Playoff Regional Predictions Boys Basketball Class 1A
Official Regional Brackets have been released.
Class 1A
Each Region shall jointly determine it regional playoff site. Eight regional winners advance to the state tournament where they will be seeded by RPI, avoiding any previous regional or district match-ups, if possible
Region 1
District 1 Qualifiers: Ouray, North Park
District 6 Qualifiers: Sangre De Cristo, Creede/Lake City
#1 Sangre De Cristo vs Ouray
- District 6 was upset central and we have two suprising teams that qualified into regional from district 6. Sangre De Cristo was one of the teams who upset teams but they are playing at a high level and won the District 6 tournament with a nice 20 point victory. Ouray ended the season on a high note beating Ignacio in the final regular season game by 12 points and I though they were riding high. They won the semifinals match up by 19 then were upset by North Park in the finals 49 to 42. They have not played the toughest schedule and this will be a very good game. Sangre De Cristo has played and beat Ouray 64 to 24 back in December but that was a few months ago so this could be a good game. I am going to go with Sangre De Cristo to win by 15 points and advance to the Final 8.
#1 North Park vs Creede
- The biggest shock of the entire district 6 tournament was the upset victory by Creede over Primero. Creede entered the district tournament with a 4 point win over Cotopaxi then shocked the entire district when they knocked off ranked Primero 51 to 42 to advance to the finals. In the finals though their run ran out and they were beat by Sangre De Cristo 47 to 21. They must quickly bounce back and will have a good chance at pulling another upset. North Park entered the District 1 tournament as the #2 seed and I expected them to get to state. North Park played a 2A schedule against the Western Slope League. They were well prepared for the District 1A tournament when it happened. They blew out Nucla in the Semifinals to grab a spot at regionals then upset #1 Ouray in the finals 49 to 42. They now just have Creede in their way of a final 8 berth. I think North park has some good momentum on their side and I believe they will advance to the final 8.
Region 2-Seeded by RPI
District 4 Qualifiers: Longmont Christian, Peetz, Fleming
District 5 Qualifiers: Flagler, Arickaree/Woodlin, Otis
District 8 Qualifiers: Rocky Mountain Lutheran, Front Range Baptist, Jim Elliot
#1 Rocky Mountain Lutheran
#6 Fleming vs #7 Jim Elliot
- Jim Elliot made a good late season run and upset a very good team in the first round to grab a regional playoff spot. Jim Elliot upset Shining Mountain 45-41 in the first round and then nearly upset Rocky Mountain Lutheran in the semifinals 56 to 52. Jim Elliot then secured their regional spot by beating Cornerstone Christian 59 to 42 and now have a date with Fleming in the first round of regionals. Fleming got back to their winning way playing a very good District 4 tournament. Fleming handled Heritage Christian in the first round then upset Longmont Christian in the second round by 12 then pulled off a last second win against Peetz to win the District 4 championship and also grab a ton of momentum coming into Region 2. Fleming even though won their district does not get a bye but will be the favorite in this Pod. I believe that Fleming will win their first round game and set up a matchup between them and Rocky Mountain Lutheran. Rocky Mountain Lutheran was able to avenge a loss to Front Range Baptist in the District 8 Championship. RML blew out Thorncreek Christian by 24 then eeked out a 4 point victory by upset minded Jim Elliot and then got revenge on Front Range Baptist upsetting them 43 to 36 in the district championship. This pod features 2 district champions and the battle to get to the final 8 should be a good one. Picking between Fleming and RML is going to be tough both teams are very good and both are on a hot streak right now. I am going to pick Rocky Mountain Lutheran in a close 1 point game and even possibly OT to the Final 8.
#2 Front Range Baptist
#5 Peetz vs #8 Otis
- Otis was up and down most of the year but ended the season on a up and was able to grab a playoff spot. Otis upset Arickaree/Woodlin in the Semifinals to get to the District 5 championship but was not able to keep momentum going and lost to Flagler 59 to 48 in the championship. They now have a tough match up against a Peetz team who lost a close championship against Fleming. Peetz road to the district Championship was not an easy one and they needed a OT victory over Weldon Valley to get to the championship. There they faced a very good Fleming team and lost a close one 53 to 52. The District 4 tournament was one of the better tournaments in the state and it showed with close games and overtime games throughout the tournament. Peetz will be looking to get back to their winning way against Otis. They faced Otis back in December and won by 11 points. I think this game will really come down to which Otis team shows up. If the Otis team that upset Arickaree/Woodlin shows up this could really be a fun game to watch. I am picking Peetz in the first round to face off against Front Range Baptist. Front Range Baptist lost its first game to a Colorado team in the district 8 championship to Rocky Mountain Lutheran by 7. They are a very good team and must quickly bounce back as a top 10 Peetz team may be awaiting them. Front Range Baptist was coming into the District tournament as the #2 team in the state. I feel a lot of the regional finals are going to be fun exciting games and this will fit the bill. I think that Front Range Baptist will win by 5 or less and grab a spot in the final 8.
#3 Flagler
#4 Longmont Christian vs #9 Arickaree/Woodlin
- Arickaree/Woodlin was upset by Otis in the semifinals but blew out Idalia in the 3rd place game to grab a regional spot. They have also been very up and down this year and in their past 7 games have lost 5. They did do enough to get to regionals but I am not sure if they have enough to beat a very good Longmont Christian team. Longmont Christian played a 2A schedule and was looking like a favorite to not only win the District 4 tournament but even a state title. The expectations are still there but a loss to Fleming probably cost them a bye in the first round and now will have 2 play two games to get to the final 8. Longmont Christian won the third place game by 14 points against Weldon Valley. Longmont Christian should advance to the regional finals were they will meet a very good Flagler team. Flagler was able to grab the District 5 championship beating Otis by 11 points in the finals. Flagler has proven that they can hang with some of the top teams in the state losing by 5 to Cheyenne Wells and beating 2A Burlington by 4. They must figure out what happened in their loss to McClave though if they plan on beating a very tough Longmont Christian team. Flagler will probably have to score more than 50 points to pull the victory off but the regional finals should be another very good game. I am picking Flagler to advance to the final 8 in a close 5 or less point game.
Region 3-Seeded by RPI
District 2: Cheyenne Wells, Kit Carson, Cheraw
District 3: Holly, Wiley, South Baca
District 7: Genoa-Hugo, Kiowa, Elbert
#1 Holly
#6 Cheraw vs #7 Genoa-Hugo
- Genoa-Hugo was able to walk away with a 9 point victory over Kiowa in the District 7 finals and grab a regional spot. District 7 may be the second weakest District in 1A. Genoa Hugo has played somewhat tougher schedule playing Wiley and nearly upsetting them in OT but falling 3 points short. They also played Kit Carson losing by 15. They will have a really good chance at advancing to the regional finals. Cheraw came into the district tournament as the 3 seed but I picked them not to make it to regionals. They pulled of a very nice victory over McClave in the 3rd place game to grab a regional spot. They have struggled against tougher competition and this first game won’t be a walk in the park. They must quickly figure out how to stop some of these better teams as they have yet to keep the score within 10 points losing by 15 to Sierra grand and 30 by Kit Carson. I am picking Genoa-Hugo to win the first round match up. Genoa-Hugo match up against Holly looks daunting. Holly is coming into the match up at 21-0 but were challenged by South Baca in the Distrcit 3 Championship only winning by 2. Holly has several good victories this season including victories against Cheyenne Wells, Kit Carson, Wiley, Kit Carson again, and Flagler. Holly will be the heavy favorite to advance out of this Pod and I am picking them to win against Genoa-Hugo by 20.
#2 Cheyenne Wells
#5 South Baca vs #8 Kiowa
- Kiowa advanced into regionals taking advantage of the weaker District 7 tournament. They beat Elbert in the Semifinals to get to the finals before losing by 9 to Genoa-Hugo. They will be the underdog against South Baca. South Baca played one of their best games against #1 Holly in the District Championship losing by 2 but also picked up a nice win in the semifinals against a tough Wiley team. South Baca was on a 8 game winning streak before falling to Holly in the championship. South Baca will be the favorite in the first round but have a tough game looming in the regional Championship against a very good Cheyenne Wells team. Cheyenne Wells picked up their second loss of the season in the District 2 championship falling to Kit Carson by 6. Cheyenne Wells will have to quickly rebound as they won’t have an easy time against South Baca. Cheyenne Wells has the talent to compete for a state title but must first escape this Pod. I am picking Cheyenne Wells to advance to the Final 8 with a 10 point victory over South Baca.
#3 Kit Carson
#4 Wiley vs #9 Elbert
- When everyone saw this pod everyone I am sure was already looking towards the Kit Carson vs Wiley rematch from earlier in the year and I am one of those. Elbert did a good job this season grabbing a spot in regional by winning the third place game against Deer Trail by 10. Elbert will be playing against one of the better teams in the state right off the bat and will need to play their best game of the year to pull the upset. Wiley grabbed a regional playoff spot by winning the 3rd place game against Walsh by 16 points. Wiley will be challenged by Elbert but I think Wiley will pull away in the second half and grab a 15+ point victory to set up a rematch between them and Kit Carson. Kit Carson played a very tough schedule this year. Their 5 losses are to top teams including losses to Cheyenne Wells, Holly twice, Flagler and of course Wiley in OT. Kit Carson avenged one of their losses in the District 2 championship upsetting Cheyenne Wells 45 to 39. Now Kit Carson will have another chance to avenge a loss to Wiley and advance to the Final 8. Kit Carson will need to keep building off their District Tournament success if they plan on beating Wiley and I expect this game to be within 10 points but I am picking Kit Carson to advance to the Final 8.
State tournament
Just one quick thing to remember that the state tournament of the final 8 teams is seeded by RPI and you avoid Regional/District Match ups if possible.
#1 Holly vs #8 North Park
#4 Front Range Baptist vs #5 Flagler
#3 Rocky Mountain Lutheran vs #6 Kit Carson
#2 Cheyenne Wells vs #7 Sangre De Cristo
MileHigh Prep Report 