The grind that is the regular season is quickly ending in Class 3A-1A for the boys basketball teams in the state. The regular season will be completed by Feb. 17, followed by District play in these classes that has to be finished by Saturday, Feb. 24.
Regional play will take place March 1-2. Those regional tournaments will take the Top 32 teams in each of the classifications determined by the CHSAA Selection & Seeding Index.
With that in mind, it is time to give a quick overview of some teams that are solidly in the mix for regional play, on the bubble, and in need of a victory binge to make their respective 32 team fields.
Class 3A
Sittin’ Pretty: Obviously, the Top 19 teams are locks to get into the Top 32. Joining that company – barring any unforeseen crazy scenarios – Rye (12-6), Platte Valley (8-11), Florence (8-10) should be able to punch their respective tickets to the 32-team field, based on the fact they are ranked No. 20 through No. 22, respectively in the latest CHSAA selection & Seeding Index. Rye is coming off a loss to No. 5 Banning Lewis Academy (15-3) on Wednesday but losing to high-ranked teams will not hurt them in strength of schedule. Platte Valley has a chance to better its plight by getting revenge against Liberty Common on Friday. No. 27 Liberty Common upended Platte Valley (55-53) at home on Feb. 2.
Spot on – for now – : Clear Creek (10-9) sits at No. 32 in the most recent rankings and that was ranking was preserved – with a season-saving 33-30 win over winless Front Range Christian Tuesday. That was Clear Creek’s regular-season finale. The squad is 2-2 in its last four games and will have to get some things going in the right direction at Districts if it wants to be in the 32-team state bracket.
Need some sort of run: Timnath (9-10), North Fork (8-9), St. Mary’s (6-12) and Grand Valley (7-11) are all on the outside looking in – sitting spots No. 33 through No. 36. Of that group, Timnath just had a huge 55-31 win over Liberty Common Tuesday and has a chance to extend its winning streak to four games when it entertains Brush (4-15) at 7 p.m., Friday. North Fork has a great opportunity to state its case as hosts No. 26 Cedaredge (8-10), Friday at 7:30 p.m. and No. 9 Meeker (16-1) at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Class 2A
Sittin’ pretty: This is relative terms as we look at teams No. 20 through No. 22 – Vail Mountain (12-6), Elbert (12-4) and Vail Christian (9-7). Vail Mountain had its six-game winning streak snapped with a 47-33 loss to De Beque on Feb. 12. Now VM visits No. 4 Plateau Valley (17-1), at 1 p.m. Saturday. PV is on a 17-game victory binge so a loss will not hurt Vail Mountain at all. Elbert has two games remaining including one against top-ranked Simla (17-0) which will only bolster its case. Vail Christian has winnable games against South Park (2-14), Ouray (7-10) and Rangely (5-13) to close out its regular season.
Spot on: Addenbrooke Classical Academy is standing pat as on the No. 32 spot. The Mustangs have a 10-9 record. The Mustangs dropped a 51-46 to Denver Waldorf (13-5) on Tuesday. Now, the Mustangs will try and regroup for district play and stay in the top 32 to continue their season.
Need some sort of run: Hoehne (7-11), Evangel Christian (6-11), and Dolores Huerta Prep (5-12) are all going to have to string together some wins to have any hope of playing in the postseason. Hoehne dropped a 54-46 decision to No. 16 Walsenburg on Tuesday. Things will not get any easier for Hoehne as it faces Sierra Grande (13-5) and No. 11 Holly (14-5) on Friday and Monday to finish the regular season. EC is on a two-game losing streak and will try and get back on track when it takes Calhan (5-11) at 4 p.m. Thursday and James Irwin (13-7) at 8 p.m. Friday. Dolores Huerta has won two games in a row against Trinidad and Thomas MacLaren School and will try and make it four in a row by defeating Calhan and Burlington to cap its regular season and bolster its plight.
Class 1A
Sittin’ pretty: Staying with the same theme, let’s look at teams No. 20 through No. 22 – Genoa-Hugo/Karval (9-8), Primero (10-8) and Kim/Branson (10-8). Genoa-Hugo/Karval is riding a three-game winning streak and will try and keep things rolling against No. 9 Eads (12-5) and No. 13 Otis (11-6). Primero looks to conclude its regular season on a five-game winning streak when it clashes with No. 23 Moffat (12-4) on Thursday. Kim/Branson takes on No. 15 Springfield (12-6) at 5 p.m., Friday and a win will keep its hopes alive.
Spot on: Centennial (7-7) is clinging to the No. 32 spot. The Rams have list three of four games and looks to regroup against Creede (3-13) Friday and has a huge game against No. 23 Moffat (12-4) at home at 6 p.m. Saturday. A pair of wins for Centennial will most certainly benefit the Rams postseason chances.
Need some sort of run: Denver Academy of Torah (9-7), Ouray (7-10) and Walsh (7-9) are all in need of wins in a hurry to keep postseason dreams alive. Denver Academy dropped a 53-32 decision to No. 5 Denver Jewish Day on Wednesday and will look to bounce back against No. 10 Flatirons Academy (12-6) at 7 p.m., Thursday. Ouray’s arrow has been pointed in the wrong direction with five-consecutive losses. Ouray will try and change its fortunes when it meets Olathe at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, followed by a critical clash with Vail Christian at 1 p.m. Friday. Walsh, meanwhile, is coming off a 54-46 loss to Springfield on Feb. 9. Walsh has games against No. 24 Cheraw (8-10) Thursday to try and get things headed back into the postseason mix.
