MN GBB: Seeding the State #6 2021

This is an exercise in what if….

But this is a moot point. The virus has upended much of life. This includes the upcoming state tournament. One of the casualties is the seeding.

There will be NO seeding this year. The matchups will be predetermined. The south sections 1-4 will be facing each other. In other words 1 v 4, 2 v 3 or 1 v 3, 2 v 4 or 1 v 2, 3 v 4. Same idea on the north end. The pairings have yet to be announced. This is, in effect, a “back to the future moment.” When the state went to four classes in 1997 the state quarters were held at neutral sites throughout the state. That is what will happen in virus era 2021. The predetermined quarters may not lead to a north v south final, but it could happen. What seeds happen in one class will happen in the others. (at least that was the former method).

The last unseeded state tournament for all four classes was held in 2006. By that time there was cross over for north/south sections. For example 8 played 3 in all four classes. But in 2006 all quarters were at one site.

The last time there was remote state quarters was 2003. Not many people loved the remote quarter format. It returns in virus 2021. There was cross pollination with respect to the north/south issue in the semis. The quarters then were 1 v 2, 5 v 6 in one half; 3 v 4, 7 v 8 in the other half. That was the case in all four classes. If that were the case in 2021 in AAAA you would see  (if current projections hold) Farmington v Chaska in one quarter; Centennial v Hopkins in the second. In the other half of the bracket it would be Rosemount v Stillwater; Forest Lake v Elk River. The same would hold true in the rest of the sections. Obviously not the ideal situations. Three of the top four “seeds” as I see them now in AAAA would be in one half of the bracket. Same with AAA and A. AA would be split with two in each half.

So the below is a fantasy of what might have been.

AAAA

1 Hopkins (6)

2 Farmington (1)

3 Chaska (2)

4 Stillwater (4)

5 Elk River (8)

6 Rosemount (3)

7 Centennial (5)

8 Forest Lake (7)

AAA

1 Becker (5)

2 Hill-Murray (4)

3 Holy Angels (6)

4 Waconia (2)

5 St. Paul Como Park (3)

6 Alexandria (8)

7 Austin (1)

8 Grand Rapids (7)

AA

1 New London-Spicer (3)

2 Providence (5)

3 Minnehaha (4)

4 Albany (6)

5 Stewartville (1)

6 Duluth Marshall (7)

7 Fergus Falls (8)

8 Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial (2)

A

1 Minneota (3)

2 Henning (6)

3 Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s (2)

4 Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa (5)

5 Mountain Iron-Buhl (7)

6 Mayer Lutheran (4)

7 Blooming Prairie (1)

8 Fosston (8)

UNDEFEATED

AAAA: 6 (Chaska, Farmington, Hopkins, Rochester Mayo, Stillwater, Elk River)

AAA: 4 (Becker, Marshall, St. Paul Como Park, Waconia)

AA: 5 (Albany, New London-Spicer, Providence, Sauk Centre, Stewartville)

A: 5 (Fosston, Hancock, Houston, Minneota, Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s)

D2C

 

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