Winthrop’s Braden Branagan looks for an open teammate as Waynflete’s JJ Carlo defends during a Jan. 10 game in Winthrop. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

Mt. View winning the Class C North tournament by an average of 28.3 points per game as the No. 7 seed. Westbrook stunning Falmouth in the A South semis. Tenth-seeded Mt. Desert Island winning a prelim and dominating No. 2 Maranacook in B North. The 2024 boys basketball tournament was a reminder that it’s often the lower seeds that provide postseason magic.

A year later, there are new teams looking to upend the tourney picture. From Portland to Bangor, here are five teams that could knock off high seeds and possibly make memorable runs:

Mt. View, No. 9 in Class C North: A Class B-heavy schedule helped lay the groundwork for Mt. View’s run last year, and the Mustangs have played a similarly tough slate in 2024-25. Of Mt. View’s eight losses, only one — a 68-63 defeat to Mt. Abram on Dec. 27 — came against a Class C school. Mt. View has a completely different starting lineup and must beat No. 8 Fort Fairfield (10-8) on the road in the prelims just to earn a quarterfinal date with No. 1 Mattanawcook Academy (18-0).

Winthrop, No. 7 in Class C South: No matter their record, the Ramblers are the Ramblers (10-8), and few coaches have a better February acumen than Todd MacArthur. Cole Bard and Braden Branagan lead a veteran-heavy roster for Winthrop, which would advance to face No. 2 Monmouth Academy (14-4) with a prelim win over No. 10 Waynflete (8-10).

Gardiner, No. 7 in Class A North: A 9-9 mark is pretty good for a No. 7 seed, especially for a team like the Tigers, who’ve shown an ability to compete with anybody in A North. Seven of Gardiner’s nine losses have been by 12 or fewer points, and the Tigers are fresh off their signature win this season: a come-from-behind 60-57 victory over Cony on Friday.

Gray-New Gloucester, No. 7 in Class A South: The defending state champion boasts a 1,000-point scorer in John Patenaude and enters the tourney having won five of its last six games. The Patriots face No. 2 Falmouth (15-3) in the regional quarterfinals. Falmouth, which lost to a No. 7 seed last season, edged Gray-New Gloucester 66-62 in the regular season.

Oceanside, No. 6 in Class B South: We’re picking Oceanside (9-9) to knock out No. 3 Spruce Mountain (14-4) in Friday’s quarterfinal at the Portland Expo. It’s all based on strength of schedule. Oceanside is 5-4 against Class A teams. Spruce Mountain played 10 games (winning eight) against Class C teams from the Mountain Valley Conference.