Our weeklong preview of the state basketball round of sixteen continues today with Class 1A, where the King’s boys and girls are coming off a sweep of the state titles last spring. They’re one of six schools this year to advance both genders into the regional round, along with Cashmere, Kalama, Lynden Christian, Seattle Academy, and Zillah.
The 1A ranks also bring us some of the wonkiest matchups the WIAA can dish out, including a meeting between the boys teams who were ranked first and second in the most-recent AP poll and a matchup of two more top-five teams on the girls side. In both instances, it’s a case of one district being particularly stacked with high-quality teams, something the seeding process does not take into account. That leads to a team like the Lynden Christian boys — the defending runners-up and a team that spent most of the year ranked No. 1 — entering regionals as the No. 3 seed out of their district tournament, behind King’s and Seattle Academy. Which doesn’t make a lot of sense, but I digress. On the bright side of this whole hullabaloo, I suppose we can appreciate that there will be some seriously high-level games contested this weekend.
You can click here to check out Part I of our series, which covers Class 2B and Class 1B. We’ll cover the rest of the classifications in the coming days, so come check out the site later this week if that sort of thing tickles your fancy.
(Note: All rankings are from the Feb. 10 AP poll. All records are the best info I could find.)
CLASS 1A BOYS
Naches Valley (11-9) vs. No. 5 Freeman (19-3)
Time: Noon Saturday at University High School
The pick: Freeman, 62-39
The Scotties haven’t yet lost a game in 2016. The Rangers will try to slow this one down, but likely can’t score enough to keep up.
No. 1 Lynden Christian (22-2) vs. No. 2 Zillah (22-1)
Time: 2 p.m. Saturday at Eisenhower High School
The pick: Lynden Christian, 59-51
Oh, WIAA. Not again. The blame for this much-too-early matchup actually rests with Districts 1 and 2, which structure their bi-district tournament so that two teams from the same district can’t earn both the first and second seeds, meaning either LC or King’s will end up as a No. 3 or 4 seed. This year, the result is a bad break for the Leopards. Tough to overlook the fact that LC won by 22 when the two teams met in the state semifinals last year.
Seattle Academy (15-5) vs. Kalama (14-8)
Time: 4 p.m. Saturday at Rogers High School (Puyallup)
The pick: Seattle Academy, 55-54
If recent results are what matters most, this might go the other way: The Cardinals got their clocks cleaned by King’s in the bi-district title game, while Kalama pushed King’s Way Christian to the brink in their own district championship contest. Seattle Academy has some nice wins on its résumé, but either team could win this one.
No. 9 Hoquiam (19-4) vs. Seattle Christian (13-10)
Time: Noon Saturday at Renton High School
The pick: Seattle Christian, 51-43
The Warriors have been a roller coaster all year, but the latest trend is upward, with big wins over Vashon Island and Cascade Christian in the past week. They seem like a decent upset pick.
Connell (18-5) vs. Cashmere (17-5)
Time: 6 p.m. Saturday at Wenatchee High School
The pick: Cashmere, 48-44
Neither team plays the world’s toughest schedule, but both have largely taken care of business. We’ll pick the Bulldogs to win their eleventh straight in a slugfest.
No. 7 Vashon Island (17-5) vs. No. 3 King’s (20-3)
Time: Noon Saturday at Mountlake Terrace High School
The pick: King’s, 73-53
The Pirates are a state-caliber team that had the unfortunate luck of drawing the most talented opponent possible. The Knights are too big and too fast for Vashon to keep up with.
Medical Lake (18-7) vs. La Salle (17-6)
Time: 8 p.m. Friday at Eisenhower High School
The pick: La Salle, 54-50
Zillah beat La Salle in the district title game, but it’s the Lightning who drew a much easier path to Yakima. Medical Lake has some nice wins to its credit, but also a few confusing defeats.
Cascade Christian (11-9) vs. No. 4 King’s Way Christian (18-2)
Time: 2 p.m. Saturday at Battle Ground High School
The pick: KWC, 58-49
The Cougars are better than their record, but KWC senior Kienan Walter will be the best player on the floor. That should be enough to get the Knights back to state after a fourth-place finish last season.
AP top 10 teams already eliminated: No. 6 University Prep, No. 8 Mt. Baker, No. 10 Overlake
CLASS 1A GIRLS
Columbia (Burbank) (17-5) vs. Lakeside (9 Mile Falls) (19-3)
Time: 2 p.m. Saturday at University High School
The pick: Lakeside, 45-32
The Eagles were one of the darlings of the Class 1A state tournament last year, topping Lynden Christian and Zillah en route to a second-place finish. Their defense has been the key on a current 14-game winning streak.
T-No. 3 King’s (18-5) vs. No. 8 Bellevue Christian (20-2)
Time: 6 p.m. Friday at Bellevue College
The pick: King’s, 59-44
An unfortunate draw for Bellevue Christian, a team that had a real chance to improve on last year’s two-and-out finish at state. But King’s is too good. Expect a big postseason from senior guard Anna Parker, a sharpshooter who can also do serious damage in the post.
No. 10 Kalama (18-5) vs. Seattle Academy (18-3)
Time: 2 p.m. Saturday at Rogers High School (Puyallup)
The pick: Kalama, 60-50
The Cardinals’ record is impressive, but they haven’t played an overly demanding schedule, and the Chinooks are playing much better basketball as the season develops. This is a much more winnable matchup than Kalama has faced in recent years. The Chinooks should be able to control the paint against most teams, but the team’s guard play will determine how far it goes.
T-No. 3 Montesano (21-3) vs. No. 5 Granger (20-3)
Time: 4 p.m. Saturday at Eisenhower High School
The pick: Granger, 43-38
Another brutal pairing from the WIAA — although Montesano can’t complain too much, considering the Bulldogs only finished third in their district tournament. Jordan Spradlin will be the difference one way or another. If she goes off, Monte will win; if Granger can contain her, the Spartans will make the final eight.
Charles Wright Academy (15-8) vs. No. 1 Lynden Christian (21-2)
Time: 8 p.m. Friday at Mt. Vernon High School
The pick: Lynden Christian, 74-48
The Lyncs are the favorite to win state until someone knocks them off. Call me crazy, but I don’t think the Tarriers are the group to do it.
Nooksack Valley (18-9) vs. No. 7 La Center (21-2)
Time: 4 p.m. Saturday at Battle Ground High School
The pick: La Center, 62-46
When the Wildcats went to bed Saturday night, the WIAA site said they would play King’s in the regional round; when they woke up Sunday, their opponent had changed to the Pioneers. A fortuitous break for a team with a chance to make a real run.
Chewelah (14-10) vs. No. 6 Zillah (17-5)
Time: Noon Saturday at Eisenhower High School
The pick: Zillah, 53-27
The Cougars had lost seven of their previous ten games before winning two straight to sneak into regionals. Zillah, which knocked off No. 2 La Salle in the district semis, appears to be a cut above.
Coupeville (16-5) vs. Cashmere (14-7)
Time: 4 p.m. Saturday at Wenatchee High School
The pick: Cashmere, 58-41
Here’s one where the records don’t come close to telling the whole story. Cashmere has fared relatively well against a difficult slate while Coupeville has racked up the wins against much easier opponents. The Bulldogs should have little trouble.
AP top 10 teams already eliminated: No. 2 La Salle, No. 9 Elma