CLASS 1A BOYS BASKETBALL REPORT by Kerry Sherman

Picture by Wendy Dickey (Cheyenne Wells vs Holly)

CLASS 1A BOYS BASKETBALL REPORT

BY: KERRY SHERMAN

The basketball regular season ends this weekend, and there are still a few races left to settle. A number of teams are still trying to lock down regional hosting positions, while others are attempting to just make the bracket. All rankings are from Wednesday afternoon’s release of the CHSAA Selection and Seeding Index.

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Last weekend’s 44-40 win over #4 Cheyenne Wells secured the top-seed for #1 McClave. The Cardinals have a significant lead over #2 Primero, who is just slightly ahead of #3 Otis. All four teams are virtual locks to host a regional pod.

Things start to get interesting behind those squads, with #5 Sierra Grande, #7 Stratton, and #6 Kim/Branson all being separated by less than .003 of a point. Sierra Grande is in the semifinals of its league tournament, with a Thursday clash against 2A #27 Center on tap.

Stratton has a home game against #10 Granada on Friday and then closes out at #33 Springfield on Saturday. Kim/Branson hosts Springfield on Thursday.

Elbert enters the home stretch sitting 8^th, more than .01 ahead of #9 Flatirons Academy for the final hosting spot. The Bison are nearly a full three one-hundredths of a point in front of Granada, who still might not make the top-eight even with a win over Stratton. The gap between the Bobcats and Elbert seems pretty significant with only a few games left.

Peetz, #11 in the latest Index, hurt its chances of potentially hosting with a loss to #32 Idalia in the quarterfinals of the NCL/YWKC tournament. The Bulldogs are more than eight one-hundredths of a point behind Elbert.

Looking at the opposite end of the scale, the spots most likely in play are the final three. Sangre de Cristo (#30) is close to seven one-hundredths of a point behind #29 Ouray, a margin that once again might be too much to overcome this late in the season.

Ouray finished at #17 Nucla on Wednesday, and a win there would guarantee a place in the regional bracket for the Trojans. Even with a loss, it feels as if they will make the field of 32.

Sangre fell to Center in the quarterfinals of the Southern Peaks tourney on Tuesday and will face #38 Centennial on Thursday. The Thunderbirds can’t afford a loss in that contest, with #31 Caliche just eight one-thousandths of a point back.

The Buffs pushed #19 Arickaree/Woodlin to the buzzer on Tuesday in the NCL/YWKC tournament, eventually falling by two points. They will face Peetz in the consolation semis on Friday, with Saturday’s game against either #34 Fleming or #37 Lone Star.

Idalia is keeping things interesting with its win over Peetz in that same tournament. The Wolves put themselves right on the bubble with that victory, but will face Arickaree/Woodlin in the semifinals. The first meeting between those two went to the Bison 47-38, but Idalia was missing two starters that night.

Springfield can help its chances twice this week, facing the #7 team on Friday and #6 on Saturday. A win in either could be enough for the Longhorns into the bracket. Fleming is right behind the Longhorns in 34^th position, and the Wildcats, who had been red-hot prior to their loss to Otis on Tuesday, faces Lone Star in the conso semifinals on Friday. Fleming won the regular season match-up two weeks ago by a 48-43 count.

Miami-Yoder (#35) and North Park (#36) both need to win out, and get some help, to catapult into the bracket.