Berks Catholic top seed, Reading No. 2 for Berks Conference Tournament
2024 Berks basketball coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
Berks Catholic will be the No. 1 seed and Reading High No. 2 when the eight-team Berks Conference tournament tips Monday night with games at 7 on the home floor of the four highest-seeded teams.
The Berks II champion Saints (19-2) won their first 18 games en route to their best regular season finish since 2017-18, when they won 28 games and the Berks championship. That was the most recent of their three championships. They’ve reached the title game twice since, in 2019 and 2022.
The Saints will open against Berks IV champ and No. 8 seed Antietam (12-10), which held off Oley Valley in overtime to take over sole possession of first place.
The seeds are based on power ratings. There were no coaches challenges this year.
The Berks I champion Red Knights (15-7) head into the playoffs as the hottest team in the league, with eight wins in their last nine games. They won their fifth straight Tuesday against Muhlenberg to secure the division title.
The Red Knights open against No. 7 seed and Berks III runner-up Schuylkill Valley (15-5).
Berks Catholic held off Reading 61-59 in their only meeting this season.
Berks I runner-up Wilson (14-8) held off Exeter (15-7) by the narrowest of margins to claim the No. 4 seed. The Bulldogs have a power rating of .6826; the Eagles are at .6825. That gives the Bulldogs homecourt advantage over the No. 5 Eagles.
| 1 | Berks Catholic | vs. | 8 | Antietam | @ Wolf Gymnasium |
| 4 | Wilson | vs. | 5 | Exeter | @ Wilson |
| 2 | Reading High | vs. | 7 | Schuylkill Valley | @ Geigle Complex |
| 3 | Fleetwood | vs. | 6 | Muhlenberg | @ Fleetwood |
Fleetwood (19-2), which won its third straight Berks III title, is the No. 3 seed and will host No. 6 Muhlenberg (13-8).
The winners advance to the semifinals at Santander Arena on Wednesday as part of a quadrupleheader, along with two girls semifinals. The games will be played at 4, 5:30, 7 and 8:30. The times will not be announced until after Monday’s quarterfinals.
The girls/boys championship doubleheader is Friday, Feb. 16 at Santander, with the girls game at 6 and boys game at 8.
Reading High was the No. 1 seed last year and beat Schuylkill Valley 84-34, Wilson 54-30, and Exeter 70-63 to claim its record 25th Berks championship.
Seven of the eight qualifiers return from last season. The only change is the Berks IV champ; Oley won the title last year.
Each of the four first-round match-ups are different this year.
