and here's hoping that what has been an entertaining and compelling high school boys basketball season has a few rounds still to go,