Many N.C. High School Athletic Association automatic boys basketball playoff bids have been decided as of Thursday.

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

• With an 8-1 conference record and one game to play, Sanderson has clinched the Cap title as Leesville Road has three losses. Leesville Road (6-3), Broughton (5-4), and Cardinal Gibbons (5-4) are in a fight for the second place automatic bid.

Central Piedmont

• West Forsyth currently leads the CPC at 12-1. Mount Tabor is second at 11-2. West Forsyth won the first game, but the two teams are set to face off on Friday in a game that could decide the top playoff seed out of the conference. If Mount Tabor wins and forces a tie at 12-2, a conference tournament would likely break the tie. If not, Mount Tabor’s win against West Forsyth in non-conference play will be used. Both teams have secured the two automatic playoff spots out of the CPC, since third place East Forsyth is too far far. But who gets the higher seed comes down to Friday.

DC-VI

• Jordan has clinched the DC-VI with a three-game lead and one game to play. Chapel Hill and Hillside, tied at 6-3, are in a battle for the second place automatic bid. Chapel Hill has the necessary head-to-head tiebreaker to get it, but the Tigers still have to beat East Chapel Hill on Firday or have Hillside lose to Jordan.

Greater Metro

• Lake Norman leads the Greater Metro with an 11-0 record. Mooresville is right on the Wildcats’ heels with a 10-1 mark. The only loss, of course, came to Lake Norman. The Wildcats have clinched at least a share of the conference title, but they’ll need to beat Mooresville again this week to secure the top playoff seed out of the conference. Both teams are solidly in the playoffs already as no other schools are close to a top two spot in the standings.

Greater Neuse

• Garner has the Greater Neuse clinched with a two-game lead and one game to play. Clayton has secured the automatic second place bid with a one-game lead and head-to-head wins over Willow Spring.

Metro

• Northern Guilford currently leads the conference at 11-2. Southwest Guilford and Grimsley are tied for second place at 10-3. Northern Guilford is 1-0 against Grimsley and the teams are set to face off again on Friday. If Grimsley wins, it could lead to a three-way tie between the Nighthawks, Whirlies, and Cowboys. The conference tournament would become very important for this league.

Northern Athletic

• Knightdale leads the NAC with an 8-1 record and a final game to play against Millbrook. Knightdale won the first game, but a Millbrook win on Friday would force a tie that would have to be decided in the conference tournament. Heritage is on Millbrook’s heels for the second place automatic bid, with a split series over Millbrook and a win over Knightdale in hand.

South Meck

• Myers Park (8-3) and South Mecklenburg (8-3) are facing off on Friday night for all of the marbles in the So. Meck 4A.

Southern Carolina

• Weddington leads the conference with a 7-0 record. Marvin Ridge is second place at 6-1. The two will face off in the final game on Friday. A Weddington win locks up a a high seed, while a Marvin Ridge win would force a tiebreaker scenario.

Southwest Wake

• Green Level and Holly Springs are tied for first place with 11-2 records. They split the season series. Green Level plays third place Apex Friendship on Thursday and Holly Springs has last place Apex on Friday. If either wins and the other loses, it will be a conference championship. If that doesn’t happen, they’ll be co-conference champions and we’d be looking at a tiebreaker for the top playoff seed in the conference tournament.

Southwestern

• Charlotte Catholic technically leads the league with a 10-2 overall record, but Independence at 9-2 has the head-to-head tiebreaker. Charlotte Catholic is done for the regular season, but Independence plays Butler on Friday. The Patriots lost the first game by 12 points. If they win this time around, they will win a co-conference championship with Charlotte Catholic and will receive the top playoff seed thanks to the head-to-head tiebreaker.

3A/4A Conferences

All-American

• With one game to play, Overhills has a .5 game lead over Pine Forest. The two teams split their season series. If Overhills can defeat E.E. Smith on the road on Thurday night, it gets a top 4A East playoff seed. If not, the tie will have to be broken.
• E.E. Smith has a .5 game lead over Triton with the Overhills game remaining. It’s the same situation: Smith and Triton split the season series. If Smith wins on Friday, it will lock up th top 3A seed an the overall conference championship. If Smith loses, Triton and Smith will be co-conference champions and the seeding will be decided in the conference tournament.

Big Carolina

• New Bern has clinched the top 4A seed out of the Big Carolina with a four-game lead over D.H. Conley and one game to play.
• J.H. Rose currently leads the 3A teams with a 9-1 record and two games to play. South Central is second at 8-3. Rose has a magic number of one – the Rampants need one win or a South Central loss.

Mideastern

• New Hanover leads the 4A teams and the conference as a whole iwth a 13-0 record and one game to play. Hoggard is right behind the Wildcats at 12-1. New Hanover won the first game, but the Wildcats still need to beat Hoggard on Thursday night to avoid a playoff tiebreaker scenario and win the conference outright.
• West Brunswick has clinched the top playoff spot among the 3A teams with a two-game lead and one game to play.

Mountain

• McDowell has clinched the top 4A seed out of the conference with a 3.5 game lead over T.C. Roberson and one game to play.
• A.C. Reynolds has clinched the top 3A seed out of the conference with a 5-game lead over North Buncombe with one game to play.

Northwestern

• South Caldwell and Watauga currently lead the 4A part of the Northwestern with 7-2 records. The teams split their season series. Should both teams finish with an 8-2 record, the tie could be broken in the conference tournament or by RPI. As of now, Watauga gets the edge because it performed better against third place Freedom.
• Freedom has clinched the 3A part of the Northwestern wth a 4.5 game lead over Ashe County and two games to play.

Queen City

• North Mecklenburg has clinched the 4A side of the Queen City Conference, as well as an outright conference title. The Vikings will lead the final standings by at least two games.
• West Charlotte has secured the 3A side of the Queen City and an automatic playoff spot, but the Lions will not be seeded wtih the rest of the 3A West conference champions as they were unable to finish top three in the conference or with a .500 overall record.

Sandhills

• Richmond has clinched the top 4A seed out of the Sandhills with a two-game lead over Pinecrest and one to play.
• Southern Lee has clinched the top 3A seed out of the Sandhills with a three-game lead over Lee County and one game to play.

United 8

• Lumberton (10-2) holds a .5 game lead over South View (10-3). The teams split the season series. Lumberton has two games to play, while South View has one. Lumberton will want to win both games to avoid a tiebreaker happening in the conference tournament.
• Seventy-First ran away with the other side of the conference and clinched the top 3A seed out of the league.

3A Conferences

Big South

• Ashbrook leads the conference at 12-1 and Crest is on the Greenwave’s heels at 11-2. Crest and Ashbrook split the season series. Ashbrook needs to defeat Huss on the road on Friday or Crest to lose to Kings Mountain to avoid a tiebreaker from happening in the conference tournament. Ashbrook has secured a top two finish in the conference and will have an automatic spot in the 3A West playoffs at minimum.

Central

• There is a three-way tie for first place as of Thursday. Eastern Alamance, Orange, and Person are each 9-2. Eastern Alamance and Orange face off on Friday, gauranteeing that one of those teams will finish conference play 10-2. Person is playing 5-6 Williams on Friday. Person split with Eastern Alamance and Orange, so if the Rockets win, there will be an unbreakable tie for the league’s top seed going into the 3A East playoffs until the conference tournament. Any of the three teams clinches a co-championship with a win. If Person loses, the Eastern Alamance-Orange winner will be the outright champ and get the top playoff seed.

Coastal

• With three games to play, Swansboro leads the conference at 7-0. White Oak is 6-1. West Carteret and Croatan are 4-3, but they are both out of the race. Swansboro and White Oak are set to play twice over the next week – the outcome of those two contests will likely decide the conference. West Carteret and Croatan need Swansboro to finish with three losses at 7-3, and the only way Swansboro could get to that is with two wins by White Oak to give the Vikings the top record with eight wins.

Mid-Piedmont

• Ledford has finished its games and won the conference championship/clinched the top playoff spot out of the league for the 3A West playoffs. Oak Grove (7-3) and Central Davidson (6-3) will likely decide the second place automatic bid in the conference tournament.

Mid-State

• Dudley clinched the top playoff spot out of the Mid-State as well as at least a co-conference championship. The Panthers are 12-1 with one game to go and lead second place Ben L. Smith (11-2), which they swept. BLS will be in the playoffs as it secured the second place automatic bid.

Mountain 7

• With the regular season wrapped up, East Henderson won the conference championship and clinched the top playoff spot out of the Mountain 7 in the 3A West. Franklin secured the second place automatic bid out of the conference.

Quad County

• East Wake didn’t have much of an issue to clinch the Quad County. The Warriors lead by three games with one to play. C.B. Aycock (9-3) and Hunt (9-3) are facing off on Thursday for the second place automatic bid.

South Piedmont

• Jay M. Robinson ran away with the conference and clinched the championship/top seed for the 3A West playoffs.
• With nine teams in the conference, the second and third place finishers will receive an automatic playoff spot. The second teir of the conference is a mess – Northwest Cabarrus, Concord, Carson, and Central Cabarrus are tied for second place at 10-5. The good news for the playoff projectors in the state (me)? Concord will take on Northest on Friday and Carson will face Central Cabarrus as well to settle this.

Western Foothills

• This one is coming down to the wire. North Lincoln leads the conference at 11-2, but there is a three-team tie for second place between East Lincoln, Hickory, and Statesville. North Lincoln dropped a game to Hickory and Statesville. North Lincoln plays East Lincoln on Friday and Statesville and Hickory play on Friday. North Lincoln needs to defeat East Lincoln to win the conference outright and receive the top playoff seed without going through tiebreakers. Because the two teams that beat North Lincoln are playing, one of them is gauranteed to improve to 11-3 and an East win over North would get the Mustangs to 11-3, creating a three-team tie for first place. That type of tie would have to be broken in the conference tournament.

2A/3A Conferences

Big East

• Northern Nash has already clinched the top 3A seed and overall conference championship with a game to play.
• Roanoke Rapids has already clinched the top 2A seed with two games to play.

Northeastern Coastal

• First Flight ran away from Currituck County to clinch the top playoff spot from the league in the 3A East playoffs.
• Northeastern ran away from Hertford County to clinch the top playoff spot from the league in the 2A East playoffs. Hertford County secured an automatic playoff spot as the second team out of the six 2As.

Northern Lakes

• Southern Durham easily clinched the top 3A seed from the Northern Lakes.
• South Granville easily clinched the top 2A seed from the Northern Lakes.

Rocky River

• Piedmont (6-5) has a one-game edge over Parkwood (5-6) for the top 3A team in the Rocky River. The teams split the contests. If Piedmont loses to West Stanly on Friday and Parkwood defeats Central Academy, there would be a tie that would have to be broken in the conference tournament. However, it is imperative for Piedmont to defeat West Stanly so that it can secure a top three overall finish in the conference standings as well. Split conference champs are required to finish in the top three in the overall conference standings or with a .500 overall record. Piedmont won’t finish .500, so it needs that No. 3 spot in the standings.
• Monroe leads the 2A teams in the Rocky River and the conference as a whole with a 9-2 record. Forest Hills is right behind at 8-3. The two are set to play on Friday. Forest Hills won the first matchup, so if Forest Hills wins the second, the Yellow Jackets will receive the top playoff seed out of the Rocky River thanks to the head-to-head tiebreaker. The teams would be co-conference champions in that scenario.

2A Conferences

Catawba Valley

• Maiden and Lincolnton are tied for the top of the conference at 11-2 with one game to play. Maiden swept the season series and holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over Lincolnton, so if both teams finish 12-2 or 11-3, Maiden will be the top 2A West seed out of the Catawba Valley.

East Central

• Kinston and Southwest Onslow are tied for first place with 10-1 records after splitting the season series. Kinston plays North Lenoir on Thursday and Southwest plays East Duplin on Thursday. If either loses and the other wins, the conference and top playoff seed goes to the winner. If that doesn’t happen, this will likely be decided in the conference tournament.

Eastern Plains

• Farmville Central has clinched the Eastern Plains conference championship and top playoff seed. Washington has secured the second place automatic bid.

Foothills

• North Surry has clinched the conference championship and top 2A West playoff spot from the league with a game to play. Surry Central secured the automatic second place bid.

Mid-State

• Reidsville ran away with the Mid-State and clinched the top playoff seed in the 2A West out of the league. Walkertown (8-3) and West Stokes (7-4) are in a battle for the second place automatic bid.

Neuse

• Eastern Wayne leads the conference with a 9-0 record and Goldsboro is in second at 7-1. Eastern Wayne won the first game this season, but the two will square off again on Friday. Goldsboro plays Princeton on Thursday. If Goldsboro loses that game, it would clinch the conference for Eastern Wayne.

Southeastern

• West Bladen has clinched the conference championship and top 2A East seed from this league with a two-game lead and one game to play. Fairmont secured the second place automatic bid from the league.

1A/2A Conferences

Catawba Shores

• Lincoln Charter has clinched the top 2A spot out of the Catawba Shores with a two-game lead and one game to play.
• Corvian Community has clinched the top 1A spot out of the Catawba Shores with a six-game lead and one game to play.

Central Carolina

• Salisbury has clinched the top 2A seed from the Central Carolina with a three-game lead and one game to play
• North Rowan has clinched the top 1A seed from the Central Carolina with a three-game lead and one game to play.

Coastal Plains

• East Carteret is the only 2A team in the conference and therefore has special requirements to get an automatic spot in the conference, neither of which it has achieved. East has to either finish in the top two in the conference standings or with a .500 overal record. East is 4-13 and in fifth place overall as of Thursday.
• Lejeune and Northside-Pinetown are tied in first place at 8-1 after splitting their head-to-head matchups. Lejeuen plays Jones on Thursday and Northside plays East Carteret on Thursday. If either loses and the other wins, the conference and top playoff seed goes to the winner. If that doesn’t happen, this will likely be decided in the conference tournament.

Four Rivers

• Martin County is the only 2A team in the conference and has special rules to qualify for the playoffs, both of which it has accomplished. Martin will be a top seed in the 2A East.
• Washington County and Tarboro are tied for first place at 9-2 after splitting their head-to-head games. Washington County wraps up its season with a game at fourth place Bertie on Friday while Tarboro will travel to last place North Carolina Prep. If either loses and the other wins, the conference and top playoff seed goes to the winner. If that doesn’t happen, this will likely be decided in the conference tournament.

Mid-Carolina

• Northwood ran away and clinched the conference championship as well as the top 2A East seed out of the league. Southeast Alamance secured the second place automatic bid that is granted to the seven 2A teams in the Mid-Carolina.
• Chatham Central easily clinched the top 1A East seed out of the conference, building a 10-game lead over North Moore.

Mountain Foothills

• Hendersonville has clinched the top 2A spot out of the Mountain Foothills and the conference championship with a two-game lead and one game to play.
• Polk County is the only 1A team in the conference and therefore has special requirements to get an automatic spot in the conference, neither of which it has achieved. Polk has to either finish in the top two in the conference standings or with a .500 overal record. Polk is 4-16 and in sixth place overall as of Thursday.

Piedmont Athletic

• Randleman ran away from the rest of the 2A teams in the Piedmont Athletic and clinched that top playoff spot out of the league.
• Eastern Randolph has clinched the top 1A spot out of the PAC with a two-game lead over Uwharrie Charter and one game to play.

Southern Piedmont

• Burns (11-0) and Shelby (10-1) are set to face off on Friday to decide the conference. If Shelby wins, the two schools will share a co-conference championship but will have to break the tie for playoff seeding in the conference tournament. If Burns wins, the Bulldogs get the conference title outright and don’t have to worry about the tiebreaker situation.
• Thomas Jefferson Classical has a .5-game lead over Bessemer City for the top 1A playoff spot. The two schools split their head-to-head matchups. Bessemer is done with its games at 6-6, but TJCA plays Cherryville on Thursday night. If Bessemer wins, it gets the top 1A West seed out of the conference. If Bessemer loses, it will come down to the conference tournament or RPI.

Super Six

• NC Science & Math leads the the 2A teams with a 9-2 record and one game to play. Franklin Academy is 8-2 with two games to play. The teams split their head-to-head meetings, so one will have to win while the other picks up a loss to secure the top 2A seed out of the Super Six. Otherwise, it will come down to the conference tournament or RPI.
• Wake Prep dominated the conference and clinched the top seed for the 1A teams with a six-game lead.

Waccamaw

• Whiteville and Trask are tied at the top of the conference at 9-2 with one game to play each. The two teams split the season series. Whiteville plays third place South Columbus on Friday and Trask is set to play fourth place Pender. If either loses and the other wins, the conference and top playoff seed goes to the winner. If that doesn’t happen, this will likely be decided in the conference tournament. South Columbus is 8-3, including getting swept by Trask. So, If South Columbus beats Whiteville and Trask loses to Pender, it would force a three-way tie that would have to be ironed out in the conference tournament.
• Pender and East Columbus are tied for the top 1A spot in the conference at 4-7. Pender swept East Columbus, so currently has the edge via the tiebreaker procedure. East Bladen finished the season at 4-8. On Friday, Pender plays Trask and East Columbus plays last place West Columbus. If East Columbus wins and Pender loses, East Columbus gets the 1-seed. If both win or both lose, Pender gets it.
  • Important Note: None of East Columbus, Pender or East Bladen have met or will meet the requirements for a split conference team to be seeded at the top of the bracket with the other conference champions. Regardless of who gets the top 1A East spot out of this conference, they won’t be a high seed.

Western Highlands

• Owen easily clinched the top 2A seed out of the Western Highlands. The Warhorses finished two games above Madison.
• Mountain Heritage ran away and clinched the 1A part of the Western Highlands. The Cougars have a 4.5-game lead with two games to play.

Yadkin Valley

• Mount Pleasant turned it on in conference play and clinched the top 2A seed out of the Yadkin Valley.
• South Stanly easily clinched the top 1A seed out of the Yadin Valley, finishing four games ahead of Union Academy.

1A Conferences

Atlantic

• Ocracoke has clinched the Atlantic with a 2.5 game lead and head-to-head tiebreaker over Bear Grass Charter and one game to play.

Carolina

• Lakewood has clinched the Carolina with a two-game lead and one game to play. North Duplin will be the automatic second place bid.

Central Tar Heel

• Southern Wake Academy has clinched the Central Tar Heel with a three-game lead and one game to play. Woods Charter (8-2) and Chatham Charter (8-3) are battling for the second place automatic bid.

Metro 8

• Queen’s Grant has clinched the conference championship and top 1A West playoff seed out of the league with a two-game lead and one game to play. Carolina International secured the second place automatic bid.

Northwest

• South Stokes ran away with the conference title and clinched top 1A West playoff seed with a five-game lead and one game to play. East Wilkes and Mount Airy, at 6-5, are battling for the automatic second place bid.

Northwest Piedmont

• Bishop McGuinness finsihed the season perfect in conference play and clinched the title as well as the top playoff spot out of the league in the 1A West. College Prep & Leadership Academy secured the second place auomatic bid and Carver secured the third place automatic bid.

Big Smoky Mountain

• Robbinsville has clinched the Big Smoky with a two-game lead and one game to play. Andrews is looking like it will secure the second place automatic bid.

Little Smoky Mountain

• Highlands has clinched the Little Smoky with a two-game lead over Nantahala.

Tar-Roanoke

• Northampton County leads the conference at 13-1 with two games to play. The Jaguars split with Wilson Prep, which is in second place at 12-3. Northampton needs just one win to secure the conference title and top playoff seed out of the Tar-Roanoke.

Triangle North

• Voyager Academy has clinched the Triangle North with a two-game lead and one game to play. Vance Charter will be the automatic second place bid.