The Week Ahead (Pre-District Tune ups)
For the schools in Classes 1,2, and 3, this is the final week of the regular season. The district playoffs for small school will get underway this weekend and continue into next week. As the postseason approaches, several small schools around the state will be playing some big tune-up games as they get ready for districts next week. Here are some of those matchups:
Mid Buchanan at Maryville, Monday, 7 p.m. – Both Class 2 Mid Buchanan and Class 3 Maryville enter tonight’s contest with 18 victories. Both teams have received No. 1 seeds in their respective district tournaments next week.
Mansfield at Mountain Grove, Tuesday, 7 p.m. – Mountain Grove at 25-1, preparing for another run at a Final Four berth in the Class 3 tournament. Tonight, they will face a solid opponent in 17-4 Mansfield, who is looking to make some noise itself in Class 2. Both teams received No. 1 seeds in their respective districts.
Cape Girardeau Central at Charleston, Tuesday, 7 p.m. – Charleston is hoping to make a deep run in the Class 3 state tournament. The Bluejays received a top seed in next week’s districts. Before that, they will get a visit from Class 4 Cape Central in a big SEMO Conference game. Charleston still has a share of the conference leadership.
Malden at East Prairie, Tuesday, 7 p.m. – These two teams could meet again in the Class 3, District 1 semifinals on Feb. 20. Malden is currently 18-5 while East Prairie is 17-4.
Centralia at Clark County, Tuesday, 7 p.m. – These two teams could meet again in the semifinals of the Class 3, District 8 tournament on Feb. 22, which has one of the most competitive fields in the state.
Helias at Southern Boone, Tuesday, 7 p.m. – Class 3 Southern Boone is closing the regular season very strong. One of their final tune-ups is a visit from Class 4 Helias, which is one of the top teams in Mid-Missouri.
Dora at Walnut Grove, Thursday, 7 p.m. – These outstanding Class 1 teams will meet before heading towards opposite sides of the bracket. Defending state champion Walnut Grove is a veteran battle-tested unit while upcoming Dora is built around a crew of talented freshmen.
St. Joe Christian at East Buchanan, Friday, 7 p.m. – A couple of good teams in Northwest Missouri are gearing up for the districts. Each Buch is led by excellent 2020 forward Ethan Kilgore while St. Joe Christian has emerged behind the play of 2019 guard Malik Tucker.
O’Fallon Christian at Trinity, Friday, 7 p.m. – These Archdiocesan Athletic Association teams received No. 1 seeds in their respective districts next week. Both are young and very talented.
(Logan Thomazin photo courtesy of SWMO Basketball)