Friday Night Spotlight: Playoff Rankings
As the regular season ends for all Louisiana teams this weekend, there are still some playoff positions that have yet to be decided. Teams in north Louisiana, who are not looking to host home playoff games, are vying for the highest ranking possible. Some of tonight’s contest will have a baring on who is in and who is out the playoffs period. We will rundown the particulars and give information on who and what can be effected by tonight’s contest.
Notable Friday night contest
BTW-Shreveport vs Benton – For the better parts of this season, the Benton Tigers looked like a shoe-in for the class 4A playoffs. Even though they were losing district games, they were losing games to the likes of Woodlawn, Bossier, and Huntington. Even those loses were keeping them afloat in the playoff race. Then the loss to Northwood happened. Now, Benton needs a win versus Booker T. and some help from other teams to secure their playoff bid. Le’treveon Jones, and the rest of the Lions squad, will be looking to win this game and carry some moment into the playoffs after 32 and 20 point losses to Woodlawn-Shreveport and Bossier, respectively. If Benton is to win, they must feed off of the home crowd and hope that Jalen Harding recaptures some of his early season scoring prowess. If that happens, Benton might just pull off securing a playoff spot.
Pineville vs West Monroe – Just like Benton , Pineville spent most of the season looking at a playoff position. Unfortunately, they are in a district with the top two teams in class 5A and they have not been competitive in those games. Even though they are sitting at #30, there are 3 teams within .17 points of them. If those team win and Pineville loses, they might fall out of the playoffs. West Monroe has had their struggles also. They were looking at a home playoff game last week and have now fallen to playing on the road for their first game. Louisiana All-star Langston Powell has been leading his team to victories but it has not been enough to keep the Rebels at home. A loss to Pineville and they may slip even further in the rankings (#18 at present). If Pineville wins, it will be by keeping Powell off the boards and limiting his touches on offense. The Rebels, on the other hand, will look at moving into the playoff with a win and hoping other things happen to secure them a home playoff game.
Southwood vs Airline – Airline might have won the 1-5A district title; however, they are still staring up at Southwood in the latest LHSAA playoff rankings for class 5A. With three wins in a row (the last two by 92 combined points), the Cowboys are looking to ride into the playoffs with a fourth straight win and snap Airline’s undefeated district streak. A Southwood win might also help them leapfrog Dutchtown (and possibly West Monroe) to a higher ranking. An Airline win would give them an undefeated district championship and allow them to possible move past Dutchtown into the 19th position. In other words, a win is crucial for both teams as they enter the 5A playoffs. Trenton Ivy and Letreavin Black as a must see square off is another reason why this game will be hotly contested. Whichever team has the better guard play should win and move into the playoffs with momentum.
These three games, as well as others, around the state will determine who plays who beginning next Friday. We will definitely have that information covered here on Prep Hoops Louisiana.