Today is the day we had hoped to post official regional pairings for Class 1A boys’ basketball but with weather pushing back some events to Sunday and Monday, the best we can offer are projections on where teams may be placed.
Our projections involve games to date and RPI standings from February 24th at 5:00am.
Districts 1 and 7 have completed play so the Region 1 pairings are officially set.  The top two teams from each district collide on March 2nd in Glenwood Springs with winners from each game moving to the state tournament.
Region 1 Pairings

  • DeBeque (21-0) vs Genoa Hugo (14-7)
  • Evangelical Christian (18-3) vs Ouray (12-6)

 
With games played to date, eight of the nine qualifiers to Region 2 have been determined.  The final spot goes to Sunday’s winner between Otis and Stratton/Liberty in District 5.  Haxtun and Arickaree/Woodlin also meet there today for the championship.  Merino is the District 4 champion with Prairie second and Peetz third.  The top three teams from District 8 are Mile High Academy, Front Range Baptist and Denver Waldorf.  Ironically, Cornerstone Christian is the top overall team in the most current RPI standings but they did not advance from District 8.
RPI standings will determine the pairings as numbers from Sunday put them in this order.  We list 10 as Otis and Stratton/Liberty are both still eligible to advance.

  1. Mile High Academy
  2. Front Range Baptist
  3. Peetz
  4. Haxtun
  5. Arickaree/Woodlin
  6. Merino
  7. Prairie
  8. Otis
  9. Denver Waldorf
  10. Stratton/Liberty

Much could change in this bracket based on results from games Sunday as Peetz, Haxtun, Arickaree/Woodlin and Merino are in a very tight race and currently hold down spots 10-13.  But using these standings and giving Otis third place in District 5, the pairings shape up like this:
Region 2 Pairings (Otis advancing)

  • #6 Merino vs #7 Prairie — winner faces #1 Mile High Academy
  • #5 Arickaree/Woodlin vs #8 Otis — winner faces #2 Front Range Baptist
  • #4 Haxtun vs #9 Denver Waldorf — winner faces #3 Peetz

Slight changes would occur as Prairie and Otis would likely be flipped to avoid district pairings in the opening round.
Now let’s project pairings if Stratton/Liberty earns third place in District 5
Region 2 Pairings (Stratton/Liberty advancing)

  • #6 Merino vs #7 Prairie — winner faces #1 Mile High Academy
  • #5 Arickaree/Woodlin vs #8 Denver Waldorf — winner faces #2 Front Range Baptist
  • #4 Haxtun vs #9 Stratton/Liberty — winner faces #3 Peetz

Much more movement would occur here as seeds 7-9 would likely be moved to avoid district pairings between Merino-Prairie and Haxtun-Stratton/Liberty.  Prairie and Stratton/Liberty could exchange positions but I’m sure they move teams up or down two spots from seeding.  But as mentioned, the problem could fix itself if the RPI order of Peetz, Haxtun, Arickaree/Woodlin and Merino would change from results from District 5 on Sunday.
 
All three districts that comprise Region 3 still have games to play either Sunday or Monday so the regional bracket is a long way from being set.  Criteria calls from each three-team pod to have one team from each district to avoid district rematches in the regional round.  So by using RPI standings and some predictions on our part, we can attempt to set the pairings.
For our bracket, we will project that top seeds Cheraw and Walsh will win titles in Districts 2 and 3 respectively.  That would push the Wolverines and Eagles into a top three seed with Sangre De Cristo as the T-Birds have already clinched the District 6 crown.  RPI standings from Sunday put the top three in this order.

  1. Sangre De Cristo
  2. Walsh
  3. Cheraw

That race is very tight as Walsh and Cheraw are sixth and seventh in RPI and separated by just .013 so they could flip spots in the final pairings.
Next second place teams are then put in order by RPI and again this is based on Cheraw and Walsh picking up district titles.

  1. Springfield
  2. McClave
  3. Creede

All three place teams are still up in the air as Kit Carson and Granada square off today in District 2, Wiley and Kim/Branson collide Monday in District 3 and also on Monday, Sierra Grande faces Primero in District 6.
With all this put together, our bracket appears:
Region 3 Pairings

  • #6 McClave vs Wiley/Kim-Branson — winner plays #1 Sangre De Cristo
  • #5 Creede vs Kit Carson/Granada — winner plays #2 Walsh
  • #4 Springfield vs Sierra Grande/Primero — winner plays #3 Cheraw

 
Please note these are projections only and can change with results from tournaments today and Monday.  Only Region 1 is set officially at this point.