Class A Quarterfinals Preview

<p>It is hard to believe the final week of high school basketball has already arrived. The Class A district results went as expected with the exception of Elkhorn South’s win over Omaha Central, which, in my opinion, was not all that surprising. The eight teams that advanced to state are truly the best 8 teams, which should give us some exciting, competitive matchups in each round. I don’t like to make predictions, especially in this tournament where truly any outcome is possible. As I type this, (8) Fort Calhoun just finished off an upset of (1) Wahoo in the first round of the C1 bracket. I would say that the top teams in Class A are more vulnerable than they have been in years past, so expect some tightly contested basketball late in today’s games.</p> <p><strong>(1) Millard North vs.  (8) Elkhorn South 1:30 PM</strong></p> <p>An emphatic win over Omaha Central in the district finals earned Elkhorn South a first-round matchup against the top-ranked Mustangs. It will be a tall task for Elkhorn South to offset the skill and athleticism of Millard North, so to make this competitive, the Storm will have to be extremely disciplined on the defensive end and force a high number of turnovers. Elkhorn South beautifully executed their defensive game plan against [player_tooltip player_id="890589" first="Jayden" last="Dawson"] and the Eagles, but Millard North is not just a one-man show. [player_tooltip player_id="787647" first="Jasen" last="Green"] is a mismatch against every team, but they have three or four players next to him on the court at all times who can shoot, create, and outrun the opposition. Elkhorn South needs an excellent performance from their star Junior, [player_tooltip player_id="1235940" first="Alec" last="Noonan"], and [player_tooltip player_id="1235586" first="Henry" last="Burt"] must make Green work for his production. Burt is a strong body and a solid rim protector and will have to do a lot of work early on Green to counter his size and athleticism. </p> <p><strong>(4) Gretna vs. (5) Omaha Central 3:15 PM</strong></p> <p>The Eagles are coming off a dismal district finals performance, and Gretna survived a double-overtime thriller to punch their first trip to State as a Class A member. Gretna won the regular-season matchup 56–50, limiting Omaha Central to just 29% from the field. Gretna will do what they always do by slowing the game down, sitting in a zone, and forcing the Eagles to score in the halfcourt. Elkhorn South did the same thing to the eagles in districts with great success. I don’t expect Gretna to blitz and deny [player_tooltip player_id="890589" first="Jayden" last="Dawson"] every play like Elkhorn South did, but I am sure they have that in their back pocket if the Eagles star comes out hot. [player_tooltip player_id="890569" first="PJ" last="Davis"]’ performance will be crucial for the Eagles today. He needs to attack the rim instead of settling for jump shots. This game could go either way and will most likely be the closest matchup of the opening round.</p> <p><strong>(2) Bellevue West vs. (7) Lincoln Pius X 6:00 PM</strong></p> <p>The third quarterfinal matchup of the day is the most interesting to me. It will be my first time watching Pius X this season, so I am intrigued to see how their forward-heavy roster matches up against the Thunderbirds. Bellevue West has the deepest, most talented roster in Nebraska, but they haven’t been as crisp or consistent this season as I expect Coach Doug Woodard would like. The miscues are not major. The timing of actions has been off here and there, and they can get sloppy for small stretches. This, of course, is nitpicking as they finished the year 21–3. But in this tournament, teams need to be sharp in every round. The Pius X forward trio of [player_tooltip player_id="1235575" first="Brady" last="Christiansen"], and Jack and [player_tooltip player_id="981708" first="Sam" last="Hastreiter"] can space the floor and run, but limiting [player_tooltip player_id="1018806" first="William" last="Kyle"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1253972" first="Jacob" last="Arop"] on the glass may be even more important than scoring in this game. Pius X must limit second chances and maintain discipline against the pressure from Bellevue West to move on to the semifinals. </p> <p><strong>(3) Omaha Westside vs. (6) Creighton Prep 7:45 PM</strong></p> <p>Omaha Westside is the better team and has been all season long. That being said, Josh Luedtke and the Jr. Jays always come ready to play in this building, despite the seeding or talent differential. Keeping [player_tooltip player_id="890571" first="Chandler" last="Meeks"] and [player_tooltip player_id="890572" first="Reggie" last="Thomas"] out of the paint will be key for Creighton Prep, as that leads to closeout opportunities for [player_tooltip player_id="890584" first="Payson" last="Gillespie"], [player_tooltip player_id="1019017" first="Logan" last="Wilson"], and [player_tooltip player_id="1013207" first="Tate" last="Odvody"]. The Jr. Jays can shoot it well, and they need those to fall tonight, but [player_tooltip player_id="981701" first="Luke" last="Jungers"] will have a big say in how this game ends up. [player_tooltip player_id="1019017" first="Logan" last="Wilson"] is one of the better rim protectors in the state, but he is a bit undersized and is better as a weakside helper than an isolation/post-up defender. Wilson’s defense on Jungers will be key. Creighton Prep may elect to play some zone which has had some success against Westside this season and look for the Warriors to counter with shooting by inserting [player_tooltip player_id="1013235" first="CJ" last="Mitchell"] for one of Meeks or Thomas. Mitchell has been the zone-buster for Westside this season, and I expect him to have a significant impact off the bench as a playmaker and shooter.</p>