SMOOTH SAILING

Finally!! A Week without travel issues. And travel I did at the end of the week. With the peculiar Mahtomedi January schedule with only one Friday game scheduled I was able to zip (if zip is the right word) off to Detroit Lakes three hours away to chart a battle of two top 10 teams, two teams that went to state in 2022 and hope to again in 2023. That was followed quickly on another journey to the southeast corner of the state on Saturday for six games at Kasson. I realize the Hall of Fame action was taking place at Anoka-Ramsey, but I have charted all those teams at least once. True I had charted some of the KM action previously—four times so far for Stewartville—but I lacked eight, so KM it was. I narrowed the gap on the week in the South Suburban with four charted—-one more to go. There is also just one more to go in sections 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7 AAAA. I was able to complete the Suburban East with Park-Cottage Grove.

SUBURBAN EAST

The Suburban East is now complete joining the Lake and Lake Superior in all charted. The Suburban East, or SEC, is one of the big four AAAA conferences. Last year this conference provided two semifinalists in the AAAA state, both teams which were upset winners of their sections (White Bear Lake as a 3 in section 4, Roseville in 5). Will this conference produce such a high finish again? Probably not with the under card (non #1s) again. East Ridge is currently the highest ranked team in the conference at #5. The race for the section 4 title will be between the Raptors, Stillwater and WBL. Roseville will not be able to sneak up on Maple Grove like last year. The Crimson won’t want to be crimson faced again. The SEC could potentially send four teams to state but the chances that Forest Lake and Park-Cottage Grove coming out of 7 and 3 are remote.

On the whole the SEC is only 4-7 in the games I have charted. Not counting conference games that puts the SEC at 2-5. Granted two of those losses were to Lake Conference top 10 teams. As a group the SEC is at 78.5 pp100 on offense with Roseville’s 103 against Totino-Grace during the St. Thomas Academy Thanksgiving event the best. Irondale brings up the rear with two games charted at 47. East Ridge is in the top 10 thanks to their competitive effort against Eden Prairie at the Hopkins Breakdown event where they had a 98 pp100 in the loss. Six players have joined the 31 Club with Drew Johnston of Roseville the best at 38.

TEAM REVIEW

We dropped four points on average this week to 79.8 pp100. Winners were better than last week by five to 97.9 while losers had a steep drop of 13 to 61.8. That made the gap an ugly 36.1. Most of the blame on that hideous score was the 17.3 that Apple Valley put up against Shakopee on Thursday. That furthermore dragged down the entire AAAA average to 68.7, the bottom of the barrel for any of the four classes. Take AV out of the equation and the pp100 bounces to 79 for the large schools. Usually AAAA is the top of the line.The best pp100 mark belonged to AA with 85.6 followed closely by AAA at 84.9. AAA had three centurions, the best showing of any class. Class A had a 76.9. The best pp100 was Mahtomedi at 111.9 in their win over South St. Paul on Tuesday. Shakopee would easily have bested that if they used their starters in the second half against Apple Valley on Thursday. The Sabers were just 0.4 behind the Zephyrs. Starters alone Shakopee was at an elevated 162. In measuring out the “best” game of the week pp100-style, that honor goes to New Ulm vs Plainview-Elgin-Millville with PEM’s pp100 87.2. That would have bested one winner during the week. NRHEG had the most prolific 3s during the week with eleven in the loss to Dover-Eyota. With the three now a huge part of the offensive systems of many teams (thanks Golden State Warriors) I expect more than one per team. But five teams either had one or none in their games.

WEEK AHEAD

I expect to bump off several more this week. One day will be dry—Monday. I have charted all the teams at the St. Catherine event. Saturday will be another journey to the southeast side of the state for more AA action in the Hiawatha Valley v Three Rivers battles in Rochester. Tantalizingly close, but the format is two sites (arena & auditorium) with boys games in the mix. This throws off my viewing patterns.

31 CLUB

There were a dozen 31 Clubbers added this week, all in the last two days of the week. More specifically, eleven on Saturday. Five of those made it up another flight to the 41 Club. Top honors for the week go to 6-0 Dover-Eyota sophomore Miranda Palmby with 45. Nipping at her heals with a 44 was freshman guard Madalyn Blaylark of DeLaSalle with 44. Blaylark was scorching the 3s at 7/8. Hayfield, New Ulm & Stewartville all had two members. Haylie Strum of Stewartville has now made the 31 Club three times this year; Keeley Steele has done so twice as has Kristen Watson of Hayfield. Nine of those dozen performers were also Centurions. The top of the line with a 190 pp100 was Strum. Blaylark followed with a 176.6. Both were higher than the top of the line last week of 138 pp100.

UNBEATEN

Bam! Down to a final five. Six fell by the wayside over the last week. Braham, Breckenridge, Goodridge-Grygla, Kelliher-Northome, Mayer Lutheran all tasted defeat for the first time this year in A. Nevis slayed two of those victims with one point wins against Braham and KN. St. Michael-Albertville stumbled against Wayzata in the colossal Lake Conference match up. But then again aren’t most match ups in the Lake Conference colossal?

Who is next? BGMR took down GG last week. On Tuesday they have Fosston in their crosshairs in another 8A battle. BLHS better stay awake against Sleepy Eye. Jordan travels to Delano on Friday. And then there is epic. Hopkins faces section rival Wayzata on Tuesday and former coach Cosgriff and the Minnetonka Skippers on Friday. Epic X2.

AAAA 1: Hopkins
AAA 1: Jordan
AA 1: New London-Spicer
A 2: Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart, Fosston

STREAKING

All classes are now in double digits. New London-Spicer has company in the lead at AA with Holdingford and Spectrum joining the party. Spectrum is a charter school near Elk River for those that are unaware. Henning is no longer sharing top honors in A with Breckenridge as the Cowgirls lost to the Ps last week (Perham & Pelican Rapids).

AAAA: 26 Hopkins (14 ’22 + 12 ’23)
AAA: 13 Grand Rapids
AA: 10 Holdingford, New London-Spicer, Spectrum
A: 12 Henning

SEARCH FOR 100

There were quite a few whacked off this week putting us in the 80% neighborhood out to the top 75. Another big haul on Saturday with eight new teams. Six more weeks will crunch more numbers—-provided the weather co-operates.

Two more markers now added—200 & 225.

Looking at the top 10s I am at 90% in AAAA & AAA; 70% in AA; 40% in A

Looking at the “seeding the state” I am at 100% in AAAA & AAA; 75% in AA; 37.5% in A.

There are 24 more teams to go in the 100 at six regular season weeks, eight including state meaning I need to check off four teams per week to squeeze in. Barring any unforeseen catastrophe I might make it.  The current biggest fish remaining is still Lakeville South, this time at #13.

Measure/In/%/Improvement
1-10/10/100%/+10
1-25/23/92%/+4
1-50/44/88%/+8
1-75/61/81.3%/+6.6
1-100/76/76%/+11
1-125/86/68.6/+11
1-150/90/60/+8
1-175/98/56.0/+7
1-200/104/52.0/first
1-225/107/47.6/first

SEEDING THE STATE

Movement and add ons. Mountain Iron-Buhl moves into the top slot in A. FYI the most wicked sections in each class AAAA: 2 (obviously/historically); AAA: 1 (balanced-any one of five could go); AA: 4 (privates rule—but only one can go); A: 2North—-three of the top five teams in the QRF live there. Brutality—the deadliest section in the state, any class. A state-worthy semifinal, in the subsection semifinal.

AAAA

1. Hopkins (6)
2. Chaska (2)
3. Michael-Albertville (8)
4. East Ridge (4)
5. Maple Grove (5)
6. Rosemount (3)
7. Lakeville North (1)
8. Anoka (7)

AAA

1. Benilde-St. Margaret’s (6)
2. Becker (5)
3. Jordan (2)
4. Grand Rapids (7)
5. Stewartville (1)
6. Detroit Lakes (8)
7. DeLaSalle (3)
8. Mahtomedi (4)

AA

1. Providence (5)
2. Albany (6)
3. New London-Spicer (3)
4. Goodhue (1)
5. Minnehaha (4)
6. Pequot Lakes (7)
7. Perham (8)
8. Southwest Christian (2)

A

1. Mountain Iron-Buhl (7)
2. Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart (2)
3. Hancock (6)
4. Fosston (8)
5. Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa (5)
6. Hayfield (1)
7. Southwest MN Christian (3)
8. New Life (4)