Only two teams would flat shock me if they came out of this substate, TJ and Lewis Central haven't really showed the ability to beat anyone. I realize West might appear to fall into that category, but they have shown flashes of being a good basketball team.
West lost to East by 4 at East and then were in the game until about the 4 minute mark of the 4th Qtr at West. Despite an awful night of shooting, they hung with North for a half at West. Both games at West (vs North and vs East) they were hampered by foul trouble. I actually think they have the most raw athletic ability out of the 3 SC city schools. With a "let em play" crew, I could see them sneaking up on someone, especially if they can shoot the ball like they did in the 1st Quarter at North and 3rd Quarter vs East at West.
East is 0-3 against the other 2, but their loss to North was only made possible by a last second 3 by Neustrom that ran a few laps before finally falling through. They played AL tough at home, losing by 7, but it was closer than the score indicated. It's also hard to beat a Vanderloo team 3 times in one season. Even if North handily defeats East in their next matchup, I could still see East beating either/both North and AL in the postseason.
North and AL split their regular season match-ups, so it's hard to say that either team is clearly the dominant team between the two. AL is clearly the hotter, more consistent team right now and I would say they are still the favorite in S1, but North does have the "been there, done that" advantage in the postseason that is hard to account for. AL has also shown that they can come out flat and be beaten, such as their loss to the enigma that is SBL.
I realize this may not be the most talented substate in 4A and I'm sure a lot of CIML teams are upset about it, but I do think it has the potential to be one of the most entertaining/balanced. There is still a few weeks for things to change; injuries, bad decisions, etc could all play big factors down the home stretch. Good luck to all of these teams this postseason.