Well, first of all, thank goodness there's a state tournament, and here's hoping that it is played out to the end, until we have 8 2021 Minnesota state high school basketball champions. Of course, due to COVID, we've got an unusual format. We've had 1st round games out in the hinterlands before but never quite like this:
In each class--boys 4A, 3A, 2A and A and girls 4A, 3A, 2A and A--the four southern sections--1, 2, 3 and 4--will be seeded 1 through 4, and ditto the four northern sections--which are of course 5, 6, 7 and 8. The 2 winners from the south and the 2 winners from the north will come to the Twin Cities for the semi-finals and finals. There will be no 3rd place game and there will be no all-tournament. Well, of course, there will be all-tournament teams picked by various media, including right here. But it's weird that the MSHSL will not pick an all-tournament team because they almost never give any consideration to 1st round losers, even when there are consolation games. Oh well.
Boys Class 4A
Champlin Park is the only unbeaten at 21-0 and has been rated #1 all year long and is #1 QRF. The obvious challenger is Wayzata at 16-2 and #2 QRF. They have no common opponents but Champlin outscored its opponents by an average of 70-54, Wayzata by an impressive 78-59. Champlin's signatures are a 75-65 win over Totino-Grace and a pair of OT wins vs. Park Center, including in the section final. Wayzata lost to Hopkins and Minnehaha by 7 each, but bounced back to beat Hopkins.
Champlin is led by a classic inside/outside duo, both seniors: 6-7 Francis Nwaokorie (19 ppg) and 6-1 Joshua Strong (6-1). Wayzata would seem to have more weapons with juniors 6-9 Carter Bjerke and 6-6 Camden Heide, both of whom can score both outside and in; and 6-1 senior Eddie Beeninga. Both teams are in the north half of the draw and fortunately they won't meet until the finals. So often the finals comes down to guard play, so Strong vs. Beeninga will be key. On the other hand, on paper Bjerke and Heide might be a little too much for Champlin. If they both play well, Wayzata wins.
We see the quarterfinals like this:
• #1S Shakopee takes on the tournament's biggest Cinderella team, Owatonna. Owatonna beat #1 seed Lakeville South rather impressively in the Section 1 final, 94-85, and #4S seems like kind of a tough draw. But the Big 9's AAAA teams get killed on QRF because 7 of the 12 teams in the conference are AAA. Still, Mankato West, who finished 4th in the Big 9 at 13-4 but won Section 2AAA, got a #2 seed. But, Byron, who beat Big 9 champion Austin in 1AAA, also got a #4 seed. You know darn well Austin would have been #2 and Byron beat 'em. These seeds can be downright irrational and the southeastern (Section 1) teams in all classes end up all over the place because they play more games outside their class than most other teams.
So anyway, Shakopee uses its depth to grind out wins. Owatonna relies on 6-8 Evan Dushek and 6-2 guard Brayden Williams, both juniors. Owatonna beat Lakeville South by 9, as we said. Shakopee split with South, winning by 27 and losing by 3. This game will be at Hastings, and we'll take Owatonna in an upset 59-57.
• Cretin beats Rosemount in another tight game, 61-59.
• Champlin beats Maple Grove 63-54 in an unfortunate conference matchup.
• Wayzata defeats Duluth East 74-63.
In the semis, Champlin beats Cretin 73-68, and Wayzata beats Owatonna 75-63.
Final: Wayzata 71 Champlin 69, Tournament MVP: Camden Heide, Wayzata, junior, F.
Boys Class 3A
Minnehaha is the prohibitive favorite here, but for now the story line is the 5 #2 and lower seeds that advanced to the state tournament, creating some interesting 1st round matchups. By next week, however, the talk will return to Minnehaha. The irony is that a year ago the Minnehaha people were talking up their team as the greatest in Minnesota history which, after 3 losses including one to undefeated Eden Prairie, turned out to be a pretty gross case of self-promotion. This year, there is no such talk, at least not that I've heard, but at the very least there is a very good chance that Minnehaha is the best team in Minnesota. The quite obviously have the best player in 7-footer Chet Holmgren, who is also regarded as the best 2021 player in the country. Its 70-63 win over Wayzata will be Exhibit A if both Minnehaha and Wayzata go on to win their respective championships, as is the prediction here.
The previously mentioned upsets include Byron over #1 Austin in Section 1AAA, Richfield over South St. Paul in 3, #7 Monticello over Delano in 5, and, well.... I don't consider DeLaSalle or Hibbing to be upsets, really, though neither was seeded #1. In any event, the 1st round seeds were pretty complicated with all the sectional upsets but here is where we ended up:
Byron has the unenviable task of facing Minnehaha. As noted above, #4 was a really tough seed considering they beat Big 9 champion Austin in the section final. Byron is seeded 2 spots below Mankato West in the AAA south despite the fact that West finished 4th in the Big 9, 3 spots below Austin.The Big 9's AAAA teams get killed by QRF because the conference includes those 7 AAA teams. The AAA teams get a big boost from playing the 5 AAAA teams in the conference. Still, here was as good as a head-to-head. Byron, with 2 losses, clearly should have been #2 ahead of West and Richfield with 4 losses each. Not only that but Byron may very well have the 2nd best prospect in AAA in 6-9 junior Ahjany Lee, but you won't see him on TV.
• Minnehaha 75 Byron 62.
• Mankato West and Richfield are pretty close to a toss-up but we'll take West 68-63.
• Once-beaten Alexandria snags the #1 seed in the north and clobbers 8-13, #7 seed Monticello 66-55.
• Hibbing gets the unenviable task of playing DeLaSalle; don't care if the Islanders lost 5 and were seeded #2; I don't want any part of them in round 1. Still Hibbing has a shot and in fact I'll take the Bluejackets 65-61.
In the semis, again Hibbing gets the matchup from hell. Minnehaha 77 Hibbing 64. And Mankato West escapes Alex 60-58.
Final: Minnehaha 72 Mankato West 58. Tournament MVP: duh, Chet Holmgren, Minnehaha, senior, C.
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