Boys Basketball State Tournament set to begin five-day event

BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. --- A long run of winter state tournament events concludes this week when the Minnesota State High School League’s Boys Basketball State Tournament is played over a five-day span at three venues in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Quarterfinal matchups in four enrollment classes will be played beginning Tuesday, March 22, 2022 at Target Center and Williams Arena. Championship Saturday is scheduled for March 26, 2022.

All quarterfinal games will be livestreamed by School Space Media. Find the stream at www.prepspotlight.tv .

Consolation round games will be played at Concordia (St. Paul).

Semifinals and championship games begin on Thursday and will be broadcast live on 45TV and streamed live at www.prep45.com

Here is a look at the quarterfinal matchups in each of the enrollment classes.

Tuesday, March 22, 2022

Class AAAA, at Target Center

·       No. 1 Park Center (28-1) vs. Andover (19-10), 10 a.m. --- Top-seeded Park Center has been a dominant force in the big-school class this season. The Pirates, making their sixth state tournament appearance, have won 16 consecutive games since a 64-61 midseason loss to Totino-Grace during the Northwest Suburban Conference schedule. Totino-Grace is the top seed in the Class AAA field. Andover knows all about the Pirates as it too resides in the Northwest Suburban Conference. Earlier this month, Park Center defeated the Huskies 77-62 in the second-to-last game of the regular season.  

·       No. 4 Eastview (22-6) vs. No. 5 Eden Prairie (19-10), noon --- This is a rematch of a game played in early December when Eastview posted a 91-78 victory. Eastview was the Class AAAA runner-up in 2005 when Blake Hoffarber of Hopkins hit his famous “rump shot.” Eden Prairie is annually battled tested while playing in the Lake Conference. The Eagles have won five in a row, including a convincing triumph over No. 2-ranked Shakopee in the Section 2AAAA final.    

·       No. 2 Owatonna (27-2) vs. Cretin-Derham Hall (19-10), 2 p.m. --- Owatonna, the Class AA champions in 1989 and 1990, respectively, rolled through the Big Nine Conference schedule and the Section 1AAAA tournament and are on a 21-game winning streak. Cretin-Derham Hall, the Class AAAA runner-up last season, is a formidable unseeded team. Michigan State recruit Tre Hollloman, a senior guard, was selected the Gatorade Minnesota Player of the Year.

·       No. 3 Wayzata (25-4) vs. Moorhead (17-12), 4 p.m. --- Wayzata is the defending big-school champion and riding a 14-game winning streak since a 60-53 loss to Eden Prairie during the Lake Conference schedule on Jan. 25. Moorhead returns to the state tournament for the first time in a decade. The Spuds opened the season 1-4, but are currently on a four-game winning streak. They were the No. 6 seed in the Section 8AAAA playoffs.

Class AAA, at Williams Arena

·       No. 1 Totino-Grace (22-6) vs. Hermantown (21-8), 10 a.m. --- Top-seeded Totino-Grace will try to match the feat of the school’s girls program, who this past weekend, won the Class AAA championship as a No. 3 seed. The Eagles, making their first state tournament trip since 2006, has a signature victory on its schedule this season, a 64-61 win over Park Center, the top seed in Class AAAA, on Jan. 21. Hermantown is making its third state tournament trip since 2015. After opening the season 3-4, the Hawks rattled off 10 consecutive victories. Hermantown has topped the 100-point mark twice this season.

·       No. 4 Mankato East (21-8) vs. No. 5 Mound Westonka (21-8), noon --- Mankato East finished the regular season with a double overtime victory over Rochester Century in double overtime. That sparked the Cougars through three convincing victories during the Section 2AAA tournament. Mound Westonka has lost just one of its past 14 games since Jan. 29. For history buffs, Mound Westonka is making its first state tournament trip since 1974 when it finished as the Class A runner-up to Melrose and Mark Olberding.   

·       No. 2 Princeton (26-1) vs. Austin (17-12) --- Princeton is one basket away from a perfect season. That lone loss came to Orono, 76-74, on Jan. 15. Princeton has a victory against St. Cloud Tech, another school in the Class AAA field, on Dec. 7. Austin has won three state championships, but you’ve got to go back to 1958 to find the latest. The Packers would love to give longtime coach Kris Fadness a championship to take into retirement.  

·       No. 3 DeLaSalle (20-7) vs. St. Cloud Tech (19-9) --- DeLaSalle has the most decorated state tournament history in the Class AAA field with 12 state championships. This current Istanders’ squad is capable of adding to that. St. Cloud Tech came close to its first state crown with a runner-up finish in Class AAAA in 2010. The Tigers held off Alexandria to claim the Section 8AAA crown. It was St. Cloud Tech’s second win over Alexandria in three meetings this season.

Class AA, at Target Center

·       No. 2 Caledonia (27-1) vs. Perham (18-10), 6 p.m. --- What a dandy Section 1AA final that Caledonia had to survive just to qualify for the state tournament. The top-ranked Warriors had to rally to defeat Plainview-Elgin-Millville 72-61 in triple overtime. Senior guard Eli King, an Iowa State recruit, scored seven points in the final 11 seconds of regulation to keep Caledonia’s season alive. In the school’s first trip to the state tournament in 2011, Perham returned with the Class AA crown. Perham is currently on a five-game winning streak.

·       No. 3 Annandale (28-2) vs. Pequot Lakes (24-6), 8 p.m. --- Annandale is one of two schools from the Wright County Conference in contention for a Class AA crown. Glencoe-Silver Lake is the other. The Cardinals opened the season 2-2 and haven’t lost a game since. The Cardinals’ last loss was to Albany on Dec. 16, but they reversed that with a 14-point victory in the Section 6AA final. Pequot Lakes returns for the first time since 2007. The Patriots enter the state tournament on a five-game winning streak.

Class AA, at Williams Arena

·       No. 1 Minneapolis North (25-6) vs. Glencoe-Silver Lake (20-9), 6 p.m. --- Minneapolis North is tabbed as the team to beat, in part because of a competitive, grueling schedule to prepare for the postseason. Of North’s six losses, four were to Minnesota schools in Class AAAA. The other two were to schools outside of Minnesota. Polars head coach Larry McKenzie will be inducted into the Minnesota State High School League’s Hall of Fame next month. Glencoe-Silver Lake had a seven-game winning streak early in the season and later a five-game spree.  

·       No. 4 Minnehaha Academy (17-10) vs. No. 5 Morris/Chokio-Alberta (27-2), 8 p.m. --- Minnehaha Academy has won four state championships since 2017, including last season in Class AAA. For another title to be seized, the Redhawks will need continued star efforts from guard Prince Aligbe, a 6-foot-7 senior who leads the state in scoring with 29 points per game. Morris/Chokio-Alberta returns for the second consecutive season. The Tigers have won 10 of their past 11 games, including the past seven in a row.  

Wednesday, March 23, 2022

Class A, at Williams Arena

·       No. 1 Hayfield (29-2) vs. Russell-Tyler-Ruthton (23-7), 11 a.m. --- Hayfield is in position to defend the Class A crown it captured a season ago. Senior forward Easton Fritcher, junior guard Isaac Matt and junior guard Ethan Pack all average in double figures. Russell-Tyler-Ruthton was the Class A champion in 2018. They advanced with an overtime victory over Central Minnesota Christian in the Section 3A championship game.

·       No. 4 Nevis (27-3) vs. No. 5 Cherry (26-4), 1 p.m. --- Expect plenty of scoring in this game. Nevis averages just more than 74 points per game and Cherry is four points better.

·       No. 2 Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa (26-4) vs. Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s (28-2), 3 p.m. --- Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa was the Class A champion in 2014 and this squad might be poised to add to that. The Jaguars finished the regular season on a 15-1 run. The only loss was a 57-55 setback to Hancock in the regular-season finale. The Jaguars, however, reversed that with a 71-44 vitory in the second semifinal. Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s is on a 14-game winning streak entering the tournament.

·       No. 3 New Life Academy (26-3) vs. Sacred Heart (28-3), 5 p.m. --- New Life Academy is making its third state tournament appearance and first since 2004. The Eagles got their losses out of the way early and have kept winning since Jan. 25, a span of 16 games. Sacred Heart is making its state tournament debut. The Eagles topped seemingly state tournament participant Cass Lake-Bena in double overtime in the section final to achieve the historic trip to the Twin Cities.