South Dakota Playoff Central
PHD Playoff Central runs through the weekend results of the South Dakota playoffs, and what lies ahead.
The System! You have to love a system where you can lose your first 21 games of the season, win one game (beating Watertown 46-36), and now play for state. That’s SF Roosevelt who is 1-21 but yet they play Harrisburg tomorrow night in regions for a chance to play in the state tournament. What can you say?
The System Part 2! Brandon Valley had such a great year but they were upset 53-48 by a hot Harrisburg team in their first district game. That sent them into a qualifying battle with SF Washington (they won 61-55) and now they have to get by Brookings to go to state! Some roads are tougher than others I guess.
Class AA Qualifiers. That would be the expected ones in RC Stevens and SF O’Gorman plus those Patriots of Lincoln getting hot at the right time again, and Pierre! Brookings and Brandon Valley are of course battling it out for state, Huron has to beat Central, Harrisburg and Roosevelt are in the surprising game, and then Sturgis Brown and Aberdeen Central are in “The Re-match” from earlier in the season.
Super Tuesday! We will get more into Super Tuesday tomorrow but this is shaping up to be one incredible night of basketball. The Sweet 16 is exactly the shot of hoops life that the state wanted. Not only do they have eight great games but the set up of having double headers around the state makes it even better. Not to mention you have the Class AA Regional State qualifiers and the Class B Regional Qualifiers for state. An incredible night is coming.
Oh, and let’s not forget that maybe the best playoff game of Class B is coming tomorrow when Chester Area faced undefeated Bridgewater-Emery in a game of the year potential candidate. Talent wise there may not be a better Class B game.
March Madness Meets Upset City! Corisca-Stickney was a strong favorite and ranked as one of the state’s best. Unfortunately for them the Black Panthers of Platte-Geddes turned in a memory of a lifetime with a 58-56 double overtime victory last Friday won on a Ricky Knecht backdoor game winner with a second left! Malachi Girton scored 15 leading the Panthers who now play Gregory tomorrow night for the right to go to state!
Tip of the Hat to the Career. Washington’s Jack Talley is a talented senior wing with agility, skill, and some quality upside. Jack was fun to follow with Roosevelt and the Schoolers and now he moves on to Jamestown where he has a scholarship to hoop for his college years.