District 1
Two teams have shown some separation from the rest of the league and that is Del Norte and Sanford. Del Norte and Sanford have wins over most of the league already and they faced off on Saturday night 1/27. The game was very close until the fourth quarter started and then Carlos Parra scored 15 in the fourth quarter to pull Del Norte ahead and Del Norte won by 18 points. These two will meet again in a few weeks in Sanford. Sargent has pulled ahead as the #3 team in the District with wins over Center and Crested Butte. Sargent will play South Park this week and that game will go a long way at determining the #3 seed. South Park, Center, and Cripple Creek are all battling for the #4 spot. South Park lost to Cripple Creek by 3 but then beat Center by 3, Cripple Creek beat South Park but lost to Crested Butte, and Center beat Crested Butte but lost to South Park, so these 3 teams will look to sort things out going forward.
District 2
Yuma currently is the top team in District 2 after picking up a monster win over Sedgwick County. That win propelled Yuma to the top team in the District, but Yuma still has a long way to go before locking that spot up. Yuma has Haxtun, Holyoke, and Akron still on the schedule. Sedgwick County slips to the #2 and I am not sure if their schedule is up to date but currently only have 3 games left on the schedule. They have Akron and Haxtun left for league games. If anyone can let me know what their schedule looks like that would be great! The #3 and #4 spots are still being battled for and it’s coming down to 3 teams battling for 2 spots. Haxtun, Holyoke, and Akron are all battling for the final 2 spots. I know in my Projections I had Holyoke on the outside looking in but after digging some more I made a mistake. Holyoke currently is my #3 team they picked up a league win over Haxtun already and have monster games against Akron and Yuma coming up. My #4 team is Haxtun. Haxtun has split games with Holyoke already but lost the league game to Holyoke, so they are already behind the ball for the #3 spot. Haxtun has a huge game against Akron Friday 2/2. That game will help determine seeding for the District Tournament. Akron has a good shot at moving into the top 4 but will need an upset or two to make the move.
District 3
District 3 is all but wrapped up already with Ignacio sitting at 6-0 in league. Ignacio has wins over the rest of the league already most by 20+ points. Ignacio just needs to take care of business the rest of the year. The #2 and #3 spots are coming down to the rest of the league. Dolores currently is the #2 team picking up important wins over Norwood and Mancos. Dolores has 2 league losses to Ignacio and Ridgway who now owns the tie breaker over Dolores. Dolores plays Ignacio tonight 2/1 and Nucla on 2/3. The next week for Dolores is huge with games against Ridgway and Norwood. My #3 team is Mancos. Mancos has played a couple OT games this season but owns important wins over Ridgway and Norwood. Mancos has also split on the season with Telluride but may have the tie breaker due to winning by more. Mancos has a very important game against Ridgway on Saturday 2/3. After Ignacio the league is very much up for grabs.
District 4
District 4 is always tough to figure out. District 4 has teams from two different leagues and don’t really face each other head to head. I believe the District tournament is seeded by RPI and that will make a huge difference in terms of seeding. I am picking Byers to come out as the District Champion in this league. Byers has played a tough schedule this season but since them lose to ECA in early January they have picked up impressive wins over Simla, Burlington, Denver Christian, and Calhan. Limon is my #2 team in the District. Limon recently picked up lose #2 on the season losing to Simla in OT. Limon did bounce back against Peyton and has solid wins on ECA, Denver Christian, and Akron. Limon and Byers do face off on 2/9 and could be a preview for the District Championship. District 4 has 3 teams competing for the final two spots. Burlington, Denver Christian, and Front Range Christian are all battling for the final 2 spots. My #3 team is Burlington. Burlington has played a brutal schedule this year. They have played Holyoke, Byers, Yuma, and Calhan. Burlington schedules gets no easier this week either as they played Limon on Saturday 2/3. Burlington will not face Denver Christian during the regular season but did face Front Range Christian at the beginning of the season and lost by 3. My #4 team is Denver Christian. Denver Christian picked up an important win over Front Range Christian on 1/18 and they won by 15 points. Denver Christian has played a tough schedule and should have them ready for the District Tournament.
District 5
District 5 gets 5 teams into Regionals and the District has 7 teams that could take one of those 5 positions. Rangely has shot to the top of the District Standings. Rangely big win so far, this year in District play was over Meeker by 16. Rangely still has some big games coming up and will determine if they can hold onto the top spot. Rangely has two games this week against Hotchkiss and Vail Christian. Rangely will not face the #2 team until the final game of the season and that could determine the top seed in the District tournament. My #2 team is Meeker. Meeker picked up a big win against Vail Christian on 1/20 but still has 2 very tough games remaining this season. Meeker plays Hotchkiss Saturday 2/3 and faces Paonia next week 2/9. Meeker will know their seed in the District Tournament after their game against Paonia. Meeker has one league lose as they lost to Rangely by 16. My #3 team is Paonia. Paonia is currently the #4 team in the District Standings as they lost to Hotchkiss a few weeks back by 5. Paonia has played Hotchkiss twice this season splitting so far, this year. Paonia I believe will end up ahead of Hotchkiss if they play for a third time. Paonia can still grab the #1 seed in District tournament as they still must play Meeker and Rangely. My #4 team is Hotchkiss. Hotchkiss lone league lose is to De Beque (1A). Hotchkiss has yet to play most of the top teams but do own an important win over Paonia. The Paonia win is very important in terms of District Tournament seeding. Hotchkiss will be tested in their final 5 games as they face Rangely, Meeker, West Grand, North Park, and Vail Christian. My #5 team is Vail Christian. The #5 team will be determined in the Consolation side of the bracket. Vail Christian will be fighting it out with West Grand and Vail Mountain for that seed. Vail Christian has hit a small slump with back to back losses to Meeker and Paonia. Vail Christian has big games against Rangely on Saturday 2/3 and Hotchkiss to close out the season. Vail Christian will look to move up the District Standings to get a better seed but that is only possible if they can avoid any bad losses.
District 6
District 6 has some clear separation between the Top 3 teams and the rest of the league. District 6 top 3 teams are Crowley County, Fowler, and Rocky Ford and I believe those 3 teams have the top 3 spots locked up. My #1 team is Crowley County. Crowley County has only been challenged once in league play and that was a 1-point win over Fowler that came down to the wire. Crowley County must face Fowler one more time and that will determine the #1 or #2 seed in the District Tournament. Crowley County has an interesting game against Vanguard on 2/2 and could see how far this team has come. Fowler is my #2 team just behind Crowley County. Fowler lost by just 1 to Crowley County and have played well against the rest of the league as well. Fowler will need to continue to play well against Swallows Charter (won by only 5), Hoehne (won by only 12), and Rocky Ford (won by 16). Fowler must focus on every game if they want a shot at the #1 District seed. My #3 team is Rocky Ford. Rocky Ford has played well in league play with their only two losses to Fowler and Crowley County. Rocky Ford beat Swallows Charter by 23 and Hoehne by 14. Rocky Ford will need to continue playing at that high of a level if they want the #3 seed and opposite side of the #1. The #4 team is much more difficult with 4 teams all fighting for that spot. I am going with Swallows Charter as my #4 team. Swallows Charter played well against Fowler but owns wins over Swink, John Mall, Las Animas, and Hoehne. Swallows Charter will probably face Hoehne in the First round of District play and that game will determine who will be the fourth team into regionals.
District 7
District 7 is also an interesting District with 1 team playing a 3A schedule and other teams competing in different league. My #1 team right now is Highland. Highland has played well this season and have shown their the top team in this District. Highland has wins over Dawson School, Gilpin County, and Dayspring Christian. Highland won’t face Clear Creek during the regular season so if those two teams meet up it will be their first meeting this season. My #2 team is Clear Creek. Clear Creek competes in the 3A Frontier League and have proven to be a tough team. Clear Creek has only 1 2A lose this season and that lose does have me a bit concerned as they lose to Lyons who competes in District 7. Clear Creek played DSST-Stapleton very close losing by just 10. Clear Creek should be ready to compete in 2A playing in a very tough Frontier League. My #3 team is Dayspring Christian. Dayspring Christian has also played well this season picking up solid wins over Longmont Christian, Denver Christian, and Union Colony Prep. Dayspring Christian will be looking to hold back some solid teams behind them. Dayspring Christian plays Lyons tomorrow 2/2 and could be a huge momentum booster heading into the rest of the season. The #4 team is tough to pick with 3 teams all beating each other up. Gilpin County, Dawson School, and Lyons all have wins on each other and will come down to who is playing their best basketball in the District Tournament. I am going with Gilpin County as my #4 team. Gilpin County has big wins over Lyons, Dawson Schools, and Heritage Christian. Gilpin though must have some consistency away from home as they are 1-6 on the road. Gilpin County will need to play their best basketball in the District Tournament.
District 8
District 8 is like District 7 and District 4 which combine a few leagues together and don’t face some teams until the District Tournament. District 8 has 6 teams competing for 4 spots and has some very solid teams. My #1 team is Calhan. Calhan has played well this season but also had a few slip ups as well. Calhan early on lost to Burlington and fell off the radar a bit but after beating Fowler they moved back into the fold. Calhan has played well in the month of January beating Miami-Yoder, Simla, and Evangelical Christian. I believe the District 8 Tournament is seeded by RPI and if that is the case then Calhan currently is the #1 seed and that would put Simla and ECA on the other side of the bracket. Calhan has big games against Peyton, Limon, and Simla on their schedule. My #2 team is Simla. Simla moved down to my #3 team but after upsetting Limon last week moved back to #2. Simla battles ECA on 2/2 and could be a big game in terms of momentum. Simla has a rematch against Calhan later this year as well. My #3 team is Evangelical Christian. ECA has a big win on Byers on their Resume but recently lost to Calhan which moved them to #3. ECA will get a shot to move back up to #2 when they face Simla tomorrow. This will be the final tough game for ECA on the year. My #4 team was tough to pick and came down to Ellicott, Peyton, and Dolores Huerta. I am going with Ellicott as my #4 team. Ellicott has played well this season but will need some consistency if they plan on competing in regionals. Ellicott has a big game against Peyton on 2/9, Calhan on 2/10, Simla on 2/16, and Dolores Huerta on 2/17.
MileHigh Prep Report 