The Week Ahead in Minnesota High School Hoops: Section playoffs edition

The Marshall Tigers have enjoyed an outstanding season, going 24-2 and knocking off South Dakota’s #1-ranked team, Sioux Falls Roosevelt, to boot.  Still, the Tigers head into the section tournament seeded behind the Waconia Wildcats, who won the East division of a very competitive Wright County Conference.  Waconia also stepped up in weight class in their non-conference schedule, taking on strong 4A competition in Edina, Eden Prairie and Prior Lake; thanks to that, and a 21-5 regular season record, they got the nod over Marshall for the #1 seed.Both Waconia and Marshall made the state tournament two years ago; section realignment has them both in Section 2AAA this season.  Mankato West is the #3 seed with a 15-9 record and Willmar, who’s responsible for one of Marshall’s two losses this year, is #4.Quarterfinals in this section start on Tuesday night, with the semifinals taking place on Saturday and the finals on Thursday, March 14.  Both the semifinals and finals will be played at Minnesota State-Mankato.Last year, this section was the home to close games and huge upsets, as the #1, #2 and #4 seeds all lost their first-round games.  The #8 seed that pulled off the upset over the #1 seed was the Brainerd Warriors, and these same Warriors are the team with the target on their back this season.  They had a fantastic regular season, going 25-1, but given how dominated Class 4A is by Twin Cities-area teams, people really don’t know what to make of the squad.  They only broke into the 4A Top 10 during the final few weeks of the season, reaching #7 in the final regular season poll.Given how large the section is geographically- it goes as far south as Rogers, as far north as Bemidji and as far west as Moorhead- it’s difficult to get a true comparison between the teams.  If you’re a fan of big upsets, this could be one of the sections to watch.Quarterfinals start on Tuesday night with the semifinals taking part on Saturday night at St. Cloud State.  The finals are scheduled for Thursday, March 14, at a yet-to-be-determined neutral site.No mention of stacked sections would be complete without looking at 6AAAA, home to perennial powerhouse Hopkins.  This year, however, Hopkins’ 20-6 record was only good enough for a #3 seed as the Edina Hornets shook off a 0-4 start to the season to finish with a 19-7 record, the Lake Conference title and the section’s #1 seed.  The Minnetonka Skippers grabbed the #2 seed- they defeated Hopkins twice in conference play- setting up a potential third meeting should they and Hopkins get through their first round games.In this section, getting through your first-round game will be no walk in the park as all but one team finished the regular season with an over-.500 record.  The 4/5 matchup looks particularly intriguing, as #4 Robbinsdale Armstrong, 18-8 on the year, hosts a 20-6 St. Louis Park team that finished in second place in the North Suburban Conference.  Wayzata, Minneapolis Southwest and Minneapolis South round out this competitive group of teams.Quarterfinals take place on Tuesday night, with the semifinals on Friday night in Osseo and the title game on Tuesday, March 12, also in Osseo.View the list »
The section that represents the east side of the metro is absolutely loaded.  Five of the eight teams in the section won 20+ games; it also features three of the top six teams in the last Class 4A poll.  The quarterfinals start Wednesday night, and the 3/6 and the 4/5 games look particularly intriguing- #6 seed Mahtomedi brings a 20-6 record into their clash with #3 Tartan, and #5 White Bear Lake, 17-9 on the season, travels to #4 Stillwater who won 20 of 26 regular season contests.  Both games have the added spice of being between conference rivals, as Mahtomedi and Tartan split their two Classic Suburban matchups while White Bear Lake defeated Stillwater twice in the Suburban East.The top two seeds, Roseville and Woodbury, have played many classic contests over the past two seasons.  The teams split their two regular season Suburban East matchups this year en route to sharing the conference crown; last year, they split their regular season matchups as well before Woodbury edged the Raiders in overtime for the section crown.  They’re on opposite sides of the bracket making a section finals rematch possible, but they will have to navigate this loaded section first.The semifinals and finals will be played at East Ridge High School, with the semifinals taking place Saturday evening and the finals at 7pm on Wednesday, March 13.

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After the Class 1A and 2A schools got section tournament season kicked off last week, the larger schools jump into the tournament series this week. While both Class 3A and 4A feature top-ranked teams that have spent a good portion of the season- if not the entire season- atop the rankings, DeLaSalle and Apple Valley will both have to look out for quality teams that can get hot and pull off the upset that the month of March is so well known for.

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For DeLaSalle, their season has been nothing but total domination. They finished the regular season with a 23-1 record with their one loss coming to Kansas City’s Blue Valley Northwest, the undefeated and #1-ranked team in Kansas’s large-school division. Since that loss, the Islanders have rolled off 18 straight victories; the closest of which was a 17-point win over then-#5 in 4A Eden Prairie. Last year they won the 3A state championship in one of the most memorable title games in recent memory, a buzzer-beating 57-56 overtime victory over Minneapolis Washburn.

Apple Valley, the #1 team in the 4A poll at the start of the season as well as the end of the season, put together quite an impressive regular season as well, winning 25 games against just one loss. That loss, a two-point loss to Park Center in the second game of the season, cost the Eagles the #1 spot for a time, but an undefeated run through the South Suburban Conference helped propel the Eagles back to the top of the heap. As Apple Valley turns their attention to the postseason, they’re looking to avenge a four-point loss to Eastview in the Section 3AAAA finals and return to state for the first time since 2009.

While each section across the state promises high drama and off-the-charts intensity, here are a few sections that promise to have some of the best matchups in the two largest divisions.

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  • The section that represents the east side of the metro is absolutely loaded.  Five of the eight teams in the section won 20+ games; it also features three of the top six teams in the last Class 4A poll.  The quarterfinals start Wednesday night, and the 3/6 and the 4/5 games look particularly intriguing- #6 seed Mahtomedi brings a 20-6 record into their clash with #3 Tartan, and #5 White Bear Lake, 17-9 on the season, travels to #4 Stillwater who won 20 of 26 regular season contests.  Both games have the added spice of being between conference rivals, as Mahtomedi and Tartan split their two Classic Suburban matchups while White Bear Lake defeated Stillwater twice in the Suburban East.The top two seeds, Roseville and Woodbury, have played many classic contests over the past two seasons.  The teams split their two regular season Suburban East matchups this year en route to sharing the conference crown; last year, they split their regular season matchups as well before Woodbury edged the Raiders in overtime for the section crown.  They’re on opposite sides of the bracket making a section finals rematch possible, but they will have to navigate this loaded section first.The semifinals and finals will be played at East Ridge High School, with the semifinals taking place Saturday evening and the finals at 7pm on Wednesday, March 13.
  • No mention of stacked sections would be complete without looking at 6AAAA, home to perennial powerhouse Hopkins.  This year, however, Hopkins’ 20-6 record was only good enough for a #3 seed as the Edina Hornets shook off a 0-4 start to the season to finish with a 19-7 record, the Lake Conference title and the section’s #1 seed.  The Minnetonka Skippers grabbed the #2 seed- they defeated Hopkins twice in conference play- setting up a potential third meeting should they and Hopkins get through their first round games.In this section, getting through your first-round game will be no walk in the park as all but one team finished the regular season with an over-.500 record.  The 4/5 matchup looks particularly intriguing, as #4 Robbinsdale Armstrong, 18-8 on the year, hosts a 20-6 St. Louis Park team that finished in second place in the North Suburban Conference.  Wayzata, Minneapolis Southwest and Minneapolis South round out this competitive group of teams.Quarterfinals take place on Tuesday night, with the semifinals on Friday night in Osseo and the title game on Tuesday, March 12, also in Osseo.
  • Last year, this section was the home to close games and huge upsets, as the #1, #2 and #4 seeds all lost their first-round games.  The #8 seed that pulled off the upset over the #1 seed was the Brainerd Warriors, and these same Warriors are the team with the target on their back this season.  They had a fantastic regular season, going 25-1, but given how dominated Class 4A is by Twin Cities-area teams, people really don’t know what to make of the squad.  They only broke into the 4A Top 10 during the final few weeks of the season, reaching #7 in the final regular season poll.Given how large the section is geographically- it goes as far south as Rogers, as far north as Bemidji and as far west as Moorhead- it’s difficult to get a true comparison between the teams.  If you’re a fan of big upsets, this could be one of the sections to watch.Quarterfinals start on Tuesday night with the semifinals taking part on Saturday night at St. Cloud State.  The finals are scheduled for Thursday, March 14, at a yet-to-be-determined neutral site.
  • The Marshall Tigers have enjoyed an outstanding season, going 24-2 and knocking off South Dakota’s #1-ranked team, Sioux Falls Roosevelt, to boot.  Still, the Tigers head into the section tournament seeded behind the Waconia Wildcats, who won the East division of a very competitive Wright County Conference.  Waconia also stepped up in weight class in their non-conference schedule, taking on strong 4A competition in Edina, Eden Prairie and Prior Lake; thanks to that, and a 21-5 regular season record, they got the nod over Marshall for the #1 seed.Both Waconia and Marshall made the state tournament two years ago; section realignment has them both in Section 2AAA this season.  Mankato West is the #3 seed with a 15-9 record and Willmar, who’s responsible for one of Marshall’s two losses this year, is #4.Quarterfinals in this section start on Tuesday night, with the semifinals taking place on Saturday and the finals on Thursday, March 14.  Both the semifinals and finals will be played at Minnesota State-Mankato.
  • This section looks completely different than it did last year.  Benilde-St. Margaret’s was the #1 seed after a 25-1 regular season and Minneapolis Washburn was the #2 seed after going 24-2.  Washburn edged Benilde in the section title game, then made it all the way to the state finals before dropping that heartbreaking overtime game to DeLaSalle.This year, Benilde is the #7 seed after a 7-19 season and Washburn the #6 after a 14-10 campaign; that opened the door for Holy Angels to grab the #1 seed.  The Stars, 19-7 on the year, got the nod over fellow 19-7 team Blake for the top seed; Blake pulled down the #2 seed in the section.  The section appears to be very even on paper, as Washburn’s record is only one game worse than their first-round opponent, #3 seed Richfield.  While Washburn and Benilde haven’t had the seasons they’d hoped for this year, it’d be a mistake to count them out for making a deep tournament run.The quarterfinals are on Tuesday night with the semifinals on Saturday and the finals next Thursday, March 14; semifinals and finals will be played at Chanhassen.
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, Minnesota High School Sports Examiner

If it's Friday night, Dan Hinrichs is likely somewhere in the state doing radio play-by-play of a big high school game. He's called more than 300 games in the last seven years, ranging from football to fastpitch softball. A native of Grantsburg, WI, he's a graduate of St. John's University and...

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