Berks boys basketball playoff field set heading into final league games (updated)

(Note: This story has been updated to correct an error, regarding second place in Berks I.)

There won’t be a whole lot of drama going into the final night of Berks Conference play Tuesday: The eight league playoff qualifiers have already been determined.

The final order could be shuffled a bit, but the quarterfinals will include Reading High, Fleetwood and Oley Valley – division champs in Berks I, III and IV, respectively – plus Muhlenberg, Wilson, Berks Catholic, Exeter and Schuylkill Valley.

The only title to be determined is Berks II champ: Exeter (9-2, 15-5) can clinch that by beating Twin Valley (3-8, 4-16) in Reiffton.

Berks Catholic (8-3, 18-3) or Muhlenberg (6-4, 14-7) will be the Berks I-II runner-up. The Saints earn that distinction if they close with a win over Daniel Boone and Wilson (6-4, 15-6) beats Gov. Mifflin. In that scenario, the Bulldogs would finish second in Berks I, even if the Muhls close with a win over Reading High; Wilson owns the tiebreaker over Muhlenberg, having beaten it twice.

If Muhlenberg beats Reading and Wilson loses to Gov. Mifflin, the Muhls earn the Berks I-II runner-up spot; they own the tiebreaker over the Saints having beaten them head-to-head.

Regardless of first- and second-place finishes, the same eight teams will qualify, because of power ratings.

Schuylkill Valley (7-3, 15-5) will enter as the Berks III-IV runner-up, based on its head-to-head wins over Antietam and Brandywine Heights, either of which could finish second in Berks IV.

The qualifiers will initially be seeded by power ratings. That order currently:

1. Reading High (.821); 2. Berks Catholic (.757); 3. Fleetwood (.744); 4. Exeter (.713); 5. Wilson (.707); 6. Muhlenberg (.699); 7. Oley Valley (.633); 8. Schuylkill Valley (.625).

Gov. Mifflin is currently No. 9 with a power rating of .545; even with a win over Wilson in their final game the Mustangs won’t be able to pass Muhlenberg or Wilson.

Power ratings will change following games Monday and Tuesday.

Muhlenberg could pass Wilson with a win over Reading High (10-0, 20-1) Tuesday; both the Muhls and Bulldogs could pass Exeter, should it lose to Cedar Cliff Monday or to Twin Valley Tuesday.

Schuylkill Valley could pass Oley Valley (10-1, 17-4) for the seventh spot with a win at Hamburg, depending on how its opponents fare; wins by opponents boost a team’s power rating.

The initial seeding order can also be changed by the seeding committee, which consists of the eight qualifying head coaches.

Any team can challenge to move up; the decision will be based on a vote of the committee members.

Last year Antietam ended the regular season with the fourth-best power rating but was successfully challenged, and passed, by three teams and ended up as the No. 7 seed. That cost the Mounts a first-round home game.

Based on that, don’t be surprised to see Exeter, Wilson or Muhlenberg – and maybe all three – challenge Fleetwood’s No. 3 seeding.

The Tigers (10-0, 20-1) with a win at Wyomissing will finish with the best record in program history. However, Exeter (.600), Wilson (.613) and Muhlenberg (.641) each have a substantially higher strength-of-schedule rating than Fleetwood (.479).

The Tigers play weaker competition in league games and don’t have many impressive non-league wins.

Also, Wilson could challenge based on the fact that it played more than half the season without all-division guard Cam Jones, who was injured and didn’t play his first game until Jan. 7.

Reading High entered last season’s tournament as the No. 1 seed and rolled to the title, winning its games by 41, 19, and 16 points, the last 51-35 over Berks Catholic.

The county title was Reading’s first since 2019 and fifth in eight years. Over the past 10 seasons the Red Knights have won five titles, Wilson three and Berks Catholic two. In fact, one of those three teams have claimed each of the last 16 Berks titles. You’d have to go back to 2006, when Central Catholic beat Wilson, to find a different champion.

If the power ratings don’t change, and if there are no successful challenges, here’s how the opening round will look:

1	Reading High	vs.	8	Schuylkill Valley
4	Exeter	vs.	5	Wilson
2	Berks Catholic	vs.	7	Oley Valley
3	Fleetwood	vs.	6	Muhlenberg