Playoff scenario for Southern Arizona teams if season ended today:
Open Division
— Salpointe (7-0) would be the No. 2 seed. The top eight rated teams 4A-6A advance to the Open Division state playoffs.
Class 6A
— Tucson (3-5) is ranked No. 26. The top 16 after the removal of teams to the Open Division qualify for the 6A state playoffs. The Badgers host the No. 1 ranked team in the state in the Open Division — Chandler — this Friday.
Class 5A
— Four Southern Arizona teams are ranked high enough presently to make the 5A state playoffs after the removal of 5A powers Centennial, Horizon and Higley to the Open Division state playoffs. They are No. 10 Cienega (6-2), No. 11 Ironwood Ridge (5-3), No. 13 Buena (6-2) and No. 18 Mountain View (4-4). No. 21 Desert View (5-3) is presently two spots out of the playoffs. The Jaguars play at Mountain View Friday for not only the 5A Sonoran title but a chance to strengthen their playoff bid. Cienega and Ironwood Ridge are in position to host a playoff game in the opening round. Buena hosts Ironwood Ridge Friday in a game that can either make Ironwood Ridge one of the top 5A teams in the state or get the Colts in position to host a playoff game.
Class 4A
— The eight region champions automatically qualify as well as eight at-large teams based on rankings. The seeding of the tournament is based on the rankings. Salpointe (7-0) would be the No. 2 seed in the Open Division state playoffs. Scottsdale Saguaro is the only other 4A team in the Open Division at No. 5. CDO (7-1) is the No. 3-rated 4A team (behind Salpointe and Saguaro) and would be the top seed in the 4A state playoffs.. Sahuaro (6-2) would be the No. 2 seed of the 4A bracket. The Cougars are ranked No. 4 in the 4A. The other Southern Arizona teams that would be among the top 16 seeds presently are No. 6 Walden Grove (7-1) and No. 16 Pueblo (6-2). Three of the four top-seeded teams in the 4A state playoffs would be from Southern Arizona — CDO, Sahuaro and Walden Grove.
Class 3A
— The seven region champions automatically qualify as well as nine at-large teams based on rankings. The seeding of the tournament is based on the rankings. No. 8 Sabino (6-2) is the only 3A team from Southern Arizona that would be in the playoffs with No. 17 Pusch Ridge (4-4) just one spot out. The Lions essentially have a playoff game this Friday because a win at No. 12 Safford should put them in position for the postseason although the regular-season finale against winless Catalina might adversely affect their rating.
Class 2A
— The seven region champions automatically qualify as well as nine at-large teams based on rankings. The seeding of the tournament is based on the rankings. No. 3 Santa Cruz Valley (7-2), No. 9 Benson (6-2) and No. 11 Bisbee (6-2) are in solid position to make the state playoffs. Willcox (4-4) has won consecutive games to move close at No. 17.
Class 1A
— The four region champions automatically qualify as well as eight at-large teams based on rankings. The final seeding of the state playoffs was determined Saturday after the conclusion of the regular season last week. St. David (5-3) qualified as the No. 12 seed. The Tigers, who ended the regular season winning three straight games and three of the last four, play at No. 5 Hayden on Friday at 6 p.m. in the first round of the state playoffs.
[table “27” not found /][table “28” not found /]
[table “23” not found /]
[table “22” not found /]
[table “30” not found /]
[table “24” not found /]
[table “25” not found /]
[table “26” not found /]
FOLLOW @JAVIERJMORALES ON TWITTER!
ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon.
Recommended for you
