Second Round 4A Playoff Preview and Predictions

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The second round of the 4A Playoffs will take place on Tuesday night (2/11).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Valley (14-13) at Sierra Vista (21-5) at 6:30 </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Valley has picked up their play recently, winning 5 of their last 7. In order for the Vikings to have a shot at advancing, they will need solid play from [player_tooltip player_id='2374209' first='Van' last='Graves'], [player_tooltip player_id='1373157' first='Xavier' last='Shufford'], and Nick Udom. Sierra Vista on the other hand lost their last two games. But they lost to Mojave and Bishop Gorman, two top 5 5A teams. If [player_tooltip player_id='1267555' first='EJ' last='Dacuma'], [player_tooltip player_id='1266705' first='Jevon' last='Yapi'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1253131' first='Colton' last='Knoll'] can get going on offense, Valley may find themselves on their heels.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Prediction:</em> I believe that Sierra Vista will take care of business at home.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Palo Verde (11-7) at Legacy (21- 5) at 6:30 </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Legacy has won 12 in a row, while Palo Verde has won 4 of their last 5. Both teams seem to be playing their best basketball of the season and their star players have been performing at a high level. [player_tooltip player_id='1962969' first='Ethan' last='Inocencio'] is the main scoring threat for Palo, but [player_tooltip player_id='2325960' first='Tavien' last='Phoenix'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1974915' first='Zubayr' last='Toms'] also made some contributions on offense the other night. Legacy's top scorers are Aaron Duke, Zayden Jefferies, and D'Anthony Rabb.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Prediction:</em> Legacy should be able to pull this one out due to their depth and athleticism. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Somerset Academy Losee (14-11) at Rancho (20-5) at 6:30 </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Don't let the record difference fool you, this could be a close one. Losee is lead by [player_tooltip player_id='1253138' first='Roderick' last='Johnson'] who can shoot the lights out. When I watched Losee this season, I also noticed that they have a few other offensive players that can fill it up like [player_tooltip player_id='2618949' first='Yasin' last='Musa'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1741615' first='Kieran' last='Daniel']. The Rams will look to defend their home court and for them to get the win they will have have to get big games from [player_tooltip player_id='1253142' first='Jakoi' last='Lide'], [player_tooltip player_id='1535761' first='Jailen' last='Childress'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1587232' first='Ahmad' last='Koroma'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Prediction:</em> I'm going to have to go with Rancho because of how hard they play and I think playing at home gives them a slight edge. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Clark (17-8) vs Green Valley (17-9) at Foothill at 5:00</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Clark has been one of the more surprising teams this season. They added 6'8 transfer [player_tooltip player_id='2418885' first='Devan' last='Christion'], and [player_tooltip player_id='2637173' first='CJ' last='Edwards'] (Freshman) has been a consistent contributor. Green Valley has also turned some heads, winning the 4A Mountain League with a 9-1 league record. LaMarcus Carter and Daquan Brown have both led the way for the Gators in most of their wins, and they'll need to show up on Tuesday night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Prediction:</em> This is an interesting match-up. I'm somewhat torn, but I'll go with Clark since they have a size and rebounding advantage.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->