Toughest boys high school basketball state tournament brackets in 2018-19

Winning a high school basketball state championship is never an easy task, regardless of the state, classification or match-ups — the journey always provides unique challenges to each state champion along the path to the title.

Today, we examine the most challenging hardwood state tournament brackets for 2018-19. The hundreds of classifications across our 50 states were narrowed down to the 10 most difficult to win this season.

Many factors went into determining the most difficult state tournament brackets, including Xcellent 25 teams in field, quality of favorite(s), quality of top contenders, depth and quality of the tournament field and the overall difficulty of capturing the championship.

While many other state tournament brackets were considered, here are the Top 10 toughest high school boys basketball state tournament brackets for 2018-19:

State Represented: California

2017-18 Winner: Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth)

Favorite(s): No. 5 Salesian College Preparatory (Richmond), No. 7 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth)

Top Contenders: No. 12 Fairfax (Los Angeles), No. 14 Rancho Christian (Temecula), Bishop Montgomery (Torrance), Etiwanda, Mater Dei (Santa Ana), Westchester (Los Angeles)

Rundown: The CIF Open Division is the only state tournament bracket that projects to have multiple Xcellent 25 teams in its field as No. 5 Salesian College Prep, No. 7 Sierra Canyon, No. 12 Fairfax and No. 14 Rancho Christian all will have strong shots at the daunting Open Division state championship. Defending champion Sierra Canyon appears to be co-favorites, with unbeaten Salesian, after Rancho Christian was upset by Bishop Montgomery in the first round of CIF Open Division Southern Section pool play last week. If last year is any indication, expect some wacky results as the top seeds from Nor-Cal and So-Cal were both upset in the first round a season ago.

State Represented: Georgia

2017-18 Winner: Meadowcreek (Norcross)

Favorite(s): No. 2 McEachern (Powder Springs)

Top Contenders: Discovery (Lawrenceville), East Coweta (Sharpsburg), Grayson (Loganville), Meadowcreek (Norcross), Milton, Norcross, Westlake (Atlanta)

Rundown: Georgia's highest classification always proves unpredictable at this time of the year as No. 2 McEachern enters the state tournament as overwhelming favorites to capture its first state title. The Indians are unbeaten, having captured titles at both the City of Palms Classic and Bass Pro Tournament of Champions. McEachern's first-round opponent East Coweta, along with Norcross, defending champion Meadowcreek and Grayson appear to be the Indians biggest challengers for the AAAAAAA state title.

State Represented: Texas

2017-18 Winner: Allen

Rundown: Winning a state title in Texas' highest classification is always a challenge and this season is no different. A wide-open field has a deep collection of high-level talented competing in the 128-team Class 6A bracket. While only one Lone Star State team makes an appearance in this week's Xcellent 25, it wasn't due to a lack of competition, but quite the opposite. In-state opponents have been beating up on each other all season — with talent spread out across the massive state typically known for its high school football prowess.

Rundown: As the regular season wraps up around the state of Illinois, two teams have come into focus as clear favorites to capture the IHSA Class 4A state title — Curie and Belleville West. Although Belleville West is reeling a bit after last week's back-to-back losses, the defending state champions have played a difficult national schedule and have proven themselves throughout their 2018-19 campaign. While Curie appears to be the odds-on favorite at this point in the season, boasting an unbeaten record against in-state opponents and recently earning a Top 10 spot in the national rankings.

6. IHSAA Class 4A

State Represented: Indiana

2017-18 Winner: Warren Central (Indianapolis)

Rundown: Last season, Warren Central became the first unbeaten state champions out of the state of Indiana since 2009, winning its first state title with a 54-48 victory over Carmel. Although a mid-season loss to Lawrence Central ended the Warriors 46-game winning streak, the Warriors remain favorites to repeat. This season is shaping up very similarly to last year, as Warren Central and Carmel are likely to meet in another late-round postseason showdown likely to determine the Class 4A title once again.

State Represented: Ohio

2017-18 Winner: Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati)

Rundown: Defending OHSAA Division I state champions Archbishop Moeller have been on an unbelievable run over the last two seasons, winners of 42 consecutive games and favorites to capture the program's fifth state title (would tie them for fourth-most titles for a program in OHSAA history). Dublin Coffman and Northview, both unbeaten in Division I, and appear to be major contenders to dethrone Archbishop Moeller. Another team in the hunt is Pickerington Central — a one-loss team that's been featured in the Xcellent 25 this season.

Rundown: Millbrook is the only remaining unbeaten in North Carolina's highest classification — outscoring opponents by more than 25 points per contest. The biggest question surrounding Millbrook is its ability to win in a close game as only two teams have been able to stay within five points of the talented group this season. South Central is the other favorite to capture the 4A state title, with its lone loss coming to No. 20 Ranney (Tinton Falls, N.J.) in the John Wall Invitation title game. South Central is led by the most imposing big man in the state in UNC pledge Day'ron Sharpe.

State Represented: New York

2017-18 Winner: Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains)

Top Contenders: Bishop Loughlin (Brooklyn), Cardinal Hayes (Bronx), Christ the King (Middle Village) Jefferson (Brooklyn), Niagara Falls, South Shore (Brooklyn), St. Raymond Boys (Bronx)

Rundown: Long Island Lutheran enters postseason play as the favorites. Last year, the Crusaders fell short of adding to their state record seven Federation state titles after a controversial 76-72 semifinal loss to Archbishop Stepinac. In that game, Long Island Lutheran was assessed a technical foul in a tie game with just 8.3 seconds remaining because the official scorebook ruled they had zero timeouts remaining. Although it was later ruled the Crusaders did in fact have a timeout remaining and the official scorekeeper made a mistake, the result stood, providing the Crusaders with a little added motivation.

State Represented: Kentucky

2017-18 Winner: Covington Catholic (Park Hills)

Favorite(s): No. 9 Scott County (Georgetown)

Top Contenders: Collins (Shelbyville), Covington Catholic (Park Hills), John Hardin (Elizabethtown), Trinity (Louisville), University Heights (Hopkinsville), Waggener (Louisville)

Rundown: The Bluegrass State knows how to put together a state basketball tournament, as its Sweet 16 format has withstood the test of time and enters the 103rd year of playt. Remarkably, no team has won more than six times in the history of the event as 63 different teams have captured at least one KHSAA Sweet 16 title. While the Sweet 16 has certainly been unpredictable in the past, Scott County enters this year's tournament as overwhelming favorites to capture a third state title in the same year their legendary head coach Billy Hicks captured his 1,000th career win.