On Sunday, March 10, MacsLive held the annual Sarachek Seeding Show, in which the seeds for the teams selected by the tournament committee were released.
Of the Yeshiva League teams, Magen David was seeded 1, Flatbush 3, TABC 5, HAFTR 9, Ramaz 10, Frisch/DRS 13, MTA 16, and Kushner 20.
Frisch and DRS will compete in the first-ever Sarachek play-in game on Wednesday, March 27, at the Max Stern Athletic Center on the campus of Yeshiva University. All Thursday contests will also take place at YU. The loser of the play-in game will be eliminated from the competition and have their season end on a sour note, while the winner will get the 13 seed and face the #4 Shalhevet Firehawks from Los Angeles at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday. Shalhevet has won two of the past four Sarachek championships and has been to four of the last six finals.
Magen David and host school MTA will face off at 7 p.m. The Lions are in for a difficult matchup against the Warriors, who most experts believe is the best Jewish team in the country.
Flatbush will get #14 Fuchs Mizrachi from Beachwood, Ohio in the Thursday opener at 10 a.m. The Mayhem won the Tier II Championship last year, and while most of their key pieces graduated, they are not a threat to be taken lightly. Their star, Nate Jacobs, is one of the top Jewish high schoolers in the country.
TABC, whose strong season ended at the hands of North Shore in the MYHSAL quarterfinals, will look to bounce back against #12 Berman in the 8:30 p.m. Thursday nightcap contest. The Cougars, located in Rockville, Maryland, have never won a Tier I qualifier, but have been competitive in almost every Thursday game they have competed in over the course of the past decade. They feature arguably the best Jewish sophomore in the country in Alex August.
HAFTR stunned home team Ramaz in the MYHSAL quarterfinals, defeating them 65-52, before losing to Magen David in the semifinals. They will take on #8 Maimonides from Brookline, Massachusetts at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday. The M-Cats had a disappointing 2023 Sarachek, but returned most of their team, and will be looking to bounce back behind big man Nate Weinstock and guard Raanan Gewurtz.
After a strong start to the year, Ramaz has lost three in a row (two to TABC and one to HAFTR), and will be looking to recapture their early-season rhythm. They open against #7 Ida Crown from Skokie, Illinois, who fell short of their goals last Sarachek. Led by Jakob Wortman, the Aces are out to prove that they are more than just hype.
Lastly, as the #20 seed, Kushner will not compete on day one. They will await the results of Thursday’s games to see who they will play on Friday at TABC in a Tier II qualifier.
For all Sarachek news and updates, follow @yeshivaleaguepass and @macslive on Instagram.
