Muhls, Spartans, Cougars breathing easier as District 3 deadline approaches

With less than 36 hours remaining in the regular season, and with many teams having wrapped up their schedules, Reading High, Berks Catholic and Antietam are all but certain to claim top seeds in the upcoming District 3 boys basketball tournament.

They’ll be among 11 Berks boys teams to qualify for the tournament, which tips Feb. 21.

Games played through Saturday will count in the power ratings, which determine the qualifiers for each of the six classifications. The official pairings will be released on Super Bowl Sunday.

Wilson and Muhlenberg will join Reading High in the Class 6A field. Exeter and Fleetwood will qualify in 5A; Berks Catholic, Wyomissing and Oley Valley in 4A; Tulpehocken and Kutztown in 3A; and Antietam in 2A.

Brandywine Heights, which wraps up its regular season Friday night against Pequea Valley, still has a shot at the sixth and final seed in Class 3A.

The Bullets trail No. 6 Camp Hill by about nine power rating points. Camp Hill has completed its regular season. A win over the 4-17 Braves may not be enough to push the Bullets over the line.

Muhlenberg, which was on the bubble for several weeks, created a cushion between itself and No. 13 Manheim Township with its win over Reading High Tuesday.

The top 12 teams in Class 6A qualify. Township has completed its regular season.

League playoff games are not counted in the power ratings, so the Muhls appear to be safe.

Wilson, which has completed its regular season, appears to have lost its chance to host a first-round game after falling to Reading High and Berks Catholic this week. The Bulldogs had been No. 7 after their stirring upset of District 1 power Methacton; it appears they’ll end up No. 9 and open at Waynesboro.

Exeter will also be opening on the road. The Eagles were No. 6 about 10 days ago but have faded badly, with four straight losses and seven in their last eight. They’ve been without No. 2 scorer Joey Schlaffer for the past two games; his status for Monday’s Berks quarterfinal at Wilson is uncertain.

Oley Valley has also faded in recent weeks. It had been No. 8 in Class 4A and challenging for a home opener. The Lynx lost 5-of-6 before beating Annville-Cleona Thursday. It appears they’ll claim the 10th and final spot in 4A.

Kutztown has been one of the hotter teams in the district and now appears to be in line for a home opener in Class 3A. The Cougars have won six straight and gone 9-2 in the second half of the season to move up to No. 4; they had been No. 6. A win Saturday at Panther Valley should secure that No. 4 seed.

Wyomissing is closing fast, as well. The Spartans have won four straight and moved up to No. 8 in Class 4A. That should get them a home opener.

If they close their regular season with a win over No. 7 Bishop McDevitt Saturday they could move past the Cougars and improve their bracket positioning. They were roughly 12 points behind McDevitt according to unofficial power ratings on the District 3 website.