On Monday, March 27th, the ninth-seeded DRS Wildcats and the fourteenth-seeded Fuchs Mizrachi Mayhem will square off at 12:30 PM with the 2023 Red Sarachek Tier II title on the line.
The Wildcats are looking to salvage things after a disappointing start to the tournament when the reigning Tier I runner-ups dropped their Tier I qualifying matchup to Yeshiva League conference rival Magen David 56-46. Since then, they’ve rattled off wins over twentyfourth seeded Cooper, seventeenth seeded RASG, and thirteenth seeded Berman to reach the final. Isaac Solomon and Ari Safra have led this team all season, and there’s no reason to think they’ll stop with a trophy at stake. On the flip side, Fuchs has looked every bit like a Tier I team over the last few days and might’ve been if a few shots went down against the Yeshiva League champion North Shore Stars on Thursday. The Mayhem routed nineteenth-seeded JEC and twenty-second-seeded Fasman before bludgeoning the fifteenth-seeded TABC Storm 52-31 on Sunday in a game that was 44-14 after three quarters highlighted by a dunk from the 6’3” Ephraim Blau. Though DRS presents a better zone defense than TABC, which means points will be at a premium, especially when second-half adjustments arise, the absence of 6’2 Shuey Bernstein for DRS should allow for Blau to have his moments in the paint.
Nevertheless, this affair will be a matchup of contrasting basketball styles you won’t want to miss as the seniors on both the Wildcats and Mayhem look to end their careers with some hardware for their school. If you cannot make it to the Max Stern Athletic Center, you can watch the game on the Macs Live YouTube page.
PREDICTION: It doesn’t hurt to make one, right? I’ll say Mayhem by 8 in a contest that’s decided in the final few minutes. The difference for me is execution, and I think Fuchs is clicking on both sides of the ball right now. At the same time, there have been concerns defensively for DRS, who yielded 65 points to RASG on Saturday and nearly squandered all of their double-digit second-half lead against Berman on Sunday.
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