Mock Brackets

[jbobby]

Jeff Linder of Cedar Rapids Gazette came up with mock pairings. Of course, they mean nothing, but still interesting to look at and a source of conversation.

http://iowaprepsports.com/2013/01/10/girls-basketball-projected-brackets/

 

[Husker Dogg]

So correct me if i'm wrong but do the top 4 teams in each region get a bye in the first round of regional play?

 

[WadeWubben]

They are interesting- wonder if he's done these in the past and how close he has been?

 

[Magic 10]

He has done them in the past and some regions he is pretty close, sometimes he pairs up leading teams in the regions differently than the state actually does. But it is a great conversation tool. One of the reasons why he is one of the best sports columnists in the state. Very few even give attention to girls basketball. Compare the Gazette to the Des Moines Register. The Register covers high school sports about as well as a thong bikini covers Roseanne Arnold.

 

[Husker Dogg]

Not sure either. But with only 96 teams that would probably be they way it would go. If this is right then the top four would only have to win 3 games to make it to des moines. Or am I completely misreading it.

 

[Moby72]

In the past, for example, you had 128 teams in 2A. 8 regions would give you 16 teams to a bracket. 2A now has 96 teams, so that would be 12 teams to a bracket. That would leave 4 byes in a 16 team bracket for 2A. Looks like the union is going to reward the top four teams with a bye. Now 5A only has 48 teams so they may only have to win two to get in.

 

[Raider1983]

Come on, Magic! That was not an image I needed in my head! lol

 

[jbobby]

Agreed. We live in the CR area and have family members who play HS basketball. Saw Jeff at a holiday scrimmage this year, not covering, just observing so he could get a first hand account of some of the top teams in our area. The guy definitely does his homework and does a great job of covering girls basketball.

 

[3times]

5A has 40 teams this year.....4A has 48 teams.

 

[Hawkeye Swarm]

The one below seems to makes little sense. The West Central Conference has seven 2A schools and three 1A schools. He has all seven 2A conference members in the same region. It's supposed to be a region not a conference tournament.




CLASS 2A Region 4

Madrid at Ogden (winner plays at Woodward-Granger)

West Central Valley at Van Meter (winner plays at Panorama)

South Hamilton at Prairie Valley (winner plays at West Marshall)

Colfax-Mingo at Nodaway Valley (winner plays at Des Moines Christian)

 

[iamahawki]

This post was edited on 1/12 5:02 PM by iamahawki

 

[VikeFan28]

Great post and gives us something to think about till the 21st. Basketball rocks...will hate when the season is over...however it turns out...

 

[DarkThunder#61]

As usual, there will be some pretty tough regions with a number of teams, certainly capable of making it to state, who will have to face each other beforehand.

The mock bracket has St. Eds in Region 5 with several familiar faces, but also North Butler, Gladbrook-Reinbeck and BCLUW.

I understand with the shortened regions, some teams will be relocated from their usual spots but I don't know if G-R and BCLUW in particular would end up with teams like SE and MNW. I think West Hancock would be more likely to end up in that region.

He also has G-R vs BCLUW and the winner gets SE. That'd be another tough opener for the Gaels at home. G-R is always a solid team, even though they're a bit down this year. They can certainly put points on the board.

6 of the 8 teams at state in 2A from a year ago are still in this class, though Linder has Western Christian and West Hancock paired up, and even if they don't, it wouldn't surprise me to see a few teams that made it to state last year end up in the same region this year.

So there will be at least 2 new faces down at Wells Fargo this year in 2A and maybe more!

 

[denverhawkfan]

Originally posted by DarkThunder#61:
As usual, there will be some pretty tough regions with a number of teams, certainly capable of making it to state, who will have to face each other beforehand.

The mock bracket has St. Eds in Region 5 with several familiar faces, but also North Butler, Gladbrook-Reinbeck and BCLUW.

I understand with the shortened regions, some teams will be relocated from their usual spots but I don't know if G-R and BCLUW in particular would end up with teams like SE and MNW. I think West Hancock would be more likely to end up in that region.

He also has G-R vs BCLUW and the winner gets SE. That'd be another tough opener for the Gaels at home. G-R is always a solid team, even though they're a bit down this year. They can certainly put points on the board.

6 of the 8 teams at state in 2A from a year ago are still in this class, though Linder has Western Christian and West Hancock paired up, and even if they don't, it wouldn't surprise me to see a few teams that made it to state last year end up in the same region this year.

So there will be at least 2 new faces down at Wells Fargo this year in 2A and maybe more!




G-R would definitely not qualify as a tough home opener so no worries there.

This post was edited on 1/13 8:50 AM by denverhawkfan

 

[VikeFan28]

2 A also gained North Mahaska and North Butler, both 1 A state qualifiers last year. How teams play between now and the 21st will be big... however you know they are already in the Waroom sketching out regions right now so games played last week and this week will be important...3 games to qualify instead of 4 is interesting...

 

[atomic87]

His brackets make a lot of sense in dispersing the top-ranked teams. Any idea of what time to expect the brackets to be released? Seems like they often wait til the end of the day before releasing them.

 

[Husker Dogg]

Yes they make sense. I believe we will get the brackets at the end of the day.

 

[WadeWubben]

When the last person is leaving the girls union today- just before they turn off the last light they will hit send and post them on the site....I would not expect them before 5:00- if then...I think they get a kick out of it down there making people wait. Are you telling me the brackets were not done earlier in the day? They could have put them out by noon.
Won't be long, though- we will see who is disappointed and who is throwing a party.

 

[JAD-Cat]

Brackets are up.

 

[pmknicks]

They wait to put up the brackets so coaches don't spend all day planning on getting film, rather than teaching, and so people have less time to call and whine. They might whine the next day, but at least they have time to figure out the union did a pretty good job. It's just tough to objectively look at your brackets and not think you got jobbed.

 

[Woobster]

Look like good brackets....I know we cannot complain at Manson- I like our chances in that region.

 

[R1224]

And the state once again has worked its gerrymander magic. Western Christians region goes from the corner east, Lawton's go south all the way to Council Bluffs, and IKM-M goes mostly south, but they somehow got Van Meter and Nodaway valley in that region.

Falcons would probably face MOC Floyd Valley in second round, in Orange City. Oh well, all good things must end. Although...

In 2004, Falcons were unrated, and had #2 Tri center in our region. #2 Tri Center with Wendy Ausdemore. Those were the days brackets were made at Christmas time, For some reason, after Xmas, Tri Center lost some games, and lost to Audobon in districts. Falcons then played Audobon for trip to state, and pulled it out in OT.

So, there is always a path. I thought East Sac might have the best chance to find a way through this year, We will see.

 

[Magic 10]

Manson has to love their draw. They have some tough match-ups, but nothing unwinnable. Herzeberg is the best player in the region and she will give them a great chance every night to win. Should be some fun to watch.

 

[Woobster]

You are exactly right Magic....I would think the MNW coaches are thrilled with their draw.

 

[Husker Dogg]

Well vikefan how do you like your brackets? I like our chances in our bracket. Hinton will be a great challenge for us I hope we are up for it. I believe the state has done a good job placing the top teams in their regions.

 

[GoHawks2009]

Originally posted by Woobster:

You are exactly right Magic....I would think the MNW coaches are thrilled with their draw.

Yep. They'll never admit this (and rather say it's a "tough game") but St. Edmonds can't beat MNW. Manson has dominated the series in recent years so there's no need for the Cougars to worry. Just gotta get past West Hancock.

 

[Woobster]

I think the fact that Kuemper, St. Ed's and Panorama are on the same side is a good thing. I know West Hancock has a good team, has had a ton of success in recent years, but I think someone hit it earlier- Herzberg is the best player in the region. If you are planning on turning MNW over with the prress I think you are fooling yourself...but we shall see.

You are right about St. Ed's though- just been tough for them in recent years against the cougars.

 

[Magic 10]

I agree Woobster. The question becomes how many lay-ups are you willing to give up to get a few turnovers. Staying in front of Herzberg is a tough task. Giving her the entire court to dribble around people makes it more challenging. She does not seem to wear down like a lot of guards. If you press the question then becomes can you outscore Manson knowing that you will be giving up some easy baskets. I know coaches who have been successful with that strategy. It will be curious to see what the game plans will be on the tournament trail.

 

[Husker Dogg]

Woobster I hope we both make it. I would love to sit and chat with you about all this talk we had over this past year. And especially since our freshmen played each other twice last year. We both talked about how good our freshmen could be and hopefully we will be right. Good luck to everyone and especially MNW. I had the privilege of coaching football against you guys in 2010 and 2011 and you have very classy programs. Good luck to you too Vikefan I'm sure we will see each other AGAIN before the postseason starts.

 

[WadeWubben]

Agreed Magic. I know some teams have had tough luck with injuries, etc. this year- I just hope from here on out everybody stays healthy...maybe the flu and stomach virus will decide to leave the state by the time tournaments roll around and we see some good basketball. Good luck to everybody.

Would love to sit and talk hoops with you Husker- I hope it happens.

 

[Magic 10]

If people are getting together to talk girl hoops in Iowa, I would love to have a seat at that table. Always love to learn new things.

 

[Husker Dogg]

Absolutely Magic. There will always be an open seat for you, and anyone else that wishes to join.

 

[WadeWubben]

Agreed- the more the merrier.

 

[DarkThunder#61]

Originally posted by denverhawkfan:

Originally posted by DarkThunder#61:
As usual, there will be some pretty tough regions with a number of teams, certainly capable of making it to state, who will have to face each other beforehand.

The mock bracket has St. Eds in Region 5 with several familiar faces, but also North Butler, Gladbrook-Reinbeck and BCLUW.

I understand with the shortened regions, some teams will be relocated from their usual spots but I don't know if G-R and BCLUW in particular would end up with teams like SE and MNW. I think West Hancock would be more likely to end up in that region.

He also has G-R vs BCLUW and the winner gets SE. That'd be another tough opener for the Gaels at home. G-R is always a solid team, even though they're a bit down this year. They can certainly put points on the board.

6 of the 8 teams at state in 2A from a year ago are still in this class, though Linder has Western Christian and West Hancock paired up, and even if they don't, it wouldn't surprise me to see a few teams that made it to state last year end up in the same region this year.

So there will be at least 2 new faces down at Wells Fargo this year in 2A and maybe more!




G-R would definitely not qualify as a tough home opener so no worries there.

This post was edited on 1/13 8:50 AM by denverhawkfan

Well that's alright. We got Carroll Kuemper instead.

Ftr, we play Kuemper this Saturday as well.

 

[VikeFan28]

Husker Dogg, I am fine with how the state split the brackets...I think they did a pretty good job. I'm fine with our region. If teams play the way they are capable I would predict Treynor and us in the regional final. The final will be in Denison. Hinton looks like a solid team, I haven't seen them play but by looking at stats and results they look decent.

Yep I would agree we hopefully meet up again for the Conference Tourney final. Will be good competition for both teams heading into playoffs!

 

[DarkThunder#61]

I think Region 2 will be a fairly competitive bracket. Panorama has been a decent program the last few years. They're probably happy they don't have to see IKM-Manning right away anymore, as the Wolves had ended their season the last 2 years, at least.

St. Eds gets another tough draw in the 2nd rd, most likely getting traditionally solid Kuemper (they open with PV). They may be down this year, but they still got enough girls with experience to give teams some fits in the postseason. Kuemper and SE meet each other on Saturday, so we'll see who learns more about the other for the next time around.

The Dist. final on our side is in Ogden so that's a good neutral location for the winners, then the winner goes to Rockwell City. MNW is familiar with that gym as they occasionally play there (and is also where they played the last time they made state, I think...?)

It should be a good region to watch as I think a number of teams probably feel they have a shot by taking a quick look at the brackets. MNW may feel they're the favorite and like I said, Panorama may be liking their chances because they don't have to go through IKM-Manning. Either way it's gonna be fun to see how it unfolds.

 

[Raider1983]

Region 2 looks very solid to me. I have only seem Kuemper in person this season. They are not the team they have been, but overlooking them would be a big mistake. Herzberg alone makes Manson-NW a team to be reckoned with. Panorama, I can tell you from experience, is a excellent team. Not very big, other than Godfrey (who is very good, by the way) but they know how to play the game, have a couple shooters, and are one of those teams that loves to play defense. Add St. Eds and West Hancock and you would have to say that the team that comes out of this region will have earned their trip to the Well, IMHO.