State tournament brackets released for boys and girls basketball
Eaglecrest will have a chance to send coach John Olander out in style. The Raptors are the No. 1 overall seed in the Class 5A boys basketball tournament.
Olander announced this weekend that this will be his last season as coach, and in that last effort, he will look to get his its first state title since 2013.
ThunderRidge comes in at No. 2, George Washington is No. 3 and Grandview takes No. 4.
The Centennial League overall is looking good with five teams receiving first round byes. Defending champion Overland, Smoky Hill, Cherry Creek and Grandview will await winners of first-round games.
The Continental League was almost as impressive as Rock Canyon, ThunderRidge, Chaparral and Mountain Vista also received byes.
Chatfield and Lakewood were among the Jeffco League teams who won’t play in the first round with Doherty and Rampart in the same spot for the Colorado Springs Metro League.
The 4A boys bracket was also released on Sunday. Valor Christian comes in as the top overall seed, looking to claim the state title that eluded them last year at the hands of Pueblo West.
The defending champion comes in as the No. 7 seed and not even the highest ranked team out of Pueblo. Pueblo South looks to make a championship run of its own, entering the tournament as the No. 2 seed.
D’Evelyn enters the tournament at No. 3 and at Durango rounds out the top overall seeds at No. 4.
The Jeffco League got the most teams into the second round as Valor Christian, D’Evelyn, Golden and Evergreen will all have Wednesday off.
The Tri-Valley, Northern, South Central, Colorado Springs Metro and Pikes Peak leagues have two teams with byes entering the tournament.
First round games in 4A and 5A will be played on Wednesday with second round games scheduled for Saturday.
The 5A girls bracket features Highlands Ranch and Grandview as the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds respectively.
Horizon comes in at No. 3 with Ralston Valley at No. 4.
Defending champion ThunderRidge is the No. 32 seed and plays Overland on Tuesday night.
The Front Range, Centennial, Jeffco and Continental leagues each had three teams receive first-round byes. Those teams will not be in action until Friday.
The CSML got two teams with first-round byes as Doherty and Pine Creek are already slated play next weekend.
Denver East is the only Denver Prep team already in the second round and Fruita Monument is in the same situation for the Southwestern League.
Southern Colorado is looking strong in the 4A girls tournament as Pueblo West is the No. 1 seed with Pueblo South sitting at No. 2.
Evergreen takes No. 3 and Air Academy is No. 4.
The Jeffco League, however, does have the most teams already into the second round with four of them slated for action on Friday. That includes defending champion Valor Christian who is the No. 6 seed.
Along with West and South, Pueblo East also has a bye, giving the South Central League three teams with first-round byes.
The Western Slope and Pikes Peak leagues have two teams in the second round.
George Washington is the only DPL team with a bye and Durango is the only Southwestern League team in the second round. Mesa Ridge is the only Colorado Springs Metro League team with a bye.
First round games for the girls will be played on Tuesday with second round games scheduled for Friday.
