SPTS Finals First Look
The SPTS Finals are this weekend in Dallas at the Sanford Pentagon and champions will be crowned at the 17u, 16u, and 15u levels. Who are the favorites? Who will make bracket play? We dive into that today. 17U Standings.…
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Continue ReadingThe SPTS Finals are this weekend in Dallas at the Sanford Pentagon and champions will be crowned at the 17u, 16u, and 15u levels. Who are the favorites? Who will make bracket play? We dive into that today.
17U Standings. Fury (8-0), Crusaders (8-0), Comets (6-2), Heat (6-2), Select (5-3), Schoolers (4-4), WOTN (4-4), ECI (3-5), Playmakers (2-6), Showtime Hoopers (1-7), SW MN Stars (1-7), SD Heat (0-8).
17U Seeding. There are four very clear favorites in the Fury (Zurn), Crusaders, Comets (Lewis), and Heat (Vang). The Fury and Crusaders have yet to lose this year in SPTS play. Their first round match-ups of bracket play are going to be Select (Ohnstads), Schoolers, WOTN, and either ECI or the Playmakers. ECI is on a nice winning streak grabbing Ws in 10 of their last 12 games while WOTN is 28-13 overall.
17U Match-Ups. The biggest drama will be if ECI or the Playmakers will make bracket play and as coincidence has it, ECI and the Playmakers play in the final game of regular season play. Can ECI get a two game edge beforehand? That will be tough with the Comets and Heat on the schedule. The Playmakers have more winnable games against Showtime Hoopers and Select. It’s very likely that ECI and the Playmakers in that final game will decide who gets in.
Who will be the one seed? The Fury and Crusaders play one another Friday night. The Crusaders also have Select and WOTN on their schedule so it will be a tough final three regular season games for them. The Fury have a very winnable game against the Stars but also have Heat Vang as well as the game with the Crusaders.
What other final regular season games of interest? The area battle of SD Heat vs Dakota Schoolers is interesting as is Heat vs Heat (MN vs SD).
16U Standings. Crusaders (8-0), Fury (7-1), Heat (7-1), Comets (6-2), SW Stars (5-3), Select (4-4), ECI (4-4), Playmakers (3-5), WOTN (2-6), Schoolers (1-7), Showtime Hoopers (1-7), SD Heat (0-8).
16U Seeding. Without a doubt the most interesting bracket play. You have undefeated Omaha, Select Altenhofen is playing betterthan everybody now that top player Beijan Newbern is back (they are 4-4 but he didn’t play in those games because of injury), the SW Stars had a fantastic showing in Milwaukee, Comets Stumpf is a favorite but doesn’t have top player Brevyn Spann-Ford, Fury is 7-1, Heat Reese was 4-1 in Indy last week, and ECI was ranked as the top team in the Dakotas before being upset in the GPA by the ND Cougars. It’s wide open. The only drama is if the Playmakers or WOTN will be the eight seed.
16U Match-Ups. That eight seed includes WOTN playing winless SD Heat and top squads the Crusaders and the Comets. They are one game behind the Playmakers and they will likely need to upset the Crusaders or Comets although no Spann-Ford (if still injured) could make that possible. The Playmakers are up a game and have a bit easier as they play Showtime Hoopers, ECI, and Select Altenhofen. They are very likely to get at least one win there meaning WOTN would have to win two.
The Crusaders are undefeated but they have Select Altenhofen and Fury Wilde on Friday so holding on to that top spot could be tough. Also, Fury and Heat play the first game of the event which should be an excellent contest. Lots of great games in what is a very exciting and open division.
15U Standings. Fury (7-1), Crusaders (7-1), Comets (6-2), SW Stars (5-3), Heat (5-3), Select (4-4), ECI (4-4), Playmakers (3-5), WOTN (3-5), Schoolers (3-5), Showtime Hoopers (1-7), SD Heat (0-8).
15U Seeding. The Fury and Crusaders are fighting for the top spot and they play Friday night and both have fairly tough games on Saturday morning. The Crusaders likely have the more winnable Friday afternoon game but both have a final regular season of three challenges. Lurking right behind them is the Comets who don’t play a team with a winning record to finish regular season play.
15U Match-Ups. The sleeper is the SW Stars who have winnable games against the Schoolers and the Showtime Hoopers followed by a game with the Fury. The battle for the final spots is three teams for five spots. ECI and Select are 4-4 and then three times are 3-5 (WOTN, Playmakers, Schoolers). Who has the toughest road? At 3-5 the Schoolers have the Stars and Comets so they will need to beat SD Heat and the Stars to have a shot. They Playmakers will beat the Showtime Hoopers and then have games with ECI and Select which will be for the playoff spot. WOTN is a game behind the seven seed and they have a winnable game and also most beat either Omaha or Fury to have a shot.