Boys Basketball League Predictions Class 1A
Here we go!!! Final week of the regular season with District tournament right around the corner. By far my favorite time of the year as teams compete to move on to the next level. I am still predicting who is winning each District and who is moving on to regionals. Regionals Projections will be posted later today with My State Tournament Projections coming out again tomorrow.
District 1 (Only qualifies 2 teams)
#1 De Beque
#2 Ouray
District 1 is a mix of two different leagues and I believe for the District Tournament the league winners each get a top seed. De Beque is probably playing the best basketball in Class 1A. They are by far the clear favorite to win District 1. De Beque was undefeated playing against 2A opponents and should be primed for a deep playoff run. Ouray has been challenged in league play but have won all their 1A league games by double digits. Ouray should be able to push for the #2 spot in the District.
District 2
#1 Cheraw
#2 Kit Carson
#3 McClave
Cheraw controls their own fate and a win over Granada locks up the very important #1 seed for the District tournament. Cheraw has played well in February picking up important wins over Kit Carson and Springfield. Kit Carson and McClave will be hoping for an upset of Cheraw. Both teams need help to snag the #1 seed, but the #2 and #3 seed are still up for grabs. The winner between Kit Carson and Cheraw snags the #2 seed with the loser dropping to the #3 seed. The #3 seed will have to play the pigtail games whereas the #1 and #2 seed have Bye’s and a much better shot at qualifying for Regionals. My picks for regionals are #1 Cheraw, #2 Kit Carson, and #3 McClave. I do think Granada and Cheyenne Wells can pull an upset but more than likely thy will face each other in the Pigtail game.
District 3
#1 Walsh
#2 Springfield
#3 Kim/Branson
Walsh has locked up the #1 seed for the District tournament and will await the #4 and #5 teams to square off. Kim/Branson has locked up the #2 seed for the District tournament. The #3 seed is still up for grabs. Springfield and South Baca face each other this week with the winner snagging the #3 seed and avoiding an extra game. The #4 and #5 seeds will play a pigtail game and face the #1 seed. My picks for Regionals are: #1 Walsh, #2 Springfield, #3 Kim/Branson. I do think with the experience South Baca has from their tournament run a year ago you cannot count them out.
District 4
#1 Peetz
#2 Longmont Christian
#3 Prairie
District 4 will be seeded by RPI and using the RPI data of 2/13/2019 the District would be seeded as follows. #1 Peetz, #2 Briggsdale, #3 Longmont Christian, #4 Prairie, #5 Merino, #6 Caliche, #7 Fleming, #8 Weldon Valley. 8 team bracket also means all teams must play in the Pigtail Round for a shot to play in the Regional tournament. Some very intriguing matchups in the first round the two that catch my eye are Longmont Christian vs Caliche and Prairie vs Merino. The toughest game to predict is Prairie vs Merino. My picks for Regionals are: #1 Peetz, #2 Longmont Christian, #3 Prairie. I am going with Prairie over Merino in the first round. Prairie would then face Peetz and would be another great battle. I am also going Longmont Christian over Briggsdale in the semifinals. My 3rd place game is between Prairie and Briggsdale. Merino and Briggsdale can easily change this prediction by upsetting a few teams.
District 5
#1 Haxtun
#2 Arickaree/Woodlin
#3 Otis
District 5 is a mix of two leagues and due to that I am using RPI to seed my District tournament. If I am wrong please let me know and will update for my Regional Projections! My District seedings would be: #1 Arickaree/Woodlin, #2 Haxtun, #3 Otis, #4 Stratton/Liberty, #5 Idalia, #6 Flagler/Hi Plains, #7 Bethune, #8 Lone Star. All 8 teams will have to play the Pigtail/1st round game for a shot at the semifinals. I do think the most intriguing matchup would be #4 Stratton/Liberty vs #5 Idalia. In this case I am going with Stratton/Liberty as the winner. Semifinals game would have some very good games with Arickaree/Woodlin vs Stratton/Liberty and Stratton/Liberty won this matchup a few weeks ago. Haxtun vs Otis would be the other matchup and Otis is the one team who I am very uncertain about. Cullen Glossen has returned from injury and provides a second scorer to the mix. I am going with Arickaree/Woodlin and Haxtun as the winners and Otis winning the 3rd place game. My picks for regionals would then be #1 Haxtun, #2 Arickaree/Woodlin, #3 Otis. If Stratton/Liberty starts playing consistent then they could be a team to watch for.
District 6
#1 Sangre De Cristo
#2 Creede
#3 Sierra Grande
District 6 nearly has the bracket ready to go. Sangre De Cristo has locked up the #1 seed with Creede locking up the #2 seed and both teams will await the winners of the Pigtails games. Due to District 6 have 10 teams there is a Pigtail round followed by a First round on Tuesday of next week. You will have to win on Tuesday to have a shot at Regionals. The rest of the seeding is nearly locked up. If Sierra Grande beats La Veta they lock up the #3 and if Primero beats Centennial they lock up the #4 seed. Cotopaxi has also locked up the #5 seed. Using the seeded bracket, I am going with these 4 teams into the semifinals: Sangre De Cristo, Primero, Creede, and Sierra Grande. Cotopaxi vs Primero should be a great matchup in the first round and that spot could change. I am going with Sangre De Cristo vs Creede in the finals with Sierra Grande vs Primero in the 3rd place game. My picks for teams to advance to regionals are: #1 Sangre De Cristo, #2 Creede, #3 Sierra Grande.
District 7 (Only 2 teams make it to Regionals)
#1 Evangelical Christian
#2 Genoa-Hugo
District 7 has turned into a very exciting race for the two spots at regionals. I am not sure how they seed the District bracket which hurts in my predictions. I am guessing that the bracket is seeded by RPI. If it’s seeded by RPI then ECA is the #1 and Genoa-Hugo is #2. The #3 is Elbert with the #4 going to Pikes Peak Christian. My guess is ECA vs Kiowa and Genoa-Hugo vs Elbert in the Semifinals. Due to District 7 only getting two spots you must win your Semi-final games and I am going with ECA and Genoa-Hugo to pick up wins and advance to Regionals.
District 8
#1 Cornerstone Christian
#2 Front Range Baptist
#3 Mile High Academy
District 8 this year gets 3 teams into regionals this year and it’s a good thing with how competitive this district is this year. Seeding for the Bracket would be #1 Front Range Baptist, #2 Cornerstone Christian, #3 Mile High Academy, #4 Denver Jewish Day, #5 Denver Waldorf, #6 Rocky Mountain Lutheran, #7 Belleview Christian, #8 Shining Mountain, and #9 Beth Eden. Only one game would be needed for the Pigtail round. My 4 teams to advance to the Semifinals would be Front Range Baptist, Cornerstone Christian, Mile High Academy, and Denver Jewish Day. Some very good matchups in the semifinals but I am going with Front Range Baptist and Cornerstone Christian into the championship with Mile High Academy vs Denver Jewish Day in the third-place game. My picks for Regionals are: #1 Cornerstone Christian, #2 Front Range Baptist, #3 Mile High Academy.
MileHigh Prep Report 