The Division I boys always feel like they are kicking off their tournament a little late but for some reason, it feels particularly that way today.

 I just walked around the Keene State campus (which looks fantastic) on a 72-degree day, about 60 college basketball teams have already completed their season and the Colebrook girls have already done their undefeated dance.

 And we haven’t even gotten to the Division I boys first round yet.

 Today we will.

 We’ll preview all seven first-round games being played tonight and will bring you coverage of Nashua South at Winnacunnet.

 Pete Tarrier & Joel Johnston will bring you full coverage as the two teams square off for the right to face Exeter in the quarterfinals on Saturday night.

 On behalf of Jen, Pete, Justin, Lance, Austin, Nichole, Joel, Eliot & I we want to thank each of the 10 coaches who chose to support our team and the coverage of high school sports as Gold Level Members.

 Marty Edwards of Alvirne

 John Mulvey of Portsmouth

 Matt Fennessy of Dover

 Rob McLaughlin of Salem

 Nate Stanton of Londonderry

 Jay McKenna of Winnacunnet

 Mark Elmendorf of Bedford

 Jeff Baumann of Timberlane

 Jeff Holmes of Exeter

 John Fisher of Bishop Guertin

 We cannot thank each of the coaches enough for all of their support in covering the kids.

 

 Our preview today is brought to you by our friends & partners at Core Physicians, with over 15 locations on the seacoast!

 

1. Exeter earned a first-round bye

 

 (9) Nashua South at (8) Winnacunnet

 Winnacunnet team page

 Nashua South team page

 Box score of the first meeting

 By nature, the 8/9 game is always supposed to be the most even match-up of the first round and I can’t think of two teams more equally matched than these two.

 Both teams have big wins on the resumes, close losses that, if the game had been flipped, might have carried them to the next level and both have curious losses as well.

 The Warriors earned a one-point win over the Purple Panthers and now need to beat them again to advance to face their arch-rivals in the quarterfinals.

 This game likely comes down to who ends up being the best player on the floor. The candidates for that distinction include Ivan Nyantenji, Brett Marelli, Andres Hulfachor and Lucas Schaake.

 These are two good teams, both capable of beating Exeter, led by two very good coaches in Nate Mazerolle of South and Jay McKenna of Winnacunnet.

 It will come down to what player steps up at the key moment, that is the difference-maker when two teams this evenly matched square off.

 

(12) Windham at (5) Keene

Keene team page

Windham team page

Box Score of the regular season meeting

 The Blackbirds won 6 of their last 8 games and will host a home playoff game for a second consecutive season under head coach Kevin Ritter.

 Noah Timmer and Liam Johnston have put together all-state campaigns and this is a team that went 8-1 at home this season with their lone loss coming against 3rd seeded Nashua North.

 EJ Perry’s all-state shooting guard Joey DaSilva was terrific in the season finale against Keene, scoring 25 points. An issue for Windham is it hasn’t found that second consistent scoring threat this season.

 DaSilva is the only player on the team averaging over 8 points per game and that makes it difficult to beat teams that can put up points…..and Keene can absolutely put up points.

 Windham will have to break Keene’s pressure defense and resist the urge to play at the Blackbird's faster pace. The Jaguars can win a game played in the half-court at a slower pace and to do that they’ll have to limit the number of possessions Keene gets.

 

(13) Salem at (4) Bishop Guertin

 Bishop Guertin team page

 Salem team page

  The two teams did not meet during the regular season and the question in this one is whether Bishop Guertin’s size causes issues for the Blue Devils?

 Rob McLaughlin’s team won four of their final five games of the season and they needed every one of them to get in. That run included two very good wins over Bedford and at Manchester Central.

 Adnan Ayala has really emerged over the second half of the season and was a key player when all-state guard Trevor DeMinico missed several games with an injury.

 John Fisher’s Cardinals roll out a frontcourt of Dylan Stantosuosso, Kyle & Lucas Baker and Sam Mullet. That makes the play of Mike Ference and Alex Devir a key tonight in Nashua. Salem can’t get beat up in the paint and allow second shot opportunities to a team that shoots the ball as well as BG.

 Mason Carroll and Jordan Robichaud have been really good for the Cardinals who have won 7 of their last 9 games.

 

 (14) Concord at (3) Nashua North

 Nashua North team page

 Concord team page

 Box score of the first meeting

 Concord stumbled at the end of the season, losing 6 of their last 7 games of the regular season. Tonight they face a very good Titans team that won 6 of their last 7 to close the season.

 Brendan Choate, Curtis Harris, and Nate Kane all put together all-state seasons while Gabe Buxton and Chukweuemeka Okorie fill key roles for Steve Lane’s team.

 Of all the teams in the state, North might have the biggest upside and over the last three weeks of the regular season, they’ve started to play some of their best basketball of the season.

 Rylan Canabano has been very good at the point for Jimmy Thorpe’s team and Ivan Yen is a big-time weapon in the backcourt.

 Concord needs to defend at a high level if they’re going into Nashua tonight and pulling off what would be a big upset.

 

(11) Goffstown at (6) Merrimack

 Merrimack team page

 Goffstown team page

  These two teams did not meet during the regular season. The easy joke was ‘the first team to 40 points wins’ and of course I took the bait on our Bracketology podcast.

 That doesn’t mean it isn’t true.

 Both teams are very capable offensively, Robenson Beguidy, Aidan O’Connell and Jack Kelly have been very good for Ryan Cowette’s Grizzlies.

 All three are capable of scoring 15 points tonight but with Derek Steckowych getting injured at the end of the season and Connor Hujsak missing the entire season the Grizzlies have a better chance to win by playing very good defense, not allowing second shots and taking care of the basketball.

 Merrimack had to win games in the 40’s last season because they couldn’t get to 50 but this is a team with offensive weapons in Jack Tarleton and Patrick Yudkin. Adam Ellis is a very good point guard and Merrimack has one of the best home-court advantages in the state.

 Add a future Hall of Fame coach in Tim Goodridge and you have a team with their sights set on UNH next week.

 

 (10) Alvirne at (7) Bedford

 Bedford team page

 Alvirne team page

 Box score of the first meeting

  Another very good match-up that could go either way. The Bulldogs won the first match-up in a game we covered but the Broncos went on to win 5 of their next 6 games after that loss, including handing top-seeded Exeter their only defeat of the season.

 Bedford has one of the best offensive players in the state in Justin O’Neil while Alvirne has been led offensively by guard Jackson DeWitt.

 Bedford is a different team when Tim Greene and Connor Butts are knocking down jumpers. Butts does a really good job running Mark Elmendorf’s offense and over the second half of the season Jordan Dyer has stepped up as a consistent second scorer.

 Alvirne wants to use their size and physicality to hold the Bedford offense in check. Mugshak Mugariri is a very good defender and forward Liam O’Neil has been very good in the paint.

 Alvirne and Bedford are two similar teams and each is capable of a run over the next two weeks. This might be the game of the night in the division.

 

(15) Manchester Central at (2) Portsmouth

 Portsmouth team page

 Manchester Central team page

 Box score of the first meeting

  The Clippers come into the tournament playing as well as any team in the state. Winners of 9 games in a row John Mulvey’s team finally has everyone healthy and Cal Hewett & Coleman Brewster are both playing at a first-team all-state level.

 Sudi Lett’s Manchester Central Little Green has played good basketball over the second half of the season. This is a very young team led by Baril Mawo and featuring underclassmen like Angel Castro who will be very good in the short term for Central.

 The Clippers are not going to shy away from running with Central and when Kevin Cummings is knocking down shots, which is quite often, this is a very hard team to defend.