NHR State: 15U preview & predictions
The 15U NHR State Tournament starts this evening and of the top 20 teams ranked by NHR 14 of them will be in this event as well as six other teams that have been ranked in the NHR 15U top…
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Continue ReadingThe 15U NHR State Tournament starts this evening and of the top 20 teams ranked by NHR 14 of them will be in this event as well as six other teams that have been ranked in the NHR 15U top 20 this year. There are 28 teams in the top division at the 15U level overall
Pool A. Comets Schmidt is the top seeded team in the event and the favorite to win 15U but the fact is this is a wide open field. Schmidt is most likely to win their pool but they will have a nice challenge against 43 Hoops Johnson who is ranked 14th with a 13-8 record.
Pool B. All four teams in this pool have been ranked this year so the pool games themselves will be quite interesting. Fury Hines is the favorite with their 17-6 record and number 5 ranking in the state. That said, Phenom is ranked 20 with a 13-15 record against a tough schedule, plus Powerhouse Red and Crossfire Nelson have grabbed some good wings this year.
Pool C. Heat MacDonald is the third seeded team in the event after winning 17 of 26 games this year including a win over Comets Schmidt as Heat Mac is the only local team to have beaten this Comets this year. They should be a heavy favorite to easily win the pool, correct? The 19th ranked team Fury Kaupa is 12-8 and a contender to win the pool, Crossfire Bertsch has had some good moments and then there is Super Hoops who I really hope have some type of super hero costumes.
Pool D. This pool may be the wild west. This is the pool where you could see things coming down to tiebreakers. The Lightning has had a nice year at 12-4 and is in the top ten but they haven’t played quite as many games as others so we don’t quite know who they are yet. Crossfire Belle is also ranked in the top 20 and then you have a solid Team Get Shook squad and Heat Wall.
Pool E. Heat Wright is coming off a couple excellent events that have pushed them into the top ten while the Rise is 11-6 and ranked 17th. Heat Wright should beat the Rise as well as Spartans and Magic so we don’t feel this is quite the wild west of pool D but it should be competitive.
Pool F. This is the most interesting pool of all of them. Why? You have Minnesota Chill who just moved into the top 20 at the 11th spot after just beating Fury Hines, Comets R Schmidt who is 16-8 and ranked 15th in the state, and D1 Minnesota Prospects who is 13-10 and ranked 16th. The West Central Wildcats may end up being a punching bag or maybe they make a name for themselves, who knows. But if there was ever a group where you could see three 2-1 pool records and one of the teams has to play in the other bracket on tie-breaker this is it.
Pool G. You have 12th ranked WOTN Swedburg, 20th ranked Select, the top Real Athletics team, and Minneapolis FAB who has talent but we had thought they were more of a 14U squad but we thought wrong. WOTN is the favorite after having a nice year so far but this group could also go any directions.
15U Predictions
Sweet 16 Round
Comets R Schmidt over Mpls FAB
Phenom over Crossfire Belle
Heat Wright over Fury Kaupa
WOTN Swed over Rise
Heat Mac over 43 Hoops J
MN Chill over SE MN Lightning
Elite Eight
Comets J Schmidt over Comets R Schmidt
Heat Wright over Phenom
Fury Hines over WOTN Swed
MN Chill over Heat Mac
Final Four
Comets Schmidt over Heat Wright
Fury Hines over MN Chill