Class 2A Boys Basketball Weekly Update Week 9

Class 2A Boys Basketball Weekly Update Week 9

We made a small change to the way we are doing the 2A Weekly Preview this week.  We will look at the top 10 teams according to the CHSAA Seeding and Selection Index.  We will then look at three teams who are on the rise and wrap things up with 6 teams on the bubble.  Remember all rankings are the CHSAA Seeding and Selection Index.  We have one month left of the regular season and its crunch time.  To qualify for regionals, you must win your District or be ranked in the top 32 of the seeding index.

#1 Simla (13-0)

Simla continues to hold onto the #1 spot in the CHSAA Seeding and Selection Index.  Simla picked up a pair of wins last week both quality wins and helps improve their resume.  Simla defeated #7 Limon 56 to 41 and Akron 68 to 44.  Simla moves back into league play this week.  Simla will face CS School (4-7) on Thursday and then hit the road again to face a quality opponent in Elbert (9-3) on Saturday.  Simla has just six games remaining, four of which will be on the road.  Simla will compete in District 8 and their game against Elbert on Saturday could be for the Black Forrest League Title.

(No Stats)

#2 Crowley County (15-0)

Crowley County has pushed their mark to 15-0 and 9-0 in the Santa Fe League.  Crowley County is your Santa Fe League Champions they locked the league title up with wins over Fowler 55 to 43 and Holly 55 to 46 last week.  Crowley County cemented things with their win over Swink last night 54 to 31.  Crowley County should be the #1 seed in the District 6 tournament.  Crowley County has just two games remaining on their schedule.  They will host Las Animas (7-5) on Saturday which is a quality opponent then end the season against Ellicott on 2/8.

Players to Watch: Gunner Hughes Jr. (21.3 ppg, 4.0 apg), Elijah McNeil Sr. (10.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg), Anthoni Walter Jr. (8.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg)

#3 Merino (11-2)

Merino had their 10-game winning streak snapped last week and fell a spot from #2 to #3 in the CHSAA Seeding Index.  Merino fell to Limon 62 to 46 and will look to rebound from that loss this weekend.  Merino will face rival Akron (5-7) on Friday and Sedgwick County (5-7) on Saturday.  Merino looks to be in good shape to be the #1 seed in the District 2 tournament and will be in position for a top 5 seed at Regionals.

(No Stats)

#4 Plateau Valley (11-1)

Plateau Valley continues their dominant run through the Western Slope League.  Plateau Valley last week defeated Caprock Academy 65 to 25 and Vail Christian 68 to 33.  The lack of a challenge is a bit of a concern, but their state tournament experience last season should help keep them focused.  Plateau Valley defeated Rangely last night 68 to 32 and pushed their winning streak to 12.  Plateau Valley has a pair of games this weekend.  The first is a big test against 1A #10 De Beque (10-2) on Friday. This is a big test for the Cowboys.  Plateau Valley closes out their weekend against West Grand (2-11) on Saturday.

Players to Watch: Jack Vig Jr. (16.5 ppg, 9.3 rpg), Jackson Bevan Jr. (11.4 ppg, 7.8 rpg), Parker Ralston Sr. (9.2 ppg, 2.3 apg)

#5 Denver Christian (8-4)

Denver Christian has hit a bit of a rough patch falling in 2 of their past 3 games.  Denver Christian last week defeated Denver Academy 88 to 31 but fell to 3A SkyView Academy 47 to 37.  Denver Christian did get things rolling again last night defeating Gilpin County 87 to 18.  Denver Christian has a pair of games this week with a key matchup against Clear Creek (7-7) on Thursday.  Denver Christian closes out the weekend against Front Range Christian (0-10) on Saturday.  Denver Christian is the heavy favorite to land the #1 seed in the District 5 Tournament.

(No Stats)

#6 Sanford (9-4)

Sanford pushed their winning streak to 5 this past week picking up a pair of wins over Custer County 64 to 33 and South Park 60 to 24.  Sanford is tied for the lead in the Southern Peaks League and could take a big step to locking up the regular season title this Friday when they host Crested Butte (9-2).  Sanford will also face Trinidad (0-12) on Saturday.  Sanford cannot lock up the league title till they face Sargent later in February.  Sanford is in good position to be the #1 seed in the District 1 tournament and their game against Sargent and Cotopaxi next week will be key to that.

(No Stats)

#7 Limon (11-3)

Limon had a busy week last week playing three games and going 2-1 picking up a huge key win in the process.  Limon opened the week with a 56 to 41 loss to Simla on Tuesday but bounced back nicely defeating CS School 56 to 31.  Limon then closed the week with their best win of the season defeating #3 Merino 62 to 46.  Limon will look for a pair of big wins this weekend when they hit the road to Wray (7-7) on Friday and Burlington (7-6) on Saturday.  Limon will probably need some help to snag the #1 seed in the District 8 tournament but should be well on their way to the #2 seed.

Players to Watch: Jordan Rockwell Sr. (18.5 ppg, 3.4 apg), Mason Jaques Sr. (9.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg), Treyton Marx Sr. (9.5 ppg, 11.4 rpg)

#8 Heritage Christian (9-2)

Heritage Christian played just one game last week.  Heritage Christian saw their 9-game winning streak snapped by 3A Machebeuf 63 to 62.  This was a quality loss and they bounced back with a quality win defeating SkyView Academy last night 62 to 44.  Heritage Christian has a pair of games this weekend kicking things off against Gilpin County (0-12) on Thursday.  Heritage Christian closes their weekend with a key matchup against #13 Holyoke (8-5) on Saturday.  Heritage Christian should go into the District 4 Tournament as the #1 seed.

Players to Watch: Raul Bertinato Sr. (13.2 ppg, 10.7 rpg), Alex Lundy So. (9.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg), Levi Hermsen Jr. (12.2 ppg, 1.8 apg)

#9 Wray (7-7)

Wray has played their toughest part of the schedule to date.  Wray dropped back-to-back games this past week to 3A Yuma 58 to 53 and 4A Berthoud 70 to 69.  Both games will go a long way to helping Wray get ready for the postseason.  Wray continues their tough run of games this weekend.  Wray will host #7 Limon (11-3) on Friday before a league game against Haxtun (3-11) on Saturday.  Wray has just 5 games remaining on their schedule.  Wray should finish as the #2 Seed in the District 2 Tournament. 

Players to Watch: Rafael Trejo Sr. (16.2 ppg, 5.1 rpg), AB Ruiz Sr. (10.2 ppg, 7.9 rpg), and Adonay Gonzalez Jr. (8.4 ppg & 2.2 apg), Aaron Tena So. (7.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg)

#10 Holly (9-4)

Holly wraps up the top 10 of the CHSAA Seeding Index.  Holly played two games last week going 1-1.  Holly defeated Primero 63 to 36 before falling to #2 Crowley County 55 to 46.  Holly will look to bounce back this week and have a pair of quality games against Swink (5-8) on Friday and Walsenburg (9-4) on Saturday.  If District 6 seeds by the League Standings, then currently Holly would the be the #4 Seed.  Holly game against Walsenburg then becomes the battle for the #3 seed and a lot is on the line.  If District 6 seeds by the Seeding Index, then currently Holly is the #2 seed, with Fowler #3, and Walsenburg #4.

Players to Watch: Truman King Jr. (16.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg), Devin Eaton Jr. (14.5 ppg, 7.1 rpg), Andre Salgado Sr. (12.4 ppg, 4.0 apg)

Three Teams on the Rise

We dive into three teams who are currently on the rise.

#14 Telluride (8-4)

Telluride continues to play well, and they picked up another quality win last week defeating Nucla 53 to 42.  Telluride defeated Caprock Academy last night to improve to 9-4 on the season.  Telluride has a big weekend ahead of them.  They will face Ridgway (2-8) on Thursday and then face Mancos (9-3) on Saturday.  The Mancos game will be for the league title and the #1 seed in the District Tournament.  Currently Telluride has the big win over Mancos 53 to 49 two weeks ago, but the next game will also factor into Districts and Regionals as well.

Players to Watch: Grayson Berry Sr. (14.7 ppg), Townes Merritt Sr. (13.3 ppg), Cash Livermore Sr. (6.9 ppg)

#16 Walsenburg (9-4)

Walsenburg continues to play well, and they improved to 9-4 on the season and have pushed their winning streak to six.  Walsenburg last week defeated 1A #7 Sierra Grande 53 to 48 and La Veta 53 to 48.  Both games were non-league games but helped improve Walsenburg seeding for regionals.  Walsenburg defeated Swallows Charter last night 69 to 62 and now Walsenburg faces their biggest two game stretch of the season.  Walsenburg currently sits in second place in the Sante Fe League and if District 6 is seeded by the league standings they would get the #2 seed ahead of Fowler and Holly who sit higher in the Seeding Index.  Walsenburg will face Las Animas on Thursday (7-5) and then face Holly (9-4) on Saturday.  Both games are vital for Walsenburg to stay as the #2 seed and keep improving their seeding for Regionals.

Players to Watch: Elton Chavez Sr. (20.3 ppg, 19.9 rpg), Nino Cisneros Sr. (11.6 ppg, 2.3 apg), Gabe Barela Sr. (9.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg)

#20 Elbert (9-3)

Elbert has hit a big hot streak recently winning 6 straight games including 4 last week.  Elbert defeated Hanover 52-34, Calhan 68-41, Flagler 77-10, and Swallows Charter 69-56 last week.  Those 4 wins improved their record to 9-3 on the season and improved their seeding Index from #27 to #20 this week.  Elbert took care of business last night defeating Rocky Mountain Lutheran 80 to 23 and pushing the winning streak to 7.  Elbert this weekend will face Cripple Creek (5-9) on Friday and wrap things up with a huge matchup against #1 Simla (13-0) on Saturday.  Elbert can still improve on their seeding for the District Tournament and an upset of Simla could cause some chaos in that district.  Elbert is in very good position to end the season with 5 or less losses.

Players to Watch:

Teams on the Bubble

We look at 6 teams who are on the bubble and fighting for a spot at regionals.

#29 Cotopaxi (9-4)

Cotopaxi had their 6-game winning streak snapped last week falling to Monte Vista 55 to 37.  Cotopaxi with the loss falls from #22 to #29 and are on the bubble.  Cotopaxi has a pair of key games this week that could go a long way to figuring out the District 1 Standings.  Cotopaxi will face Sargent (10-3) at home on Friday and close things out Saturday against Crested Butte (10-2).  Both games are huge games and will make a difference in the Pirates reaching regionals or not.

Players to Watch: Terrance Evans Jr. (20.6 ppg, 3.4 apg), Joel Tezak Jr. (14.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg), Kaiden Zeliznikar Sr. (9.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg)

#30 Hoehne (6-7)

Hoehne holds down the #30 spot for back-to-back weeks and would be the third to last team into regionals.  Hoehne snapped their four-game slide last weekend and have since picked up back-to-back wins.  Hoehne defeated Rocky Ford last night in a much win game 49 to 48.  The win keeps Hoehne in the top 32 and hoping for a shot at the regionals.  Hoehne will face La Veta (3-10) on Thursday, and this is also a must win game.  Hoehne has a very tough schedule to end the season and must get the win over La Veta.

Players to Watch: Levon Bachicha Jr. (9.5 ppg, 8.1 rpg), Nathan Zamora Jr. (7.5 ppg, 2.9 apg), Bobby Terry (6.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg)

#31 Swink (5-8)

Swink has hit a bit of a rough patch falling in five straight games and dropping from #26 in the Seeding index to #31.  Swink will hope to bounce back from last night’s loss to Crowley County, but their remaining schedule is one of the more difficult in Class 2A.  This weekend Swink will face Holly (9-4) on Friday and Fowler (10-5) on Saturday.  Swink remaining schedule is Las Animas, McClave, and Sangre De Cristo.  Swink may need a win or two down the stretch to hold onto the penultimate spot at regionals. 

Players to Watch: Hunter Bauserman Sr. (15.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg), Nate Cabrera Jr. (13.7 ppg, 2.5 apg),

#32 Hayden (6-9)

Hayden moves into the top 32 of the Seeding Index for the first time in a few weeks.  Hayden is holding the final spot for regionals and is coming off back-to-back wins.  Hayden will play a tough schedule down the stretch and kick things off Friday against Vail Christian (6-6).  This is a big game for Hayden and with a win should move them into the top 30.  Hayden closes the season against North Park, De Beque, and Caprock Academy.

Players to Watch: Cale Howard Sr. (13.0 ppg), Grady Frentress Sr. (8.7 ppg), Adrian Drew Sr. (6.6 ppg)

#33 Addenbrooke Classical (5-7)

Addenbrooke Classical snapped their 3-game losing streak last weekend defeating Aurora West Prep 68 to 33.  That win was key to giving Addenbrooke Classical a shot at regionals.  Addenbrooke Classical plays STEM Highlands Ranch tonight and is another big game.  Addenbrooke Classical closes the weekend against DSST-Green Valley Ranch.  Addenbrooke Classical will need a stretch of games to keep a shot at the top 32.

Players to Watch: Calum Michelsen So. (12.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg), Diego Jaramillo Jr. (8.3 ppg, 2.0 apg), Joseph Wingrove Jr. (8.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg)

#34 Denver Academy (6-7)

Denver Academy continued to move down the CHSAA Seeding & Selection Index falling from #31 to #34 this week.  Denver Academy has hit a rough patch losing 5 of their last 6 games and will have a tough schedule to end the year.  This weekend Denver Academy has a must win game against Lyons (3-11).  Denver Academy needs this win before back-to-back difficult games against top 1A teams. 

Players to Watch: Nolan Monasch Sr. (23.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg), Riley Allen Fr. (12.7 ppg, 2.4 rpg), Luc Stanley Fr. (11.0 ppg, 2.1 rpg)