Mid-season surprises

So we're basically at the midpoint of the regular season schedule.  Let's go thru some of the surprises to this point.  We'll go league by league to cover all 13 metro area conferences and independents.

EMAC/Independents
Twin Cities Academy/Great River has run the table so far in league play.  That's not a surprise.  The fact that the Tigers have run the table for the season is a surprise.  They have important section wins over Washington, New Life, St. Agnes and Cristo Rey (neutral site by 1 pt).  United Christian has gotten quality seasons from forward Zach Corley and guard Chase Bixel.  Liberty and Avail have shown the bigger competition is a step up for them.

As to the independents.  Preston Alleman has been a pleasant surprise for 8-3 CHOF.  Hope Academy lost their starting backcourt leaving little help for Caleb Hoilien.  CHOF took them out by 24 in Hope's new building last week.  Frosh PG Michael Jude has stepped up his game as another scoring option for Kaleidoscope.

IMAC
How about Blake and St. Paul Academy both at 9-2.  They play each other this week.  Blake opened the season with wins on the road at Holy Angels and Mayer Lutheran.  SPA has had a soft schedule and they had a chance at the end in their home loss to New Life.  Breck at 2-12 despite a difficult schedule is a surprise on the other end.

Lake
The big surprise here is Wayzata at 2-11.  They've been banged up and the schedule has been crazy tough.  5 of the losses are by 8 points or less.  But they have a win over Cretin-Derham Hall over the holiday.  It will be very interesting to see the politics in seeding them in section 6 as nobody wants to see them in their half of the bracket.  No surprise that Eden Prairie has run the table at 13-0. What's impressive is that only 2 of those are single digits with the closest being 8 points.  That's against a very tough schedule too with 7 wins against the other 9 teams in the top 10.

Metro East
South St. Paul has been a great story for new coach Matt McCollister at 10-4.  The schedule has been helpful but a home test vs Tartan on Thursday will be telling.  North St. Paul started 0-6 against a brutally tough schedule along with having to play some young guys.  Now they've won 6 out of 7 including a home win over Tartan in their last outing.  St. Thomas Academy at 1-12 (only win at Hill-Murray) is showing the Cadets extreme youth movement.  They play at least 4 freshmen and a sophomore as major pieces.

Metro West
Cooper is on top of the Metro West.  They have a good home win over Chaska to accomplish that.  Plus a good home win over Waconia as well.  Kennedy is off to a good 9-4 start with good section wins over Holy Angels, Harding, and Richfield.  Benilde-St. Margaret's has had injuries along with a new coach and system. 3-12 was not expected though.  They're more talented than that.

Minneapolis City 
No real surprises here.  North has a good 1 pt home win over De La Salle and a neutral site win over South St. Paul.  But for class AA purposes the losses to Lake City, Caledonia and St. Croix Prep don't help.

MCAA
Biggest story to start the new era of the MCAA is Legacy Christian.  The Lions are off to an 11-1 including a home win over Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity a week ago.  With transfer Jake Wald running the show, they appear to be a major threat to come out of section 4A.

NW Suburban
In the north half, how about Maple Grove (still dumb they were moved to that half) at 9-2.  The 2 losses are by a combined 6 points.  The Crimson have a good section wins at Buffalo plus a double OT home win over Moorhead.  The schedule ramps up with Champlin Park and Totino-Grace at home this week followed by a trip to Osseo.  Champlin Park has been Jekyll and Hyde with blowout losses to Eastview, Lakeville South and Hopkins.  But they just beat Wayzata and knocked off Prior Lake over the holidays.

In the west half, how about Armstrong at 10-1.  We knew they'd be good but didn't expect them to have early control of their division.  Hezekiah Iyawe has been terrific for them in the middle and has come a long way in 2 years.  Plus they have shooters and a do everything piece in Jake Breitbach.  Their last 3 games they've won at Totino-Grace and home vs Park Center (no Dainja) and Osseo.  They also beat Champlin Park.  A 23 point loss to Hopkins in the season opener makes a case for the 1 seed more difficult though.

St. Paul City
Central at 3-8 is a surprise but when you lose the entire roster plus the JV frontcourt that you expected to take over, there would be growing pains.  Junior Kaden Doram has had a breakout season on the wing.  Johnson started 1-6 but they've now won 5 in a row with wins over Humboldt and Central plus a road win at St. Charles.  The Govs appear poised to reclaim the league throne.

Skyline
Concordia Academy is off to their best start in years at 11-3, 4-0 in the league.  Freshman AJ Greene has been a great addition to the lineup.  They have an important win at Cristo Rey.  This week they go on the road to Maranatha and host St. Croix Prep which will tell us much about the Beacons.  Trinity at 2-11 is a team I totally misread.  I expected them to reload but wasn't the case.

South Suburban
The league has basically divided into 2 halves.  Lakeville South at 11-2 is more than expected and they appear to be the favorite in section 1 now.  The resume is impressive with a win at Eastview, neutral wins over Champlin Park, Maple Grove and Buffalo and a home win over Totino-Grace.  Soph Avery Mast has taken his game up a level.

Suburban East
Mounds View at 12-1 is the big story of the league.  They've done it with a very balanced approach with 5 guys averaging more than 8 PPG.  Evan Kim has broken out for the Mustangs as one of many guys making shots for them.  They've taken advantage of a very soft schedule too.  Similar story for 9-4 Irondale but they won at Rockford.  Its been a struggle to 3-10 for new coach Zander Culver at Roseville.  Center Spencer Nath missing time to injury hasn't helped.  Keyshawn Payne is a quality guard but the Raiders need to find a way to make shots.

Tri Metro
The story here is 9-3 Richfield.  The youth movement is starting to pay dividends.  They've taken advantage of a light schedule but they did play Tartan to a 4 point game in the sesaon opener.  Plus they lost by only 5 at South St. Paul.  A tough stretch of the schedule is coming up though.  After a trip to Brooklyn Center there's this gauntlet.  Holy Angels, at St. Croix Lutheran, Columbia Heights, Harding and at De La Salle.