Playoffs Start Tonight for SK, Gansett

The Rhode Island Interscholastic League has released brackets for the Division I, Division II and Division III girls’ basketball playoffs, and both Narragansett and South Kingstown are in action tonight.

Division I

South Kingstown (7-11 Division I) is seeded No. 9, and as a result, travels to No. 8 Portsmouth (8-10 Division I) for a preliminary round game at 7 p.m.

The two teams have vastly different styles. While the Rebels prefer to go inside as often as possible, the Patriots regularly take 20 shots a game from 3-point range. Despite the different styles though, both teams lacked the offensive consistency of the better Division I teams in the regular season.

The winner of Tuesday’s game doesn’t have an easy road from there – They get a matchup with No. 1 seed La Salle (17-1 Division I) at noon Saturday at Rhode Island College.

The Rebels were Division II second place finishers in 2000-01, and 2001-02, and Class C champions in 1990-91. The Rebels had three winning seasons from 2007 to 2010, but didn’t finish as one of the top two teams in the state after the playoffs.

Division II

Narragansett (14-2 Division II) is seeded No. 2 overall, and as a result, the Mariners host No. 15 Mt. Hope (7-9 Division II) at 7 p.m.

A loss by Narragansett would be a colossal upset. In the past two years, No. 1 and No. 2 seeds have beat their opening rounds opponents by 30 to 40 points.

If the Mariners take care of business tonight, they play either No. 7 East Greenwich (12-4 Division II) or No. 10 North Providence (9-7 Division II) at noon Sunday at Rhode Island College.

Narragansett won the Division II title last year. The Mariners were Class B champions in 1993-94, and Class C champions in 1990-91.

No. 8 Prout (10-6 Division II) hosts No. 9 West Warwick (10-6 Division II) at 7 p.m. Wednesday. If the Crusaders win, they play at 6 p.m. Sunday against either No. 1 Rogers (16-0 Division II) or No. 16 Tiverton (7-9 Division II).

Prout won the Division II title in 2010-11, thanks to a dominant year from Emily Caswell.

Boys’ State Tournament

The RIIL hasn’t yet updated its website with the state tournament pairings, at least as of 6 a.m. However, according to Monday’s selection show and The Providence Journal, the Crusaders are seeded No. 13 and play No. 4 Cumberland at Roger Williams University 8 p.m. Thursday.