5A Sweet 16 Previews and Predictions: Baggot and Weimar Regions
The march to the Coliseum is about to begin. The Class 5A State Tournaments continue on Wednesday night with four tantalizing Sweet 16 matchups. The winners will advance to Saturday’s Great 8 at the Denver Coliseum. Below we break down…
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Continue ReadingThe march to the Coliseum is about to begin.
The Class 5A State Tournaments continue on Wednesday night with four tantalizing Sweet 16 matchups. The winners will advance to Saturday’s Great 8 at the Denver Coliseum.
Below we break down all four matchups in the Jim Baggot and Bill Weimar Regions, especially highlighting the showdown between Denver East and Eaglecrest.
Jim Baggot Region
No. 5 Denver East (17-8) at No. 1 Eaglecrest (22-2), 7 p.m.
The Angels took a 250 mile trek to Grand Junction and came away with a convincing 77-57 second-round win over the Southwestern League champions to continue a stretch of seven wins in eight games. East, with a bevy of depth, a senior trio of top-flight scorers in Jack Buckmelter, Daytone Jennings and Deron Harrell, and a number of 6-foot-7 and taller players, have the foundation for a run that could keep on going.
Of course, Eaglecrest is not only one of the elite programs state-wide, their 21 regular season wins were the most in school history and they claimed a state championship three seasons ago, but their home-court advantage is also real. The Raptors’ student section tends to show up in droves, after all. And, when you take into account that Colbey Ross is now well-established as one of Colorado’s best, this team is a beast for anyone to try and take down.
The Angels have a big challenge in slowing down Ross, who racked up 38 points efficiently, a career-high, in a 69-56 home win over East back in late January. At the same time, while Eaglecrest has other talented players, and they really defend, two potential issues could arise for them in the Sweet 16. First, if Ross isn’t having a huge night scoring the ball, who will step in and give the team enough offensive juice to move on to the Great 8? Also, Eaglecrest’s bigs are solid, but they have a lot less size on the interior. East might find success down low, especially if they limit turnovers, something they struggled with during their last meeting. This is a tremendous rivalry game and, in all honesty, feels more like a Great 8 or Final Four showdown. Some years that has been the case.
Prediction: Denver East by 3
No. 3 Dakota Ridge (17-7) at No. 2 Regis Jesuit (21-3), 6 p.m.
These teams have a similar feel to them, especially as far as playing balanced and with great chemistry. Also, interestingly enough Dakota Ridge (132 three-pointers, 35 percent) and Regis (135, 36) have nearly the exact same numbers from downtown. This’ll be an even matchup in athleticism and Dakota Ridge has consistently hung and sometimes won against some of the top teams in the state this season. Dakota Ridge also beat a Continental team in the last round of the playoffs as they took Mountain Vista by four.
With a lot of seasoned and skilled players on the two teams, an X-factor could be 6-foot-9 Marc Reininger of Regis. He’s really improved this season and, when he helps in the scoring department in a larger way, the Raiders seem a touch more dangerous. Then again, Tyler McFarland, a 6-foot-3 senior guard for Dakota Ridge, could shoot his team to victory in a close game.
Prediction: Regis by 6
Bill Weimar Region
No. 5 Arvada West (17-8) at No. 1 Rangeview (24-0), 7 p.m.
The Wildcats hope to go on the road and hand Rangeview their lone defeat of the season. Obviously that could prove easier said than done, especially when considering the regular rotation of 10 or so players that the Raiders use. Rangeview has Tyrei Randall, Elijah Blake and Elijah Reed as headliners, but they have plenty of other collegiate prospects of some level. This team is 24-0 for a reason.
One thing Arvada West has going for them, 7-footer Dallas Walton could be a major problem for a slightly undersized frontline. And we already know Luke Neff and Will Wittman can really play. This is Arvada West’s last season with a really solid senior group and they would love nothing more than to keep it going. They will need to keep the game close early and often to have a chance though.
In the end, we can’t pick against a team as strong as Rangeview. Not this early in the tournament.
Prediction: Rangeview by 7
No. 3 Legend (19-5) at No. 2 Cherokee Trail (18-6), 7 p.m.
Legend has three collegiate signees thus far in Monroe Porter, Danny Garrick and Connor McCord. Two others, Riley Matticks and Jared Small, are looking to sign somewhere, perhaps at the junior college level. All five players are returning senior starters from a Great 8 team. Last year’s team faced some adversity, as has this year’s, but this is a really talented group led by a veteran coach in Kevin Boley. The Titans have also won six games in a row, their latest a 68-46 defensive smothering of Fossil Ridge, a game they led 38-14 at the half.
Cherokee Trail has been among the handful of teams that have been in the top-10 of the rankings nearly the whole season. The Cougars have won nine of their past 10 games, their only defeat coming against Overland. When point guard Jaizec Lottie gets in rhythm distributing and scoring, knifing through the defense and taking advantage of his vision, and David Thornton dominates the post, Cherokee Trail can beat just about anybody. This is really a high-level Sweet 16 game as well.
Although Cherokee Trail is the home team, we’re giving the slimmest of edges to Legend, a bit more experienced group come tourney time.
Prediction: Legend by 2