Minnesota Playoff Central: Monday Playoff Preview

It’s a great day of playoff basketball especially in Rochester, Minnesota. What should you watch for? We give you an idea right now!

Playoff Central. If you live near Rochester and you love basketball, you have to get to the Civic Center to catch the playoff atmosphere. Here are the games you could see:

• Fillmore Central vs Lyle/Austin Pacelli
• La Crescent vs Cannon Falls
• Rochester Lourdes vs Lake City
• Goodhue vs Rushford-Peterson

Upset City. Tonight’s 22 games are mostly first round sectional games so the best chances for an upset are in the elite eight games in Rochester. Cannon Falls vs La Crescent really has my attention as Cannon Falls got the four seed after being the Lancers 57-50 this year. Cannon Falls did not have as good of a record as La Crescent but in that 57-50 win in January, Aiden Johnson Aiden Johnson 6'6" | PF Legacy Christian Academy | 2023 State MN scored 17, Tyler Johnson had 14, and Dylan Banks Dylan Banks 5'11" | PG Cannon Falls | 2024 MN had 15 while they held the very talented Carter Todd Carter Todd 6'4" | SF La Crescent | 2023 State MN to four points. Could the Lancers get revenge and pull the 4/5 upset?

The Big Stage. You have to love a good 8/9 game. In 5A there are a couple fun ones matching Mille Lacs vs St John’s Prep and Verndale vs WHA. These are interesting for different reasons. Verndale and WHA are both 8-17 on the season but yet they are three of the bottom four seeds in the sub-section. Meanwhile, Mille Lacs has one win and St. John’s Prep has two wins. I love this game for those teams that have won minimal games because it gives those teams a chance to win a game in March.

Top Performers. I’m heading back to Rochester because the list of talent that a fan can see is very impressive. There are going to be local college coaches lurking around Rochester tonight for certain! Here is a list of players to see including Jayce Kiehne Jayce Kiehne 6'3" | SG Fillmore Central | 2024 MN of Fillmore Central who is a junior and went over 1k career points a few weeks ago:

• Dawson Bunke Dawson Bunke 6'5" | PF Rushford-Peterson | 2024 State MN of Rushford-Peterson (jr)
• Parker Dunham Parker Dunham 6'2" | SF Rochester Lourdes | 2023 State MN of Rochester Lourdes (sr)
• Ryan Heise Ryan Heise 6'8" | SF Lake City | 2023 State MN of Lake City (sr)
• Aiden Johnson Aiden Johnson 6'6" | PF Legacy Christian Academy | 2023 State MN of Cannon Falls (jr)
• Jayce Kiehne Jayce Kiehne 6'3" | SG Fillmore Central | 2024 MN of Fillmore Central (jr)
• Buay Koak Buay Koak 6'3" | SG Lyle-Austin Pacelli | 2023 State MN of Lyle/Austin Pacelli (sr)
• Hunter Lorenson Hunter Lorenson 6'0" | PG Lake City | 2024 State MN of Lake City (jr)
• Will Opsahl Will Opsahl 6'8" | SF Goodhue | 2023 State MN of Goodhue (sr)
• Keegan Ryan Keegan Ryan 6'2" | SG Lake City | 2024 State MN of Lake City (jr)
• Jaden Shones Jaden Shones 6'1" | SG Lake City | 2024 State MN of Lake City (jr)
• Carter Todd Carter Todd 6'4" | SF La Crescent | 2023 State MN of La Crescent (sr)
• Jake Truckenmiller Jake Truckenmiller 6'1" | PG Lyle | 2023 MN of Lyle/Austin Pacelli (sr)