The "State" of Montana Basketball

There's an interesting poll on the Gazette Prep Sports website today that asks, "Which Class of Montana Basketball is it harder to win a State Championship as a member of?"

I got to thinking about this question, and I figured there would be a few schools of thought:

• Some might argue that it would be most difficult to win a State Title in the AA because the level of play is highest. Each of the 14 schools have much bigger talent pools to draw from than A, B, and C programs, and thus make it tougher to win consistently. Theoretically, there will be fewer "Gimme" games in this class because each school should field a quality team.
• Some might argue that it's tougher to win in Class C because of the number of schools that compete. The AA only has 14 teams, almost all of whom play each other during the season. So they have some familiarity with one another before the postseason comes up. In Class C, there are tons of schools across the state, so you're likely never to have faced any of the teams you'll run into at the State Tournament, thus not knowing teams' styles and possibly getting caught off guard. Not to mention the fact that 'C' schools have to finish in the top two in District and Divisional tournaments (except for the North, where it's the top 3) just to qualify for the State Tourney. The 'AA' schools only have to win one playoff game to get in.

But I believe it would be toughest to win the Class B State Tourney, based on the fact that it combines a little bit of both of the above. Class B schools are obviously still fairly sparsely populated, but do have a significant more talent pool than many of the 'C' teams, who can often have only 6-7 players on a squad. 'B' teams have enough talent to make the games that much more competitive, reducing the number of easy wins a school can count on. BUT...there are still enough 'B' teams across the state that require District and Divisional Tourneys to be played in order to qualify for State. And enough teams to make it likely that you will have never faced any of the three teams you'll have to beat to win State.

So let's review: Class B schools have significantly tougher competition throughout the season than Class C schools. There are fewer "Gimme" games, and while there might not be as much parity as the 'AA' teams, there is definitely more equality in Class B than in Class C. However, the thing that separates the 'B' from the 'AA' is the number of teams. Class B is divided into 8 districts, with each usually having 5-6 teams. That's about 50 teams across the state, as opposed to the 14 'AA' squads. Thus, if a 'B' team can survive through district and divisional tourneys, all the way to State, they likely won't have played their 1st Round opponent, let alone their semi and title game matchups, making it that much tougher to diagnose who the best squad actually is.

Like I said, the best, or should I say...worst...of both worlds.