North Dakota Class A Rankings
The postseason is coming up quick and that means teams will start turning their attention to trying to make a run through their respective conference tournaments in hopes of earning a state tournament bid. There always seems to be a surprise team – or two – in the field and this year should be no different.
But until that time comes, here are some rankings for Class A North Dakota:
Bismarck Century
The Patriots have been the dominant team in the state all season and it feels like it’s going to take an off day from them, combined with the ceiling level play for even the next two or three teams in the state to even have a chance to beat them.
Mandan
This is one of the teams capable of beating the Patriots. And they’ll likely get two or three more shots at it. The Braves have the requisite talent, experience, size and defensive acumen to win a state title.
Devils Lake
Far-and-away the best team in the EDC this season, the Firebirds have been dominant all winter. Winning by an average margin of more than 34 points per game, Devils Lake has very little to prove against EDC competition at this point. It’ll be about what the Firebirds can do in a state-tournament setting now.
Fargo Shanley
The Deacons might not have the same kind of juice in the tank as the top three teams in the state but they are really good. With a great combination of talent, depth and experience, Fargo Shanley has a great chance to not only get to state, but win a game or two there.
Bismarck Legacy
The Sabers are not far off against the top two teams in their league but to this point, they haven’t been able to crack those codes. This is still a team that defends at a high level, has excellent balance and can get to state and win a game or two potentially.
West Fargo Sheyenne
It’s a bit of a jumbled mess behind the top two teams in the EDC but the Mustangs seem to be the best of the next bunch. They’ve played just five games decided by less than 10 points and are 4-1 in such contests. Otherwise it’s been lopsided affairs throughout the winter.
Bismarck
The Demons can get bogged down in a big way on the offensive end of the floor but they bring one of the best defenses in the state to the table. They are 0-5 against the top three teams in the WDA but 12-2 against everybody else.
Jamestown
The Bluejays have a couple of really nice wins thus far on the season but four out of their seven losses are by more than 20 points. Jamestown has solid talent and a very good duo that can take over games for it – so the Bluejays are definitely dangerous.
Grand Forks Red River
The Roughriders have a great chance to earn a state-tourney berth but there isn’t a whole lot of separation between them and West Fargo and Fargo Davies. Red River has been volatile this year in that they gave Devils Lake one of the few competitive games the Firebirds have gotten all year but lost to Fargo Shanley by 30. They’ve got wins over West Fargo and Fargo Davies as well plus two close-ish losses to West Fargo Sheyenne.
Bismarck St. Mary’s
It seems as though there’s a huge gap between the really good teams and the good teams which leads to a ton of lopsided scores throughout the state. It’s been a weird year for the Saints in that they’ve not had the kind of success they are capable of having, but they’ve been on the wrong end of an inordinate amount of close games. They are 3-7 in games decided by 10 points or less.