Ten boys teams to watch in Class 6A

It’s not a coincidence that the District 1 champ sits on the top line of the PIAA Tournament Class 6A bracket.

That team is annually one of the favorites for Pennsylvania’s big-school basketball championship. Ten times in the last 20 years a District 1 team has claimed the state title; five times it’s been the champ, five times it’s been the district runner-up.

That could happen again in a few weeks.

Many view District 1 champ Methacton, which obliterated the field on the way to its first district title, as the team to beat — or at least one of them.

It’s a balanced field with no super team, no Billy Owens or Lonnie Walker IV who can carry his team to Hershey’s Giant Center.

Roman Catholic and Wilson, the only teams to beat Methacton, are at the front of the championship conversation, as well.

The District 3 champ Bulldogs have the best record in the 6A field and more wins than any team in the state. They’ve got Stevie Mitchell, one of the premier juniors in the state. And they’ve got that pulsating 58-56 win on the Warriors’ home court

on their resume.

Wilson has had trouble finishing off teams lately, most notably Reading High, which clung to the final second before falling 58-56 in the District 3 title game.

At this point you know (or should know if you’ve been paying attention) plenty about the Bulldogs and Red Knights.

Here’s a look at 10 other Class 6A teams to keep an eye on as the tournament tips Saturday (they’re listed as they appear on the bracket, top to bottom): 1-1 METHACTON (26-2) » The Warriors are ranked No. 1 in the state and have played like it in the postseason, winning six playoff games by an average of 25.5 points. They wiped out Chester 81-54 in the semis and Cheltenham 73-48 in the final.

Coach Jeff Derstine says they’ve found a new gear since that loss to Wilson.

The Warriors have a legit big in 6-10 Colgate recruit Jeff Woodward and sharpshooters around him, most notably 1,000-point scorer Erik Timko.

Could run into Roman in the third round; a Wilson rematch can’t happen until the March 21 final, in case you were wondering.

12-2 ROMAN CATHOLIC (16-10) » The Cahilites may be the most dangerous team in the field. Jalen Duren, a 6-9 center, is ranked as the No. 2 sophomore in the nation. Justice Williams, a 6-4 guard, is among the top 25 sophs in the nation. Lynn Greer, a 6-3 senior guard and 1,000-point scorer who started on the 2018 PIAA championship team, has several Division I offers.

Roman, as you noticed, has 10 losses. Part of that is schedule: Four came to out-of-state opponents. Part is youth: The starting lineup includes a freshman and three sophs.

It lost to Neumann-Goretti 66-58 in the Catholic League finale, then to Simon Gratz 7160 in the Public League title match.

Roman has won three of the last five state titles.

11-1 FREEDOM (18-8) » Patriots emerged from topsy-turvy District 11 Tournament to win first title since 1976. Beat Allen 75-71 in semifinals after losing to Canaries twice in regular season.

Could see Red Knights in second round.

1-3 CHESTER (21-4) » The Clippers have lost to just three PIAA opponents, including the Red Knights at the Geigle 74-70, and to Methacton by 27.

They have a bunch of athletic 6-4’s and 6-5’s, including 1,000-point scorer Karell Watkins and Akeem Taylor, who’s closing in on a grand.

The Clippers have five PIAA titles and eight championship-game appearances in the 2000s; they won’t need mapquest.com to find Giant Center.

Could meet Gratz in second round.

12-1 SIMON GRATZ (23-5) » Yassir Stover, a 6-foot guard, is the Public League Player of the Year and carried the Bulldogs to the Pub finale, where they lost to small-school power MCS Charter (for the second time). Two other losses came to New Jersey teams.

They’re not deep but they’ve got bigs and they were good enough to take out Roman 7160 for the district title.

1-2 Cheltenham (23-3) >> Had it not been for a seasonending injury to Division I prospect Zahree Harrison the first week of the season the Panthers might be considered the team to beat.

Without him they reached their first district title game in 15 years. Jaelen McGlone, a 6-4

Rider commit, and soph Justin Moore, a D1 prospect, lead the way; 6-4 Sean Emfinger plays above the rim.

Beat Coatesville twice during the season and Bensalem by 17 in the district semifinal. 7-2 MOUNT LEBANON (18-7) » The defensive-minded Blue Devils have wins over two teams on this list – Upper St. Clair and Allderdice – and played another, Butler, tough twice, including in a 70-61 loss in the WPIAL title game.

Jake Hoffman, a 6-3 guard, averages 21.2 points.

Could run into Cheltenham in second round.

10-1 MCDOWELL (21-3) » The Trojans are ranked No. 3 in the state, have lost to just two PA teams – both state-ranked – and have one of the nation’s top juniors in William Jeffress, a 6-7 forward who has offers from Baylor, Penn State, Maryland, etc., etc.

The program’s all-time scoring leader averages 21 points per game and is such a good student he’ll graduate a year early. He was a team captain as a freshman.

7-1 BUTLER (20-4) » The Green Tornado is ranked No. 2 in the state and has the state’s best backcourt scoring duo in 6-6 point Ethan Morton and 6-foot soph Devin Carney. They combined for 67 points in a district semifinal win over Upper St. Clair. Morton has over 2,100 points.

The District 7 championship run was no cake walk. They went two OTs in the quarterfinals and one OT in the semis before beating Mount Lebanon 70-61 in the finale.

Have not lost since Jan. 6. 7-3 UPPER ST. CLAIR (20-4) » The Panthers can’t be overlooked. They’ve beaten Allderdice and Mount Lebanon and knocked off a 20-0 Fox Chapel team.

Ranked No. 7 in state. Get rematch vs. Allderdice in opening round.