Belmont enters the New Hampshire Top 10 boys basketball rankings after it beat Kearsarge 49-43 in Saturday’s NHIAA Division III championship game. It is the program’s first state championship.
The postseason will be in full swing Wednesday, when the preliminary round begins in Division I. The Division II preliminary round starts Tuesday, and the Division IV championship game will be played Saturday.
Pelham, which is seeking its third consecutive Division II championship, was the state’s No. 9 team last week but dropped out of the Top 10 after it ended the regular season with a 74-73 loss to Oyster River.
Here are this week’s rankings. Team records are through March 2.
Bedford and Portsmouth finished the regular season tied atop the Division I standings, but the Bulldogs won the tiebreaker and earned the only bye awarded for the Division I tournament. Top-seeded Bedford will face eighth-seeded Bishop Guertin or ninth-seeded Windham in the quarterfinals.
Previous ranking: 1
Second-seeded Portsmouth will open postseason play against 15th-seeded Salem. The Clippers beat the Blue Devils 80-43 during the regular season.
Previous ranking 2
Trinity won a three-way tie with Nashua South and Exeter to earn the No. 3 seed and will meet 14th-seeded Winnacunnet in the preliminary round. The Pioneers enter the Division I tournament on a six-game win streak.
Previous ranking: 4
The Panthers will enter Wednesday’s matchup with 14th-seeded Merrimack with nine wins in their past 10 games. South’s only loss during that stretch came against No. 1 Bedford.
Previous ranking: 5
The Blue Hawks are one of at least seven teams capable of winning the Division I tournament. Their postseason journey begins with a preliminary-round game against 12th-seeded Goffstown. Exeter beat Goffstown 77-58 two weeks ago.
Previous ranking: 3
Keene was stumbling to the finish, but after losing three of four, the Blackbirds regained their stride by beating Dover and Londonderry last week. Wednesday’s Division I tournament game against Londonderry will be the second meeting between the teams in the past nine days.
Previous ranking: 6
Seventh-seeded Alvirne will face 10th-seeded Manchester Memorial in what looks like the best matchup in the Division I tournament’s preliminary round. Each team is capable of making a deep run.
Previous ranking: 7
Keegan Martinez had 15 points and 17 rebounds during Belmont’s victory over Kearsarge in the Division III championship game. The Red Raiders have enough size and talent to compete against teams in higher divisions.
Previous ranking: Unranked
The top-seeded Spartans earned a bye for the Division II tournament’s first round. Pembroke awaits the winner of Tuesday’s game between Manchester West and Bow.
Previous ranking: 9
Hanover’s 11-game win streak ended with a 61-45 setback against Oyster River in the final game of the regular season. The Bears still earned the second of two byes that were awarded for the Division II tournament, and they could see Oyster River again in the quarterfinals.
Previous ranking: 10
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