Region 4A Playoff Preview
For most of the state, Friday is the last day of the regular season and that means playoff basketball is back! Today PHD will go through at look at Region 4 in Class A and preview the region and predict…
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Continue ReadingFor most of the state, Friday is the last day of the regular season and that means playoff basketball is back! Today PHD will go through at look at Region 4 in Class A and preview the region and predict who will make it to the SoDak 16.
Region 4 hosts the No. 1 team in Class A, Tea Area and the No. 5 team Lennox. The region has been top heavy the past couple of years with how dominant Tea Area has been. Tea Area has 46.737 seed points and hasn’t lost in games against South Dakota opponents this season. Not too far behind is the Orioles with 33.300 points and only .150 points behind them are Dakota Valley with 33.150 seed points.
The Panthers lost to Madison in overtime but bounced back with a huge win over Lennox. Vermillion has had a better season than most would think after losing phenom A.J. Plitzueweit this season. The Tanagers finished the regular season with a 74-48 win over Canton to cap off a three-game win streak. The finished with 41.650 points.
Tea Area vs. Beresford and Elk-Point Jefferson vs. West Central are the last games to be played before the seeds become finalized. But with that even if EPJ would win they are still 1.650 points behind Canton and most likely won’t jump them even after Canton lost to Vermillion on Thursday. The same goes with Tea Area vs. Beresford, the Watchdogs are pretty much locked into their spot after the Vermillion and Canton outcome. Even if Tea Area would lose to Beresford they are still a lock for that No. 1 seed.
My Predictions:
Everything should go chalk in the first round, it’s the second round that could go differently. Vermillion looks like a new team compared to the team that faced off against the Titans earlier in the season, they could possibly give Tea Area a game. Max Mayer and Sam Ward have been a key factor for the Tanagers in this late-season surge, they could make a difference against the Titans.
In the other SoDak 16 qualifying game, Lennox and Dakota Valley face off again after the Panthers defeated them at home last game. The Orioles are having a great season and took Tea Area down to the wire, this will be a good game. Paul Bruns and Charlie Cox will be crucial for the Panthers if they want to repeat their success against the Orioles.
Ultimately, I think Tea Area and Dakota Valley make it through to the SoDak 16 for a chance to play at the Denny in Sioux Falls. Tea Area has too much firepower in Noah Freidel, Justin Hohn and Kade Stearns to name a few of the many playmakers Tea Area has. Dakota Valley is always a tough opponent come postseason if Bruns has been playing like he has it will be hard for Lennox to stop them.