Class B State Tournament Preview

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The Class A state tournament tips off in Oklahoma City on Wednesday and we have a full preview you can check out RIGHT HERE. The Class B state tournament will wait to start on Thursday at the Big House. We’ll have complete coverage from start to finish of both tournaments. But in this post, we take a look at all eight teams in the Class B state tournament, how did they get to Oklahoma City and who are some of the players that can help them lift a gold ball.

#1 FORT COBB-BROXTON (26-1) VS #8 GOODWELL (25-3)
Thursday – 9:00 AM

Fort Cobb-Broxton Spotlight

No surprise here with Fort Cobb-Broxton making it back to Oklahoma City. The Mustangs have been able to pencil in a trip to the Big House on their schedule for the last 11 seasons. This is their 11th trip in a row to the Big House but they are very hungry to capture their first state championship since 2018. They won four straight titles from 2015-2018 and made another trip to Championship Saturday in 2019. This is a Fort Cobb-Broxton team that has been absolutely dominant this season. The only loss on the year came to 4A’s #6 Newcastle, otherwise we might be looking at a team that was trying to complete a perfect record. But up first is Goodwell in the quarterfinals.

This is a pretty senior-heavy Fort Cobb-Broxton team but leading the way is junior Kray Rogers Kray Rogers 6'1" Fort Cobb-Broxtom | 2024 OK , who leads the Mustangs with just over 14 points per game. Also averaging in double figures is senior Jaxon Willits, who might be one of the best baseball players in the state but on the basketball court, he’s averaging nearly 12 points per game and has been an experienced part of the Fort Cobb-Broxton lineup. Freshman Eli Willits has also cracked the lineup and averages nearly 10 points per game while seniors Blayke Nunn and Simeon Collins both average nearly 8 points per game. This is a team that has been absolutely dominant over the last few weeks in the playoffs. They look to continue that this week.

Goodwell Spotlight

While Fort Cobb-Broxton has made the Big House feel like home away from home, Goodwell has punched their ticket to the state tournament for the first time in over 50 years. 1971 was the last time the Eagles made it to the state tournament but they are ready to go this year. They make the long trip to OKC from the panhandle of Oklahoma to go after their first state championship since winning it all during that last trip in 1971. After losing to fellow state tourney team Calumet in the area final, they would turn around and beat Leedey for the second time in two weeks to punch their ticket back to the state tournament. Up next, is one of the best programs in the last decade.

Coming into this season, the Eagles expected to make a run in March with a very senior-heavy team. In fact, their entire starting lineup consists of seniors and the first two players off the bench are seniors as well. This Goodwell lineup is incredibly balanced as well with their leading scorer, Ben Schreiner averaging 12 points per game. The next top six to seven scorers are all near double digits but Schreiner is the only player that is in double figures for the Eagles. And in a tournament field that doesn’t have much size, being 6’5 should give him and the Eagles an advantage. Look for other players like Abel Espino and Victor Ramirez to provide sparks throughout the tournament for the Eagles.

#2 ROFF (25-6) VS #10 GLENCOE (25-5)
Thursday – 10:30 AM

Roff Spotlight

The Roff Tigers are back into the state tournament for the third consecutive year and they are getting very tired of silver. They had to settle for the silver ball in their last two trips to the Big House, including a loss to their first round opponent this season in Glencoe last year. The Panthers got the best of the Tigers in the title game a year ago and Roff has certainly not forgotten how that felt. Roff hit a speed bump in the area final when they were upset by Buffalo Valley and had to come back and win their way to state or go home. They came back the following day and hammered Earlsboro by nearly 40 to punch their ticket to the Big House and another crack at the Panthers.

Leading the Tigers back to the state tournament is a senior-heavy lineup that features senior forward Tallen Bagwell Tallen Bagwell 6'5" | SF Roff | 2023 State OK , who has been Roff’s best player all season. Bagwell leads the team in scoring with 12.3 points per game but this is a Roff lineup that is incredibly balanced. Bagwell is the star that can take over a game but this is a complete team that all produce at a high level. Five seniors headline the starting lineup. Bill McCarter, Brand Wilson, Cade Baldridge and Dylan Reed make up the starting five and all average between 5 and 9 points per game. With this being a senior-heavy team, the memories of the last two state championship games will be fresh on their minds as they open up the tournament Thursday.

Glencoe Spotlight

On the other side of this monumental quarterfinal match-up is defending state champion Glencoe and their high-powered offense. After beating Roff in the state championship game last season, the Panthers brought back plenty of firepower to make another run at the gold ball. Despite being ranked #10 in the Class B rankings for the majority of the season, this is still one of the top teams in Class B and they are looking forward to going after a second consecutive gold ball. Glencoe basketball continues to be a family affair for head coach Jeff Weedn as he has two sons in the starting lineup, including his leading scorer and the championship hero from a year go.

Despite losing some of those seniors from last year’s team, Glencoe has not lost any momentum in scoring as their leading scorer is senior guard Jaken Weedn, who helped lead the Panthers to the state championship a year ago. He is averaging nearly 27 points per game and is looking to rekindle some of that Big House magic from last season. Weedn isn’t alone in double figures as fellow senior Tre Speer is averaging nearly 19 points per game and sophomores Jaxton Weedn and Logan Vyrostek each average over 16 and 12 points per game respectively. The Glencoe offense is going to get one of their toughest tests of the year when they face off with a Roff team that is hungry for a little revenge.

#4 CALUMET (26-1) VS #12 SENTINEL (24-5)
Thursday – Noon

Calumet Spotlight

The Calumet Chieftains have been one of the top teams in Class B all season and it’s no surprise that they are back in the state tournament. They return for the first time since falling short to Kinta in the 2019 state championship game, when they were looking for two gold balls in a three year stretch after winning it all in 2017. This is a team that comes in with a 26-1 record and it’s been a long time since that one loss on their record. They lost 74-71 to Class A state tourney team Okarche back on November 8th and haven’t lost since. And they’ve been dominant all year. All but four of their wins have been by double digits and they can score with anbody.

The key to their offensive success is the fact that they come at you in waves. They will play ten players and have eight different players that are averaging at least five points per game. Their two leading scorers are juniors Hunter Arnold and Dalton Belcher at 18 points per game and nearly 14 points per game respectively. Four freshmen come off the bench for the Chieftains and not only provide meaningful minutes but they have proven that they can produce at a high level when it’s asked of them. One name we’re going to have an eye on is freshman forward Hezakiya Satepauhoodle who’s listed at 6’5. They are facing a Sentinel team on Thursday that is lacking size and the freshman could make a big difference.

Sentinel Spotlight

The Sentinel Bulldogs are back in the state tournament for the first time in two decades and they are hungry for a win. They’ve never won a game once they’ve made it to state but they’ll be ready for the bright lights of the Big House on Thursday. The Bulldogs will also be ready for Calumet after losing to them in the championship game of a tournament earlier this year in overtime. Sentinel made it to state by getting a win over a team that had beaten them. They lost to Duke in the regional round two weeks ago. They would then win three games in three days, including a win over Duke to punch their ticket to the state tourney for the first time since 2003.

The Bulldogs are bringing a relatively young team to the Big House with two freshmen and a sophomore in their starting lineup. Sophomore Brady Wootton is their leading scorer at just over 16 points per game. The Bulldogs have just one senior in the starting lineup and that’s 6’2 Jake Peeler, who averages 14 points per game and gives them a little size at 6’2. We’re also interested in watching the freshmen that will be taking the floor for this team and are contributing in a big way with Ace Snowden and Mavrick Sanders. With only one senior in the starting lineup this year, it might have taken them 20 years to make it to the Big House, but it’s safe to say they probably won’t wait another 20 years.

#5 BUFFALO VALLEY (26-3) VS #6 KINTA (24-4)
Thursday – 1:30 PM

Buffalo Valley Spotlight

For the second straight year and the third time in school history, Buffalo Valley has made it to the state tournament. Last season, in their first trip to state since 2004, Buffalo Valley came up just short of Championship Saturday, losing to eventual state champion Glencoe in the semifinals. The Buffaloes got everyone’s attention in the area final when they punched their ticket to the state tournament with a low-scoring win over Roff, who is one of the favorites going into the tournament this week. Buffalo Valley will face a Kinta team that handed them one of their three losses but it came all the way back on November 15th. A spot in the semifinals is on the line this time.

The Buffaloes have a senior-heavy team that makes up the majority of their production this season on offense. Glencoe might have the highest scoring team but Buffalo Valley is right behind them with four starters averaging at least 13 points per game. Senior Jace Hunter leads the team with 17 points per game. And he has fellow seniors Zane Collins and Brendon Champlin averaging 14 and 13 points per game respectively. Junior guard Steven Morris also chips in with 14 points per game and those four make up nearly all of their production this season. This is an offense that has been rolling over the last few weeks before they got into a low-scoring affair with Roff last week. Their previous low in a playoff game was 73 points.

Kinta Spotlight

The Kinta Eagles are making their first trip back to the Big House since winning it all in 2019. They will face a Buffalo Valley team that is certainly waiting for them after Kinta handed them a loss back in November but both teams are completely different this time around. Kinta has been in a win or go home state of mind since losing to defending state champion Glencoe in the regional round. Their area was one of the tougher in the class but they found their way back to the state tournament by #3 Stringtown on Saturday night by ten points. That should certainly give them plenty of confidence as they head into the Big House this week in Oklahoma City.

Kinta has an incredibly balanced lineup and they lean on their starters to get the job done. Their starting five averages from 7 to 13 points per game a piece. Four of them average in double figures and they are led by junior Eriq Caraballo at 13 points per game while junior Trea Seabolt is right behind at 12 points per game. Seniors Jay Jefferson and Terry Vealy are also in double figures at 10 points per game. As Kinta looks for their second state championship in five seasons, they’ll lean on these five guys to carry them to the gold ball. They’ve carried them this far and they’ll look for them to finish the job this week in Oklahoma City. This is a team and a lineup that is playing with a lot of confidence right now.