Many N.C. High School Athletic Association automatic girls basketball playoff bids have been decided as we enter the final week of contests.

Here is a look at every playoff or conference championship-clinching scenario this week. If you have any questions about the following scenarios, you can reach out to me on X @JoelBryantHSOT.

Keep in mind the following intricacies:

• In single-classification conferences, the overall champion wins a trophy, gets to hang a banner, and is seeded with the other first place teams first in the N.C. High School Athletic Association’s state playoffs.
  • In the instances where there is a tie for first place, the teams will be considered co-conference champions. A head-to-head victory of one tied team over the other doesn’t matter when it comes to hanging a banner. While each team will get the trophy, only one can be seeded first with the other conference champions in the playoff brackets. Most often, this piece comes down to who won the head-to-head matchup.
    • For example: Team A & Team B finish tied for the conference championship in a 4A-only league. Team A & Team B will be considered co-conference champions. Team A beat Team B in their matchup, but Team A lost to Team C to force the tie with Team B. Since Team A has the head-to-head tiebreaker over Team B, Team A will be treated as the only conference championship when it comes to the playoff seeding process. All first place teams are seeded first in the process and will host a game in the first round.
• In split-classification conferences, the overall champion wins a trophy/hangs a banner, but the highest finishing conference opponent in the other classification will also be seeded as a top playoff seed in its separate playoff bracket, provided that that other team finishes with an overall win percentage of .500 or better OR finishes in the top three of the final overall conference standings. If the team does not meet this criteria, it’s still guaranteed a spot in the playoffs, but will be placed among the at-large teams in the RPI-based playoff seeding process.
  • For example: In a 3A/4A split classification conference, the top overall finisher/conference representative could be a 4A team, but the highest 3A team will also be considered a 1-seed in the 3A bracket, as long as the 3A team was .500 or better OR finished in the top three spots in the standings.
    • All top finishers out of a split classification will be seeded first with the 1-seeds from single-classification conferences, as long as they meet the criteria of finishing .500 or better OR in the top three of the conference standings.
• For conferences with six or more teams, the second place team will receive an automatic playoff spot. This team will still be seeded with the other at-large teams, but it would assure that they get into the group of 32 playoff teams from their region. For conferences with nine or more teams, the third place team will also receive and automatic playoff spot.

As an HSOT Insider, you have access to our playoff projections, as seen below:

Now, let’s get to the clinching scenarios for all of the conferences.

4A Conferences

Cap-6

• Leesville Road leads the Cap with a 7-0 record and three games to play. Broughton is in second place at 6-2, but both losses are to Leesville Road. The Pride need to win just one of the three remaining games to secure the top seed out of the conference.

Central Piedmont

• With two conference games to play, East Forsyth and Davie are tied for first place at 10-2 in CPC games. The teams split the head-to-head contests. However, if they finish in a tie, Davie will hold the tiebreaker as the War Eagles finished 2-0 against Reagan, the third place team in the conference, while East Forsyth has already lost a game to the Raiders. East Forsyth will need a Davie loss to get the top seed.

DC-VI

• Chapel Hill, at 8-0 in league play, has clinched the top seed out of the conference. The Tigers swept second place Jordan (4-2) and only has two games to play. Jordan will have to fend off Hillside (5-3) for the automatic second place bid.

Greater Metro

• Lake Norman has clinched the top playoff seed. Hickory Ridge would clinch a playoff spot with a win against Cox Mill or a Cox Mill loss to South Iredell.

Greater Neuse

• Southeast Raleigh leads the conference with an 11-0 record and three games to play. The Bulldogs are trailed by South Garner, which they swept. Southeast needs to win one of the final three games to secure the top seed out of the league. South Garner has clinched the automatic second place bid with a two-game lead and a head to head tiebreaker over Willow Spring.

Metro

• With two conference games to play, Grimsley and Northern Guilford are tied for first place with 9-3 records in Metro play. Grimsley won the first meeting and currently holds the tiebreaker. They are set to play on Friday. Grimlsey needs one more win and a loss by Northern Guilford.
• Northwest Guilford is still hanging around at 8-4. The Vikings split with both Grimsley and Northern. If they win out both of those teams lose a game, Northwest could force a tie that would be broken by RPI.

Northern Athletic

• Wakefield has clinched the top playoff spot out of the conference. Rolesville (6-2) and Knigthdale (5-3) are in contention for the second place automatic bid.

South Meck

• South Mecklenburg leads the conference with a 9-1 record. Myers Park and Ardrey Kell are tied for second place with 8-2 records and split their head-to-head matchups. Ardrey Kell has the win over South Meck, so the Knights have the current tiebreaker over Myers Park for the second place spot. South Mecklenburg and Myers Park play on Friday in the last game of the regular season. South Mecklenburg needs to win out to clinch the top playoff spot.

Southern Carolina

• Marvin Ridge currently leads the conference with a 5-0 record with two games to play. Weddington is in second place with a 4-1 record. The two teams are set to face off on Friday. If Weddington loses to Porter Ridge on Tuesday and Marvin Ridge defeats Cuthbertson on Tuesday, the Mavericks will not need to beat the Warriors in the final game.

Southwest Wake

• With two games to play, Green Level and Apex Friendship are tied for first place with 10-2 records. Green Level has a 1-0 lead in the season series so far, but they are set for a rematch in the season finale on Friday. Green Level plays Middle Creek on Tuesday and Apex Friendship plays Cary on Tuesday. Green Level can clinch on Tuesday with a win and an Apex Friendship loss.

Southwestern

• Butler has clinched the top playoff spot out of the Southwestern. Charlotte Catholic has clinched the automatic second place bid.

3A/4A Conferences

All-American

• Overhills currently leads the 4A portion of the conference with an 8-4 mark. Pine Forest is at 8-5 right now. Overhills won by 32 points in the first matchup, but Pine Forest has an opportunity to even the stakes on Tuesday. If Overhills and Pine Forest both finish at 9-5, the tie will likely have to be broken in the conference tournament or by RPI as the teams would have the same wins and losses.
• Terry Sanford has clinched the top 3A seed out of the All-American. E.E. Smith will likely receive the second place automatic bid.

Big Carolina

• D.H. Conley has clinched the top 4A seed out of the Big Carolina with a seven-game lead over New Bern.
• South Central leads the 3A portion of the conference with a 10-0 record and Jacksonville is second with a 6-2 record. With two games to play, South Central needs one more win OR Jacksonville to lose one of its four remaining games to secure the top seed.

Mideastern

• Hoggard has the lead in the 4A portion with a 12-0 record and two games to play. New Hanover is in second at 10-2. Hoggard needs one more win to secure the top seed for the playoffs. The Vikings play South Brunswick on Tuesday and New Hanover on Thursday.
• South Brunswick has clinched the 3A portion of the Mideastern Conference with a three-game lead and two games to play. At 10-8, the Cougars have secured at least a .500 finish, which they needed to be seeded with the rest of the 3A East conference champions.

Mountain

• McDowell has clinched the top 4A seed out of the conference as it has an eight-game lead.
• Erwin and A.C. Reynolds are tied for first place among the 3A teams with 8-2 records. They split the head-to-head matchups and both have a loss to undefeated McDowell. Each team has one more game to play against McDowell and one additional conference game. Erwin’s extra game is against North Buncombe, which it beat by one point in the first game. Reynolds is playing T.W. Roberson, which it beat by 34 the first time.
  • If the two teams end the season tied, it will likely be decided by who advances further in the conference tournament.

Northwestern

• Watauga currently leads the 4A portion of the conference with a 7-1 record. South Caldwell is on the Pioneers’ heels at 6-2. The teams split their head-to-head matchups. Watauga needs to win its final two games OR win one + South Caldwell to lose one.
• Freedom has clinched the top 3A seed out of the Northwestern 3A/4A. As of Monday, the Patriots have a two-game lead on Hibriten with two games to play and hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Panthers.

Queen City

• North Mecklenburg and Mallard Creek are tied for first place in the conference with 11-1 records. They split the head-to-head matchups. The top 4A seed out of this conference will likely come down to which team wins the conference tournament.
• West Charlotte has clinched the top 3A seed out of Queen City 3A/4A with a five game lead as of Monday.

Sandhills

• Richmond has clinched the top 4A seed out of the Sandhills 3A/4A. The Raiders have one conference game to play with a two-game lead over Pinecrest.
• With a four-game lead and two games to play, Union Pines has clinched the top 3A seed out of the Sandhills 3A/4A.

United 8

• With two games to play, South View has a two-game lead over Lubmerton for the top 4A playoff seed out of this conference. The Tigers and Pirates split their season series, so South View still has a magic number of one. A South View win or Lumberton loss will secure the first round home game.
• Seventy-First has clinched the top 3A seed out of the United 8 3A/4A. With three games to play, the Falcons have a three-game lead and the head-to-head tiebreaker over Cape Fear.

3A Conferences

Big South

• Huss leads the conference with a 12-0 record, but has to play second place Cramer (11-1) on Tuesday. A win over Cramer secures the conference and the 1-seed, but a loss could force a tie that would need to be broken in the conference tournament or by RPI.

Central

• With a three-game lead and two games to play, Western Alamance has clinched the top playoff spot and the Central Conference championship. Eastern Alamance (6-3) has to fend off Orange (7-4) for the automatic second place bid.

Coastal

• Croatan currently leads the conference at 6-0 and West Carteret is 5-1. There are four games to play as of Tuesday, so this one isn’t close to a decision yet.

Mid-Piedmont

• Oak Grove has clinched the top playoff seed out of the Mid-Piedmont as it owns a two-game lead with one to play. Ledford has secured the automatic second place bid.

Mid-State

• Ben L. Smith leads the conference with an 11-1 record and two games to play. The Golden Eagles have a one-game lead and the head-to-head series tiebreaker over 10-2 Rockingham County, so Smith’s magic number is just one. A BLS win or Rockingham County loss would secure the home playoff game for the Eagles. Rockingham has a one-game lead over Dudley for the second place automatic bid.

Mountain 7

• Pisgah has clinched the conference championship and top playof seed with a three-game lead and one game to play. Franklin has clinched the second place automatic bid.

Quad County

• Fike has clinched the top playoff seed out of the Quad County. The Golden Demons have a three-game lead and head-to-head tiebreaker over C.B. Aycock with three games to play. C.B. Aycock (8-3) has to fend off West Johnston (7-4) and Hunt (7-5) for the second place automatic bid.

South Piedmont

• With a two-game lead and head-to-head tiebreaker over Northwest Cabarrus, Jay M. Robinson has clinched the South Piedmont’s top playoff seed before playing the final two games. Northwest Cabarrus has secured the conference’s second place automatic bid and East Rowan has secured the conference’s third place automatic bid.

Western Foothills

• North Lincoln leads the conference with a 12-0 overall record. East Lincoln is on the Knights’ heels at 11-1. The two are set to collide on Valentine’s Day to wrap up the season. Unless East Lincoln loses to North Iredell on Tuesday while North Lincoln defeats West Iredell the same night, that Friday game will decide a conference championship. Should they end the season tied after splitting the head-to-head, the top playoff seed could be decided by RPI or in a conference tournament.

2A/3A Conferences

Big East

• Rocky Mount has clinched the conference championship and top 3A seed out of the Big East thanks to its three-game lead with two games to play.
• Nash Central has clinched the top 2A seed out of the Big East thanks to its six-game lead with one game to play.

Northeastern Coastal

• For the top 3A seed, Currituck County has a two-game lead over First Flight with two games to play. Currituck and First Flight are set for a rematch on Thursday. Unless First Flight loses its first game of the week, Currituck will need to win that one to take the conference championship outright and the top playoff seed.
• Northeastern holds a three-game lead over Pasquotank County with four games to play, including one against Pasquotank. The magic number is two.

Northern Lakes

• Southern Durham and Carrboro are tied for first place with 10-1 records and a split season series. Each team has three conference games to play. If they both end the season 13-1, the tie will be broken by RPI or a conference tournament.
• Louisburg has clinched the top 2A seed out of this league with a two-game lead and a head-to-head tiebreaker over J.F. Webb with two games to play.

Rocky River

• Parkwood (6-4) holds a two-game lead over Piedmont for the top seed out of the 3A section of the Rocky River. One more win or one loss by Piedmont will secure the top spot from the 3A teams. Parkwood also needs to hold off West Stanly (6-5) for the third place spot in the overall conference standings so that it can be seeded with the other one-seeds in the 3A West playoffs. Parkwood has a 9-13 overall record so needs to finish in the top three spots in the conference standings if it wants a home game.
• Forest Hills (10-0) has a two-game lead over Monroe (8-2) with two games to play, including a rematch over Monroe. Forest Hills needs one more win or one more Monroe loss to secure the top seed among the 2A teams in the Rocky River.

2A Conferences

Catawba Valley

• East Burke has clinched the top seed out of the Catawba Valley. The Cavaliers have a two-game lead and head-to-head tiebreaker over Maiden with two games to play. Maiden has a magic number of one to hold off Newton-Conover for the automatic second place bid.

East Central

• With a two-game lead and head-to-head tiebreaker over Kinston, East Duplin has clinched the top playoff seed out of the East Central. Kinston has also clinched the automatic second place bid.

Eastern Plains

• SouthWest Edgecome leads the conference at 10-0. West Craven is 7-1. SouthWest has two games to play, West Craven has three games to play. They will face off on Friday in a rematch.

Foothills

• North Wilkes (10-0) holds a two-game lead over Forbush (8-2) but is set to play the Falcons in a rematch on Tuesday. North Wilkes’ magic number is one. Forbush also has a magic number of one to secure the automatic second place bid.

Mid-State

• T.W. Andrews has clinched the top playoff seed out of the Mid-State with a 1.5-game lead and head-to-head tiebreaker over North Forsyth with one game to play. North Forysth has secured the automatic second place bid.

Neuse

• Goldsboro currently leads the conference at 7-0, but only has a one-game lead over 6-1 North Johnston. There are three games to play.

Southeastern

• Fairmont has a magic number of one to clinch the stop seed out of the Southeastern. With two games to play, Fairmont has a two-game lead and head-to-head tiebreaker over St. Pauls. Clinton is also two games behind, but is set to play Fairmont on Friday. If Fairmont beats West Bladen on Tuesday, it won’t matter what happens in that second Clinton game.

1A/2A Conferences

Catawba Shores

• With a three-game lead and two games to play, Lincoln Charter has clinched the top 2A playoff spot out of the Catawba Shores.
• With a five-game lead and two games to play, Christ the King has clinched the top 1A seed out of the Catawba Shores.

Central Carolina

• Lexington has clinched the outright conference championship and top 2A playoff seed with a three-game lead and one game to play.
• North Rowan has clinched the top 1A playoff spot out of this conference. But with a 4-15 overall record, the Cavaliers will not be seeded with the other 1A west conference champions and will likely travel to a top seed in the first round of the playoffs, if they do not opt out.

Coastal Plains

• East Carteret is the only 2A team in the conference. However, the Mariners are required to finish in the top two spots in the conference standings or with a .500 overall record to be gauranteed a spot in the playoffs and a home playoff game, and they will achieve neither of those things.
• Northside-Pinetown has a one-game lead over Pamlico County but has to play the Hurricanes in a rematch on Tuesday.

Four Rivers

• Martin County is the only 2A in the conference and has done enough to confirm its spot in the playoffs. Martin is six games above .500 with two to play.
• Gates County and Perquimans are tied at the top of the conference and for the top seed among the 1A teams with one loss apiece. The losses came to each other in the two-game series. Should they end the year in a tie, it will likely be broken bt RPI or the conference tournament.

Mid-Carolina

• Seaforth and Southeast Alamance split their season series and are tied at the top of the conference with one loss. This league will likely come down to the conference tournament or an RPI tiebreaker. They both clinched playoff spots as they are gauranteed to finish in the top two of the standings.
• Chatham Central has clinched the top 1A seed out of the conference. The Bears have a five-game lead over North Moore.

Mountain Foothills

• Hendersonville (8-2) has a .5 game lead over East Rutherford (8-3), but holds the head-to-head tiebreaker as well. Hendersonville has two games to play and East Rutherford has one game to play. Hendersonville’s magic number is one.
• Polk County is the only 1A team in the conference and it has done more than enough to secure a playoff spot (lone-classification teams in a conference must finish in the top two in the standings or with a .500 or better overall record, Polk is 18-1).

Piedmont Athletic

• Southwestern Randolph has easily clinched the 2A portion of the conference with a three-game lead and one game to play.
• Uwharrie Charter has easily clinched the 1A portion of the conference with a seven-game lead and two games to play.

Southern Piedmont

• Shelby (8-1) has a two-game lead and head-to-head tiebreaker over Burns (6-3) with two games to play, including against Burns in the season finale on Friday. Shelby’s magic number is one.
• Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy has easily clinched the 1A portion of the Southern Piedmont with a six-game lead and two games to play.

Super Six

• Franklin Academy (5-4) leads the 2A teams in the conference with three games to play. NCSSM: Durham is 4-6, with two games to play.
• Wake Prep has clinched the 1A portion of the conference with a three-game lead and one game to play.

Waccamaw

• Whiteville and Trask are tied for the top of the 2A side of the conference with 5-4 records. They split the season series. Both teams have two games to play. If they finish tied, the tie will likely be broken in the conference tournament or by RPI.
• East Bladen has clinched the 1A side of the conference with a two-game lead and a head-to-head tiebreaker over East Bladen with two games to play.

Western Highlands

• With a 2.5-game lead over Owen and one game to play, Madison has clinched the 2A half of the Western Highlands Conference. However, Madison will not be seeded with the other 2A West conference champions as it has not met the thresholds that are required of a split conference team (finish top three in the final standings or above .500).
• With a two-game lead and head-to-head tiebreaker over Mitchell, Mountain Heritage has clinched the 1A half of the Western Highlands Conference before playing its final two games. Mitchell (11-2) has to fend off Avery County (9-3) for the automatic second place bid.

Yadkin Valley

• Mount Pleasant has clinched the 2A portion of the Yadkin Valley thanks to its 3.5 game lead with one game to play.
• Albemarle and Union Academy are currently tied for the top of the conference and top 1A seed and have split the head-to-head series. The tie will likely be broken by RPI or in a conference tournament.

1A Conferences

Atlantic

• Bear Grass Charter currently leads the conference with a 6-0 record and four games to play. Columbia (4-1) and Cape Hatteras (4-2) can still win the league with help. Bear Grass’ remaining games are against Mattamuskeet, Columbia, Mattamuskeet, and Hobgood Charter. If the Bears win the next two games, they secure the conference.

Carolina

• North Duplin currently leads the Carolina 1A with a 6-1 record and two games to play. Lakewood and Neuse Charter are both 6-2 and still in play for the top playoff seed. Lakewood and Neuse Charter are set to play on Tuesday. The loser will effectively be eliminated from the one-seed contention.

Central Tar Heel

• Triangle Math & Science currently leads the conference with a 9-1 record and two games to play. Chatham Charter is right behind at 8-2 and two games to play. Chatham Charter has a win against TMSA that could come into play should the Tigers lose a game. Clover Garden is also still in contention at 7-3 with two games to play. TMSA needs one win or Chatham Charter loss to secure the conference title and top playoff seed.

Metro 8

• Queen’s Grant has clinched the top playoff spot out of the conference with a two-game lead and a head-to-head tiebreaker over Jackson Day with two games to play. Jackson Day has to fend off Piedmont Community Charter for the second place automatic bid.

Northwest

• Starmount currently leads the conference with a 9-2 record and one game to play. Mount Airy and South Stokes are both on the Rams’ tail with 7-3 records and two games to play. Starmount split with both teams. If Starmount can defeat East Wilkes on Friday or if both the Granite Bears and Sauras both drop a game, Starmount will win the conference and receive the gauranteed home playoff game.

Northwest Piedmont

• Bishop McGuinness has clinched the conference championship and top playoff seed out of the Northwest Piedmont. The Villains have a two-game lead with one game to play. Carver has secured the automatic second place bid.

Big Smoky Mountain

• Cherokee has clinched the conference with a three-game lead and two games to play. Robbinsville (5-3) is looking to hold off Andrews (4-4) for the automatic second place bid.

Little Smoky Mountain

• Hiwassee Dam and Highlands are tied for the top spot in the Little Smoky and split the season series. The tie will likely be broken by RPI and Hiwassee Dam has a big lead in that department.

Tar-Roanoke

• Wilson Prep (12-0) holds a 2.5 game lead with three games to play. North Edgecombe and Warren County are both 10-3. Wilson Prep swept North Edgecombe, but Warren County has two games coming up against the Tigers this week. One win against Warren County would grant Wilson Prep the Tar-Roanoke and a top playoff seed. This conference will receive and automatic bid for its second place finisher and third place finisher, so North Edgecombe and Warren County are in a good position.

Triangle North

• Roxboro Community has clinched the top playoff seed out of the Triangle North 1A with an 8-0 record and two games to play. The Bulldogs have a two-game lead and head-to-head tiebreaker over Vance Charter. Vance Charter has secured the automatic second palce bid as well.