2A State Tourney: Strongest Returning Teams
If you look at the 18-19 2A State Tourney bracket there were a few blowouts, but for the most part, it was very competitive and truthfully just about anyone’s title. Throughout a tournament, a first game loss can affect the…
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Continue ReadingIf you look at the 18-19 2A State Tourney bracket there were a few blowouts, but for the most part, it was very competitive and truthfully just about anyone’s title. Throughout a tournament, a first game loss can affect the outcome of the next games, but it still shows that anything can happen in basketball, especially in crunch time. Here’s an assessment of the returning teams from this bracket for the 19-20 season.
Marsing: Record (19-27)
Marsing’s team had a great year, squeezing past McCall-Donnelly in their league (2-1) and making it to state where they lost their first game, then won a close game and lost to Bear Lake by 7 points for consolation. The huskies are losing three seniors and returning with four this season. They are hurting for height except for 6’5 Jacob Ankeny, who will be returning as a junior.
Bear Lake: Record (19-24)
Bear Lake started their season off with a 10 game win streak until they were blown out by North Fremont, the 18-19 state champions. Then stayed strong through league play and endured 3 tough losses to West Side by a matter of points, but ended up placing over them at state, winning consolation. It’s tough to say how well they will play this year due to losing some key seniors, but they have players returning as seniors to guide their team.
West Side: Record (15-26)
Even though their record isn’t as great as others, West Side was a pretty solid team up until state where they lost a close game to St. Maries who put up a good fight in the championship game, losing in OT. After that devastating loss, Marsing scraped past Westside for the consolation game. They lost 6 seniors but the rest of their roster will be filled with players returning for their senior year.
Ririe: Record (24-26)
Ririe had a very impressive year, only losing two games, one at State and one in the non-league season to a 3A school. They weren’t able to come out with the win against St. Maries to advance to the championship game, but they dropped 80 points on Cole Valley for the 3rd place win. Unfortunately, they practically graduated their whole roster, but who knows what upcoming athletes will be stepping up for them.
St. Maries: Record (19-27)
St. Maries had a tough pre-season and regular season, playing a 4A school, Washington school, and battling back in forth against Grangeville, beating them when it counted and advancing to State. This tough schedule and battles they had throughout the season prepared them for a higher level of play where they put up a battle for the state title but came up short in OT. St. Maries lost a lot of seniors for this upcoming season, but still have some players with height.
Declo: Record (16-25)
Declo stayed pretty consistent throughout the season, dominating their league and even beating some bigger 3A schools, but due to rankings, they had a difficult start to the state tourney bracket, being beat by North Fremont and then losing to Bear Lake for a second time that season. They lost some seniors as well, but I still expect them to be a pretty solid team for the 19-20 season.
Cole Valley: Record (17-25)
Cole Valley had a great season minus a couple of losses to some teams they probably should have beat. They still won some tough battles towards the end of their season and made it to the state tournament, winning their first game, but then came up short to the tough North Fremont champions and 3rd place Ririe. Like the rest of the teams, Cole Valley is losing quite a few seniors, but I see they have a lot of returning players all in the 6’0 range to help them continue to be a threat in the 19-20 season.
North Fremont: Record (20-26)
Finally, North Fremont, the 18-19 state champions. You might not believe it but of their 6 losses, one belonged to a 3A school, the other to Bear Lake for their first game jitters, and the other 4 were to Ririe, who as you know won 3rd place in the state tournament. It looks like North Fremont didn’t lose hardly any players if any, so they should be a tough team heading into the 19-20 season.
The 18-19 state tournament was very competitive and had many possible outcomes. Between upsets and new rosters, anything can happen in high school basketball. The rematches of some of the 18-19 state teams should be very exciting this season.