Basketball Playoff Brackets Released | Where Each Team Will Begin Their Postseason Journey
Six teams will play this Tuesday; two teams earned byes
The long-awaited February 21st date for brackets being released has arrived. We now know where each Rockingham County team will be playing in the postseason.
First, let’s explain how the playoff brackets came about.
Format Explanation
The top 48 teams in each classification (there are 59 teams in the 3A, 4A, and 5A, where our Rockingham County teams compete), advanced to the playoffs. That was decided by the RPI, which uses the following formula: (0.4 times win percentage plus 0.4 times opponents’ win percentage plus 0.2 times opponents’ opponents’ win percentage.)
Then, the teams are lined up by longitude and split down the middle to form two brackets, East and West, of 24 teams. They are seeded according to the RPI standings.
The top 8 teams on each half of the bracket receive a first-round bye.
Schedule Explanation
Opening Round: Tuesday, February 24th at higher seed
Round of 32: Thursday, February 26th at higher seed
Regional Quarterfinals: Saturday, February 28th at higher seed
Regional Semifinals: Monday, March 2nd at higher seed
Regional Finals: March 4th through March 7th* at East Carolina University in Greenville for the East and at Lenoir-Rhyne in Hickory for the West
State Championship: March 11th through March 14th* at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem
*This is one game, not a series; these are just the potential dates for a team to play on should they make it that far into the playoffs.
Without further ado, let’s look at where each team will be playing in the state playoffs.
McMichael Girls
Placement: 21 seed, 3A East
Opening Round: at 12 seed Martin County on Tuesday
McMichael must head 200 miles East to take on the just-above .500 Martin County Gators this Tuesday. The newly-consolidated school in Williamston has performed better at home than away in each year of its existence.
If McMichael knocks off the 12 seed, they will advance to face 5 seed Greene Central, a team that enters the playoffs having won six of its last seven.
Morehead Girls
Placement: 17 seed, 4A East
Opening Round: at 16 seed Cummings on Tuesday
The Morehead Panthers will head to Burlington to battle with Cummings on February 24th. The Panthers, coming off of their first season with a winning record in at least two decades, will face the Cummings girls for the first time in at least two decades.
A win over the 12-8 Cavaliers would secure a Round of 32 matchup with T.W. Andrews. Andrews, looking for it’s first state title since 2014, has a storied program and has went 19-4 this season.
We will be bringing you the action live from Alamance County this Tuesday on YouTube, Substack, and RoCoRadio.com
Reidsville Girls
Placement: 22 seed, 4A East
Opening Round: at 11 seed Ledford on Tuesday
The Reidsville girls will have their hands full when playing a 17-7 Ledford team that is 19-7 at home over the course of the past two seasons. Ledford High School earned four titles in a nine-year span at the turn of the century
Waiting for the winner of this one is 6-seed SouthWest Edgecombe, SouthWest Edgecombe sits at 20-4 on the year. The Cougars lost 2 of their first 3, won 18 in a row, and finished the season by losing 2 of their last 3.
Rockingham County Girls
Placement: 6 seed, 5A East
Opening Round: Bye
The Rockingham County girls tore through their competition in January and February, going undefeated in 2026 and beating every team except for Western Alamance and Morehead (by 19 in the conference title) by at least 20.
That earned them a bye into round two. They will face the winners of 11-seed Orange and 22-seed Havelock. Orange is 17-8, while Havelock is a mere 5-16. After these two teams do battle in Hillsborough on Tuesday, one of them will be traveling northast to Wentworth this Thursday.
McMichael Boys
Placement: 11 seed, 3A West
Opening Round: vs. 22 seed Surry Central at home on Tuesday
The only game taking place in Rockingham County on Tuesday will be at McMichael, as they host the 9-15 Surry Central Golden Eagles. Against teams that are .500 or below this year, the Fighting Phoenix are a dominant 14-1.
The 6-seed Piedmont Community Charter Patriots will be McM’s opponent if they win. The Patriots are 22-4 on the year, and outscoring opponents by 17 per game.
RoCo Radio will be live with the call for McMichael—Surry Central on the 24th on YouTube, Facebook, Substack, and RoCoRadio.com.
Morehead Boys
Placement: 23 seed, 4A East
Opening Round: at 10 seed First Flight on Tuesday
The Morehead Panthers will have to go nearly five hours away to the Outer Banks to take on First Flight. First Flight is .500 this year, with the hardest schedule in the 4A helping them get a top ten spot in the East. Morehead is no stranger to tough opponents, either, with the fifth-most difficult schedule in their classification.
If Morehead picks up the victory in Dare County, they will get to play much closer to home. Their opponent would be 7 seed Ledford, the team from Davidson County that lost three in a row to tough opponents before getting back on track to end the season with a blowout win over Montgomery Central.
Reidsville Boys
Placement: 1 seed, 4A East
Opening Round: Bye
With just two losses since the start of Dionte Neal’s career, the Reidsville Rams have once again earned a one seed. They are coming off of an incredible 80-77 victory over Walkertown in overtime to win the Mid-State Title, so momentum is continuing to snowball.
Their second-round opponent will either be 16 Anson or 17 Southwestern Randolph. Anson is 13-11 and Southwestern Randolph is 11-11.
Rockingham County Boys
Placement: 19 seed, 5A East
Opening Round: at 14 seed South Brunswick on Tuesday
A matchup between two teams with Cougars mascots will take place in Southport, as RCHS travels 250 miles to the border of South Carolina. South Brunswick has won nearly two-thirds of its games.
Waiting on them for round two is 3 seed Eastern Alamance. The 1991 3A State Champions have won 19 of 25. The common opponents between Eastern Alamance and Rockingham County are Morehead and Western Alamance. Western Alamance blew out Morehead the time the two teams played, whereas RCHS had two narrow victories over the Panthers. As for Western Alamance, Eastern Alamance beat them by single digits twice and Rockingham County lost to them by a dozen.
Eight teams remain in the Rock. Six teams will fight for their playoff lives on Tuesday, while two have guaranteed spots on Thursday.