My previews of the metro area sections, this is part 3. We'll do Sections 2AAAA thru 7AAAA here.
Section 2AAAA:
Schedule
- Quarters: Tuesday 3/11 at Eden Prairie and Shakopee, 6 and 8 PM
- Semis: Friday 3/14 TBD
- Final: Tuesday 3/18 at St. Olaf, 8 PM
Eden Prairie, Shakopee, Prior Lake
Tough section here as 7 teams are at or above 500. EP had a tough game at Chaska but blew them out at EP. Kennedy beat Jefferson twice by a total of 10 pts so that game will be very interesting with the rivalry added in. Richfield got a very good matchup by drawing Shakopee. 2 small teams there with Richfield having plenty of guards and quickness to play with Shakopee. Shakopee will have to figure out how to deal with Renard Robinson. Edina beat Prior Lake 67-61 at Edina when these teams played Dec 14th. Good matchup of young guards in that game, Will Deberg vs Tor Anderson.
Predictions (for entertainment purposes only):
- Quarters: EP, Jefferson, Shakopee in a scare from Richfield and Edina
- Semis: EP in a low scoring close affair and Edina scares Shakopee again (lost 66-60 at Shakopee Jan 10th)
- Section Champion: Eden Prairie finally gets out of section play in a close and very well played game against Shakopee. How fitting would it be if it were an Ethan Wragge buzzer beater to do it since EP has gone out the last 3 years on buzzer beaters (2 from Blake Hoffarber and then Anthony Tucker knocked them out last year)
Schedule
- Quarters: Tuesday 3/11 at Burnsville and Eastview, 6 and 8 PM
- Semis: Friday 3/14 at St. Olaf, 6 and 8 PM
- Final: Tuesday 3/18 at St. Olaf, 6 PM
Burnsville, Eastview, Lakeville N
Rosemount gets a good draw with Lakeville N in the 1st round. Eastview has an interesting 2 vs 7 matchup with Park and Jake Lindstrom. Eastview can have trouble generating offense and if they don't shut Lindstrom down, this could be an upset.
Predictions (for entertainment purposes only):
- Quarters: Burnsville, Eagan, Rosemount, Eastview
- Semis: Burnsville, Eastview
- Section Champion: Burnsville in what may be the best section final in the metro as these 2 have played 2 terrific games to this point.
Schedule
- Quarters: Tuesday 3/11 at High Seeds, 7 PM
- Semis: Friday 3/14 at Concordia-SP, 6 and 7:45 PM
- Final: Tuesday 3/18 at Concordia-SP, 8 PM
Cretin-Derham Hall, Sibley, Stillwater, Tartan, Central
Wow, you won't find 5 better teams at the top of any bracket. Central goes 21-6, wins their league and they get to go on the road in the 1st round and that's not poor seeding, the bracket is that tough. The Central at Tartan game on Tuesday has to be the game of the night. Tartan was at the Twin Cities game today watching so they know Larry Brown and Dylan Hale will be a handful. But Marc Sonnen is a handful for Central. Woodbury played Stillwater really tough in both Suburban East matchups so don't be surprised if Woodbury wins that 3 vs 6 game. The semis are monster games. CDH vs Tartan and a Stillwater vs Sibley rematch (77-69 Sibley at home Jan 28th), wow.
Predictions (for entertainment purposes only):
- Quarters: CDH, Tartan, Stillwater, Sibley
- Semis: CDH, Sibley in 2 great games.
- Section Champion: Sibley in a great game
Schedule
- Quarters: Tuesday 3/11 at High Seeds, 7 PM
- Semis: Friday 3/14 at Rogers, 6 and 8 PM
- Final: Tuesday 3/18 at Rogers, 7 PM
Osseo, Mounds View, Robbinsdale Cooper
No surprises here in the seedings. Cooper vs Park Center is a good rivalry in round 1, but Cooper should roll. Irondale at Champlin Park in a matchup to prove which league is more mediocre, the N Suburban or the NW Suburban.
Predictions (for entertainment purposes only):
- Quarters: Osseo, Champlin Park, Cooper, Mounds View
- Semis: Osseo, Mounds View
- Section Champion: Mounds View
Schedule
- Quarters: Tuesday 3/11 at Hopkins and Minnetonka, 6:30 and 8 PM
- Semis: Friday 3/14 at Cooper, 6:30 and 8 PM
- Final: Tuesday 3/18 at Osseo, 8 PM
Hopkins and Minnetonka
Armstrong vs North is an OK 4 vs 5 game, but this section is all about the rubber match between Hopkins and Tonka and settled on a neutral court which is only fitting.
Predictions (for entertainment purposes only):
- Quarters: Hopkins, Armstrong, Wayzata, Minnetonka
- Semis: Hopkins, Minnetonka
- Section Champion: Minnetonka, experience over youth, this is their year
Schedule
- Quarters: Tuesday 3/11 at High Seeds, 7 PM
- Semis: Friday 3/14 at Elk River, 6 and 8 PM
- Final: Wednesday 3/19 at Elk River, 7 PM
Forest Lake, Cambridge-Isanti and Blaine
No heavyweight team here so its wide open with only 2 teams above 500. Blaine went 7-3 down the stretch, beat Forest Lake early in the year and they have players (Kyle Kreklow if he plays, not in box score vs Elk River Friday, Billy Giddings and Dylan Rodriguez). Andover and Coon Rapids split 2 very close games in the regular season so their 4 vs 5 matchup should be close. Anoka beat Cambridge-Isanti Dec 18th so that 2 vs 7 game could be an upset. Forest Lake blew out Duluth East earlier in the year and I see that happening again in a battle of the resistable force (Forest Lake offense) vs the movable object (Duluth E defense)
Predictions (for entertainment purposes only):
- Quarters: FL, Andover, Anoka, Blaine
- Semis: FL, Blaine
- Section Champion: Blaine
I've heard through the grapevine
ReplyDeletethat Kreklow is transferring.
His status, injured or not
playing for other reasons, will
have a strong bearing on your prediction
Agreed that Kreklow being out would make a significant difference for them but I wouldn't be surprised to still see them get it done. With the rumors of him going to STA last year, its interesting to hear the transfer rumor on him again. Thanks for passing that along.
ReplyDeleteCzar,
ReplyDeleteExcellent previews. I'm ready for the postseason.
Thank you WatchinHoops. There's nothing better than basketball tournament time. Should be a bunch of terrific games. While I wish we have another state tournament like last year, that championship day will be tough to beat.
ReplyDeleteWow, pretty big upset pick in 5AAAA with Moudsview over Osseo. It seems that Osseo has been struggling for respect all year, considering that all they've done is beat every team they've played. It's not their fault the competition isn't better.
ReplyDeleteI made my 5AAAA predictions on the assumption that Carrington Tankson would be out for Osseo (collapsed lung a couple of weeks ago and a death in the family). If he's 100%, they're the clear favorite. Without him they're a very different team and don't have a solid go to scorer. But Zack Peterson has stepped up with 50 points in the last 3 games with him out. MV really struggled with Michael Floyd of CDH so I expect them to struggle with Rodney Williams (despite the fact that MV has 7 guys they play that are 6'4 to 6'7)
ReplyDelete