Regional tournaments have concluded and the eight state qualifiers have been determined in Class 2A boys’ and girls’ basketball. Official brackets will be released on Sunday by CHSAA with first round games set for next Thursday at the Loveland Events Center.
RPI from last Sunday will be the main driver in placing teams in the bracket as the standings will not be updated based on results from the regional round. Other factors such as previous district matchups, head-to-head competition and common opponents can also play a role in seeding teams and then placing them in the bracket.
With those guidelines in place, we will do our best to project the potential state bracket for both divisions.
BOYS
Our boys bracket probably won’t be a popular decision but most of the placement is based mainly on RPI since the teams did not face each other that often during the regular season. The order of the state qualifiers based on RPI.
- Yuma
- Limon
- Sanford
- Denver Christian
- Wray
- Peyton
- Crowley County
- Lotus School
And since there are very few head-to-head matchups for teams touching on the seed line, we expect the committee to develop this bracket.
- #1 Yuma vs #8 Lotus School
- #4 Denver Christian vs #5 Wray
- #3 Sanford vs #6 Peyton
- #2 Limon vs #7 Crowley County
We are not that excited about a quarterfinal pairing between Denver Christian and Wray as that could be a very good semifinal game but it’s what the numbers indicate. Don’t think you can take Yuma, Limon or Sanford out of the top three spots so the Thunder and Eagles seem primed for a Thursday battle. To remove that matchup, the committee would need to flip Wray and Peyton in spots five and six. We don’t think that will happen.
GIRLS
This bracket actually lays out very nicely if you focus completely on RPI standings and head-to-head results of teams involved. The eight state qualifiers are in this order from RPI.
- Sanford
- Holyoke
- Limon
- Rye
- Cedaredge
- Dayspring Christian
- Peyton
- Wiggins
Peyton would likely get a bump ahead of Dayspring Christian since they beat the Eagles during the regular season. But elsewhere, Holyoke has a win over Limon so those two clubs should stay in the same order and Rye also has a win over Cedaredge from back in December so that order is also good.
With the Peyton move, the bracket shapes up like this:
- #1 Sanford vs #8 Wiggins
- #4 Rye vs #5 Cedaredge
- #3 Limon vs #6 Peyton
- #2 Holyoke vs #7 Dayspring Christian
Main question for the committee is if they want to prevent regular season matchups in the state quarterfinals. As mentioned, Rye and Cedaredge played in December as did Holyoke and Dayspring Christian. If rematches from teams in different leagues and districts are not a concern for the committee, we expect the bracket listed above. Also, can’t move Dayspring Christian and Wiggins in spots 7-8 since that would setup a conference pairing of Holyoke-Wiggins.
