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When are the Ohio state basketball tournaments? OHSAA sets schedule
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- When are the Ohio state basketball tournaments? OHSAA sets schedule
Having previously announced that it will revert to its "traditional" state tournament format for boys and girls basketball , the Ohio High School Athletic Association on Dec. 18 confirmed dates and sites for both events this March.
All games will be in the Dayton area, with University of Dayton Arena hosting all finals – seven boys and seven girls – for the sixth consecutive year.
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Semifinals will be split between UD Arena, Vandalia Butler High School and Wright State University.
The girls tournament will be from March 12-14, and the boys will span four days from March 19-22. The format change and UD's longstanding commitment to hosting the First Four of the NCAA men's tournament necessitates the return to a four-day event for boys, meaning several state finals will take place on March 22, a Sunday.
In one notable change, the Division I state final will be at 3:15 p.m. March 22. It typically was an evening game in past years, starting at 8:30 p.m. or later.
The OHSAA gave semifinals and finals their own separate weekends a season ago, the first under tournament expansion to seven divisions , and the gap between games as well as most girls semifinals and a few boys semifinals being held in high school gymnasiums drew widespread criticism from coaches and fans.
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Here is the entire state tournament schedule, split by gender and division:
Pickerington Central girls basketball coach Johnathan Hedgepeth celebrates with Blossom Wallace after the Tigers defeated Cincinnati Princeton in the Division I state final March 15 at University of Dayton Arena.
GIRLS
Division I
Semifinals:Thursday, March 12 at UD Arena, beginning at 6 p.m.
Championship:Saturday, March 14 at UD Arena, 8:30 p.m.
Division II
Semifinals:Friday, March 13 at either Vandalia Butler (beginning at 5 p.m.) or Wright State (beginning at 6 p.m.)
Championship:Saturday, March 14 at UD Arena, 5:15 p.m.
Division III
Semifinals:Thursday, March 12 at Wright State, beginning at 11 a.m.
Championship:Friday, March 13 at UD Arena, 3:45 p.m.
Division IV
Semifinals:Thursday, March 12 at UD Arena, beginning at noon
Championship:Friday, March 13 at UD Arena, 12:30 p.m.
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Division V
Semifinals:Friday, March 13 at either Wright State (beginning at 5 p.m.) or Vandalia Butler (beginning at 6 p.m.)
Championship:Saturday, March 14 at UD Arena, 2 p.m.
Division VI
Semifinals:Thursday, March 12 at Wright State, beginning at 5 p.m.
Championship:Friday, March 13 at UD Arena, 7 p.m.
Division VII
Semifinals:Friday, March 13 at Wright State, beginning at 11 a.m.
Championship:Saturday, March 14 at UD Arena, 10:45 a.m.
Olentangy Orange's Treyton Schroeder goes to receive his Division I state championship medal March 22 at University of Dayton Arena. UD again will host the state finals and several semifinals in both boys and girls this coming March.
BOYS
Division I
Semifinals:Saturday, March 21 at Wright State, beginning at 5:30 p.m.
Championship:Sunday, March 22 at UD Arena, 3:15 p.m.
Division II
Semifinals:Saturday, March 21 at Wright State, beginning at 11 a.m.
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Championship:Sunday, March 22 at UD Arena, noon
Division III
Semifinals:Thursday, March 19 at UD Arena, beginning at 6 p.m.
Championship:Friday, March 20 at UD Arena, 7:30 p.m.
Division IV
Semifinals:Thursday, March 19 at Wright State, beginning at noon
Championship:Friday, March 20 at UD Arena, 4:15 p.m.
Division V
Semifinals:Friday, March 20 at UD Arena, beginning at 10:45 a.m.
Championship:Saturday, March 21 at UD Arena, 1 p.m.
Division VI
Semifinals:Friday, March 20 at Wright State, beginning at 6 p.m.
Championship:Saturday, March 21 at UD Arena, 7:30 p.m.
Division VII
Semifinals:Friday, March 20 at Wright State, beginning at noon
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Championship:Saturday, March 21 at UD Arena, 4:15 p.m.
High school sports reporter Dave Purpura can be reached at dpurpura@dispatch.com and at @dp_dispatch on X .
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: When are the OHSAA basketball state tournaments? See the schedule
