North Dakota Class B State Tournament Preview
The Class B state tournament field is set. With so many top teams meeting up in the final round of regional tournament play, there were some awfully compelling and competitive contests. Hopefully the state tournament can see a similar level…
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Continue ReadingThe Class B state tournament field is set. With so many top teams meeting up in the final round of regional tournament play, there were some awfully compelling and competitive contests. Hopefully the state tournament can see a similar level of intrigue.
Here are the teams in the field
Region 1: Kindred
The Vikings blew out Richland, 71-53 in the Region 1 final after beating Oakes 66-62 in the semifinal round. Kindred’s team defense is elite as the Vikings allow just 39 points per game. They played a number of top teams throughout the regular season and had some success, beating LaMoure/Litchville-Marion while losing to Thompson in triple overtime and Grafton/St. Thomas by seven.
Region 2: Thompson
The Tommies beat Grafton/St. Thomas in the Region 2 final, 49-46, illustrating just how talented they are. Thompson’s played a really good schedule all year and the Tommies have lost just twice – to Grafton and Four Winds/Minnewaukan – to top-ranked teams. Thompson seems likely to get the three or four seed given its resume and pedigree.
Region 3: Kidder County
One of the two undefeated teams still left in the state, the Wolves earned two really good wins in the loaded Region 3 to get a trip to state. They beat a very good Carrington team in the semifinals, 81-72 in overtime before grinding one out in the finals, 56-48 against LaMoure/Litchville-Marion. Kidder County plays excellent defense and seems to prefer keeping the game in a halfcourt kind of setting but the Wolves have shown they are capable of winning in a variety of ways. They look likely to get the No. 2 seed.
Region 4: Langdon/Edmore/Munich
LEM heads to state on a 20-game winning streak after beating Four Winds/Minnewaukan by 13 in the region final game. The Cardinals are the No. 1 team in Class B and since a double overtime loss to Thompson (48-44 in 2OT) at the beginning of December, they’ve mostly steamrolled their competition.
Region 5: Shiloh Christian
The Skyhawks put the clamps down at the start of the postseason and it’s gotten them a trip to the state tournament. Shiloh allowed just 141 points in four games (35.3 ppg) after losing its first game in the District 9 tournament to Solen. The Skyhawks won all three games in the Region 5 tournament by eight points or less, illustrating their capability of playing hotly-contested games.
Region 6: Rugby
The Panthers picked up two wins over state-tournament caliber opponents on their way to this point as they beat Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood in the Region 6 semifinals, 48-34. Then they exacted revenge on Velva, beating the Aggies 44-42 in overtime. This Rugby team defends at an extremely high level and while its offense can come and go, that defense will keep them in a lot of games.
Region 7: Hettinger/Scranton
Defense is going to be a theme in this year’s state tournament (if you like free-flowing offense, look away) and Hettinger/Scranton exemplifies the notion that defense can take teams a long way. The Night Hawks allow just 37 points per game on the year and they ratcheted that up even further in the postseason, holding teams to 35.7 points per game.
Region 8: Trenton
After mostly destroying the competition for the first two-and-a-half months of the season, Trenton has had to grind out some tough wins here in the last few weeks to stay undefeated. Of the Tigers’ five postseason wins, four have come by seven points or less.