Going to take our basketball bracket projections in two phases this year. Now that we have posted our unofficial composite rankings from the end of the season, we will first post the pairings in true seed format where we simply place teams in the bracket based on their final ranking. Phase two will consist of then reviewing those pairings and moving some teams based on other seeding criteria.
That criteria includes moving some of the lowest seeds around a bit to lessen travel. Some teams could also be moved to avoid league matchups in the opening round and if teams that played one another are touching on seed line, they could be adjusted based on head-to-head results. For example, if team 17 beat team 16, then team 17 may be moved up one spot since they won the direct contest. But please note, this only applies if the teams are next to one another on the seed line.
League champions receive automatic bids to the tournament but are not given any special treatment for winning the crown. First round games are Tuesday night with the Sweet 16 set for Thursday and the Great 8 on Saturday. State semifinals will be played on Tuesday March 15th with the state finals March 19-20 at World Arena in Colorado Springs.
We will not post two different stories with the two sets of brackets. Our first headline will say “step one” and then we would move teams around, the headline will change to “updated”. Hope you follow our process. Please remember our brackets are for projection only. CHSAA will release official pairings on Monday.
CLASS 3A BOYS (True Seed)
- #1 St Mary’s – BYE
- #16 Kent Denver vs #17 Brush
- #8 Englewood – BYE
- #9 Resurrection Christian vs #24 DSST-Conservatory Green
- #4 Manitou Springs – BYE
- #13 Coal Ridge vs #20 Buena Vista
- #5 Centauri – BYE
- #12 Colorado Academy vs #21 Alamosa
- #3 Sterling – BYE
- #14 Colorado Springs Christian vs #19 Pinnacle
- #6 Aspen – BYE
- #11 Faith Christian vs #22 Strasburg
- #7 Manual – BYE
- #10 Highland vs #23 University
- #2 Lutheran – BYE
- #15 Gunnison vs #18 Salida
THOUGHTS: Don’t think the committee would mess with this bracket. It shapes up nicely in avoiding conference rematches in round one and the travel is in good shape. Alamosa is off to Colorado Academy and Buena Vista is paired with Coal Ridge but that’s actually not bad for either visiting opponent. Best option would be to exchange Pinnacle (19th) and Alamosa (21st) forcing the Moose to CSCS but don’t think the committee would move a team two spots when travel is not that onerous.
CLASS 3A GIRLS (True Seed)
- #1 Vanguard – BYE
- #16 Lamar vs #17 Basalt
- #8 Brush – BYE
- #9 Pagosa Springs vs #24 Grand Valley
- #4 Lutheran – BYE
- #13 Resurrection Christian vs #20 Peak to Peak
- #5 Delta – BYE
- #12 Moffat County vs #21 Manitou Springs
- #3 Platte Valley – BYE
- #14 Kent Denver vs #19 Sterling
- #6 Eaton – BYE
- #11 St Mary’s vs #22 Colorado Academy
- #7 University – BYE
- #10 Academy vs #23 Valley
- #2 Centauri – BYE
- #15 Coal Ridge vs #18 Ellicott
THOUGHTS: Travel wise, the first thing that jumps out is Basalt to Lamar and Ellicott to Coal Ridge. The committee can’t flip Basalt and Ellicott in spots 17-18 because that would create two league rematches between Lamar-Ellicott and Basalt-Coal Ridge. Moving Ellicott with Sterling causes even more travel. Grand Valley to Pagosa Springs is a tough trip but again the teams nearby Grand Valley in the bracket would be looking at major travel as well. So we think the committee stays with this bracket if it involves the official numbers.
