Let's hope these predictions are better than the last round (4-2). All games at East Haven High:

No. 1 Career vs. No. 8 Amity - noon: First matchup between these two schools. Amity beat Lyman Hall, which had two close losses to Career. So that tells me the game will be low-scoring and Amity will hang in - but not long enough.
Prediction: Career moves on by 15

No. 4 Lyman Hall vs. No. 5 Fairfield Prep - 1:45 p.m.: Game of the day. Prep is a good team, but has yet to play any of the top four seeds in the SCC until today. How do the Trojans match up with Prep's Terry Tarpey? Can the Jesuits keep Lyman's Rich Bronson out of the lane? A contrast in styles: Lyman Hall will try to keep it a low-scoring affair while Prep will run out at any opportunity. Bigger floor at East Haven works to Prep's advantage, but this one is going to the wire and...
Prediction: Prep by 3

No. 2 Hillhouse vs. No. 10 Cheshire, 3:30 p.m.: Cheshire has done a remarkable job to come back from an 0-4 start to get to this point, coming from behind to win at Branford Thursday in the only seeded upset.
Speaking of tempo, Cheshire has to keep it at its pace and in the 40s to win. Even if it happens, won't still be enough to slow down Freddie Wilson and Drew Crudup.
Prediction: Hillhouse beats Chshire for third time, also by double digits.

No. 3 Wilbur Cross vs. No. 6 Xavier, 5:15 p.m.: Cross swept the season series, the last one a four-point game at Xavier. On Thursday, Xavier came from 12 points down to start the fourth quarter and beat Hand in double overtime. If the Faclons get down that far, they won't come back against Cross. Michael Boornazian will need some help in the scoring column to pull the upset and, once again, the tempo must be in Xavier's favor, and the game must be in the 50s, for Xavier to win.
Xavier must also try to stay close in the rebounding department with the best rebounding team left in the tournament.
Prediction: Cross by 7.

Each Thursday the Register will take a look at a former state standout, who is now playing in college.

Player: Damian Saunders

College: Duquesne

Year: Senior

Height: 6-7

Position: Forward

High school: Crosby (Register All-State 2006)
Current stats: 12.9 ppg (second on team), 49.4 shooting percentage from floor, 36.5 from 3-point range, 7.8 rpg (leads team), 62 assists, 66 blocks.


Of Note: Reigning Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year and returning First Team All-Atlantic 10 performer ... ranked among the nation's top 15 in four statistical categories: steals (2nd), rebounds (6th), double-doubles (6th) and blocks (13th) last season


For more on Saunders, click here

Here are the pairings for the Shoreline Conference tournament:

Quarterfinals - Saturday, 7 p.m.

No. 8 Haddam-Killingworth at No. 1 Valley Regional
No. 7Westbrook at No. 2 Cromwell
No. 6 Old Lyme at No. 3 Hyde
No. 5 Hale-Ray at No. 4 Coginchaug

Semifinals - Tuesday, 7 p.m. at site of higher seed
HK/Valley winner vs. Hale-Ray/Coginchaug winner
Cromwell/Westbrook winner vs. Hyde/Old Lyme winner

Final - March 4, at Old Saybrook, 7 p.m.

Here is a brief breakdown of Thursday's first-round matchups, all at 6:30 p.m.

No. 14 Sheehan at No. 3 Wilbur Cross - Sheehan played Cross much tougher in its second matchup (lost by six) than its first (18-point win for Cross). Cross will have waited almost a week to think about its season finale, a loss at home to Lyman Hall. That does not bode well for Sheehan.

The pick: Wilbur Cross

No. 13 Notre Dame-West Haven at No. 4 Lyman Hall - Lyman Hall swept the season series here, both by double digits. I have a feeling Notre Dame will play better in this one, but still come up short.

The pick: Lyman Hall

No. 12 Hamden at No. 5 Fairfield Prep - During its mid-season swoon, Fairfield Prep dropped a close game at Hamden. But the Jesuits were dominant in their home win (22-point spread) and, following a two-point loss at Branford in its season finale on Monday, I expect Fairfield Prep to be in the quarterfinals.

The pick: Fairfield Prep

No. 11 Hand at No. 6 Xavier - This is one the matchups where the two teams did not face one another during the regular season. I expect a low-scoring battle where the winner might not reach 50 points. If this were in Madison, I may have predicted Hand, but the game is being held in Middletown.

The pick: Xavier

No. 10 Cheshire at No. 7 Branford - These two teams are squaring off for the first time as well. Cheshire has been one of the season’s pleasant surprises, turning it around after an 0-4 start. Branford had a pair of tough losses last week to Law and Shelton but upset Prep at home.
This is the toughest game to call in the entire first round. But based on Monday’s performance...

The pick: Branford by five.

No. 9 Foran at No. 8 Amity - Amity won both games by 20 points or more during the season, so this has all the makings of a blowout. But I think it will be much closer this time around and will still be a game in the final 2 minutes. In fact...

The pick: Foran in an upset - just a hunch.

We had it right the first time - after discussion with commissioner Al Carbone and one of the coaches, the original pairings you read here first were correct.

You can view Thursday's first-round pairings here

I had the three-way tiebreaker figured out incorrectly between Branford, Amity and Foran. Amity gets the No. 7 seed due to beating Foran twice and, according to SCC bylaws, any team that sweeps another in a three-way tie moves ahead of the other two.
Because Branford lost to Law last week and Foran swept Law, Foran moves ahead of Branford.
Here are the updated pairings:

No. 1 seed Career and No. 2 Hillhouse receive a bye into Saturday's quarterfinals at East Haven.



Here are Thursday's first-round  at 6:30 p.m.

No. 14 Sheehan at No. 3 Wilbur Cross

No. 13 Notre Dame-West Haven at No. 4 Lyman Hall

No. 12 Hamden at No. 5 Fairfield Prep

No. 11 Hand at No. 6 Xavier

No. 10 Cheshire at No. 7 Amity
No. 9 Branford at No. 8 Foran


Saturday's quarterfinals at East Haven - times are not official, goin ogg what they have done in previous years:

Career vs. Foran/Branford winner, noon

Lyman Hall-ND winner vs. Prep-Hamden winner, 1:45

Hillhouse vs. Amity-Cheshire winner, 3:30

Wilbur Cross-Sheehan winner vs. Hand-Xavier winner, 5:15 p.m.

These pairings will not become official until Tuesday, but hey, in the age of social media, why wait:

No. 1 seed Career and No. 2 Hillhouse receive a bye into Saturday's quarterfinals at East Haven.

Here are Thursday's probable first-round matchups, most likely at 6:30 p.m.
No. 14 Sheehan at No. 3 Wilbur Cross
No. 13 Notre Dame-West Haven at No. 4 Lyman Hall
No. 12 Hamden at No. 5 Fairfield Prep
No. 11 Hand at No. 6 Xavier
No. 10 Cheshire at No. 7 Branford
No. 9 Foran at No. 8 Amity

Saturday's quarterfinals at East Haven - times are not official, goin ogg what they have done in previous years:
Career vs. Foran/Amity winner, noon
Lyman Hall-ND winner vs. Prep-Hamden winner, 1:45
Hillhouse vs. Branford-Cheshire winner, 3:30
Wilbur Cross-Sheehan winner vs. Hand-Xavier winner, 5:15 p.m.

semifinals and finals are March 1 and 2 at Quinnipiac.

Barring postponements due to weather, the SCC tournament picture should be completed Monday night.

The top six are virtually set: Career, Hillhouse, Wilbur Cross, Lyman Hall, Fairfield Prep and Xavier. Eight others have qualified: Branford, Hamden, Cheshire, Hand, Sheehan, Notre Dame-West Haven, Foran and Amity. West Haven needs to beat Career Monday night to get the last spot. If not, Career and Hillhouse will get byes into Saturday's quarterfinals.

The remaining league tournaments won't be decided until Tuesday or Wednesday. But the top seeds have been decided in a couple: Valley Regional in the Shoreline and Holy Cross in the NVL. Monday's winner between Pomperaug and Notre Dame-Fairfield will be the top team in the SWC.

Check back here for the updated SCC tournament seedings late Monday night - or for postponements earlier in the day.