It was more unbearable than the NBA lockout, more gut-wrenching than the NFL lockout, and in the words of Tom Petty, it’s “the hardest part”, but at long last, the waiting is finally over.  The 21st annual Red Sarachek Tournament, the main event in Jewish high school basketball, tips off Thursday, March 22nd at 10 am with an action-packed eight-game slate sure to bring the Max Stern Athletic Center crowd to its feet.  Opening Day signals the beginning to an all-out slugfest to occur on the floor of the MSAC, located on Yeshiva University’s Wilf Campus in New York City, as 20 teams from across the continent will battle for eternal glory and Sarachek gold.  The SAR Sting out of Riverdale, NY will get a chance to defend their crown in what SAR Coach Rafi Halpert has called the “unquestioned National Championship.”

With the 20-team field officially set, we can now look forward to seeing these teams get on the hardwood and prove their worth on the big stage.

The geographical diversity of the field this year is staggering as always, with teams coming from 11 different states and two Canadian provinces.  The tournament should see as exciting a field as ever with five of the top six Yeshiva teams in the country (according to the Jewish Hoops America rankings as of 2/27) coming to the Big Apple.  YULA, last year's top seed and the winningest team in Sarachek history, has been battling for the top spot in the rankings with SAR all year, and there is a strong possibility that we will get a rematch from last year’s championship game.  YULA returns Jack Gindi, whose thunderous dunks in last year’s tournament sent the crowd into a absolute frenzy, and who should again play a starring role for the Panthers.  Other top ranked teams coming to the MSAC will be #4 Frisch, #5 North Shore, #6 MTA, and #10 Shalhevet.

As has been the case since 2003, coverage of the tournament for those who can’t make it to New York will be provided exclusively on MacsLive.com throughout the weekend.  We will feature the play-by-play radio broadcasts, live scoreboards, statistics, interviews, and in-depth analysis that have been the trademark of MacsLive ever since our first tournament.  So change that homepage and don’t close that browser for all the Sarachek news that you can possibly handle until a new champion is crowned and all the awards are handed out on Championship Monday.

Below is the complete list of teams that will be making the journey in a few weeks.  Please use the comments below to let us know why your team will be top dog at the end of March!

Ben Lipson Hillel Community High School

Columbus Torah Academy

Cooper Yeshiva High School

Frisch School

Fuchs Mizrachi

Hebrew Academy of Montreal

Houston Bnei Akiva

Maimonides School

North Shore Hebrew Academy

Rav Teitz Mesivta Academy

SAR High School

Shalhevet High School

The Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy

Torah Academy of Bergen County

Weinbaum Yeshiva High School

Yavneh Academy of Dallas

Yeshiva Atlanta

Yeshiva of Virginia

Yeshiva University of Los Angeles

Yeshivat Bnei Akiva Or Chaim