As we ran through the boys’ basketball schedule for Saturday, we came up with the best five matchups across the state. They include two top 10 matchups with both having strong conference implications.
1A: #7 Ouray vs #7 Mancos (2A): The two teams along with fifth ranked Ignacio seem to be the best three teams in the San Juan conference. The winner remains in position to land the league title while the loser will face an uphill climb to get there by seasons end.
2A: #9 Holly vs Crowley County: Crowley County opens the day unbeaten in the Santa Fe and part of a three-way tie with Fowler and Hoehne atop the standings. Holly has already lost a league game to Fowler so a second loss may end their league championship hopes.
3A: #6 Centauri at Pagosa Springs: It may be a wild ride through the IML chase this year as four teams have a legitimate shot at grabbing the conference crown. These are two of them along with Alamosa and Montezuma Cortez. Centauri opened league play by beating Monte Vista while Pagosa Springs fell to Cortez by just one point last night.
4A: #5 Golden vs #10 Green Mountain: This game lost a big of significance when Green Mountain lost to D’Evelyn earlier this week. The loss dropped them to 1-2 in the Jeffco and now two games back of Golden. The Demons have won their first three league games and are tied with Wheat Ridge in first place.
5A: #4 Denver East vs Mullen: Record wise, Denver East is heavily favored but Mullen is coming off an inspired performance in a tough loss to #3 Smoky Hill on Friday. If they have enough left in the tank, they may be able to push the Angels who crushed league rival Denver West on Friday (96-40).
