Northstar Hoops Minnesota National Guard – Team of the Week March 13-18
Teams punched their tickets to the state tournament last week. Some in ridiculously impressive fashion. Some for the first time.
Here are this week’s options for Team of the Week:
Crosby-Ironton
For the first time since 2010, the Rangers are back in the state tournament. To get there, they had to go through a handful of top level teams. First they beat third-seeded Hinkley-Finlayson in the Section quarters. Then this past week, the Rangers took out Virginia – the top seeded team in SS2 – in impressive fashion. C-I then ended Esko’s five-year state tournament run with a 52-46 win in the section final.
Minneapolis North
Wow. The Polars sure made a statement in their section tournament run. The Polars absolutely demolished Cristo Rey Jesuit and Prairie Seeds Academy – two of the top 15 or so teams in Class A. The Polars beat the two teams by a combined 120 points.
Wayzata
The Trojans had an awesome regular season and getting to the state tournament was certainly a realistic possibility given their talent. That became reality Friday when the Trojans took out defending state champ Hopkins, securing their first state tournament berth in 58 years.
New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva
Blazing trails is worth extra points. The Panthers have never gone to the Class AA State Tournament and while their path was made easier – on paper at least – by Fairmont upsetting top-seeded Waterville-Elysian-Morristown, NRHEG dispatched the Cardinals before taking out Jordan Friday in the Section 2AA final.
Andover
Every year there is a low seed that seems to get hot down the stretch and get to the state tournament. This year, Andover was that team. The Huskies took down the top three teams in Section 7AAAA, winning by more points in each round. Andover beat Coon Rapids Wednesday to advance to the section final after upsetting second-seeded Blaine in the first round. And in the section final, the Huskies beat Forest Lake by 10.