State tourney: Here are this week’s seeds and schedules
The seedings are in, and the schedules are out. For the most part, it’s hard to argue with the committee’s decisions, but not entirely. I’m happy with what the powers that be have decided in AAAA and AA, but there are certainly some questions to be asked in the other two classes.
In Class AAA, the 20-8 Cooper Hawks were given the #2 seed. Todd Goudy’s Prep Girls Hoops computer, which projected games this season at an 80 percent clip, has Cooper ranked 11th overall. That’s behind DeLaSalle (2nd), Becker (3rd), Hibbing (5th), Marshall (7th) and Holy Angels (9th). The Hawks also needed some late heroics by senior guard Aja Wheeler to advance, so giving them the #2 seed is certainly debatable. But the girls from Robbinsdale are the defending champions in Class AAA and have won 13 of their last 14 games, so we’ll cut them some slack. If I’m from the Iron Range, however, I’m probably not going to be happy to see Hibbing left unseeded and up against DeLaSalle on opening day. The Bluejackets have lost just twice all season, are rated 5th in our rankings and have a slightly tougher schedule than Fergus Falls, which is 14th.
The seedings in Class A are also up for discussion. We’re fine with Minneota and Goodhue, who had the toughest schedule in the class. The one that might be a little tough to swallow, is Mountain Iron-Buhl being left unseeded. We have MIB ranked #1 with the 4th toughest schedule. The computer has Heritage Christian at 8th with a strength of schedule ranked #63. Like I said, it’s debatable. The good news is Thursday’s quarterfinal matchup between old rivals Goodhue and MIB is certain to be entertaining.
Here’s a run-down of the seeds by class along with opening-round schedules for Wednesday and Thursday.
CLASS AAAA
1 – Hopkins (29-0)
2 – Stillwater (26-2)
3 – Eastview (24-5)
4 – Centennial (25-4)
5 – Maple Grove (23-6)
Unseeded: Forest Lake (24-5), Lakeville North (18-11), Shakopee (20-9)
Quarterfinals Wednesday at Williams Arena
10 a.m. – Hopkins vs Lakeville North
12 p.m. – Centennial vs Maple Grove
2 p.m. – Stillwater vs. Shakopee
4 p.m. – Eastview vs. Forest Lake
CLASS AAA
1 – DeLaSalle (21-5)
2 – Cooper (20-8)
3 – Becker (25-4)
4 – Holy Angels (21-7)
5 – Fergus Falls (23-4)
Unseeded: Austin (20-8), Hibbing (27-2), Marshall (21-7)
Quarterfinals Wednesday at Maturi Pavilion
10 a.m. – DeLaSalle vs Hibbing
12 p.m. – Holy Angels vs Fergus Falls
2 p.m. – Cooper vs Austin
4 p.m. – Becker vs Marshall
CLASS AA
1 – Roseau (28-2)
2 – Holy Family (23-5)
3 – Minnehaha Academy (22-6)
4 – Caledonia (24-4)
5 – Proctor (24-6)
Unseeded: Albany (18-10), Redwood Valley (19-8), St. Peter (16-10)
Quarterfinals Wednesday at Williams Arena
6 p.m. – Roseau vs Redwood Valley
8 p.m. – Caledonia vs Proctor
Quarterfinals Wednesday at Maturi Pavilion
6 p.m. – Holy Family vs Albany
8p.m. – Minnehaha Academy
CLASS A
1 – Minneota (27-1)
2 – Goodhue (24-6)
3 – Menahga (29-1)
4 – Heritage Christian (26-2)
5 – Ada-Borup (26-2)
Unseeded: BOLD (22-5), Mountain Iron-Buhl (25-5), Red Lake (21-7)
Quarterfinals Thursday at Maturi Pavilion
11 a.m. – Minneota vs Red Lake
1 p.m. – Ada-Borup vs Heritage Christian
3 p.m. – Goodhue vs Mountain Iron-Buhl
5 p.m. – Menagha vs BOLD
Top photo: Robbinsdale Cooper are looking to repeat as the Class AAA state champions. (Photo courtesy of StarTribune)