Boys Basketball 2025: Key Things to Know

The conclusion of the Minnesota State High School League’s seven-week winter state tournament marathon begins on Tuesday, March 18 with the Boys Basketball State Tournament. Since 1913, the Boys Basketball State Tournament has served as the crescendo to the high school winter sports season.

From 1913 to 1970, a single-class state tournament was held. In 1971, the event expanded to a two-class event. The Sweet Sixteen format was a two-year experiment in 1995 and 1996, respectively, before ushering in the current four-class enrollment state tournament in 1997. 

Three Twin Cities venues will serve as hosts for the five-day event this week: Target Center in downtown Minneapolis; Williams Arena on the University of Minnesota campus and the Gangelhoff Center on the Concordia (St. Paul) campus. 

All quarterfinals, consolation rounds and third-place games are scheduled to be streamed by NSPN.tv . Find the stream at www.nspn.tv . 

All semifinal and championship games will be broadcast live by 45TV and shown via stream at www.prep45.com.

Here is a look at the Boys Basketball State Tournament:

The Schedule

Tuesday, March 18

At Williams Arena

Class AAA quarterfinals

• No. 8 St. Paul Harding (18-10) vs. No. 1 Mankato East (27-1), 10 a.m.
• No. 5 DeLaSalle (23-5) vs. No. 4 Orono (22-7), noon
• No. 7 Duluth Denfeld (20-9) vs. No. 2 Totino-Grace (22-5), 2 p.m.
• No. 6 Byron (26-3) vs. No. 3 Alexandria (26-3), 4 p.m.

At Target Center

Class AAAA quarterfinals

• No. 8 Rochester John Marshall (25-4) vs. No. 1 Cretin-Derham Hall (27-1), 10 a.m.
• No. 5 Apple Valley (23-6) vs. No. 4 Maple Grove (21-8), noon
• No. 7 Moorhead (22-7) vs. No. 2 Wayzata (25-4), 2 p.m.
• No. 6 Anoka (23-6) vs. No. 3 Shakopee (23-5), 4 p.m.

Class AA

At Williams Arena

• No. 8 Pelican Rapids (24-6) vs. No. 1 Albany (29-0), 6 p.m.
• No. 5 Minnehaha Academy (19-9) vs. No. 4 Caledonia (28-2), 8 p.m.

At Target Center

• No. 7 Pequot Lakes (23-7) vs. No. 2 Waseca (30-0), 6 p.m.
• No. 6 Montevideo (25-4) vs. No. 3 Breck (19-10), 8 p.m.

Wednesday, March 19

At Gangelhoff Center, Concordia (St. Paul)

Class AAAA consolation semifinals

• 10 a.m., noon

Class AAA consolation semifinals

• 2 p.m., 4 p.m.

Class AA consolation semifinals

• 6 p.m., 8 p.m.

Thursday, March 20

At Target Center

Class A quarterfinals

• No. 8 BOLD (20-10) vs. No. 1 Cherry (29-1), 11 a.m.
• No. 5 Henning (27-3) vs. No. 4 Nevis (26-4), 1 p.m.
• No. 7 Heritage Christian Academy (24-5) vs. No. 2 Dawson-Boyd (27-3), 3 p.m.
• No. 6 Goodhue (22-8) vs. No. 3 Red Lake County (29-2), 5 p.m.

At Williams Arena

Class AAA semifinals

• Noon, 2 p.m.

Class AAAA semifinals

• 6 p.m., 8 p.m.

At Gangelhoff Center

Class AA consolation final

• Noon

Class AAA consolation final

• 2 p.m.

Class AAAA consolation final

• 4 p.m.

Friday, March 21

At Williams Arena

Class A semifinals

• Noon, 2 p.m.

Class AA semifinals

• 6 p.m., 8 p.m.

At Gangelhoff Center

Class A consolation semifinals

• 10 a.m., noon

Class AA consolation final

• 2 p.m.

Class AAA consolation final

• 4 p.m.

Class AAAA consolation final

• 6 p.m.

Saturday, March 22

At Gangelhoff Center, Concordia (St. Paul)

Class A

• Consolation final, 8 a.m.
• Third place, 10 a.m.

Class AA

• Third place, 2 p.m.

Class AAA

• Third place, noon

Class AAAA

• Third place, 4 p.m.

At Williams Arena

• Class A championship, 11 a.m.
• Class AAA championship, 1 p.m.
• Class AA championship, 5 p.m.
• Class AAAA championship, 8 p.m.

Key Things to Know

Class A

• Cherry is the defending champion and top-seeded to repeat. The Tigers’ lone loss this season was a one-point setback to Red Lake County, the Section 8A champion, on Feb. 14. Cherry has surpassed 100 points in five games since Feb. 13. 
• Red Lake County is the No. 2 seed and in the Class A field for the first time since 2017. The Rebels had a loss to Kittson County Central late in the regular season but then reversed that in the Section 8A final. 
• Dawson-Boyd, the Section 3A champion, is making its first state tournament appearance since 1991. As Dawson High School, it stretches to 1949. This current edition is on a 17-game winning streak. 
• Nevis placed third in the 2024 state tournament. The Tigers open against No. 5-seed Henning, who they defeated 63-57 on Jan. 11. 
• In 2019, Henning won a dramatic and powerful Class A championship that was dedicated to a teammate. This current squad is on an eight-game winning streak. 
• Goodhue returns as the No. 6 seed. In the 2024 state tournament, the Wildcats were eliminated in the consolation round. Ninth-grade guard Alex Loos averages 18.5 points per game. 
• Heritage Christian Academy is on an eight-game winning streak and entering the tournament for a second consecutive year. A year ago, the Eagles won the consolation final. Senior guard Joshua Sokeye averages 16 points per game. 
• BOLD is made up of communities from Bird Island, Olivia, Lake Lillian and Danube. This is the state tournament debut for BOLD. Bird Island last appeared in the state tournament in 1981. For Olivia, it was 1919. Danube last qualified in 1980. The Warriors are on a four-game postseason winning streak.

Class AA

• Albany earns the top seed in the Class AA field on the strength of a dominant season that hasn’t yielded a loss. The Huskies, third-place finishers in 2024, are powered by senior forward Sam Hondl, sophomore guard Lucas Hondl and senior guard Zeke Austin. 
• Waseca is also undefeated and received the No. 2 seed. The Bluejays were eliminated in the consolation round last season. In 2021, Waseca was the Class AA champion.
• Breck is the defending Class AA champion and the No. 3 seed this season. The Mustangs opened the season 1-4, but are playing their best basketball at the right time. In the past nine games, the Mustangs have lost just once. That was to Mankato East, the top seed in the Class AAA field. 
• Caledonia, the Section 1AA champion, is on a 17-game winning streak. The Warriors’ only losses are to a Wisconsin school and to Stewartville of Class AAA. 
• Minnehaha Academy is no stranger to the Class AA field. The Redhawks are a four-time Class AA champion since 2013. First-year coach Jadee Jones has the Redhawks on a five-game winning streak. 
• Montevideo returns for the first time since 2009. The Thunder Hawks are paced by sophomore guard Griffin Epema, who scores at a 19.0 points per game pace. 
• Pequot Lakes, the Section 7AA champion, was the consolation final winner in 2024. The Patriots are currently on a six-game winning spree. One of its losses this season was to Esko, but that was reversed with a victory in the Section 7AA final. 
• Pelican Rapids is another Class AA returnee. The Vikings were eliminated in the consolation round a year ago. Pelican Rapids had two losses to Barnesville during the regular season, but that was rectified with a victory in the section final.   

Class AAA

• Longtime Mankato East coach Joe Madson has the Cougars in the state tournament for the 11^th time. A year ago, Mankato East was the Class AAA runner-up to Totino-Grace. This figures to be the year for the Cougars, who have just one loss, to Hopkins of Class AAAA in the second game of the season. Brogan Madson, a senior guard and the coach’s son, leads the way. He is the program’s all-time leader in points, assists and steals. 
• Totino-Grace is the three-time defending Class AAA champion. The Eagles are on a nine-game winning streak and all their losses are to Class AAAA schools. 
• Alexandria Area is the Section 8AAA champion. Since three early-season losses, the Cardinals are unbeaten since Dec. 28, a span of 22 games. Leading the way is senior Chase Thompson, a Clemson University basketball recruit. As a strong-armed quarterback, he led the Cardinals to a runner-up finish in the Prep Bowl. 
• Orono’s last loss this season was to Benilde-St. Margaret’s in the second-to-last game of the regular season. Three weeks later, the Spartans erased that with a 22-point victory in the Section 6AAA final. Orono averages 83.4 points per game. 
• DeLaSalle is a perennial entrant representing Section 4AAA. The Islanders are an 11-time state champion. A year ago, they finished with the third-place trophy. Sophomore guard Jaeden Udean paces the Islanders with nearly 18 points per game. 
• Byron of the Hiawatha Valley Conference is the Section 1AAA champion. The Bears dethroned Stewartville, the defending Section 1AAA champion, with a victory in the section final. Since Jan. 7, the Bears are 17-1.
• Duluth Denfeld was the single-class state champion in 1947. The Hunters then had state appearances in 2001 and 2004, respectively. Senior guard MarNaries Ferguson averages 23.8 points per game for the Hunters. 
• St. Paul Harding is one of two schools in the City of St. Paul that is playing in this year’s state tournament. The other is Cretin-Derham Hall in Class AAAA. This is the first-ever state tournament appearance for Harding, which opened in 1926. Senior guard Aijhon Douglas powers the Knights with 17.1 points per game.    

Class AAAA

• Cretin-Derham Hall, a fourth-place finisher in 2024, earned the top seed. The Raiders last won a championship in 2018 on a dramatic alley-oop buzzer-beater dunk by Daniel Oturu. The Raiders have a similar dominant post player this season in 6-foot-11 senior Tommy Ahneman, a Notre Dame recruit. He averages 18 points per game. Sophomore forward Ty Schlagel leads the Raiders with 19.3 points per game. 
• Wayzata has been in the Class AAAA championship game the past four seasons, winning in 2021 and 2023, respectively. The Trojans average 78 points per game and are paced by junior guard Christian Wiggins at 19.7 per game. 
• Shakopee returns for the first time since 2021. The Sabers are on a 16-game winning streak. Shakopee’s go-to player is senior forward Luke Wherley. 
• Maple Grove also returns for the first time since 2021. The Crimson are on a seven-game winning streak and are powered by senior guard Keegan Harney (20.7 points per game) and sophomore forward Baboucarr Ann (15.5).
• Apple Valley, the Section 3AAAA champion, is back for the first time since finishing as the runner-up to Cretin-Derham Hall in 2018. After ending the regular season with two losses, the Eagles have won three in a row in the postseason. 
• Anoka was the Class AA champion in 1992 and the runner-up the following season. The state tournament dry spell ended when the Tornadoes defeated Centennial in the Section 7AAAA final. Anoka is one of three schools from the Northwest Suburban Conference that are playing in this week’s state tournament. Totino-Grace and Maple Grove are the others. 
• Since 1924 when Moorhead first qualified for the state tournament and won the Sportsmanship Trophy, there is only one decade when the Spuds didn’t make a state tournament trip. That was in the 1970s. The current Spuds’ squad is on a five-game winning streak entering the state tournament for the first time since 2022. 
• In the Section 1AAAA final at the Mayo Civic Center, Rochester John Marshall raced to a 19-point halftime lead over traditional power, Lakeville North. The Rockets, though, turned to defense to halt a comeback before securing a 68-66 victory for the first section crown since 2003. Senior Brayson Sawyer led the way with 18 points and senior Eliah Ladu chipped in 17.