Playoff Predictions Elite 8, Final 4, & State Championship Boys Basketball Class 1A

Playoff Predictions Elite 8, Final 4, & State Championship Boys Basketball Class 1A

Class 1A

I will only predict the Winners side of the bracket. A full consolation bracket will be played out to a fifth place. I will predict a fifth place winner but I will not do a full breakdown of the games. I will only breakdown the winner’s side. The 1A bracket has a pair of teams that will not contest and will probably both go 0-2. Besides that the rest of the 1A bracket should be very competitive and will lead to some very fun games.

State tournament predictions

#1 Holly vs #8 Ouray @ 10:15am on 3/9

Ouray won a one game playoff against Sangre De Cristo to advance to the Elite 8. They beat Sangre 44 to 40 and made a good solid run and got some luck not having to face Primero and Sierra Grande as they were upset in the District 6 tournament. Ouray had a solid season going 14-8 but lack a quality win. They will be the huge underdogs against Holly in the Elite 8. Ouray is led by Ravi Inmon who is averaging 19.6 ppg and also Kikito Meraz who is averaging 11.6 ppg. Ouray will have to play their best basketball and then some to beat #1 Holly
#1 Holly has shown through the year why they are the #1 team beating Kit Carson, Cheyenne Wells, Flagler, Wiley, and South Baca. They were challenged by South Baca yet again in the District 3 Championship but pulled out the 62 to 60 victory. They then reached the Elite 8 by blowing out Genoa-Hugo 81 to 42 and now are looking to advance to the Final 4. They will need to play a solid game to avoid the upset here but I believe they are at least 15 point favorites heading into this game. Holly is led by senior guard Yaniel Vidal 20.9 ppg and 8.6 rpg and also Sigi Avalos 11.9 ppg and 2.3 rpg.
I think this is one of the two blowouts in the Elite 8. I think Holly will advance past Ouray and they are favored by 15+ points.
Winner plays @ 5:30pm on 3/10 and loser plays @ 10:15am on 3/10

#4 Kit Carson vs #5 Longmont Christian @ 1:15pm on 3/9

#5 Longmont Christian had to take the long road into the playoffs and pull a pretty big upset in the regional championship. Longmont Christian finished third in the District 4 regionals and booked its ticket to Regionals. They faced Arickaree/Woodlin in the first round and dominated that game winning 77-44 and then had to face Flagler in the Regional Finals. Longmont Christian was able to pull a pretty big upset of Flagler 65-54 and advance to the Elite 8 but the road does not get any easier for them here on out. Longmont Christian played a 2A league schedule and faired pretty well going 20-4. Their four losses are to Battle Mountain (4A), Highland (2A), Alexander Dawson (2A), and Fleming. The biggest knock on Longmont Christian before regionals was the lack of a big win but they checked off that category when they upset Flagler. Longmont Christian is led by senior big man Luke Puchino who is averaging 20.1 ppg and 4.6 rpg and also helping out is Cameron Jauregui averaging 13.1 ppg.
#4 Kit Carson may have found the grove after upsetting Cheyenne Wells in the district tournament then getting revenge from an earlier season loss to Wiley 53-46 and advancing to the Elite 8. Kit Carson early picked up most of its losses but turned the season around well going 17-5. All of Kit Carson’s losses come to teams that made the 1A tournament. They have losses to Wiley, Holly, Flagler, Holly, and Cheyenne Wells. They have played Holly the closest this year taking them to OT but couldn’t shut the door on them. Now Kit Carson is looking to refocus. Kit Carson is led by senior forward Jaxon Crawford who is averaging 18.1 ppg and 8.2 rpg. The biggest problem is he is the only player averaging in double digit points. If Kit Carson wants success they must give him some help.
One of the biggest knocks on Kit Carson this year is their lack of scoring. They are only averaging 52.2 ppg but only giving up 36 ppg. Kit Carson will need to score more than 50 if they plan on beating Longmont Christian. Longmont Christian is averaging 68.4 ppg and have 4 players scoring in double digits. Longmont Christian is playing pretty good basketball right now and I am not sure if Kit Carson can score enough points to keep pace. I am going with Longmont Christian to beat Kit Carson by 7 or 8 points and advance to the Final 4.
Winner plays @ 5:30pm & Loser plays at 10:15am on 3/10

#3 Font Range Baptist vs #6 Fleming @ 8:30pm on 3/9

There might not be another team playing better basketball right now than #6 Fleming. Fleming was able to run the table in the District 4 tournament beating Longmont Christian and Peetz to grab the crown. Then Fleming was seeded as the #6 seed at Regionals and that didn’t stop them. They blasted Jim Elliot by 20 to advance to the Regional Finals then pulled a big upset at regionals beating Rocky Mountain Lutheran (20-2) 46-39 to advance to the Final 8. Once again Fleming is coming in as the #6 seed and have their eye on another possible upset. Fleming is the most battle tested team in 1A. They played 6 teams that made either the 2A Elite 8 or 1A Elite 8. They will be looking for another upset in the Elite 8. Fleming come into the Elite 8 at 15-9 picking up a ton of losses to 2A opponents most of which either made the 2A Elite 8 or 2A Regionals. Fleming has used that experience and was able to advance to the Elite 8. Fleming has no team stat updated.
#3 Front Range Baptist put together a very nice season going 20-3 and only 1 of those 3 losses were to teams in Colorado. The one Colorado loss was to Rocky Mountain Lutheran. Front Range Baptist journey to the Elite 8 starts with a second place finish at Districts and picking up the first round regional bye. They then played Peetz in the Regional Finals and were able to pull off a 7 point victory over Peetz winning 66-59. Nobody is 100% sure how good this Front Range Baptist team is they didn’t really play against a ton of 1A powerhouses and their best regular season win was a league win over Rocky Mountain Lutheran and a win over Creede/Lake City. Front Range Baptist will be looking to show that they are a true title contender but they will have their hands full in the Elite 8. Front Range Baptist is led by senior Noah Stein 15.3 ppg 9.8 rpg and junior Adam Poole 14.6 ppg.
In a funny twist of event both teams beat other District opponents to advance to the Elite 8. Fleming beat Rocky Mountain Lutheran in the Regional Finals and Front Range Baptist beat Peetz in the Regional Finals to advance. Front Range Baptist is the favorite in this game. They are averaging 64.0 ppg but they also didn’t play the type of schedule that Fleming played. Fleming is averaging 55.1 ppg but the biggest help to Fleming is the amount of close games they have played this year so they understand the pressure. This will be a great game and might be the best in the Elite 8. The last reason I gave for Fleming to feel good is the reason I am picking them. Fleming has played very tough competition and played in a ton of close games. I am picking Fleming to pull the upset of Front Range Baptist and advance to the Final 4.
Winner plays @ 8:30pm on 3/10 & loser plays at 1:15pm on 3/10

#2 Cheyenne Wells vs #7 Creede/Lake City @ 5:30pm on 3/9

#7 Creede/Lake City is still feeling good after pulling one of the bigger upsets this year. They beat a very good Primero in the District Tournament and booked their ticket to regionals. Then Creede/Lake City kept it going beat North Park 57-51 and advance to the Elite 8. Creede/Lake City will need to keep that magic alive as they are playing the second best team in 1A. Creede will have to play its best game of the year and then some to pull another huge upset. Creede is led by junior forward Isaac Borchers 15.9 ppg and 9.0 rpg and sophomore guard Casper Freedle 11.9 ppg. Those two will probably both need over 20 points and another play to break 10 to pull the upset. They are in my eyes the Cinderella of this year and were not supposed to even make it past District but here they are in the Elite 8 and will be looking to dance their way into the final 4.
#2 Cheyenne Wells bounced back nicely after picking up just its second loss of the year. They lost to Kit Carson in the District Finals 45 to 39 and possibly that was a wakeup call to this team. Cheyenne Wells then meet a very good South Baca team in the Regional Finals and took care of business beat South Baca 56-42. This is the same South Baca team that lost by 2 to #1 Holly so that big of a win for Cheyenne Wells is big for momentum and confidence heading into the elite 8. Cheyenne Wells must be careful in the Elite 8 they are playing against a team that loves to a challenge and must play good basketball to avoid the upset. Cheyenne Wells went 20-2 on the year and played against 3 teams in the Final 8 and a handful of teams that made regionals. Cheyenne Wells is led by senior Kendall Pelton averaging 16.4 and 7.6 rpg. He is the only player on Cheyenne Wells that is averaging double digit points so he will need some help if they plan on winning this game and a state championship.
This game on paper does not look to be a close one. Creede has proven it can beat a top opponent when they upset Primero but do they have enough in them to beat another top team in Cheyenne Wells. I do not think so and the Cinderella story of Creede will come to an end. I am picking Cheyenne Wells to win by 10+ points and advance to the final 4.
Winner plays @ 8:30pm and loser plays @ 1:15pm on 3/10

Rest of the Predictions

Consolation Bracket

#4 Kit Carson over #8 Ouray

#3 Front Range Baptist over #7 Creede/Lake City

Consolation Finals

#4 Kit Carson over #3 Front Range Baptist

Final 4

#1 Holly over #5 Longmont Christian

#2 Cheyenne Wells over #6 Fleming

3^rd Place Game

#6 Fleming over #5 Longmont Christian

State Championship