We had good interest and feedback on the running blog we produced last week during district tournaments so we’ll do the same this week with regional events.  Winners today of every game in 1A, 2A and 3A basketball will advance to next week’s state tournaments.  We’ll keep track of the winners and using RPI try to place them in the bracket later in the day.  Class 3A stays consistent with their bracket from start of finish but the remaining two classifications will reseed tomorrow based on results from today and new RPI numbers likely out later tonight.
Remember you can find in-game updates and final scores of all girls’ basketball games with our Scoreboard.  Click here for results.  Games are listed in bracket order.
6:49pm:  We were right as the 2A RPI standings just did update – so now the teams would be placed in this order by standings issued at 3:23pm

  • #1 Yuma
  • #2 Simla
  • #3 Wray
  • #4 Holyoke
  • #5 Limon
  • #6 Rangely
  • #7 Clear Creek
  • #8 Ignacio

And that changes up the bracket quite a bit from what appeared earlier today

  • #1 Yuma vs #8 Ignacio
  • #4 Holyoke vs #5 Limon
  • #2 Simla vs #7 Clear Creek
  • #3 Wray vs #6 Rangely

That seems to be a very good bracket in our opinion. It avoids league/district pairings in the first round and head-to-head results are in line as Simla beat Limon and Wray topped Holyoke twice.
6:41pm:  No change yet in the 2A girls RPI standings – last issued at 11:23am – expect a new update at any time.
6:36pm:  New RPI standings have been published for Class 1A and it could shake up our projected bracket.  Kit Carson’s win over South Baca is not included yet and so the Wildcats should remain at number one – even though they are #2 now.  So with the new RPI standings (3:22pm) the bracket would appear in this manner if RPI is the only criteria.

  • #1 Kit Carson vs #8 Belleview Christian
  • #4 Fleming vs #5 Briggsdale
  • #2 Kim/Branson vs #7 North Park
  • #3 Holly vs #6 Heritage Christian

The committee would then move Fleming away from Briggsdale with a possible flip with Holly and our bracket then is almost in the same order as we projected earlier.  North Park and Heritage Christian would also be exchanged to avoid district rivals Fleming and Heritage Christian then facing off in round one.

  • #1 Kit Carson vs #8 Belleview Christian
  • #4 Holly vs #5 Briggsdale
  • #2 Kim/Branson vs #7 Heritage Christian
  • #3 Fleming vs #6 North Park

6:17pm:  Kit Carson is officially in the field and immediately becomes the favorite to land a second straight championship.  If RPI standings are used as the sole source for seeding the state bracket, the pairings could look like this (in bracket order)

  • #1 Kit Carson vs #8 Belleview Christian
  • #4 Holly vs #5 Briggsdale
  • #2 Kim/Branson vs #7 North Park
  • #3 Fleming vs #6 Heritage Christian

Also believe that Heritage Christian would be flipped with North Park to avoid Fleming and Heritage Christian matching up in the first round.  They are from the same district….otherwise the bracket seems good at this point.
5:53pm:  Heritage Christian is the 7th team into the 1A state pairings.  They moved past Arickaree/Woodlin 48-35 today and with Kit Carson leading South Baca in the second half, the entire tournament field is almost set.  Then we can start working on the potential state pairings which will be released on Sunday.  The state tournament opens Thursday at UNC in Greeley.
4:31pm:  North Park has reached the 1A state tournament.  The Wildcats rolled past Cornerstone Christian in the Western bracket today.  North Park was 15th in RPI points following the win and could be looking at the #7 seed in the state field.  They remain ahead of Belleview Christian in RPI.  Arickaree/Woodlin still has to play and they are 18th in RPI points so that could change the lower half of the bracket if they get by Heritage Christian.  Heritage Christian is 8th.
4:24pm:  Wray has qualified for the state tournament with their win over Swink and the Eagles are the last team into the field.  Now the fun begins with seeding.  With current RPI, the pairings could like this if they go straight by those numbers

  • #1 Yuma vs #8 Ignacio
  • #4 Holyoke vs #5 Wray
  • #2 Simla vs #7 Clear Creek
  • #3 Limon vs #6 Rangely

We’ll likely have more thoughts later in the day, but it’s likely that Wray will be moved ahead of Holyoke since they have two head-to-head wins over the Dragons.  I can also see the committee moving Wray up to third to avoid a possible Lower Platte matchup with Yuma in the semifinals.  Putting Wray #3 and Limon #4 also avoids a possible Limon-Simla meeting in the semifinals as those two also met in the regular season.  We’ll take a deeper look yet today.
3:24pm:  Seven of the eight available spots in the 2A state tournament are now taken.  Limon moved past Burlington 44-31 and that leaves just the Swink-Wray contest to decide the entire field.  In the field already in order by RPI are Yuma (#1), Simla (#3), Limon (#4), Holyoke (#5), Rangely (#8), Clear Creek (#13) and Ignacio (#22).  Wray is 6th and Swink 9th as their game started.
3:21pm:  Highly ranked teams in the RPI continue to qualify for the 1A state tournament.  Kim/Branson is third in the standings this weekend and the Mustangs earned a trip to Greeley by beating Sangre De Cristo.  Fleming is also in the bracket after beating Genoa Hugo.  The Wildcats made the state final a year ago and could be the two seed this year.  Top ranked Kit Carson has yet to play and Holly (#4) has qualified as well.
2:45pm:  Class 3A state quarterfinals are set – these games are scheduled for Thursday at DU and game times should be released on Sunday by CHSAA.  we list them in bracket order

  • #1 Kent Denver vs #8 Moffat County
  • #4 Colorado Springs Christian vs #5 Centauri
  • #2 Pagosa Springs vs #10 Lamar
  • #3 St Mary’s vs #6 Cedaredge

2:39pm:  Team number five into the Class 2A bracket is Ignacio.  They held off Denver Christian.  The Bobcats were 22nd in RPI starting the week and could be the first round matchup for Yuma in the state quarterfinals on Thursday.
2:35pm:  Flurry of games wrapping up – Clear Creek joins the 2A state bracket as they edged Meeker 60-59.  The game was tight throughout but the Golddiggers are in the tournament and were 13th in RPI going into the day.  Clear Creek plays a predominant 3A schedule during the regular season and went unbeaten to win the 3A Frontier title.
2:21pm:  Lower Platte rivals Yuma and Holyoke both pick up wins in regional finals today and both are headed to Loveland for the 2A state tournament.  Yuma was #1 in RPI before the weekend started and they should stay there.  Holyoke was the fifth seed and the three teams between the two could also advance.  Will make for some interesting bracketing come Sunday and we’ll look more in-depth as the day goes along.
1:57pm:  Belleview Christian joins the 1A state tournament field as they edged Dove Creek 42-40 out in Glenwood Springs.  Belleview Christian is 17th in RPI so is likely looking at one of the bottom two seeds in the bracket – if they’re 8th, it’s a likely a first round date with powerful defending state champion Kit Carson.  Kim/Branson or Fleming, if they win today, could end up as the 2 and 3.
1:55pm:  Back and forth game in Class 3A but Cedaredge picked up the win over Jefferson Academy.  The bracket in 3A is not reseeded after today so the 22-2 Bruins face either Salida or St Mary’s in the state quarterfinals next week – most likely St Mary’s as the Pirates had already built up an 18 point lead by halftime.
12:21pm:  Two more teams earn tickets to the state tournament.  Rangely tops Dayspring Christian in 2A and Holly edges Antonito in 1A.  Rangely sits 8th in the RPI standings and Holly is 4th.  Standings will be updated every four hours today with the final results posted around 8:00am tomorrow morning.
11:32am:  Briggsdale picks up a state tournament berth in Class 1A by beating Kiowa today.  As mentioned, the Falcons opened the day seventh in the RPI but will move up because at least two teams ahead of them will end their seasons today.  Holly is 4th and Antonito 5th but they play for a state tournament bid later today as do #2 Kim/Branson and #6 Sangre De Cristo.
10:14am:  First game of the day has Briggsdale vs Kiowa in the 1A Northeast.  The Falcons are 7th in RPI as the game opens with all six teams ahead of them playing today as well.  Kiowa is 27th in the RPI and could be the 8th seed next week should they spring the upset.  Next games up are at 11:00am with Holly facing Antonito in the 1A Southeast and Dayspring Christian challenging Rangely in the 2A division.
9:32am:  Right off the bat, the game that jumps off the screen in 3A is Lamar at Sterling.  The Tigers are playing at home and seeded 7th after winning the Patriot regular season and district title.  Lamar is the defending state champion and finished third in the very competitive Tri Peaks league that still has four teams alive in the bracket.  Cali Clark of Lamar and Sterling’s Brooke Polenz both should be first team all-state selections so it has the makings of a great game.  Only one gets to next week.  For upsets, the best bet is probably up in Craig where Lutheran is likely favored at Moffat County.  It’s the 8-9 game and should be close.  Also interested to see how Eaton stacks up with Colorado Springs Christian.  The Reds rotate many players into the game and they will need all against a very good Lions lineup.  And I think University has a chance to play with Pagosa Springs.  Both teams have good post players and talented point guards.  The difference is experience.  Pagosa Springs has been in the mix every year and the seniors were part of a state championship team.  University is somewhat young so we’ll see how they respond with a state tournament bid on the line.
9:26am:  The 2A bracket could be very exciting today.  Yuma has beaten Haxtun twice in the past month and the top seeded Indians are favored to get a third one at home today.  But looking at the other seven matchups, every team involved has a chance to advance.  Burlington took Limon to double overtime last month before falling to the Badgers.  Wray and Swink both struggled in first round matchups on Friday but each has the talent to be a Final Four team and only one will be move on.  Denver Christian-Ignacio is the 8-9 game so it’s a tossup and Highland could push Simla on the road today.  Rangely and Meeker are two teams out west that could earn state berths today.  Rangely probably has the easier route against a suddenly red-hot Dayspring Christian while  Meeker must beat Clear Creek in Idaho Springs.  That could be a fun one.  Holyoke and Del Norte is another example of what could be a classic battle.  Both had relatively easy wins on Friday so both should be healthy and rested.
9:22am:  Think we have at least three interesting matchups in the 1A bracket.  Holly could easily challenge Antonito in the Southeast and we consider the Sangre De Cristo – Kim/Branson battle to be a toss-up.  A third that may be closer than some people think is in the Northeast between Genoa Hugo and Fleming.  If the Pirates can handle the pace of the Wildcats, it could be a game down to the wire.  Genoa Hugo is only 11-12 overall but was 0-10 before getting healthy.  Since having a full lineup intact, they’ve won 11 of 13.