The big story here is the return of No. 3 Salpointe and No. 4 Catalina Foothills to the playoff picture after finishing 25^th and 43^rd respectively last year.  

 

6A CONFERENCE (24 teams including play-in tournament)

Rincon/University may not win the Tucson Sub-Region but the Rangers are looking to stay in the top eight while Sunnyside appears to have very difficult road ahead. Still, the Blue Devils could host a play-in game if they split down the stretch.

Tucson beat Rincon/UHS so the automatic berth is still a possibility. Still plenty of time to climb into a play-in berth regardless.

 

5A CONFERENCE (24 teams including play-in tournament)

Judging by the Walden Grove Invite, Buena is for real and the Colts have the toughest strength of schedule with an Average Opponent Rating of over 6. The Colts will be flirting with a top-eight finish.

The Southern Region may send all five teams to the playoffs depending on how Ironwood Ridge finishes and the Sonoran Region may see three teams make the playoffs with Desert View nearing the top ten.

With seven to eight teams fighting for a playoff spot, the chances are high a few will play each other in the play-in round with a lot of traveling in the round of 16.

 

4A CONFERENCE (16 teams)

Salpointe and Catalina Foothills. It appears both squads are back and the two will square off on Jan. 24. Regardless, both should finish in the top eight. Nogales and Douglas are still in it and Amphitheater needs to make a move.

 

3A CONFERENCE (16 teams)

The 3A rankings do not look good for Southern Arizona. At this point, the Region 7 champ might be the only team to make the playoffs. That race is wide open.