Three years after finishing 1-22, one of Colorado basketball’s biggest surprises of the winter remains unbeaten.

Regis Groff went 13-10 a season ago — its best mark in the program’s eight-year history. And on Thursday, it matched that win total in a 37-point victory over Addenbrooke Classical Academy.

The Fusion, at 13-0, are Class 5A’s last remaining unbeaten. This season, they’re outscoring opponents by an average of 43 points per game.
In 6A, Ralston Valley and Arvada West have yet to be solved.

The No. 1 Mustangs (13-0) had big wins over No. 27 Valor Christian and No. 13 Columbine this past week, while third-ranked Arvada West (13-0) pummeled Bear Creek.

The 6A Jefferson County League teams will meet twice this season, the first slated for Jan. 31 at Arvada West.

In 4A, No. 1 Timnath and No. 5 Denver West are both 12-0, while No. 2 Montezuma-Cortez is 13-0.

The second-ranked Panthers snapped a four-season losing streak last winter and are chasing their first playoff win since 2018-19.

Timnath was the team that beat Montezuma-Cortez in last year’s postseason and the Cubs went on to reach the 4A Great 8 as a No. 19 seed.

Denver West had the highest postseason seed of the three at No. 8 but fell by 17 points in the opening round.

Below is a look at one pivotal matchup in each the 6A, 5A and 4A classifications over the next week.

Class 6A

No. 4 Rock Canyon at No. 2 Chaparral, Friday at 7 p.m.

The hook: Chaparral won both meetings last season — including the teams’ Sweet 16 matchup — despite not leading at halftime in either game.

Among the reasons the Jaguars could get past the Wolverines in last year’s 76-69 second-round loss: Rebounding. Chaparral had the edge, 35-24.

Rock Canyon will likely need to be better on the boards to get the better of Chaparral this time. And there’s reason for optimism. While the Jags (12-2, 1-0 Continental League) haven’t dominated the glass this season, they’ve done enough. Entering Friday, they’ve won 10 straight. Kai Valentine is averaging 10 rebounds per night for them.

Chaparral (12-2, 2-0), meanwhile, has won five in a row. Last Friday, it rolled to a 20-point road win at No. 17 ThunderRidge and followed it up with a 75-56 victory over No. 44 Highlands Ranch on Tuesday Christian Williams, who is averaging 21 points per game, had 29 in the latter.

Class 5A

No. 14 Evergreen at No. 8 Golden, Friday at 7 p.m.

The hook: Times are changing in the 5A/4A Jeffco League. On Wednesday, reigning three-time league champion Dakota Ridge (1-12, 0-1) lost to Green Mountain (11-4, 1-0) to snap a league winning streak that dated back to Jan. 28, 2022. Who will step up?

Sam Schillie scored a career-high 21 points for Golden (12-2, 1-0 5A/4A Jeffco) on Wednesday as the Demons defeated Pomona for their 10th straight win.

Evergreen (10-3, 1-0) won its eighth in a row, beating 4A No. 31 D’Evelyn by 18.

Golden is off to its best start since 2021, when it reached the 4A Sweet 16. Evergreen, meanwhile, is thriving in its first season under former longtime Cherry Creek girls basketball coach Clint Evans.

Class 4A

No. 19 Stargate School at No. 4 Kent Denver, Tuesday at 7 p.m.

The hook: Kent Denver.

While Timnath, Montezuma-Cortez and Denver West remain unbeaten, the defending champion Sun Devils (13-3, 4-0 4A/3A Metro League) have made one thing clear through the first two months of the season: they’re still the team to beat in 4A.

Kent Denver won each of its playoff games by double figures last season en route to the program’s second state title — and first since 1997.

So far this season, all three of the Sun Devils’ losses have come against 6A opponents. Everything else has been a lopsided Kent Denver win.

Leading the way for the Sun Devils, Caleb Fay is averaging a career-best 26 points per game. He is nearing 2,000 career points, entering Thursday, before Kent Denver thumped 3A No. 18 Denver Christian by 37, at 1,936.

At some point, Kent Denver will face a serious test within the 4A ranks. Right?

Stargate School (7-5, 1-2). It’s your turn to try.

The Eagles have limited offenses this season, allowing just 43 points per game. They held No. 23 Jefferson Academy to 12 second-half points in a 39-37 loss Wednesday.

But, in all likelihood, it will take Stargate’s best defensive effort of the season — and then some — to challenge a Kent Denver team averaging 83.3 points per game.