With girls basketball wrapping up their district tournaments and preparing for the State Tournament on Feb 14-16, it signals the closing of the boys basketball regular season. And the official start to the total madness of playoff basketball!
But, there are still a LOT of district tournament seeding issues to be sorted out in East Idaho. Here are some key games that will have a large impact on certain teams for the remainder of the season.
5A High Country Conference - Highland at Madison - Wednesday Feb. 6
These long-time, inter-district rivals square off in a big game for both sides. While Highland has already wrapped up the No. 1 seed for the District Tournament, the Rams would love nothing more than to stuff Madison in their home gym and keep their Idaho winning streak alive at 14 games (their three losses this season have come against Utah teams).
Madison, meanwhile, is in a position they haven't been at in awhile: the middle of the pack. The Bobcats have went to two straight state title games, winning one championship (both appearances coming at the 4A classification). The team lost leading scorer Logan Lee for the season as a result of a nagging shoulder injury. But if there is a team to never count out, it's the Bobcats, especially with coach Bill Hawkins at the helm. A win against the Rams could just be the juice Madison has been needing as they head into tournament time.
Madison can either hold their current positioning or possibly drop down to fourth in the conference, depending upon the outcome of their next two games (vs. Highland and at Idaho Falls). In the 5A High Country Conference, that means the difference of having a raucous home crowd behind you or hopping on the bus for a road playoff game. I'm sure Madison would prefer having their "Maniacs" out in full force at the Bobcat Den.
4A High Country Conference - Rigby at Bonneville - Friday Jan. 8
Earlier in the season, I talked about the first matchup between these two teams and how that particular game would be a measuring stick for both teams and possible preview of things to come.
Fast forward to right now. Bonneville is the No. 2 ranked team in the State with Rigby receiving votes to be in the Top 5. Rigby, however, is the No. 1 team in the conference with a record of 9-0, while Bonneville trails closely behind with a 7-2 record. For the conference this season, these two teams seem to be the clear-cut favorites to advance to the Real Dairy Shootout.
No matter what happens on Friday night at Bonneville, the Trojans will hold the top seed going into the District Tournament. But the Bees have an opportunity to exact some revenge for their previous loss to Rigby and to gain moremomentum - momentum which they could use in a possible grudge-match with Rigby late in the District Tournament should the two schools cross paths.
Bonneville's only two losses all season long have come in conference play (by two points to Century and by 18 points to Rigby). If there is a time to make a statement, Friday night is the prime time to do it.
3A Mountain Rivers Conference - Shelley at Sugar-Salem - Friday Jan. 8
It's Round 2 of the top 3A teams in the State battling it out for conference supremacy. And if Round 2 is even close to the same as Round 1 was, we are in for one heck-of-a game.
Last time around at the Cellar in Shelley, Clyde Nelson's Diggers thoroughly dominated the Russets through three quarters of play. Shelley was shooting the ball poorly and Sugar-Salem was using their height to a significant advantage. It all seemed like the Diggers were well on their way to another victory.
Enter McKay Cannon.
Cannon torched the Diggers for 16 points in the fourth quarter, including nailing five 3-pointers, to give the Russets the 48-47 win. It was a wild finish to a game that had otherwise been an uninspired performance by Shelley.
You've got to believe that the last matchup between these two left a sour taste in the Diggers mouths. With the next game being at Sugar-Salem, expect the Diggers to be fired up in front of the home crowd and ready to avenge their earlier loss.
The great part about this rivalry? We will most likely get to see it at least once more this season during the District Tournament.
2A Nuclear Conference - North Fremont at Firth - Friday Feb. 8
The Nuke is one unbelievably close conference race this season (as it always seems to be). North Fremont is in the driver's seat as of right now, leading the conference by virtue of their win against Firth earlier this season. A Post Register article stated that it was North Fremont's first win against Firth since 2001 and it's first win against the Cougars in Ashton since 1992.
North Fremont, however, has a Wednesday matchup against Salmon before travelling to Firth. That game could be very taxing on the Huskies, as Salmon is a very good team that also has hopes of a long tournament run.
Firth would love to rain on North Fremont's parade. The Cougars are VERY difficult to beat in their home gym and could very well grab the top seed in the conference if the scenarios work in their favor. Firth has also not forgotten about that loss in Ashton just a few weeks ago. With Salmon knocking on the door and North Fremont threatening to slam that door shut, the Cougars have all the motivation in the world to prove to everyone that they still own the Nuclear conference and plan on doing so for a while.
That dominance, however, may be precluded by the outcomes of Wednesday's matchups. The mind-twisting district tournament seeding possibilities that the teams in the conference will encounter this week is why the Nuke is just so much fun!
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