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:
Jamestown
No change here. The Blue Jays have been ridiculously good. They blow out bad teams. They blow out good teams. They’ve got the best one-two punch in the state and the toughest question surrounding them might be which one of their two guys – Boden Skunberg and Mason Walters – is the Player-of-the-Year in the WDA?
Fargo Davies
The Eagles took care of business against West Fargo Sheyenne earlier in the week, securing a second-straight EDC regular season title. It’s never been about winning the regular season title for this group though as they are eyeing a trip to state after failing to make it last year. With their experience, size, depth and overall talent, it’d be an even bigger shock if they didn’t get to state this year.
West Fargo
The Packers suffered an upset loss to Fargo North this week, meaning their date with Fargo Davies carries little meaning from an EDC title perspective. It certainly has some ramifications as the two teams could very well see eachother again two more times in the postseason. The Packers had been peaking prior to the loss to the Spartans, led by senior forward Luke Lennon and a steady group of contributors along with him.
Bismarck Century
The Patriots are playing as well as any teams in the state right now and with the perimeter duo of Treyton Mattern and Cade Feeney, they’ll be a tough out for anybody. At this point, they look like the team most equipped to give Jamestown a game in the WDA tournament.
West Fargo Sheyenne
The Mustangs have taken a couple tough losses in the last week, losing to West Fargo and Fargo Davies by double figures. Christian Kuntz became the first player in the school’s history to eclipse the 1,000 point barrier which is pretty cool. This is still a rock-solid team with a lot of firepower.
Mandan
Things have turned a bit for the Braves here in the last week as they lost in upset fashion to Williston and Bismarck. With games against Century and Jamestown to close the regular season, the Braves be heading into the postseason on a four-game losing streak.
Bismarck
The Demons just beat Mandan last week and have a chance to get third in the WDA regular season standings – which gives them a much easier first round game than fourth or fifth (Mandan and Minot probably). Joe Jahner’s been a scoring machine all year and the Demons have the kind of senior talent to make a deep run in the WDA tournament.
Minot
The Magicians have been up and down all year but with their scoring depth, they are still dangerous. They’ll have a tough road to a state tournament berth but with Jaxon Gunville, Deonte Martinez and Alex Schimke, it’s definitely doable.
Bismarck Legacy
The Sabers have had a hard time beating teams above them in the WDA this year and since their 7-1 start, they are 3-8. But they’ve been solid defensively and have a chance to earn a 10th league win next week if they can beat Dickinson or Bismarck.
Devils Lake
There’s a fairly stiff dropoff from the top three to the rest of the pack in the EDC and this spot could conceivably go to several other clubs in the league but the Firebirds get the nod here because they recently beat Wahpeton and Grand Forks Red River. Grant Nelson has been a force, averaging 16.9 points and 12 rebounds per game.