Varsity Insider

You know the drill: Dan and I pick the games, you critique our picks and then laugh at our expense when we suffer. OK, hopefully not, but you get the exercise.

I have narrowed the gap yet again and now trail by a game. Is tonight the night Dan’s slide from first place continues — from the penthouse to the outhouse, anyone?

2012-13 Records —
Josh: 36-17 (9-2 playoffs)
Dan: 37-16 (8-3 playoffs)

There are 24 big games today, which is one of the single best days of the year. It’s our February Frenzy, if you will. (Trademark: @SaundersHoops)

Class AA opening round
No. 16 Kennedy at No. 1 Spring Valley, 6 p.m. —
Josh: Spring Valley, 66-55. Kennedy will hang tough, but I don’t think it can keep up offensively.
Dan: Spring Valley, 60-54. The young gun Tigers get it done against Kennedy.
No. 9 New Rochelle at No. 8 Clarkstown South —
Josh: New Rochelle, 66-60. Can New Ro channel the intensity it showed Monday against Scarsdale? I don’t know. But New Ro should win if it can close on South’s shooters. The Huguenots are tougher inside.
Dan: New Rochelle, 70-64. Possibly one of the scariest No. 9 seeds in recent years, the Huguenots might have struggled this year but have the talent to get a big win in hostile territory.
No. 12 Mamaroneck at No. 5 Mahopac, 6:30 p.m. —
Josh: Mahopac, 55-48. Mamaroneck will be in the game going into the fourth quarter. The Tigers don’t quit.
Dan: Mahopac, 60-53. The Indians need to worry about the game at hand and not overlook the Tigers, who have been battle-tested this year in a solid league, for the possible rematch with Arlington in the quarterfinals. Sidenote: It was Scott Greenburg and Mamaroneck who upset Brendan Hynes and Mahopac in the lacrosse sectional finals last season. Just saying…
No. 13 Carmel at No. 4 Arlington, 6:30 p.m. —
Josh: Arlington, 51-40. All of the coaches of Carmel’s league foes told me how much better the Rams were than their record. But this is a high-level opponent — perhaps too high to think upset.
Dan: Arlington, 57-50. A battle of the bloggers alma maters (Carmel-Josh, Arlington-Me)! That Admirals, who have somewhat flown under the radar this season, get it done.
No. 11 Ossining at No. 6 Fox Lane, 6 p.m. —
Josh: Ossining, 49-47. I just have a hunch the Pride can win. The question is, who the heck wants to travel to Mount Vernon in round 2?
Dan: Fox Lane, 54-47. These teams enter the playoffs on opposite sides of the spectrum. Fox Lane continues to roll with it’s seventh straight win.
No. 14 White Plains at No. 3 Mount Vernon, 4:30 p.m. —
Josh: Mount Vernon, 71-51. I think White Plains was prime to upset someone. It just drew the wrong opponent.
Dan: Mount Vernon, 70-55. Third time isn’t the charm for the Tigers. This is where the Knights flourish.
No. 10 Clarkstown North at No. 7 Scarsdale, 6:30 p.m. —
Josh: Scarsdale, 57-52. Jack Hewitt is a major mismatch. As long as Scarsdale can protect the ball and hit a few 3’s to loosen the D, it should advance.
Dan: Scarsdale, 60-52. Jack Hewitt proves to be a match up nightmare for the Rams.
No. 18 Suffern at No. 2 North Rockland, 4:30 p.m. —
Josh: North Rockland, 56-41. Suffern will try and slow down the Red Raiders, but they’ll be ready. This isn’t their first rodeo with the Mounties.
Dan: North Rockland, 62-51. These Rockland teams are familiar with one another so no way for the Mounties to sneak up on the Red Raiders.

Class A opening round
No. 17 Beacon at No. 1 Byram Hills, 7 p.m. —
Josh: Byram Hills, 57-47. Beacon has the size and the athletes to scare Byram early on, but the Bobcats don’t panic. They should settle in and get plenty of help from the home faithful.
Dan: Byram Hills, 60-52. Been some talk on the blog about the boys from Dutchess pulling off an upset. I just don’t see it. The Bobcats are too consistent for me.
No. 15 Rye at No. 2 Eastchester, 7 p.m. —
Josh: Eastchester, 66-53. I don’t like the matchup for Rye. Eastchester is deeper and play completely unafraid.
Dan: Eastchester, 63-55. Eastchester has been solid throughout the season. I don’t see an early tournament collapse coming.
No. 14 Harrison at No. 3 Poughkeepsie, 5 p.m. —
Josh: Poughkeepsie, 70-54. Harrison plays with a lot of spirit. Its aggressiveness won’t be enough to stop one of the section’s best.
Dan: Poughkeepsie, 65-55. Long bus ride doesn’t help the Huskies. Poughkeepsie is just too deep.
No. 13 Panas at No. 4 Albertus Magnus, 7:30 p.m. —
Josh: Panas, 56-55. I have some cold feet, but I’ll stick with my pre-tournament upset pick. Panas will have to overcome Albertus’ homecourt advantage and its doggedness.
Dan: Albertus Magnus, 67-64. Has to be the best game of the day in all the classes. I’ll take Jack Sullivan at home.
No. 12 Pearl River at No. 5 Peekskill, 5:30 p.m. —
Josh: Peekskill, 70-61. They have engaged in some playoff battles before. It may have the best player, but I don’t think this Pearl River team has the offense to keep up.
Dan: Peekskill, 62-56. The Red Devils front court will have their hands full with Kevin Degnan. They still get it done though.
No. 11 Riverside at No. 6 Tappan Zee, 7 p.m. —
Josh: Tappan Zee, 59-46. This will be a good experience for Riverside. I just don’t think it will be a welcome one.
Dan: Tappan Zee, 57-45. It’s really tough to pick against these Rockland teams playing late at night in front of a big crowd. The Dutchies have strung together some nice runs to close out the season too.
No. 10 Pelham at No. 7 Nyack, 5 p.m. —
Josh: Nyack, 66-60. I don’t know if Pelham has beat a team as good as Nyack all season, especially one playing as well as the Indians are now. Terrence McNair and Zach Rollins should provide some above-the-rim highlights.
Dan: Nyack, 54-47. Nyack really stepped it up as the season went on.
No. 9 Gorton at No. 8 Somers, 6 p.m. —
Josh: Somers, 67-65. This is a very difficult call. Gorton will attack all night, but I would be surprised if Somers doesn’t play well in this setting. I don’t think Gorton will be familiar enough with you-know-who to slow him down.
Dan: Somers, 60-52. The legend of John Decker lives to fight another day.

Class B opening round
No. 16 Irvington at No. 1 Briarcliff, 6 p.m. —
Josh: Briarcliff, 55-42. I don’t know that the Bears will cruise, but they’ll win.
Dan: Briarcliff, 52-37. Top seed rolls to the next round.
No. 15 Hastings at No. 2 Putnam Valley, 7 p.m. —
Josh: Putnam Valley, 50-37. Hastings will try and grind one out, but I think the Tigers are too athletic. They’ll feed off a home crowd that will be buzzing.
Dan: Putnam Valley, 50-45. Lots of pressure on this Tigers team. I think they get through the first round.
No. 14 Bronxville at No. 3 Our Lady of Lourdes, 5 p.m. —
Josh: Lourdes, 61-49. Bronxville has been sneaky all season, but Lourdes is in an elite class within the class.
Dan: Lourdes, 45-38. They might not be deep, but they are good.
No. 13 Pleasantville at No. 4 Dobbs Ferry, 5 p.m. —
Josh: Dobbs, 51-46. This should be one of the games of the day. Pleasantville’s seniors need to play to their expectations after a challenging regular season.
Dan: Dobbs, 53-47. Now is the time for Eric Paschall to prove he’s deserving of being the fourth junior named “Mr. Basketball” since 1996.
No. 12 Rye Neck at No. 5 Woodlands, 6 p.m. —
Josh: Woodlands, 66-59. Both teams have played better of late. Woodlands is tough to gauge because it has played outside of Class B so often.
Dan: Woodlands, 52-45. Somewhat under the radar this season, Woodlands advances.
No. 11 Blind Brook at No. 6 Valhalla, 6:30 p.m. —
Josh: Blind Brook, 48-47. Valhalla proved me wrong last year in the same spot, beating a team it had just lost to in Rye Neck. But I’m going to side with the Trojans’ experience.
Dan: Valhalla, 45-43. Vikings move on.
No. 10 Edgemont at No. 7 Croton-Harmon, 7 p.m. —
Josh: Croton, 51-47. The Tigers worked some playoff magic, upsetting Woodlands last year. I’m hard-pressed to count them out — even against a popular Cinderella like Edgemont.
Dan: Croton-Harmon, 46-40. Ian Thom continues his hot streak.
No. 9 North Salem at No. 8 Pawling, 6:30 p.m. —
Josh: North Salem, 68-61. I think it’ll be higher scoring than Dan, but I expect a similar result. How can Pawling stop Umar Singh inside?
Dan: North Salem, 50-42. North Salem doesn’t have to travel to far to get the win.