Rough month for MIL so far, Baldwin seeded fourth

MIL champion Baldwin drew the fourth seed for this week's Hawaiian Airlines Boys Division I Basketball State Championships and Thursday at 5 p.m., the Bears will face the winner of Wednesday's Kapolei-Leilehua game. With the game at McKinley gym, Baldwin's quarterfinal will be on OC-16 television. A win would most likely set up a semifinal for the Bears against No. 1-seeded Punahou.

Baldwin (24-3 overall, 14-0 MIL) is currently riding the longest win streak in the state — 16 games, the last loss was to Hilo, 50-48, in the Lahainluna Invitational on Dec. 19 — and I have the Bears sixth on my latest top-10 ballot I just sent to the Star-Advertiser: 1. Punahou, 2. Academy of the Pacific, 3. Kamehameha-Big Island, 4. KS-Kapalama, 5. Kahuku, 6. Baldwin, 7. Iolani, 8. Kapolei, 9. Maryknoll, 10. Kalaheo.

MIL D-I runner-up King Kekaulike will make its first-ever appearance in the state tournament against Kamehameha Kapalama on Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Radford.

MIL D-II champion Seabury Hall was the only one of nine league champions not to be seeded in either state event and will open Thursday at 5 at Farrington against ILH-champion St. Francis, the No. 4 seed.

In state tournaments so far this month — boys and girls soccer and girls basketball at both the D-I and D-II levels — the MIL is a combined 4-17. In championship-round action, only the Lahaunaina girls basketball team has a win.