What to watch for in WPIAL sports for Feb. 27, 2021: Playoffs tip off

By: Don Rebel
Friday, February 26, 2021 | 10:55 PM

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The curtain rises on the biggest block party in district history: The 2021 WPIAL boys and girls open basketball tournament.

Twenty of the 42 preliminary round games will be played Saturday with all but two of those game set for noon tipoffs.

Boys play-ins

Three classifications will be featured in the boys basketball playoffs Saturday as one 6A, six 5A and six 2A teams try to earn a spot in the field of 16 and a first-round game next week.

In Class 6A, all it will take is one win, literally, to earn the No. 16 seed and a matchup with top-seeded Upper St. Clair on Tuesday.

In fact, the winner of the 6A preliminary round game could possibly be the only team to ever say it had more wins in the postseason then it did in the regular season.

Canon-McMillan finished 0-13 this season while Greensburg Salem was 0-12. The Big Macs and Golden Lions clash in Greensburg at noon Saturday. It is one of 13 WPIAL boys playoff games you can watch or listen to here on Trib HSSN.

Girls pigtails

With the cancellation of the Ambridge at Burrell Class 4A preliminary round game, only 3A and 2A prelims will be in the spotlight Saturday in district girls postseason hoops.

There are two 3A and five 2A preliminary round games starting at high noon.

One of the 2A play-in games features two teams that were on top of the Class AA district world 10 years ago.

In the 2011 WPIAL AA championship game, Seton LaSalle was facing Jeannette in the finals for a second straight year. The Rebels prevailed big time, 74-30.

A year earlier in the 2010 AA district title game, the Jayhawks earned their only WPIAL girls basketball crown with a 39-36 win over the Rebels.

Seton-LaSalle would go on to win gold again in 2012, plus back-to-back titles in 2014 and 2015.

This year, the Rebels finished 5-5 overall while the Jayhawks struggled to a 0-18 record.

You can watch or listen to all seven district girls playoff games on HSSN.

Golden day in the district

Championships will be earned in three WPIAL winter sports Saturday, and you can watch all the action only here on HSSN.

The WPIAL Class AAA individual wrestling championships take place at Canon-McMillan with the quarterfinals and semifinals starting at 10 a.m. and concluding with the consolation and championship finals at 5 p.m.

The WPIAL Class AAA diving championships are being held at North Allegheny. The boys divers begin at 9:30 a.m. with the girls heading to the diving boards at 2 p.m.

The 2021 WPIAL gymnastics championships continue at Moon at 10 a.m. Saturday.