Twin Cities Boys Hoops

The Stampede goes on

Prologue
Its a quiet Wednesday night schedule. But 2 of the best in the Suburban East get together as #10AAAA Mounds View hosts East Ridge. East Ridge once again playing without forward Drew Adams (Winona St commit)

Game Time
Kendall Blue starts the game with a triple. He scores again and East Ridge opens up an 8-2 lead just under 3 minutes in. Mounds View pulls within 13-12 at the 8:09 mark. East Ridge stretches that lead back to 19-14. Kobe Kirk then heats up for Mounds View. He hits 2 buckets around an Evan Kim 3. Then he'll beat the halftime buzzer for a left wing 3. 24-21 Mounds View takes the lead to halftime.

Kirk keeps it going with 2 free throws and a left side jumper to start the 2nd half. He scores 11 out of 14 Mounds View points. Evan Kim with a steal for a bucket as the lead stretches to 31-23. Timeout East Ridge with 15:12 left to stop that momentum. Blue with a free throw and a jumper to cut the lead to 5. A nice feed results in a Luke Budzyn dunk before Blue drops the righty floater. The Mounds View lead is down to 37-35 with 9:05 left and they need a timeout.

Dylan Wheeler hits the kickout triple. Blue with a couple of steals for buckets. 44-43 with 1:34 left as both sides are taking long possessions. East Ridge goes with the strategy to foul Lucas Sopcinski late. He answers the bell with both ends of the bonus with 54.1 left. Ben North counters. East Ridge back to the same strategy and it works as both freebies are missed. East Ridge misses and Kirk makes 2 FTs with 16.7 left to push the lead back to 3. East Ridge turnover with 3.4 left. Ryan Edelman makes 2 free throws to seal it before the meaningless final hoop. Mounds View wins 50-47.

Post Game
East Ridge loses their 3rd straight game to fall to 5-4 overall and in the Suburban East. 3 of those 4 losses by 3 points or less. Drew Adams has missed the last 2 of those. Kendall Blue with 20 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals via 9-20 shooting on my officially unofficial stat sheet. Soph guard Alex Mattes with 11. Rodrick Payne with 7 points and some nice action inside. They host a rivalry game with Woodbury on Friday. Woodbury won the 1st meeting by 2 last week.

#10AAAA Mounds View remains undefeated at 10-0. Half of those wins are by 4 points or less. Kobe Kirk steps up again with 17 points to lead Mounds View. Ryan Edelman not known as a scorer chips in with 9 including the clinching free throws. Evan Kim and Dylan Wheeler each score 7 points. The Mustangs host rival Irondale on Friday. A standard Mounds View performance. Play hard, defend, take care of the ball. They were able to pull out a win despite a cold shooting night. Only 4-18 from 3 for the Mustangs.

Four Factors

FACTOR	Mounds View	East Ridge
Effective FG %	40.4%	50%
Offensive Rebound %	39.5%	25%
Free Throw Rate	42.6%	18.2%
Turnover %	16.7%	22.2%

Points Per Possession	0.93	0.87

Mounds View's cold shooting loses the EFG battle but they did win turnovers. That puts Czar's Law at 67-13 on the season. Mounds View 15 offensive boards but half of that was on 2 possessions. Mounds View makes 12 FTs to only 8 FTAs for East Ridge. Mounds View with 3 turnovers in a 4 possession stretch in the 2nd half. But they finish with only 9 for the game.

Eastview takes lead in South Suburban

Prologue
Its a first place showdown of undefeated leaders in the South Suburban as #4AAAA Shakopee visits #5AAAA Eastview. Both teams come in at 9-0 on the season.

Game Time
Eastview with a 9-0 run thanks to points on 4 straight trips. That includes a Zach Spann 3 for a 14-6 lead at the 13:30 mark. Spann from deep again for an 18-12 lead. Henry Shannon with 1 of 2 FTs and a bucket to push the Eastview lead to 30-21. Nick Katona beats the halftime buzzer going coast to coast. That cuts the Eastview lead to 32-26 at the break. Henry Shannon scoring on 1 end with 9 points and multiple blocks on the other.

A couple of Shakopee turnovers for buckets and a Spann score inside off a BLOB. 40-26 Eastview trying to pull away with 14:30 left. Shakopee won't go away as Quinten Snell makes a 3 to trigger a MoKiller timeout. Spann dunks a turnover. Snell with a 3 point play. Then its Kenji Scales for 3 and the foul as Eastview saves a long miss. 51-39 Eastview with 9 minutes to play. This was shortly after a Shakopee possession where they scored and got fouled. Missed the free throw, got the rebound, missed 2 more chances and then turned it over.

Shakopee scores with 5:04 left to pull within 54-45 and they'll go to full court pressure. That rattles Eastview as they'll turn it over on 4 of the next 5 possessions. Sam West converts one of those to pull the Sabers within 54-49. The last of those 4 turnovers gives Shako a chance to cut the lead further but they miss with 3:03 left. Shannon makes a free throw and Mick Wherley goes to the nice post up. 55-51 with 1:32 left. But its Spann with the dagger as he converts a 3 point play with 1:32 left. A couple of free throws round out the scoring. Eastview wins 60-51

Post Game
#4AAAA Shakopee falls to 9-1 overall and in the South Suburban. Guard Quinten Snell leads Shakopee with 13 points as he tried to rally the Sabers back. Mick Wherley adds 10 points from his forward spot. Nick Katona had some great looks but nothing wanted to go in for him. He finishes with 7 points. Shakopee shoots 6-27 from the 3 point line. The Sabers host Rosemount on Thursday.

#5AAAA Eastview remains undefeated at 10-0. Another night of great balance. Zach Spann with a season high 17 points. Henry Shannon and Kenji Scales each add 15. 8 turnovers in the last 9 minutes has to be a bit concerning as Shakopee's pressure got to them a bit. But they made critical plays and got it done. They chose to go with size on Katona and it was very effective. Eastview plays Eagan on Thursday.

Four Factors

FACTOR	Eastview	Shakopee
Effective FG %	58.3%	41.1%
Offensive Rebound %	30.8%	47.7%
Free Throw Rate	38.1%	23.2%
Turnover %	30%	30%

Points Per Possession	1.00	0.85

Eastview wins EFG big. That puts Czar's Law at 66-12 on the season. Shakopee with 21 offensive rebounds to give them 14 more shot attempts. But the shooting woes were still too much to over come. Turnovers dead even. Overall free throw attempts basically even until the end.

A South Minneapolis Monday

Its two in South Minneapolis on this President's Day 2021. First its a chance to get in 1 of the last 2 teams to see on my local list crossed off as Lakeview Christian visits Hope Academy in an early tip. Then its the ESPNU showdown between Chet Holmgren and Michigan commit Will Tschetter.

Game 1: Hope Academy 87 Lakeview Christian 62
Hope gets off to a strong start taking a 16-4 lead just over 4 minutes in. Lakeview Christian missing 8 of their first 10 shots in that run. All 10 starters score in the 1st half. 42-24 Hope at the break. LCA never gets closer than 15 in the 2nd half. Hope grabs 28 offensive boards and gets up 95 shots. That offsets a big 2nd half from LCA's Lance Puffer. Puffer goes for 21 of his 32 in the 2nd half to lead LCA. Elijah Wade with 24 and a handful of assists for Hope. Jordan Brown adds 23 as the other offensive catalyst.

Four Factors

FACTOR	Hope Academy	Lakeview Christian
Effective FG %	44.7%	32.9%
Offensive Rebound %	45.9%	25.4%
Free Throw Rate	7.4%	22.4%
Turnover %	18.9%	19.1%

Points Per Possession	0.97	0.70

Game 2: #1AAA Minnehaha 87 #4AA Stewartville 63
Minnehaha knocks down 5 quick triples to jump out to a 19-5 lead. Will Tschetter off to a cold start for Stewartville. Chet Holmgren 5 points in a row as he converts a lob dunk. 46-26 Minnehaha at the break. Tschetter only 3-13 in the half. Holmgren with 8 points and 3 blocks in the half. They did go head to head for the most part. Minnehaha not doing all their normal switching with him.

Nolan Stier a bright spot for Stewartville in the half. He scores 17 of his 24 in the 2nd half. He had a great sequence where he had a mismatch on 1 end for a 3, the defender ran out on the make and Stier blocked him twice at the other. Then we come back with a blow by for another bucket. Tschetter with 3 triples in the 2nd half as his shooting heated up. But the outcome was never in doubt. Chet Holmgren finishes with 18 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks via 8-10 FGs on my sheet. Will Tschetter with 19 points and 6 rebounds on 6-19 shooting. Another solid outing for Isaiah Davis with 14 points. Prince Aligbe and Mercy Miller with 14. Hercy Miller adds 12.

Four Factors

FACTOR	Minnehaha	Stewartville
Effective FG %	61.7%	51.8%
Offensive Rebound %	48.4%	41%
Free Throw Rate	14.1%	25.5%
Turnover %	15.4%	22.2%

Points Per Possession	1.34	1.00

Czar's law now 65-12 on the year. Really hard for Stewartville to generate offense against the Minnehaha defense. But high pick and roll did have some impact. Either with Tschetter popping or Stier able to knock down shots.

Feburary 15, 2021 CzarPI

Labels: 20-21 CzarPI

This is the 1st CzarPI of the 2020-21 season (see CzarPI Explained Here). It includes games through Saturday, February 13th, 2021. The value in () after the CzarPI value is the team's strength of schedule ranking within their class. This season I'm also showing the record I'm using to calculate each teams CzarPI value.

Class AAAA

Champlin Park (9-0) - 59.18 (48) 0-0 vs higher, 9-0 vs lower
Hopkins (7-2) - 58.07 (19) 0-0 vs higher, 7-2 vs lower
Mounds View (9-0) - 57.82 (56) 0-0 vs higher, 9-0 vs lower
Eastview (9-0) - 56.82 (59) 0-0 vs higher, 9-0 vs lower
Robbinsdale Cooper (9-1) - 55.47 (52) 0-0 vs higher, 9-1 vs lower
Park Center (7-2) - 55.34 (34) 0-1 vs higher, 7-1 vs lower
Shakopee (9-0) - 54.95 (62) 0-0 vs higher, 9-0 vs lower
Wayzata (7-2) - 54.85 (21) 1-2 vs higher, 6-0 vs lower
Tartan (7-1) - 54.57 (43) 0-1 vs higher, 7-0 vs lower
Chaska (7-2) - 54.38 (29) 1-2 vs higher, 6-0 vs lower
Woodbury (6-3) - 52.40 (26) 0-1 vs higher, 6-2 vs lower
Park of Cottage Grove (6-3) - 52.36 (41) 1-2 vs higher, 5-1 vs lower
Duluth East (6-2) - 52.14 (20) 2-2 vs higher, 4-0 vs lower
Brainerd (7-2) - 50.54 (53) 0-2 vs higher, 7-0 vs lower
Owatonna (7-2) - 50.44 (55) 0-2 vs higher, 7-0 vs lower
Spring Lake Park (6-3) - 50.18 (35) 1-2 vs higher, 5-1 vs lower
Eden Prairie (5-4) - 49.55 (25) 0-3 vs higher, 5-1 vs lower
Maple Grove (5-4) - 49.34 (11) 0-4 vs higher, 5-0 vs lower
St. Paul Central (4-1) - 49.13 (61) 0-1 vs higher, 4-0 vs lower\
Rochester Century (7-2) - 48.96 (60) 0-2 vs higher, 7-0 vs lower
Forest Lake (5-3) - 48.59 (40) 1-2 vs higher, 4-1 vs lower
Northfield (5-4) - 48.16 (42) 2-2 vs higher, 3-2 vs lower
Osseo (5-4) - 47.97 (32) 2-3 vs higher, 3-1 vs lower
Andover (6-3) - 47.93 (47) 1-3 vs higher, 5-0 vs lower
Rosemount (5-4) - 47.91 (23) 0-2 vs higher, 5-2 vs lower
Robbinsdale Armstrong (6-3) - 47.62 (49) 0-3 vs higher, 6-0 vs lower
Lakeville South (5-4) - 47.20 (28) 0-3 vs higher, 5-1 vs lower
Bloomington Jefferson (6-3) - 46.91 (58) 0-2 vs higher, 6-1 vs lower
East Ridge (5-3) - 46.88 (54) 0-3 vs higher, 5-0 vs lower
Farmington (5-4) - 46.08 (17) 2-3 vs higher, 3-1 vs lower
Lakeville North (5-4) - 46.04 (33) 2-4 vs higher, 3-0 vs lower
Minneapolis South (4-2) - 45.63 (46) 0-2 vs higher, 4-0 vs lower
Minnetonka (3-6) - 44.07 (38) 1-3 vs higher, 2-3 vs lower
Buffalo (4-5) - 43.77 (50) 3-3 vs higher, 1-2 vs lower
Edina (4-5) - 42.37 (30) 1-5 vs higher, 3-0 vs lower
Chanhassen (2-6) - 42.23 (4) 1-5 vs higher, 1-1 vs lower
Cretin-Derham Hall (5-4) - 41.47 (57) 1-3 vs higher, 4-1 vs lower
White Bear Lake (4-5) - 41.02 (24) 1-5 vs higher, 3-0 vs lower
Rochester Mayo (3-5) - 40.94 (13) 1-5 vs higher, 2-0 vs lower
Stillwater Area (2-7) - 39.38 (7) 1-7 vs higher, 1-0 vs lower
St. Michael-Albertville (2-7) - 39.25 (8) 2-7 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Blaine (4-4) - 37.75 (45) 0-4 vs higher, 4-0 vs lower
Minneapolis Southwest (3-4) - 37.10 (16) 1-4 vs higher, 2-0 vs lower
St. Louis Park (2-8) - 36.64 (5) 1-8 vs higher, 1-0 vs lower
Eagan (3-6) - 34.02 (31) 0-6 vs higher, 3-0 vs lower
Cambridge-Isanti (1-7) - 33.74 (22) 1-7 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
New Prague (1-7) - 32.87 (2) 1-7 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
North St. Paul (2-2) - 32.46 (6) 0-2 vs higher, 2-0 vs lower
Coon Rapids (3-6) - 28.56 (44) 0-6 vs higher, 3-0 vs lower
Hastings (2-5) - 28.22 (1) 1-5 vs higher, 1-0 vs lower
Rogers (1-8) - 27.43 (14) 0-7 vs higher, 1-1 vs lower
Elk River (1-5) - 26.17 (39) 1-5 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Rochester John Marshall (2-6) - 25.96 (37) 0-6 vs higher, 2-0 vs lower\
Prior Lake (3-6) - 23.89 (51) 0-6 vs higher, 3-0 vs lower
Minneapolis Washburn (1-5) - 0.00 (3) 0-5 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Irondale (0-9) - 0.00 (9) 0-8 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Apple Valley (1-8) - 0.00 (10) 0-8 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Centennial (1-8) - 0.00 (12) 0-8 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Moorhead (0-4) - 0.00 (15) 0-4 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Anoka (0-8) - 0.00 (18) 0-7 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Burnsville (0-9) - 0.00 (27) 0-8 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Roseville (1-6) - 0.00 (36) 0-6 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower

Class AAA

Minnehaha Academy (7-0) - 64.78 (7) 0-0 vs higher, 7-0 vs lower
South St. Paul (9-0) - 61.97 (28) 0-0 vs higher, 9-0 vs lower
Alexandria (9-0) - 60.25 (45) 0-0 vs higher, 9-0 vs lower
Mound Westonka (6-1) - 58.83 (12) 0-1 vs higher, 6-0 vs lower
Austin (6-2) - 57.29 (18) 0-0 vs higher, 6-2 vs lower
Mankato West (8-1) - 56.51 (51) 0-1 vs higher, 8-0 vs lower
St. Paul Johnson (5-1) - 56.11 (46) 0-0 vs higher, 5-1 vs lower
Totino-Grace (7-2) - 56.02 (24) 0-1 vs higher, 7-1 vs lower
Marshall (7-1) - 55.81 (44) 0-1 vs higher, 7-0 vs lower
Columbia Heights (6-1) - 55.81 (53) 0-0 vs higher, 6-1 vs lower
Byron (5-1) - 55.75 (37) 0-0 vs higher, 5-1 vs lower
Grand Rapids (4-3) - 55.23 (6) 0-0 vs higher, 4-3 vs lower
Richfield (7-1) - 54.58 (58) 0-1 vs higher, 7-0 vs lower
Hibbing (6-2) - 54.44 (21) 1-1 vs higher, 5-1 vs lower\
Delano (7-3) - 54.12 (31) 0-1 vs higher, 7-2 vs lower
Princeton (8-1) - 53.69 (63) 0-1 vs higher, 8-0 vs lower
Minneapolis Edison (6-2) - 53.12 (65) 0-0 vs higher, 6-2 vs lower
Detroit Lakes (6-2) - 52.43 (39) 0-2 vs higher, 6-0 vs lower
Sartell-St. Stephen (6-3) - 52.26 (54) 0-1 vs higher, 6-2 vs lower
Orono (6-2) - 51.58 (55) 1-1 vs higher, 5-1 vs lower
St. Francis (6-3) - 50.16 (59) 0-1 vs higher, 6-2 vs lower
Waconia (5-3) - 49.90 (48) 0-2 vs higher, 5-1 vs lower
Mankato East (7-2) - 49.85 (62) 1-1 vs higher, 6-1 vs lower
St. Peter (5-3) - 49.80 (30) 0-2 vs higher, 5-1 vs lower
DeLaSalle (6-2) - 49.62 (57) 0-2 vs higher, 6-0 vs lower
Mahtomedi (6-1) - 49.17 (64) 0-1 vs higher, 6-0 vs lower
St. Croix Lutheran (5-3) - 49.02 (38) 1-3 vs higher, 4-0 vs lower
Simley (3-3) - 48.41 (10) 0-2 vs higher, 3-1 vs lower
St. Paul Highland Park (3-2) - 48.28 (25) 1-2 vs higher, 2-0 vs lower
Chisago Lakes Area (6-3) - 48.20 (61) 0-2 vs higher, 6-1 vs lower
Worthington (5-3) - 45.84 (60) 1-2 vs higher, 4-1 vs lower
Cloquet (4-4) - 45.83 (32) 1-4 vs higher, 3-0 vs lower
Benilde-St. Margaret's (5-5) - 45.17 (47) 1-4 vs higher, 4-1 vs lower
Sauk Rapids-Rice (4-4) - 44.83 (35) 1-3 vs higher, 3-1 vs lower
New Ulm (4-4) - 44.57 (36) 2-4 vs higher, 2-0 vs lower
St. Cloud Apollo (4-6) - 43.96 (20) 1-5 vs higher, 3-1 vs lower
Willmar (4-4) - 43.83 (43) 1-4 vs higher, 3-0 vs lower
Hermantown (4-4) - 43.54 (49) 2-4 vs higher, 2-0 vs lower
Winona (4-5) - 43.42 (16) 1-5 vs higher, 3-0 vs lower
Minneapolis Henry (2-4) - 43.02 (13) 1-3 vs higher, 1-1 vs lower
Hutchinson (3-6) - 42.79 (11) 2-6 vs higher, 1-0 vs lower
St. Anthony Village (3-6) - 41.72 (19) 1-5 vs higher, 2-1 vs lower
Big Lake (4-6) - 41.67 (52) 1-4 vs higher, 3-2 vs lower
Henry Sibley (2-5) - 41.33 (2) 1-5 vs higher, 1-0 vs lower
Becker (5-5) - 41.31 (56) 1-4 vs higher, 4-1 vs lower
Monticello (3-6) - 40.43 (41) 1-6 vs higher, 2-0 vs lower
St. Cloud Tech (1-7) - 38.76 (40) 1-5 vs higher, 0-2 vs lower
Little Falls (5-4) - 38.09 (42) 0-4 vs higher, 5-0 vs lower
Bemidji (3-5) - 37.65 (33) 2-5 vs higher, 1-0 vs lower
Fridley (3-5) - 36.67 (27) 1-5 vs higher, 2-0 vs lower
North Branch (2-8) - 35.80 (17) 1-8 vs higher, 1-0 vs lower
St. Paul Harding (1-4) - 33.75 (4) 0-4 vs higher, 1-0 vs lower
Faribault (1-7) - 30.67 (5) 0-7 vs higher, 1-0 vs lower
Bloomington Kennedy (1-7) - 29.88 (14) 1-7 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Hill-Murray (1-4) - 29.52 (34) 1-3 vs higher, 0-1 vs lower
Kasson-Mantorville (1-7) - 27.38 (29) 0-7 vs higher, 1-0 vs lower
Rocori (1-8) - 23.79 (23) 1-8 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
St. Thomas Academy (0-7) - 0.00 (1) 0-7 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Duluth Denfeld (0-4) - 0.00 (3) 0-4 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Minneapolis Roosevelt (0-7) - 0.00 (8) 0-6 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Zimmerman (0-8) - 0.00 (9) 0-8 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Albert Lea (0-8) - 0.00 (15) 0-7 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Red Wing (1-7) - 0.00 (22) 0-7 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
St. Paul Como Park (1-4) - 0.00 (25) 0-4 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Holy Angels (2-6) - 0.00 (50) 0-6 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower

Class AA

Caledonia (8-0) - 64.09 (13) 0-0 vs higher, 8-0 vs lower
Waseca (8-0) - 61.81 (44) 0-0 vs higher, 8-0 vs lower
Breckenridge (6-1) - 61.21 (8) 0-0 vs higher, 6-1 vs lower
Melrose (8-0) - 61.13 (57) 0-0 vs higher, 8-0 vs lower
Moose Lake-Willow River (7-0) - 59.49 (79) 0-0 vs higher, 7-0 vs lower
Mora (9-0) - 59.48 (80) 0-0 vs higher, 9-0 vs lower
Annandale (6-0) - 59.46 (81) 0-0 vs higher, 6-0 vs lower
Blake (9-0) - 58.90 (91) 0-0 vs higher, 9-0 vs lower
Blue Earth Area (8-1) - 58.28 (43) 0-1 vs higher, 8-0 vs lower
Perham (7-2) - 57.94 (28) 0-1 vs higher, 7-1 vs lower
Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton (4-2) - 57.91 (10) 0-1 vs higher, 4-1 vs lower
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta (8-1) - 57.84 (51) 1-1 vs higher, 7-0 vs lower
Pequot Lakes (8-1) - 56.18 (97) 0-1 vs higher, 8-0 vs lower
Rockford (8-1) - 55.84 (72) 0-1 vs higher, 8-0 vs lower
Albany (8-1) - 55.75 (73) 0-1 vs higher, 8-0 vs lower
Plainview-Elgin-Millville (7-1) - 55.65 (74) 0-1 vs higher, 7-0 vs lower
Eden Valley-Watkins (9-1) - 55.32 (104) 0-0 vs higher, 9-1 vs lower
Maple River (8-1) - 55.24 (90) 0-1 vs higher, 8-0 vs lower
Stewartville (8-1) - 54.89 (96) 1-1 vs higher, 7-0 vs lower
St. Croix Prep (9-1) - 54.35 (103) 0-1 vs higher, 9-0 vs lower
Barnesville (4-3) - 54.21 (24) 1-1 vs higher, 3-2 vs lower
Osakis (8-1) - 53.84 (101) 0-1 vs higher, 8-0 vs lower
Watertown-Mayer (5-3) - 53.69 (14) 0-2 vs higher, 5-1 vs lower
Wadena-Deer Creek (5-3) - 53.45 (46) 1-0 vs higher, 4-3 vs lower
Minnesota Valley Lutheran (7-2) - 53.12 (76) 0-1 vs higher, 7-1 vs lower
Minneapolis North (6-0) - 52.50 (125) 0-0 vs higher, 6-0 vs lower
La Crescent-Hokah (5-2) - 52.25 (48) 0-2 vs higher, 5-0 vs lower
Eveleth-Gilbert (7-1) - 52.19 (117) 0-1 vs higher, 7-0 vs lower
Pillager (7-3) - 52.17 (78) 1-2 vs higher, 6-1 vs lower
Kimball Area (7-2) - 51.86 (92) 0-1 vs higher, 7-1 vs lower
Litchfield (6-2) - 51.40 (89) 0-2 vs higher, 6-0 vs lower
Pine City (7-2) - 51.10 (75) 0-2 vs higher, 7-0 vs lower
Warroad (7-2) - 50.95 (113) 1-1 vs higher, 6-1 vs lower
Lake City (4-2) - 50.86 (40) 0-2 vs higher, 4-0 vs lower
Crosby-Ironton (4-3) - 50.64 (12) 1-3 vs higher, 3-0 vs lower
Paynesville Area (6-3) - 50.61 (59) 1-2 vs higher, 5-1 vs lower
Triton (6-3) - 50.56 (70) 0-2 vs higher, 6-1 vs lower
Pelican Rapids (5-3) - 49.93 (49) 1-3 vs higher, 4-0 vs lower
Luverne (6-2) - 49.84 (110) 0-1 vs higher, 6-1 vs lower
Duluth Marshall (6-2) - 49.76 (121) 0-2 vs higher, 6-0 vs lower
Providence Academy (6-4) - 49.75 (16) 0-4 vs higher, 6-0 vs lower
Tracy-Milroy-Balaton (7-2) - 49.52 (100) 0-2 vs higher, 7-0 vs lower
Pipestone Area (4-4) - 49.21 (29) 1-2 vs higher, 3-2 vs lower
Hiawatha Collegiate (5-3) - 49.20 (99) 1-1 vs higher, 4-2 vs lower
St. Paul Humboldt (4-1) - 49.13 (119) 0-1 vs higher, 4-0 vs lower
Chatfield (6-2) - 48.20 (107) 0-2 vs higher, 6-0 vs lower
Breck (4-4) - 48.14 (39) 0-3 vs higher, 4-1 vs lower
Esko (3-6) - 48.06 (1) 0-5 vs higher, 3-1 vs lower
Rush City (5-2) - 47.87 (123) 1-1 vs higher, 4-1 vs lower
Frazee (4-5) - 47.75 (18) 1-5 vs higher, 3-0 vs lower
Jordan (4-5) - 47.56 (36) 1-3 vs higher, 3-2 vs lower
Pierz (7-2) - 47.41 (109) 0-2 vs higher, 7-0 vs lower
Belle Plaine (5-4) - 46.98 (93) 1-2 vs higher, 4-2 vs lower
Glencoe-Silver Lake (5-4) - 46.78 (69) 1-3 vs higher, 4-1 vs lower
Virginia (2-5) - 46.63 (3) 0-4 vs higher, 2-1 vs lower
Goodhue (5-4) - 46.62 (62) 0-4 vs higher, 5-0 vs lower
St. Paul Academy (5-4) - 45.95 (111) 0-2 vs higher, 5-2 vs lower
Twin Cities Academy/Great River (4-4) - 45.95 (37) 1-4 vs higher, 3-0 vs lower
Fergus Falls (6-3) - 45.87 (88) 0-3 vs higher, 6-0 vs lower
Southwest Christian (6-3) - 45.72 (102) 2-3 vs higher, 4-0 vs lower
Redwood Valley (4-5) - 45.70 (11) 1-5 vs higher, 3-0 vs lower
Metro Schools College Prep (4-2) - 45.57 (122) 0-2 vs higher, 4-0 vs lower
Hawley (3-5) - 45.57 (23) 1-5 vs higher, 2-0 vs lower
Holy Family Catholic (3-6) - 45.34 (55) 2-4 vs higher, 1-2 vs lower
Thief River Falls (5-3) - 45.25 (86) 0-3 vs higher, 5-0 vs lower
Montevideo (3-4) - 45.13 (35) 0-3 vs higher, 3-1 vs lower
Minnewaska Area (4-4) - 44.91 (30) 0-4 vs higher, 4-0 vs lower
Spectrum (4-5) - 44.71 (26) 0-4 vs higher, 4-1 vs lower
Two Harbors (6-3) - 44.67 (118) 0-3 vs higher, 6-0 vs lower
Maranatha Christian (6-3) - 44.58 (112) 0-3 vs higher, 6-0 vs lower
St. Charles (2-1) - 44.40 (98) 0-1 vs higher, 2-0 vs lower
East Grand Forks (5-4) - 44.11 (95) 1-4 vs higher, 4-0 vs lower
Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted (3-6) - 43.69 (7) 1-6 vs higher, 2-0 vs lower
Cannon Falls (5-4) - 43.49 (84) 0-4 vs higher, 5-0 vs lower
Cristo Rey Jesuit (5-5) - 43.19 (105) 1-4 vs higher, 4-1 vs lower
Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial (3-6) - 42.70 (17) 2-4 vs higher, 1-2 vs lower
Fairmont (4-4) - 42.39 (63) 1-4 vs higher, 3-0 vs lower
Kenyon-Wanamingo (3-5) - 41.84 (34) 1-5 vs higher, 2-0 vs lower
Lewiston-Altura (4-4) - 41.76 (52) 0-4 vs higher, 4-0 vs lower
Long Prairie-Grey Eagle (4-5) - 41.73 (71) 1-4 vs higher, 3-1 vs lower
New Life Academy (4-6) - 41.54 (106) 1-4 vs higher, 3-2 vs lower
Tri-City United (4-5) - 41.03 (65) 1-5 vs higher, 3-0 vs lower
Sauk Centre (3-5) - 40.77 (50) 0-5 vs higher, 3-0 vs lower
Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton (3-6) - 40.19 (31) 2-6 vs higher, 1-0 vs lower
Windom Area (3-5) - 38.20 (64) 1-5 vs higher, 2-0 vs lower
Menahga (1-4) - 38.16 (56) 1-3 vs higher, 0-1 vs lower
New Richland-H-E-G (3-6) - 38.04 (61) 1-5 vs higher, 2-1 vs lower
St. Agnes (4-6) - 37.94 (116) 2-6 vs higher, 2-0 vs lower
Aitkin (3-3) - 37.86 (60) 0-3 vs higher, 3-0 vs lower
Math and Science Academy (1-3) - 36.53 (58) 0-3 vs higher, 1-0 vs lower
New London-Spicer (3-6) - 36.48 (20) 0-6 vs higher, 3-0 vs lower
Zumbrota-Mazeppa (3-5) - 35.17 (77) 0-5 vs higher, 3-0 vs lower
Pine Island (2-7) - 35.00 (45) 1-7 vs higher, 1-0 vs lower
Maple Lake (3-6) - 34.93 (42) 0-6 vs higher, 3-0 vs lower
St. Cloud Cathedral (2-7) - 34.71 (4) 0-6 vs higher, 2-1 vs lower
Royalton (3-6) - 34.53 (68) 1-6 vs higher, 2-0 vs lower
International Falls (4-4) - 34.17 (120) 1-4 vs higher, 3-0 vs lower
Bagley (2-7) - 33.83 (38) 1-7 vs higher, 1-0 vs lower
Milaca (1-7) - 33.10 (2) 0-6 vs higher, 1-1 vs lower
Medford (2-6) - 32.87 (67) 1-5 vs higher, 1-1 vs lower
Foley (3-7) - 31.09 (32) 2-7 vs higher, 1-0 vs lower
Concordia Academy (3-7) - 30.76 (87) 1-7 vs higher, 2-0 vs lower
Benson (2-7) - 29.84 (47) 1-7 vs higher, 1-0 vs lower
Park Rapids Area (2-6) - 28.99 (41) 0-6 vs higher, 2-0 vs lower
Norwood-Young America (2-6) - 28.95 (66) 0-6 vs higher, 2-0 vs lower
Roseau (3-5) - 28.52 (124) 0-5 vs higher, 3-0 vs lower
Dover-Eyota (1-8) - 27.63 (15) 0-8 vs higher, 1-0 vs lower
Staples-Motley (1-9) - 26.53 (33) 1-9 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Dassel-Cokato (1-8) - 25.49 (22) 1-8 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Sibley East (1-7) - 24.44 (108) 0-6 vs higher, 1-1 vs lower
LeSueur-Henderson (1-7) - 24.24 (114) 1-7 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
St. Paul Washington (0-5) - 0.00 (5) 0-4 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Mesabi East (0-6) - 0.00 (6) 0-5 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Jackson County Central (0-9) - 0.00 (9) 0-9 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Holdingford (0-8) - 0.00 (19) 0-7 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Greenway (0-8) - 0.00 (21) 0-6 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Winona Cotter/Hope Lutheran (0-8) - 0.00 (25) 0-6 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
St. James Area (0-8) - 0.00 (27) 0-8 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City (1-7) - 0.00 (53) 0-7 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Brooklyn Center (0-8) - 0.00 (54) 0-6 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Nova Classical Academy (0-10) - 0.00 (82) 0-8 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Mounds Park Academy (0-8) - 0.00 (83) 0-7 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Crookston (1-8) - 0.00 (85) 0-8 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Proctor (2-6) - 0.00 (94) 0-6 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Rochester Lourdes (1-6) - 0.00 (115) 0-6 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower

Class A

Mahnomen/Waubun (9-0) - 58.60 (83) 0-0 vs higher, 9-0 vs lower
Renville County West (8-0) - 58.15 (97) 0-0 vs higher, 8-0 vs lower
Cass Lake-Bena (8-2) - 58.06 (19) 0-0 vs higher, 8-2 vs lower
Legacy Christian (9-1) - 57.95 (50) 0-0 vs higher, 9-1 vs lower
Mankato Loyola (8-1) - 57.83 (54) 0-0 vs higher, 8-1 vs lower
Nevis (8-1) - 57.35 (57) 1-1 vs higher, 7-0 vs lower
New York Mills (7-2) - 57.14 (23) 0-1 vs higher, 7-1 vs lower
Southland (8-1) - 56.64 (58) 0-0 vs higher, 8-1 vs lower
Ashby (8-0) - 56.56 (126) 0-0 vs higher, 8-0 vs lower
East Central (8-0) - 56.16 (133) 0-0 vs higher, 8-0 vs lower
Northern Freeze (5-3) - 56.13 (14) 0-0 vs higher, 5-3 vs lower
North Woods (7-1) - 55.50 (75) 0-0 vs higher, 7-1 vs lower
Spring Grove (8-1) - 55.46 (86) 0-0 vs higher, 8-1 vs lower
Lester Prairie (8-2) - 55.41 (68) 1-1 vs higher, 7-1 vs lower
Southwest MN Christian (8-0) - 55.37 (141) 0-0 vs higher, 8-0 vs lower
Badger/Greenbush-Middle River (7-1) - 54.65 (116) 1-1 vs higher, 6-0 vs lower
Cherry (5-2) - 54.40 (28) 0-1 vs higher, 5-1 vs lower
Central MN Christian (8-1) - 54.22 (94) 0-1 vs higher, 8-0 vs lower
Deer River (7-2) - 54.20 (48) 1-0 vs higher, 6-2 vs lower
Cleveland (7-1) - 54.04 (93) 0-1 vs higher, 7-0 vs lower
Nashwauk-Keewatin (7-2) - 53.97 (47) 1-2 vs higher, 6-0 vs lower
Fertile-Beltrami (8-1) - 53.23 (111) 0-1 vs higher, 8-0 vs lower
T/ML/GHEC (6-3) - 53.20 (27) 1-2 vs higher, 5-1 vs lower
Lac qui Parle Valley (9-0) - 53.14 (149) 0-0 vs higher, 9-0 vs lower
Sleepy Eye Saint Mary's (7-2) - 53.08 (78) 0-2 vs higher, 7-0 vs lower
Mayer Lutheran (8-1) - 52.67 (142) 0-0 vs higher, 8-1 vs lower
St. Clair (7-1) - 52.53 (117) 0-1 vs higher, 7-0 vs lower
Lyle/Austin Pacelli (7-1) - 52.27 (114) 1-1 vs higher, 6-0 vs lower
Westbrook-Walnut Grove (6-2) - 51.92 (89) 0-1 vs higher, 6-1 vs lower
Avail Academy (6-2) - 51.77 (112) 0-0 vs higher, 6-2 vs lower
Upsala (7-3) - 51.66 (31) 0-3 vs higher, 7-0 vs lower
Northland (8-2) - 51.50 (109) 2-2 vs higher, 6-0 vs lower
Parkers Prairie (6-2) - 51.30 (82) 0-1 vs higher, 6-1 vs lower
Stephen-Argyle (6-1) - 50.95 (145) 0-1 vs higher, 6-0 vs lower
New Ulm Cathedral (6-2) - 50.89 (102) 1-1 vs higher, 5-1 vs lower
Springfield (6-2) - 50.82 (100) 1-2 vs higher, 5-0 vs lower
Hayfield (7-3) - 50.81 (53) 0-2 vs higher, 7-1 vs lower
Win-E-Mac (8-2) - 50.56 (110) 0-2 vs higher, 8-0 vs lower
Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa (7-2) - 49.89 (103) 1-2 vs higher, 6-0 vs lower
West Central Area (5-2) - 49.60 (81) 0-2 vs higher, 5-0 vs lower
Randolph (6-3) - 49.52 (69) 1-2 vs higher, 5-1 vs lower
Grand Meadow (3-2) - 49.51 (12) 1-2 vs higher, 2-0 vs lower
Lanesboro (5-4) - 49.32 (63) 1-2 vs higher, 4-2 vs lower
Hancock (6-3) - 48.87 (74) 1-3 vs higher, 5-0 vs lower
Henning (6-3) - 48.84 (72) 1-3 vs higher, 5-0 vs lower
Braham (6-3) - 48.61 (46) 0-3 vs higher, 6-0 vs lower
United Christian Academy (5-3) - 48.18 (132) 2-2 vs higher, 3-1 vs lower
Barnum (5-3) - 48.02 (90) 0-3 vs higher, 5-0 vs lower
Red Lake County (6-2) - 47.79 (131) 0-2 vs higher, 6-0 vs lower
Verndale (5-4) - 46.72 (73) 1-3 vs higher, 4-1 vs lower
Red Lake (5-2) - 46.54 (105) 0-2 vs higher, 5-0 vs lower
Blackduck (4-4) - 46.42 (45) 0-3 vs higher, 4-1 vs lower
Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda (6-3) - 45.98 (143) 0-1 vs higher, 6-2 vs lower
South Ridge (7-2) - 45.48 (148) 0-2 vs higher, 7-0 vs lower
Martin County West (3-6) - 45.21 (5) 0-5 vs higher, 3-1 vs lower
Russell-Tyler-Ruthton (4-4) - 44.62 (32) 1-3 vs higher, 3-1 vs lower
Chisholm (5-3) - 44.54 (122) 1-3 vs higher, 4-0 vs lower
Murray County Central (4-3) - 44.54 (106) 1-2 vs higher, 3-1 vs lower
Warren-Alvarado-Oslo (4-5) - 44.34 (36) 1-4 vs higher, 3-1 vs lower
Waterville-Elysian-Morristown (3-4) - 44.33 (24) 0-3 vs higher, 3-1 vs lower
Heritage Christian (7-3) - 43.85 (144) 1-3 vs higher, 6-0 vs lower
CHOF (1-3) - 43.74 (1) 1-3 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
United South Central (3-4) - 43.58 (104) 0-2 vs higher, 3-2 vs lower
Schaeffer Academy (2-5) - 42.67 (4) 1-3 vs higher, 1-2 vs lower
Browerville/Eagle Valley (3-5) - 42.60 (26) 0-4 vs higher, 3-1 vs lower
Nicollet (5-4) - 42.55 (139) 2-3 vs higher, 3-1 vs lower
Minneota (4-5) - 42.36 (30) 1-3 vs higher, 3-2 vs lower
Lakeview (5-4) - 42.16 (39) 1-4 vs higher, 4-0 vs lower
Fillmore Central (2-4) - 41.70 (38) 1-2 vs higher, 1-2 vs lower
Cromwell-Wright (5-3) - 41.59 (137) 0-3 vs higher, 5-0 vs lower
Ely (5-2) - 41.53 (140) 0-2 vs higher, 5-0 vs lower
Lake Park-Audubon (5-3) - 41.40 (130) 0-3 vs higher, 5-0 vs lower
Hinckley-Finlayson (3-5) - 41.28 (34) 1-4 vs higher, 2-1 vs lower
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy (5-4) - 41.24 (127) 0-3 vs higher, 5-1 vs lower
Wabasso (4-4) - 41.05 (79) 0-4 vs higher, 4-0 vs lower
Wheaton/Herman-Norcross (3-4) - 41.01 (59) 1-4 vs higher, 2-0 vs lower
Madelia (4-5) - 40.90 (41) 2-4 vs higher, 2-1 vs lower
Mountain Lake Area/Comfrey (4-4) - 40.54 (61) 0-4 vs higher, 4-0 vs lower
Hills-Beaver Creek (3-4) - 39.56 (77) 1-4 vs higher, 2-0 vs lower
Carlton (4-4) - 39.03 (108) 0-3 vs higher, 4-1 vs lower
Rushford-Peterson (5-4) - 38.97 (92) 1-4 vs higher, 4-0 vs lower
Ada-Borup (4-5) - 38.55 (87) 0-4 vs higher, 4-1 vs lower
Sebeka (4-6) - 38.50 (84) 1-5 vs higher, 3-1 vs lower
BOLD (2-6) - 38.49 (43) 1-4 vs higher, 1-2 vs lower
Swanville (4-6) - 38.15 (107) 1-6 vs higher, 3-0 vs lower
Lakeview Christian (2-6) - 37.99 (20) 1-5 vs higher, 1-1 vs lower
Cedar Mountain (4-5) - 37.87 (88) 1-5 vs higher, 3-0 vs lower
Fosston (4-5) - 37.68 (136) 0-4 vs higher, 4-1 vs lower
Goodridge/Grygla (5-6) - 37.43 (85) 0-6 vs higher, 5-0 vs lower
Mabel-Canton (5-5) - 36.60 (70) 2-5 vs higher, 3-0 vs lower
Brandon/Evansville (4-5) - 36.42 (123) 0-4 vs higher, 4-1 vs lower
Ortonville (2-4) - 36.11 (121) 1-3 vs higher, 1-1 vs lower
Rothsay (4-5) - 36.04 (115) 1-5 vs higher, 3-0 vs lower
Kaleidoscope Charter (5-2) - 35.95 (150) 0-2 vs higher, 5-0 vs lower
MACCRAY (3-6) - 35.91 (60) 1-5 vs higher, 2-1 vs lower
Mountain Iron-Buhl (2-5) - 34.67 (17) 1-4 vs higher, 1-1 vs lower
NCE/U-H (3-7) - 34.57 (33) 1-7 vs higher, 2-0 vs lower
Hope Academy (1-4) - 34.54 (119) 0-2 vs higher, 1-2 vs lower
Clearbrook-Gonvick (2-6) - 34.32 (76) 0-6 vs higher, 2-0 vs lower
Sacred Heart (2-6) - 34.01 (15) 1-6 vs higher, 1-0 vs lower
Pine River-Backus (2-7) - 33.68 (8) 1-7 vs higher, 1-0 vs lower
Dawson-Boyd (2-6) - 33.10 (40) 1-5 vs higher, 1-1 vs lower
Blooming Prairie (2-5) - 32.08 (91) 1-5 vs higher, 1-0 vs lower
Wrenshall (2-5) - 31.39 (124) 0-3 vs higher, 2-2 vs lower
Ogilvie (1-5) - 31.05 (62) 0-5 vs higher, 1-0 vs lower
Floodwood (2-5) - 30.72 (96) 0-5 vs higher, 2-0 vs lower
Silver Bay (1-7) - 30.49 (29) 1-6 vs higher, 0-1 vs lower
McGregor (1-7) - 30.49 (113) 1-5 vs higher, 0-2 vs lower
Red Rock Central (3-6) - 30.15 (98) 0-6 vs higher, 3-0 vs lower
Canby (1-8) - 29.47 (13) 1-7 vs higher, 0-1 vs lower
Liberty Classical Academy (2-5) - 28.87 (146) 0-5 vs higher, 2-0 vs lower
Northome/Kelliher (5-5) - 28.85 (138) 0-5 vs higher, 5-0 vs lower
Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop (3-6) - 28.31 (95) 0-6 vs higher, 3-0 vs lower
St. John's Prep (1-7) - 26.42 (35) 0-7 vs higher, 1-0 vs lower
Cook County (1-5) - 25.51 (67) 1-5 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Bigfork (1-6) - 24.54 (7) 1-6 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg (2-7) - 23.59 (22) 1-7 vs higher, 1-0 vs lower
Adrian/Ellsworth (1-8) - 23.08 (101) 0-7 vs higher, 1-1 vs lower
Isle (2-7) - 23.05 (42) 1-7 vs higher, 1-0 vs lower
Edgerton (1-8) - 22.57 (128) 1-8 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Houston (0-9) - 0.00 (2) 0-9 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Kingsland (1-7) - 0.00 (3) 0-7 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Alden-Conger (0-6) - 0.00 (6) 0-6 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Bethlehem Academy (0-7) - 0.00 (9) 0-7 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Littlefork-Big Falls (1-6) - 0.00 (10) 0-6 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Yellow Medicine East (0-9) - 0.00 (11) 0-9 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Eagle Ridge Academy (0-6) - 0.00 (16) 0-2 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
North Lakes Academy (0-10) - 0.00 (18) 0-6 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Glenville-Emmons (0-4) - 0.00 (21) 0-2 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Onamia (0-8) - 0.00 (25) 0-8 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Park Christian (1-7) - 0.00 (37) 0-7 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Sleepy Eye (0-9) - 0.00 (44) 0-8 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Laporte (0-6) - 0.00 (49) 0-5 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Walker-Hackensack-Akeley (1-6) - 0.00 (51) 0-6 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Hill City (1-6) - 0.00 (52) 0-6 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Bertha-Hewitt (1-6) - 0.00 (55) 0-6 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Climax/Fisher (0-10) - 0.00 (56) 0-9 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Wabasha-Kellogg (1-5) - 0.00 (64) 0-5 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart (1-8) - 0.00 (65) 0-8 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
LeRoy-Ostrander (1-3) - 0.00 (66) 0-3 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Kittson County Central (1-8) - 0.00 (71) 0-8 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Battle Lake (2-7) - 0.00 (80) 0-7 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Underwood (0-9) - 0.00 (99) 0-6 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Lakes International Language Academy (2-7) - 0.00 (118) 0-7 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Chesterton Academy (0-4) - 0.00 (120) 0-2 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley (0-8) - 0.00 (125) 0-7 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
PACT Charter (4-5) - 0.00 (129) 0-5 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Trinity School (3-7) - 0.00 (134) 0-7 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
Lake of the Woods (0-7) - 0.00 (135) 0-5 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower
West Lutheran (4-3) - 0.00 (147) 0-3 vs higher, 0-0 vs lower

2020-21 Mid-Season Review

Today marks 1 month since the 2020-21 season was finally able to start games. It also means we are 1 month away from the end of the regular season. So after watching 75 games and 123 teams, let's review what we've seen. I've seen all but 3 of local teams I claim to follow in addition to leaving out the outstate teams from class AAAA.

Independents
I expected more from an experienced LILA team. They got a cool 50 spot from Strom Norcross in an overtime win over Chesterton/ISM last week. He also passed 1000 career points a couple weeks ago. But he hasn't gotten any help for the 2-7 Dragons. CHOF lost big to Legacy but I'm not worried about them. I think they'll still be there at the end after this rough start.

EMAC
Only half of the EMAC is playing this season. Thankfully its the top half. United Christian's guard play has been better than I expected and that took them to a win over Hiawatha. Adding MD Daud gives Hiawatha even more firepower on the offense end. But I still don't trust them defensively. The rematch that will likely determine the league title is March 4th. Avail lost to both teams to start the season but has won 6 in a row since.

MCAA
No surprise seeing Legacy and Lester Prairie at the top. They split their 2 games this week. Heritage has been the major surprise here. Soph forward Aiden Johnson has been a revelation averaging 17.6 PPG. Steph Sawtelle adding 21.6 a game for the 7-3 Eagles as well. CHOF, Legacy home and home and Avail still on the schedule.

Skyline
Lots of youth in the league with Nova, New Life and Maranatha all very young plus soph AJ Greene leading Concordia. Cristo Rey 3-2 and still 3rd in the league but they're in a tailspin right now. They've lost 3 in a row and 4 of 6. I had questions after seeing them on opening night and those still exist.

IMAC
Minnehaha has been what we thought. Blake has been terrific here winning all 9 games by double figures. That includes double figure road wins vs St. Croix Prep and Twin Cities Academy and the ugly home win on opening night vs Cristo Rey. They now have Jasper Liu back in the lineup too. Providence getting 14 PPG from one of the top shooters nobody knows in Sam Schroeder. Nice win for them over Twin Cities Academy. Breck's youth with 2 talented sophs and a crop of 8th graders coming up will be fun to watch. Even Mounds Park Academy despite their winless record looks improved from last year and they have some freshmen in the pipeline too.

Tri-Metro
Columbia Heights knocking off Richfield and DeLaSalle at home was huge before a strange home loss to St. Croix Lutheran. Lots of firepower for the Hylanders. DeLaSalle being 3rd in the league is a major shock. The graduation of Jalen Travis is really showing. Cade Haskins is having to defend big guys which isn't a normal thing for him. I also expected more from Holy Angels than 2-6. Tough loss for St. Anthony this week with PG Max Kachman now out for the season.

St. Paul City
Johnson going into Central and getting a win a minor surprise. St. Paul Humboldt at 4-1 is a nice surprise. Brian Williams (21.5 PPG) playing style is like Zion Williamson going all lefty and attacking the rim. Xavier Garcia brings scoring (23 PPG) and a calming influence. Highland Park with a 1 point win over Johnson and 1 point loss to Humboldt this week. They're still in the thick of it 1 game behind the 3 leaders.

Minneapolis City
North steamrolling thru the league as expected. Davon Townley dominant inside for the Polars. Edison has won 6 in a row including an emphatic 36 point win over South this week. 4-1 in the league with 2 games vs North still on the schedule. Jabari Langley and Johnny Spencer have been a dynamic scoring duo for the Tommies.

Metro East
The league has had all kinds of COVID cancellations with only South St. Paul getting in a full set of league games. Soph G Will Underwood has been impressive for Mahtomedi as they were undefeated until losing to South St. Paul this week. Guard Murl Smith putting up big numbers for North St. Paul. Freshman Jaden Morgan of Henry Sibley is a future bright spot for the Warriors.

Metro West
Cooper and Chaska have split so no surprises at the top of the league. Jefferson 2 tight wins over St. Louis Park to make the Jags a positive surprise. That included a 39-37 OT win on Thursday. St. Louis Park 1-8 before winning a grudge match at Benilde-St. Margaret's yesterday. Flip those 2 games and the teams would be at about where I had them preseason.

NW Suburban
Champlin Park with home wins over Maple Grove and Totino-Grace. That keeps the Rebels undefeated and #1 in the AAAA poll. Spring Lake Park with home wins over both of those teams as well as another positive surprise. On the other end of expectations, there's Osseo at 5-4 (4-4) including a 22 point loss to Park Center at home. Maybe last year isn't a write off. Totino-Grace with 2 losses already on the season wasn't expected either. Its a young roster learning about high expectations.

Suburban East
Gotta love Mounds View rising thru the ranks and running the table so far thru the 1st rotation at 9-0. Great balance for that lineup. Park has been a great story as well getting their 1st ever win over district rival East Ridge. Speaking of East Ridge, they were in the thick of the race but lost both games this week. Woodbury started out a surprising 1-3 but they've picked it up for 5 straight wins. That run includes CDH, Park and East Ridge. Soph Jack Janicki (22.7 PPG) has been outstanding for White Bear Lake. He put up 35 points in a win at Cretin-Derham Hall. Tre Holloman averaging 21 PPG for CDH but nobody else in double figures for the Raiders.

South Suburban
Shakopee and Eastview both undefeated and in the top 5 in the AAAA poll will play on Tuesday. That exceeds the expectations for 2 rosters that both lost a ton. The rest of the league is 4 games behind those 2. Rosemount and Farmington have risen up to be in that 2nd group with the Lakeville schools. Lakeville South lost to both of them in a stretch where they lost 4 of 5 before beating Eagan on Friday. A very different Cougars team without Riley Mahlman. Lakeville North fell back into the group with 2 losses this week including at 20 point loss at Rosemount on Friday. Prior Lake with their only 3 wins over the bottom 2 in the league is not expected. Malcolm Jones is having a big year but limited help around him.

Lake
Eden Prairie at 4-4 in a rugged league is the pleasant surprise here. David Flom doing a great job with a revamped roster. Soph Chiddi Obiazor has become a go to guy. They also a have a shooter on the wing in junior Miles Smith. Minnetonka with a heartbreaking loss at the buzzer yesterday to Armstrong. With 4 tough games coming up they could be looking at a 3-10 record. Granted 5 of their 6 losses have been by 6 points or less.

Wright County East
This league may be the 1 that is as close to expectations as any. Trey Longstreet has been terrific for a Delano team that has revamped their style in-season. Jordan beat Delano but followed that up with 3 tight losses. Junior shooters Ashton Sivilay and Isaac Young give the Jags plenty of firepower with Reagan Koch running the show. The AAA schedule will beat up their record but they will be tough in section 2AA.

Sinking the ship

Prologue
From one end of the metro to the other as its an old Classic Lake game between Robbinsdale Armstrong and Minnetonka. This game came together recently as both teams had an open spot on the schedule. Great tunes and variety during timeouts. John Denver - Thank God I'm A Country Boy, Pharrell Williams - Happy and Tears For Fears - Everybody Wants to Rule the World some of today's hits. Armstrong once again playing without one of their major offensive pieces as Dylan Inniger sits out.

Game Time
Fouls mount quickly for Tonka early in the half. Vlad Ciubotaru 2 quick ones. Chase McPherson into the game and on the offensive board for a 9-4 Tonka lead 5 minutes in. Vlad picks up his 3rd and sits. Cohen Kellogg and Jalen Cain each end up with and then Cain with 3. Armstrong shoots 12 straight free throws. That's part of a 10-0 run that puts the Falcons up 16-11. Freshmen carry the offense the rest of the half with a Will Koeppen 3 and PG Andy Stefonwicz scoring the last 7 Tonka points. That included a 3 of his own and 4 free throws. Frosh Seth Newburn a couple of nice drives for the Falcons side. Armstrong up 25-21 at the break.

Tonka out strong to start the 2nd half. Cain with 2 drives for buckets and a Stefoniwicz triple. They force an Armstrong timeout with 14:10 left and a Tonka 30-27 lead. Armstrong trying to attack Stefonowicz inside with size and strength with a bit of success as the Falcons take a 37-34 lead. Stefonowicz flammable. Left corner 3, right corner 3 and again from the right corner and the foul for a 4 point play. That puts Tonka back on top 44-41 with 3:56 left. The teams trade a couple of possessions of misses and Tonka is in no hurry with the lead. Skippers are finally fouled with 1:02 left and the same score. They miss the front end but the whole side is clear for McPherson to grab the miss and put it back. Armstrong misses and this one looks over. Tonka headed to the line up 5 with 34 seconds left.

Another missed front end for Tonka. D'Sean Larkins fouled and makes 2 FTs with 26.2 left. Stefonowicz another answer as he calmly makes both ends of the bonus with 22.3 left. Larkins straight away for 3 with 18.3 left. Tonka fouled on the inbounds and they'll make 1. Armstrong has a chance, 1 attempt no good. Owen Skram grabs the board and from the left wing buries a 3 to tie it with 5.7 left. Tonka takes timeout to set up the final chance. But they won't get it. They push the ball up the left sideline. Its turned over at half court. Larkins has it, 1 dribble and from the logo at the buzzer, BANKS IT IN. Armstrong steals one 52-49.

Post Game
Heartbreak hotel for Minnetonka. A 5 point lead with 34 seconds left and FTs coming goes by the wayside. The Skippers fall to 3-6 with the loss. Plus you have Wayzata, at Hopkins, at Eden Prairie, at Chaska over the next 2 weeks. Tonka goes 3-8 from the charity stripe (if you count the front ends) in the last 1:02 before the final turnover. Freshman Andy Stefonowicz with 5 treys and 26 points to lead all scorers. Jalen Cain adds 12. Vlad Ciubotaru held scoreless and was in foul trouble for much of the game.

Robbinsdale Armstrong now 6-3 with the win. D'Sean Larkins leads the way with 24 points including 8 in the last 26.2 seconds. Tonka with major problems staying in front of him all day. Nobody else in double figures for the Falcons. You don't see many teams try to attack a guard inside but it was interesting watching Armstrong try to exploit the freshman Stefoniwicz inside for a small stretch of the 2nd half. That's a double-edged sword though. If it works great, but if its not within your normal scheme, it can really mess you up too. The upcoming stretch isn't easy for Armstrong either. Spring Lake Park and Osseo at home before a home and home with Park Center.

Four Factors

FACTOR	Minnetonka	Robbinsdale Armstrong
Effective FG %	55.7%	40.4%
Offensive Rebound %	32%	32.4%
Free Throw Rate	45.7%	26.9%
Turnover %	31.6%	12.3%

Points Per Possession	0.86	0.91

Czar's Law takes a big L here to fall to 62-11 (84.9%) on the season. Armstrong wins the turnover battle though and ends up with 17 more attempts to make up for 4-19 from the arc. The free throw numbers are entertaining. After Armstrong shot the 1st 12 free throws of the game, they only shot 2 more free throws the rest of the way (the 2 by Larkins in the last 30 seconds). Tonka went 7-12 with 3 missed front ends inbetween that time.

At least somebody gets to play

Prologue
If not 1 Metro East game, then why not pick another. With the Mahtomedi vs South St. Paul viewing gone haywire, I flipped over to the league's top rivalry game Tartan at North St. Paul. Life has been difficult in the Metro East. The other 5 teams in the league had their games cancelled tonight. Tartan playing with basically 6 guys. Not to mention that this is the 1st game in over 3 weeks for North St. Paul. In fact, it was the same day that Tartan lost their only game of the year to South St. Paul (I did that thriller live here).

Game Time
North St. Paul opens the game by missing their 1st 7 3 point attempts. That allows Tartan to open up an 8-2 lead. That lead is 14-9 when the benches ignite. Derrick Love comes off the Tartan bench and torches the right corner. He buries 3 straight catch and shoot shots from there. Kendarius Daily off the NSP bench and he buries a couple of 3s. That's in of a stretch where he scores 12 of 15 for the Polars. 26-17 Tartan with the lead as we go under 7 minutes to play in the half. NSP top scorer Murl Smith keeping it close. He goes fade in the post, 2 free throws and a 3 point play. Love adds another bomb from the right corner just for fun. 37-28 Tartan at the half.

Tartan's top scorer Dewayne Thompson goes to the bench with a quick 3rd foul to start the 2nd half. That foul leads to a Smith 3 point play. Daily adds a pair of bombs to keep NSP within 42-37. Thompson comes back with the margin at 50-41. Smith on the offensive board to hold the Tartan lead at 52-47. Then a stretch of 3 or 4 racehorse possessions. Thompson with 2 layups off of that. Tartan then converts a turnover into another layup. Missed shot and Tartan runs for another layup. That's an 11-2 Tartan run in the blink of an eye. 63-49 Titans as we go under 8 minutes left.

Laron Thomas and Smith from deep to pull the Polars within 63-55 with just over 6 minutes left. But NSP only scores 1 more time. Thompson with an easy bucket and an assist for another layup. Tartan kills the clock for layups and free throws to score the next 11 points. Tartan wins 74-57.

Post Game
North St. Paul falls to 2-2 overall and in the conference. Murl Smith and Kendarius Daily each score 24 points to lead all scorers. But no help as the rest of the roster combined for 9. The time off showed with cold shooting and way too many breakdowns defensively. NSP has rematches next week at Mahtomedi and home against St. Thomas Academy.

Tartan improves to 7-1 overall, 5-1 in the Metro East. Tartan has 5 of their 6 players in double figures. Curtis Favors with 16 points to lead the way. AJ Burns and Derrick Love with 14 points each. Love with those 4 big triples in the 1st half to open up the lead. Marko Vuckomanovich with 12. Leading scorer Dewayne Thompson with only 11 but still a solid game. Good ball movement and patience from Tartan. Effective use of curling screens in their offense.

Four Factors

FACTOR	North St. Paul	Tartan
Effective FG %	45.7%	61.8%
Offensive Rebound %	22.9%	39.3%
Free Throw Rate	6.9%	31.4%
Turnover %	20.3%	23.1%

Points Per Possession	0.89	1.14

Tartan wins 3 of the 4 factors including EFG. That makes Czar's law 60-9 on the season. After missing their 1st 7 3s, NSP was 7-17 from deep compared to the 7-16 that Tartan shot for the whole game. Very interesting that NSP only shot 4 free throws (made all of them). NSP is an aggressive attacking the rim group and didn't get fouled. Tartan got 6 of their 16 FTA on 3 PT attempt fouls and made 5 of those. That's not a knock on the officiating just a note on Tartan's lack of fouling.

Storm cloud over the rim

Prologue
I was going to watch the big Tri-Metro showdown between DeLaSalle and Richfield but the NFHS feed was busted at the start of the game. A quick backup plan to a game I already had planned for later viewing takes me to Jefferson at Chanhassen. Its a chance to get in a look at the final team in the league I haven't seen in the host Storm.

Game Time
Chanhassen takes control right away with a 9-0 run. Grant Muffenbier with a corner triple and a pair of free throws to warm up the storm clouds. Chanhassen then misses 8 straight shots with 5 turnovers thrown in. That allows Jefferson to score the next 8 points and close the margin to 9-8 at around the 8 minute mark. Only 1 more basket for the Jags in the half. Ben Giles and Braden Barger each knock down a pair of treys. 16-3 Chanhassen run to end the half. They lead 25-11 at the break. Jefferson shoots 4-25 in the half.

Austin Boll with a jumper and 3 point play to keep the storm brewing at the start of the 2nd half. Will Schliecher with 4 2nd half buckets for Chanhassen as the lead grows to 50-22 with 4:40 left. Finally the storm clouds blow away from the rim as Jefferson scores on 8 of their last 9 possessions. They'll make 6 of their last 8 shots to keep the score more respectable. Chanhassen wins 55-37.

Post Game
Bloomington Jefferson falls to 4-3 in the Metro West with the loss. They are now 5-3 overall with this being their 3rd straight loss. Jefferson turns it over 18 times and is 1-12 from 3. They start the game shooting 8-44 from the floor. They makes the outside wind chill seem appealing. Jefferson is at St. Louis Park on Thursday.

Chanhassen improves to 2-5 overall and in the conference. The Storm host Cooper on Firday and then visit rival Chaska next Tuesday. In a crazy bit of scheduling, they'll end their season with all 6 of their available non-conference games. Ben Giles with 2 first half 3s and 12 points to lead the Storm. Braden Barger adds 2 3s and10 points off the bench. Fun to get a look at freshman Max Woods in the starting lineup. The first 3 losses of the season were by at total of 10 points and that included the 1st games against Cooper and Chaska.

Four Factors

FACTOR	Chanhassen	Bloomington Jefferson
Effective FG %	52.3%	27.9%
Offensive Rebound %	22.2%	44.2%
Free Throw Rate	27.3%	25%
Turnover %	26.2%	30%

Points Per Possession	0.90	0.62

Chanhassen wins 3 of the 4 factors. The huge margin in EFG carries the day in this one as Jefferson just couldn't get anything to fall. Turnover numbers high for both sides but didn't generate much in the way of offense for either side.

Shannon Lightning Bolts Strike

Prologue
I continue crossing teams off my list with a South Suburban shodown. Its a hot #6AAAA Eastview squad hosting struggling Prior Lake. The Scribe and The Commish working together again at Eastview.

Game Time
First half story is Eastview's 3 point shooting. Kenji Scales hot early as Eastview opens a 13-9 lead. Emmett McKush with a jumper and Prior Lake takes a 15-14 lead outside the 8 minute mark. Henry Shannon to the bench for Eastview with 2 fouls. 3 straight Eastview bombs turns a 18-16 Lakers lead into a 25-20 Eastview lead. Malcolm Jones keeping Prior Lake close as he puts back a miss on 1 end and swats away an attempt at the other. 32-29 Eastview late in the half. Jackson Purcell gets the friendly bounce at the buzzer for his 3rd 3 of the half. Scales end up with 4 bombs in the half. Eastview 9-19 3s for a 38-33 halftime lead.

Jones comes out on a mission to start the 2nd half. He scores twice inside and buries a triple for the 1st 7 Lakers points of the half. Prior Lake opens the half with an 11-4 run. Timeout Eastview with 14:25 left as Prior Lake reclaims the lead 44-42. But its all Eastview from there. Aryan Kohli with 1 of his 4 threes. Scales scores on a turnover. Shannon spins in the post for 2. Then its Shannon from deep not once but twice. Then why not run a Steven Crowl flare set for him too, find that hot shooter! BANG! Scales converts another turnover and Shannon makes 2 free throws to end the run. Lighting strike for 20 straight points. 66-47 before Jones stops the bleeding with a 3 point play at the 7:32 mark. Nothing else of note from there. Eastview wins 84-61

Post Game
Prior Lake loses their 5th straight game to fall to 2-6. They remain 8th in the South Suburban standings. Malcolm Jones with 23 points to lead the Lakers. Kellan Miller with 11 points. The Lakers do get a break with home game against the bottom 2 teams in the league on the schedule coming up. Burnsville comes in on Friday.

#6AAAA Eastview remains undefeated at 8-0. They stay tied with Shakopee on top of the conference standings. After sitting with fouls in the 1st half, forward Henry Shannon explodes for 25 of his 27 points in the 2nd half. Fun battle inside with Malcolm Jones. He finishes with 3 triples as well. Guard Kenji Scales also finishes with 27 points and he hit 5 from deep. Jackson Purcell 14 points all in the 1st half and 3 treys. Aryan Kohli with 4 bombs for 12. Eastview 15 total 3s plus getting Shannon going inside, forget about it. The Lightning visit Farmington on Thursday. Then they'll finish the 1st rotation of South Suburban play at home in the big showdown with #4AAAA Shakopee

Four Factors

FACTOR	Eastview	Prior Lake
Effective FG %	64.3%	50%
Offensive Rebound %	20.6%	44.4%
Free Throw Rate	11.1%	21.8%
Turnover %	6.1%	29.2%

Points Per Possession	1.27	0.94

The 2 big numbers on the stat sheet are Eastview's 3 point shooting and Prior Lake's turnovers. Eastview wins the turnover battle 19-4. They also make 15 out of 29 from deep compared to 5-19 for Prior Lake. Prior Lake's offensive boards showing the old adage that long shots rebound long. Eastview only shot 7 FTs which is nitpicking with the way they shot it. Czar's law is now 55-9 on the season.

IMG shoots down Redhawks

Let the deep freeze begin with some red hot hoops. Its top flight national program IMG making the trip north from Florida. Oh the beauty of a warm weather team coming during our coldest time of year. IMG with an incredibly stacked roster. Moussa Diabate (A top 30 recruit and Michigan commit) vs Chet Holmgren the highlight matchup. Tamar Bates also a top 100 kid in 2021. Jaden Bradley one of the top PGs in the 2022 class. Eric Dailey, Jett Howard and Noah Batchelor from 2022 also top 100 kids. Not to mention top 25 2023 prospect Gus Yalden.

But for me, this day is about mascots. 2 of the best that you'll see. We have the cartoonish but still awesome Ascenders for IMG. And as a follow up to this game, it wouldn't be a season without the EMAC and especially without Avail Academy. FEAR THE RHINO!

Game 1: IMG Academy 73 #1AAA Minnehaha 53
Jaden Bradley with a steal for 2 and a triple. 9-2 IMG 2:31 in and Minnehaha needs a timeout. They'll switch to 2-3 zone but no luck there. The Diabate vs Holmgren matchup gets derailed early as Diabate sits with his 2nd foul at the 13:10 mark. Meanwhile IMG flammable from deep. They hit 8 of their 1st 10 3s, 4 guys with 2 each. Streak includes 6 triples in a row for a 30-11 lead at the 8:10 mark.

36-18 IMG when Minnehaha makes a run. Chet Holmgren with a free throw and a bucket. Isaiah Davis for 3 to reach double figures. Prince Aligbe up high for a dunk from Hercy Miller and then a triple. The Redhawks run is 14-1 with 5 straight makes to end it. That pulls Minnehaha within 40-35. IMG with the last bucket of the half to lead 42-35 at the break.

IMG with the 1st 7 points of the 2nd half thanks to 3 turnovers and 3 ill-advised shots by Minnehaha's offense. They get a bucket and then 3 straight turnovers. The last 2 being live ball and leading directly to points. Diabate with 2 and fouled (missed the FT) to end a 14-2 IMG run. 54-37 IMG with 11:19 left. Holmgren with a pretty setup to a rim cut for a BLOB dunk to stop that run. 8 of the next 9 points to IMG with 3 more turnovers for Minnehaha. 62-40 IMG at that point. They'll cruise the rest of the way.

Isaiah Davis the highlight of the Minnehaha day with 21 points. Chet Holmgren scored 13 points and probably had double digit boards and high single digit blocks. But at the end of the day too much firepower for IMG. PG Jaden Bradley showed his status with a team high 21 points.. Erick Dailey with 17 points. Moussa Diabate tallies 8 points.

Four Factors

FACTOR	Minnehaha Academy	IMG Academy
Effective FG %	38%	61.3%
Offensive Rebound %	53.9%	30%
Free Throw Rate	29.6%	24.5%
Turnover %	27.1%	13.3%

Points Per Possession	0.90	1.22

Game 2: Avail Academy 74 Nova Classical 38
Avail would use a 10-0 run early to take a 14-8 lead. Nova would close to within 18-17 before the bottom fell out in the last 5 minutes of the half. Josiah Schaap with back to back triples. Joey Ritzema beats the halftime buzzer with another bomb. 13-2 Avail run to close the half. 31-19 Valor at the break. Nova turns it over on 10 of their 1st 14 possessions of the 2nd half. 52-23 Avail after a Braydon Ritzema triple with 11 minutes left. Total run is 34-6 over about 12 minutes. Avail forces 24 turnovers and grabs 18 offensive boards. Avail's big 3 get it done. Josiah Schaap withi 18, Joey Ritzema with 16. Josiah Loge adds all 15 of his points in the 2nd half. Liam Borrell leads Nova with 12. Rayan Taha with 11, Jack Monroe with 10 for the Knights.

Four Factors

FACTOR	Nova Classical	Avail
Effective FG %	44.9%	49.2%
Offensive Rebound %	16%	40%
Free Throw Rate	12.8%	29.7%
Turnover %	38.7%	9.5%

Points Per Possession	0.61	1.17

Eagles snatch victory away from Hornets rally

Prologue
Its the end of the first rotation of the Lake Conference schedule in this abbreviated season. Tonight's letter is the letter E for Eden Prairie and Edina. Always a hard fought battle when these 2 play. Quality tunes on the public address with AC/DC, Michael Jackson, Survivor and the 1-hit wonder Come On Eileen by Dexy's Midnight Runners.

Game Time
Coach David Flom not happy with the Eden Prairie and he takes time after 2 possessions and down 5-0. Forward Brady Helgren with 10 of the 1st 13 Edina points. A 3 point play and a straight away triple in that. Eden Prairie hanging around via the offense board. Their run comes thanks to a turnover stretch. Will Foster with a 3 to start the run and bonus free throws to end it. Its an 11-1 run and gives EP a 28-21 lead late in the half. Edina trims that to 30-26 at the half. Helgren 14 points but nothing in the last 7+ minutes.

Edina made many pushes to almost take the lead but Eden Prairie never would give up the lead. Helgren 2 and the foul, Sammy Presthus hoop and misses his chance at the 3 point play. 40-39 EP with 13:38 left. Eagles go on a 9-2 run with a Cole Tiran turnaround to end it. 49-41 EP with 10 minutes left. Helgren from the deep beyond and then to the post. 7-0 Edina run cuts it back to 1. Defensive guy Will Foster plus his 17 points picks up a 4th foul with 8:12 left. Matt Kelley and Ryan Warren with triples. Chiddi Obiazor on the offense glass for 1 hoop and adds 2 more bunnies. 15-4 Eden Prairie run and they're up 64-52 as we go under 5 minutes left. No further danger from there. Eden Prairie wins 71-66

Post Game
Edina falls to 3-4 overall, 2-4 in the Lake Conference. Its no easier as they visit Minnehaha on Tuesday. Brady Helgren with 27 points to lead all scorers. He was able to use his size against the smaller Eden Prairie bigs in addition to knocking down a couple of 3s. Sammy Presthus with 11 of his 15 points in the 2nd half. Most of that attacking the rim. Gabe Jobe with 10 of his 12 in the 2nd half. Edina also with a notable young JV squad that looks to be one to watch in a couple of years.

Eden Prairie improves to 4-3 overall, 3-3 in the Lake Conference. The Eagles end up with 4 players in double figures. Chiddi Obiazor and Will Foster each finish with 19 points. Ryan Warren with good bench minutes and 12 points. Cole Tiran adds 11. Obiazor with 3 of his 5 second half buckets helped put the game away after the 3rd time Edina cut the lead to 1. Eden Prairie is at #3AAAA Hopkins on Tuesday and then host Buffalo in a rematch of a game they lost by 1 point a couple weeks ago.

Four Factors

FACTOR	Edina	Eden Prairie
Effective FG %	52.9%	58.2%
Offensive Rebound %	29%	37.5%
Free Throw Rate	33.3%	21.8%
Turnover %	23.1%	18.5%

Points Per Possession	1.02	1.09

15 Edina turnovers were costly including a couple during the final run that pushed the lead to 12. Only 1 3 point make in the 2nd half for the Hornets. They were a hot 15-27 (55.6%) shooting in the 2nd half but EP almost shot 50% themselves in the 2nd half.

Let the Showdowns Begin

Prologue
One of the things missed with the shortened schedule has been the high profile non-conference games. Without the events to put the big games together its not quite the same. But we get a big one tonight as #2AAAA Wayzata visits #1AAA Minnehaha. Minnehaha has already hosted Duluth East and has a bunch of other really good home games on the schedule.

Game Time
Story of the 1st half is Wayzata's shooting from deep. 18 all at the 7:45 mark as Wayzata has 4 triples and a Camden Heide 3 point play on the ledger. Plus an excellent call for a backdoor set on the game's opening play. Soph Spencer Hall off the Trojans bench to bank in a 3. Wayzata with their biggest lead of the night at 22-18. Chet Holmgren for 3 off a turnover. Prince Aligbe dunks another turnover and adds a nice finger roll. That's part of a 12-3 Minnehaha run to go up 30-25. Soph Hayden Tibbets 2 bombs off the Wayzata bench to help stop the momentum. Wayzata 7-14 3s in the half. Minnehaha leads 38-32 at the break.

Minnehaha not getting into the open floor and making it a dunk fest. Prince Aligbe with a baseline jumper. Holmgren picks up his offense with a 3 point play. 56-46 Minnehaha with their biggest lead with 6:10 left. They'll go to their triangle delay at the 5 minute mark, a standard Redhawks tactic. Carter Bjerke with a nice up fake on Holmgren, 1 dribble and buries a 3. That cuts the lead to 59-54 with 2:37 left. Eddie Beeninga both ends of the bonus and a kickout to Drew Berkland for 3 with 1:37 left. 63-59 Minnehaha. Wayzata gets no closer. Minnehaha turns it over but Aligbe blocks that and ends up with a dunk on the other end. Minnehaha wins 70-63.

Post Game
Wayzata falls to 5-2 with the loss. Carter Bjerke 5 3s in the game to lead the Trojans with 15 points. Cam Heide with 7 of his 11 in the 1st half. Kody Williams adds 10. Wayzata 11-23 from deep but only 9-30 from 2 on my sheet. Yes that's the Chet Holmgren effect, but its also guys like Isaiah Davis and Prince Aligbe and their length too. Trojans did a reasonable job of not turning the ball over and allowing Minnehaha to turn the game into a dunk fest. Wayzata returns to Lake Conference play next week with home games vs STMA and the rematch with #3AAAA Hopkins

Minnehaha improves to 5-0 with their 3rd straight win over a ranked opponent. Chet Holmgren with 19 points. Prince Aligbe as involved on offense as I've seen him in a while. He also adds 19 points. Isaiah Davis with 14 points despite foul trouble. One notable item here is Donovan Smith being out of the Redhawks lineup with a broken hand. They hope to have him back for tourney time. Minnehaha just 2-18 from 3 in this one. Cold shooting, fairly slow game and they still came out on top. A big game vs IMG Academy, one of the nation's top programs on Saturday. Then Edina comes calling on Tuesday

Four Factors

FACTOR	Minnehaha	Wayzata
Effective FG %	49.2%	48.1%
Offensive Rebound %	44.4%	35%
Free Throw Rate	28.8%	35.9%
Turnover %	15.9%	17.2%

Points Per Possession	1.11	0.98

Minnehaha's interior shooting washes out the hot Wayzata 3 point shooting. Not a surprise in a close game that every category was close. An offensive rebound here, a turnover there, a good bounce there and the outcome could have flipped.

Hawks soar on

Prologue
Its a quiet night on the schedule with only 4 local games. I've seen all but 1 of the teams so lets take in the 1 team I haven't seen yet. That's Bloomington Jefferson as they host Robbinsdale Cooper in a battle of teams trying to stay within a game of Chaska in the league standings. Cooper already with a loss at Chaska in their opener that we covered here. Jefferson coming in undefeated.

Game Time
This was over right from the start. Jefferson turns it over on 4 of their 1st 5 trips. Cooper on top 10-0 in just over 3 minutes. Jefferson would keep this within shouting distance until late in the 1st half. Cooper stretches their lead to 18 at the half. They start the 2nd half with some very Jefferson like slow offense. But they break the game open anyway as Jefferson can't generate any offense. Snooze fest from there. Cooper rolls 76-46.

Post Game
Jefferson loses their 1st game of the year to fall to 5-1 overall, 4-1 in the Metro West. The schedule has been super soft though until this week. Hayden Holland 9 points and Sam Wanzek 8 points for the Jags. 26 turnovers do the Jags in. They could never get settled enough to get into their sets. They visit Chaska on Friday to finish the 1st half of league play. As much as I call Jefferson a snooze fest, I do miss watching them execute their White Set which is very much like THE WORLD'S WORST OFFENSE.

Cooper improves to 6-1 overall, 4-1 in the Metro West. They'll complete the 1st rotation at Kennedy to finish the Bloomington back to back. Majay Murphy and Jeffrey Cooper with 10 points each. 11 different Hawks score, 9 of them with between 5 and 10 points. They never had to worry about making shots vs the Jefferson zone thanks to forcing all of those turnovers.

No surprises in the 4 Factors. Coopers wins EFG% and TO% big. Rebounding and FT Rate were close and non-factors in this one.

Which side of the tracks are you on

Prologue
The always entertaining (and now double the pleasure each year due to conference play) Battle of the Tracks. Its a Tri-Metro showdown between Richfield rivals Holy Angels and the host Spartans. Richfield coming into the week ranked 4th in the state AAA poll. Very nice new paint job on the floor at Richfield. Combine that with the bleachers replacement they did not too long ago and they've really freshened up the gym since I first started seeing games there.

Song of the Day: This Train Don't Stop Here Anymore - Elton John

Game Time
Senior wing Bryce Boyd hot early for Holy Angels. His 3 triples and a nice slashing cut on an inbounds give him 11 early points. 17-11 Holy Angels at the 10:20 mark. Fouls then start to take their toll. Jaden Wollmuth on the offensive glass for Richfield to score. Emmett Johnson picks up a 2nd and a 3rd foul for AHA and he'll sit at the 7:39 mark. Richfield already on a 9-0 run at that point. Ryan Miles with 2 FTs and he converts a turnover. 18-3 Richfield run for a 29-20 lead at the 3:54 mark. But the Spartans won't score another field goal in the half. Both their big guys, Wollmuth and Isaiah Casey-Hammond are both sitting with fouls. Boyd 2 and the harm, misses the freebie and he'll get it back for a triple. That starts a 12-3 Holy Angels run to end the half Tied at 32 going to the break.

All Richfield to start the 2nd half as they score on 8 of their 1st 9 possessions. Miles 2 and the foul to go over 1000 points. Miles and Mitchell January from deep. Spartans run is 17-2 to open up a double digit lead early in the 2nd half. They'll expand that lead to 19 before a minor rally from the Stars almost gets the lead back to single digits. Richfield take timeout with 6:17 left and an 11 point lead. That stops the bleeding. #4AAA Richfield wins 81-61

Post Game
Holy Angels falls to 1-4 with the loss. Bryce Boyd with 16 of his 21 points in the first half to lead the Stars. Joe Oberst with 10 of his 12 in the 2nd half. Emmett Johnson in foul trouble all night ends with just 7 points. Both field goals coming after the outcome was already known. Cam Holter ice cold with some great looks that just didn't go in. He makes 1 triple for part of his 4 points on the night. The Stars return home on Friday to host St. Anthony

Richfield remains undefeated at 5-0. Ryan Miles with 15 of his game high 23 in the 2nd half. Mitchell January with 14 of his 16 in the 2nd half from the other guard spot. Lamar Grayson with 11 of his 13 in the 1st half. Forward Jaden Wollmuth with 11 despite fouling out. Richfield's defensive length was a major problem in forcing 25 turnovers for AHA. Big games coming up for Richfield at #10AAA Columbia Heights on Friday and hosting #3AAA DeLaSalle next Tuesday.

Four Factors

FACTOR	Richfield	Holy Angels
Effective FG %	48.2%	52.4%
Offensive Rebound %	24.3%	33.3%
Free Throw Rate	55.4%	64.3%
Turnover %	15.7%	35.2%

Points Per Possession	1.13	0.83

This grid makes me want to re-evaluate my entire life choices. Holy Angels wins 3 of the 4 and loses by 20. (Say What?!, recalculating) Czar's law now 39-7 as Richfield loses EFG but they do win the TO%. 25 AHA turnovers make the turnover category the only one in Richfield's favor. Richfield makes 10 more FTs but loses FT rate due to the lower number of FG attempts by AHA. My stats are off by a couple points for each team so maybe the EFG flips but I don't see it happening.

Bird watching in the Metro West

Prologue
Its a chance to join in late and catchup on more of the Metro West with Kennedy visiting St. Louis Park. I see the ending live online and then get a chance to catch up on the start afterwards. Charlie Murphy (his former moniker The Old Spice Guy has been retired) on the whistles.

Game Time
St. Louis Park bringing in the upcoming cold blast early with a 4-20 start from the field. But Kennedy is turning it over and not making them pay. 11 all at 9:19 of the 1st half. Then Paris Johnson with 3 straight buckets off live ball turnovers to start an 11-2 SLP run. Jacob Holm adds a triple to end it. 22-13 Orioles at 6:45. Another late 3 makes it 30-20 St. Louis Park at the break. 16 Kennedy turnovers in the half and 12 of them live. 9 direct points off those.

Kennedy turns it over on the 1st 2 possessions of the 2nd half to make it look like more of the same. But these are of the dead ball variety so no points against. St. Louis Park goes without a bucket for almost the 1st 7 minutes. Kennedy takes advantage. Dalton Smazal a drive for a 3 point play, 2 free throws an another bucket. Amarion Hanspard with 2 FTs. Kennedy's run is 18-6 in about 10 minutes. That puts Kennedy on top 38-36 with 7:10 left.

All St. Louis Park from there. Orioles forward Paris Johnson makes the difference late. He converts a turnover into a layup, converts 2 free throws attacking vs the Kennedy zone and then a kickout for a dagger 3. SLP by 7 with 2:44 left. Kennedy turns it over and SLP dives on it for a timeout. Johnson adds 1 more 3 point play on the final Kennedy turnover to seal it. Orioles end the game on a 20-6 run. St. Louis Park wins 56-44.

Post Game
Bloomington Kennedy falls to 1-4 with the loss, all in the Metro West. They'll host Cooper on Thursday. Guard Amarion Hanspard leads the Eagles with 18 points. Dalton Smazal adds 13 including 7 important ones during the Kennedy run to claim the lead in the 2nd half. 8th grader Jaleel Donley held his own coming off the Kennedy bench. Kennedy ends up with 22 turnovers, 18 in their first 38 trips but only 4 in the last 25 trips.

St. Louis Park gets their 1st win of the year to improve to 1-6. The schedule has been tough with losses to Edina and Minnehaha along with league foes Chaska and Cooper. Junior forward Paris Johnson with 2 buckets, 3 free throws and an assist for a 3 in the last 4:43. He finishes with a game high 23 points. Blake Anderson with 11 points including draining the 3 on the Johnson assist. Coach Breitenbucher going to the full bag of offense with 4 out motion, dribble drive and what I call the old Breck delay game. Once they got cutters moving the offense got better after early struggles. The Orioles host rival Benilde-St. Margaret's on Friday.

Four Factors

FACTOR	St. Louis Park	Bloomington Kennedy
Effective FG %	37.3%	42.1%
Offensive Rebound %	27.9%	28%
Free Throw Rate	40%	36.8%
Turnover %	11.1%	35.5%

Points Per Possession	0.89	0.71

Czar's law takes the loss in this one to fall to 38-6 on the season. But the 2nd half of it holds as St. Louis Park does win TO% with a 22-7 edge there. St. Louis Park ends up with 17 more shot attempts and gets 4 more makes plus the end free throws for the advantage there.

The Virtual Breakdown of Classic Tipoffs

The Breakdown Tipoff Classic is the biggest marathon of our normal high school hoops season. In the gym by 8:30 AM, maybe out the door by 11 PM. 1 seat all day, Pepsi by the gallon and hoops galore. Sadly COVID took that away from us this season. Plus its usually a week or 2 into our season. With that spirit in mind, I made up for lost time with an all video 13 hour 7 game marathon Saturday session plus a couple Sunday games for fun. I already covered 2 of those Saturday games live in my previous post (read it here). So far 43 total games, 81 total teams (79 were previewed here). That includes at least 2 teams from every conference that I previewed and 39 of the 62 teams in AAAA, 22 teams in AAA. Here are some comments from rest of what I took in on tape delay skipping the Wednesday thru Friday games that I already did, see those in the archives.

Wednesday: Minnehaha 68 Duluth East 41
After meeting in Duluth over a week ago, the Greyhounds made the trip south for a rematch. Mattie Thompson getting the unenviable task of trying to defend Chet Holmgren. Noah Paulson got the job after some Thompson foul trouble. I thought they did a reasonable job on him. Its an especially tough matchup outside for Paulson but he moved his feet well. He also used his big body to go right at Chet on the block and had some success with a couple of hoops against that shot blocking. Another great Minnesota recruiting haul for UMD with Paulson and Thompson. Holmgren didn't have a monster night. 11 points, 9 rebounds and 5 blocks on my sheet. 4 of those blocks in the 1st half. Of course, his rim protection was still a huge factor even in shots not taken. Hercy Miller was outstanding poaching passing lanes on his way to a team high 18 points.

Thursday: Park Center 70 Osseo 48
The Pirates ran away and hid in the 2nd half of this matchup as it was only a 2 point game at the break. Dawson Rudolph with 3 back breaking treys in a 21-2 PC run that busted the game open in the middle of the 2nd half. He finished with a game high 18 points including 4 3s. Long wing Kabine Kaba with 4 easy buckets in limited minutes. Josh Ola-Joseph with a team high 17 points for Osseo. He didn't shoot it as well in this meeting but his shot looks improved. If he has a consistent jumper, look out with that freakish athleticism.

Thursday: West Lutheran 49 Eagle Ridge Academy 43
I finished out the last 2 MCAA teams on my list with this one. Senior wing Garrett Tesmer with a team high 12 points including a late clutch 3. Cade LaFavor with a game high 19 for ERA. ERA 7th grader Aidaen Musoke with a productive outing of 9 points. Looking forward to seeing his development in the future.

Friday: Simley 56 Hastings 50
Speaking of finishing out a list, these were the last 2 teams that I hadn't seen in the Metro East. Nice work from the Hastings booster club to provide video and overlay the radio feed on it. Simley never able to break this one open. They held a 10 point 1st half lead and a 7 point 2nd half lead. Their 1-2-2 zone forced almost exclusively 3 point shots. I had 36 of the 46 Hastings attempts from deep. Japhe Gudissa 3 2nd half bombs to keep Hastings close. Ultimately not enough. Breyton Buysman with 14 of his 21 in the first half to lead Simley. With Buysman, RJ Jioklow and Devin Robinson at the guard spots plus Luke Vandermeer on the front line plus their experience, Simley is not an easy matchup.

Friday: #10AAA Columbia Heights 68 #3AAA DeLaSalle 63
This was the newsmaker of Friday night. DLS using an 8-1 first half run to take the lead and keep it for most of the 1st half. Columbia Heights scored the 1st 6 of the 2nd half to reclaim the lead. Muja Burton with a couple of big threes as Heights would open a 4 point lead. Cade Haskins with a block leading to an Islanders layup for a 45 all tie with 8 minutes left. Heights with a late 10-2 run to ultimately win it. Hassan Kamara with 2 of his 6 triples sandwiched around a lob assist to Donnavin Hinsz. Heights with 4-4 FTs to seal it in the last 14 seconds. Hinsz physicality inside gave Cade Haskins problems trying to block out. Haskins on the other end held to 2-12 shooting, 5 TO, 5 assists, 8 rebounds with 6 points on the night. Czar's law violated here but thanks to 20 DLS turnovers, Heights wins the turnover number. Czar's law now 38-5 on the season.

Friday: Eden Prairie 63 Minnetonka 57
Biggest surprise for me was how much youth was on the floor for 2 big schools. Tonka playing 2 freshmen. PG Andy Stefonowicz one of those and he gets a starting nod (no Ibo El-Amin for Tonka yet). Eden Prairie 2 best interior players are sophomores. Story here was EP soph Chiddi Obiazor. The versatile forward bullied anybody who played him in the post and he could step out and go by slow bigs on the perimeter. He fouled out both of Minnetonka's main big men. 28 points to lead all scorers, 17 of them in the last 9:11 of the game where he went full blown beast mode. Good move by coach Flom to keep throwing him the ball and getting out of the way (scoring chances on 9 of 14 possessions late). EP needed it too. After all the hot shooting we saw from EP over the last few years, the Eagles were 3-23 from deep in this one. 22-32 from the charity stripe was a major difference. Hard to figure out Minnetonka's identity offensively.

Friday: Jordan 64 New Prague 52
Checking off 2 of the last 3 in the Wright County East in this game. Jordan coming off a big win vs Delano. Big 1st half for Jordan's star PG Reagan Koch with 18 points. He big for a PG, can pass it and shoot it, hence a steal for Colorado Mines. Junior guard Ashton Sivilay for Jordan having a big season but held to 7 points in this one. New Prague would use a 13-4 run to start the 2nd half and pull within 4 points with under 11 minutes left. Koch with the response. A pair of 3 point plays, a steal that leads to a layup, then he gets a layup off a turnover. That's all in a 19-5 run that eliminates any doubt.

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