The St. Mary’s boys basketball team went through the entire 2021-22 season and only lost one game, dropping a grand total of zero games inside the borders of Massachusetts. And for that accomplishment, the 23-1 Spartans have earned the No. 1 seed in the Division 3 tournament and will get a first-round bye.
The Spartans will have nearly the entire week off before getting into action, hosting either No. 32 Chelsea or No. 33 East Boston Thursday evening (5) at Tony Conigliaro Gymnasium.
But St. Mary’s isn’t the only red-hot team in the Division 3 bracket, as No. 5 seed Swampscott comes in riding a 14-game winning streak. The Big Blue, who have a first-round bye, will host either No. 28 Pittsfield or No. 37 Southeastern Thursday evening (6:30).
Not to be overlooked, Bishop Fenwick clocks in at the No. 10 seed after grabbing a big win to close the regular season. The Crusaders also picked up a first-round bye in the process, and they will play at home against No. 23 Belchertown or No. 42 Quabbin Thursday evening (6:30).
There won’t be any local teams with home games in the Division 1 bracket, at least not in the opening rounds. St. John’s Prep came in as the highest ranked local at No. 18, and the Eagles will go on the road to face Westford Academy Thursday (6:30) following their first-round bye.
Lynn English grabbed the No. 33 seed and will have to go on the road in the preliminary round, traveling to Woburn Tuesday (6:30).
Peabody rounds out the Division 1 tournament teams with the No. 36 seed, and the Tanners will also play on the road Tuesday. Peabody will travel to Cambridge Rindge & Latin for a 7 p.m. tipoff.
In Division 4, the lone local team to make it to tournament play was Winthrop. The Vikings picked up the No. 28 seed and will get a first-round bye before playing a tough game on the road at No. 5 Cathedral Thursday evening (6:30).
Division 2 sees Salem pick up a top-10 seed, grabbing the No. 10 spot and a first-round bye. The Witches will have a home game Thursday (6:30) against either No. 23 Medfield or No. 42 Somerset Berkley.
Down at the bottom of the bracket, No. 45 Revere just snuck into the tournament and will play on the road at No. 20 High School of Science and Technology Tuesday (6:30) in the preliminary round.
On the girls side, the formerly top-ranked St. Mary’s Spartans actually dropped down to the No. 2 seed in the Division 3 bracket. The Spartans will still have a first-round bye and a home game on Friday (6:30), hosting either No. 31 Stoneham or No. 24 Northeast.
Bishop Fenwick grabbed the No. 6 seed in Division 3, earning a first-round bye and a home game against either No. 27 Triton or No. 38 Worcester Tech Thursday (6:30).
Saugus rounds out the local teams in Division 3, picking up the No. 20 seed and also getting a first-round bye. The Sachems won’t play at home, though, instead traveling on the road to face No. 9 Bishop Stang Thursday (6:30).
The Division 1 bracket sees the only first-round matchup of local teams, with No. 28 Peabody and No. 37 Lynn Classical meeting in the preliminary round Tuesday evening (6:30) at Peabody High.
The only other Division 1 team to grab a tournament spot was Lynn English, which came in at No. 36. The Bulldogs will play on the road at No. 29 Concord-Carlisle Tuesday evening (6:30).
Division 4 has two local teams in the mix, as Winthrop picked up the No. 21 seed and Lynn Tech grabbed the No. 36 seed. The Vikings will have a first-round bye before traveling to No. 12 Hamilton-Wenham in the Round of 32 Thursday (6:30), while the Tigers will play on the road in the preliminary round against No. 29 Cape Cod Academy Tuesday (6:30).
The lone team in Division 5 is KIPP, which picked up the No. 35 seed and will play on the road at No. 30 Bromfield in the preliminary round Tuesday (6:30).
Rounding out the local teams in the tournament are Division 2 squads Marblehead and Revere, who earned the No. 40 and No. 42 seeds, respectively. Marblehead will play on the road at No. 25 Masconomet Tuesday (6:30), while Revere will travel to No. 23 Tewksbury Tuesday (6:30).
