First of all, congrats to all the teams who made it out of districts and have qualified for the Divisional Tourneys around the state. You all are only one step shy of achieveing that pre-season goal of getting to the State Tournament.
Here in South-Central Montana...the Class B focus shifts to the Eastern Divisional, made up of the top 4 teams from the 3B and the top 4 from the 4B.
The Girls' Eastern Divisional doesn't get under way until next week...so I'll just give you the boys preview now, as they tip off in Colstrip tomorrow.
Eastern B Divisonal - Boys @ Colstrip - Thurs.-Sat.
Here are your 1st Round Boys matchups for the upcoming tourney @ Colstrip, Feb. 21-23:
Columbus (18-2) v. St. Labre (5-15)
Huntley Project (13-7) v. Forsyth (14-6)
Shepherd (15-4) v. Baker (7-13)
Colstrip (9-12) v. Red Lodge (6-15)
1. Who's the favorite?
Columbus is a big favorite to runaway with this Divisional, much like they did at this past week's 4B District Tourney. Sean Russell looks like the best player in Class B right now, and the Cougars are clicking on all cylinders. They are a combined 8-1 against the other 7 teams in the Eastern Divisional.
2. Non-District champion with best chance to pull off an upset at Divisionals?
The Shepherd Mustangs. The only team with a win over Columbus during the regular season (a 51-47 in Shepherd), the Mustangs have all the tools to make a title run. They're very athletic, and along with the Columbus victory, have proven they can beat anyone with a solid 15-4 overall record, including wins in 12 of their last 13 games.
3. District Champion most likely to be upset at Divisionals?
My apologies to the Colts, but it has to be Colstrip. And not just by default. Colstrip played very well to win the 3B on their home floor, but they played over their heads. The Colts came into the District Tourney with a 4 and 6 conference record, and a 9 and 12 record overall...and this time they're facing much better competition. There is no doubt that they have the tools to make a push (as they showed this week), but I think they'll lose their 2nd game after beating Red Lodge.
4. State Tournament Qualifier Predictions:
I think Columbus will win the Eastern Divisional, winning all three games by double digits. So the battle will be for second, where I think the 4B will make a clean sweep. But I'm not sure whether it will be Shepherd or Huntley Project who makes it. My hunch tells me Shepherd, but if the Devils' Eric Buer has a better Divisional than District Tourney, watch out for HP.
Stay tuned for the Eastern B Girls Preview next week!
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