Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Boys State Tournament Preview--Class A

Class A is the biggest class--that is, it has the most schools. So there should be lots of state tournament contenders! But, no. It seems like a lot of Class A choices are pretty much slam dunks. See if you agree.

Section 1--Rushford-Peterson 20-3 #3 QRF for example should have a pretty easy road to the section title. Faribault Bethlehem Academy is #20 though I'm not sure that Blooming Prairie (#26 but 9-0 in the section) isn't the real competition. But RP should win pretty easily.

Section 2--OK, this 1 is a little more open but the fact is that Sleepy Eye St. Mary's 18-3 #14 is coming on strong. They hammered defending section champ Mountain Lake (#21) and Carter Kirk 97-67 and also beat #15 Cedar Mountain-Comfrey 112-103 (you read that right). Of course that was after CMC beat SESM at Sleepy Eye 92-78 early in the year. That's why I say St. Mary's is coming on strong, that and their 12 straight wins.

Section 3--Southwest Minnesota Christian 20-1 #5 looks to be a slam dunk. They've won 16 straight and out-scored the opposition by more than 30 points. But it's true that they snuck past Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 22-1 #12 80-78 in OT, and RTR has won 14 in a row itself. Still, SWC would appear to have too many weapons.

Section 4--Maranatha 21-1 #1 looks like a slam dunk. They've out-scored the opposition 81-52.

Section 5--Ditto Upsala 21-0 #4, winning by an 80-50 margin.

Section 6--Defending state champ Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 20-1 #2 looks solid.

Section 7--Lakeview Christian 13-9 #11 has taken some lumps along the way, but they're playing everybody, and that will serve them well in the Class A tournament. Ely 17-3 #29 is the challenger.

Section 8--Wide open. Walker-Hackensack-Akeley, Northern Freeze, Warren-Alvarado-Oslo, Win-E-Mac and Mahnomen are all having a nice year. In the end, I'll take Win-E-Mac 18-5 #3.

Seeds

1. Maranatha
2. Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa
3. Southwest Christian
4. Upsala
5. Rushford-Peterson

First Round Thursday March 23, Williams Arena

#1 Maranatha vs. Lakeview Christian. Another tough 1st round matchup for Lakeview and Minnesota's all-time scorer, Anders Broman. Look for Broman to score a ton of points, possibly even a new tournament record (with 50+). But don't expect Maranatha to lose.

#2 BBE vs. Sleepy Eye St. Mary's. The way St. Mary's is coming on, an upset is possible, justnot probable.

#3 Southwest Christian vs. Win-E-Mac. No contest.

#4 Upsala vs. #5 Rushford-Peterson. RP doesn't lose at the state tournament much.

Semis and Beyond

Maranatha over Sleepy Eye St. Mary's, and Southwest Christian over Rushford-Pete. Then RP takes 3rd, and Southwest Christian shocks Maranatha for the state title.

All-Tournament

F- Isaiah Hanson, Maranatha
F- Anders Broman, Lakeview Christian
G- Dominic Nibbelink, Southwest Christian
G- Bjorn Broman, Lakeview Christian
G- Brian Goodwin, Belgrade-BE

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