Southern teams earn top state seedings

There is an abundance of Southern comfort, not to mention familiarity, at the top of the Class 6A boys and girls state basketball brackets.

Local rivals Oñate and Las Cruces were awarded the top two boys seeds Sunday, while neighbors Hobbs and Carlsbad are 1-2 in the girls division.

Some thoughts on Selection Sunday:

Boys

Oñate’s Knights are seeded No. 1 for the second straight year, and deservedly so. They will open against a tremendously dangerous No. 16 in Sandia, the fifth-place team from District 2-6A.

But 6A’s hottest team is defending champion Rio Rancho, winners of seven in a row and seeded fifth — putting the Rams in the same half of the draw as Oñate. And Eldorado, for that matter. The Eagles, at No. 4, and Rio Rancho are seeded to meet in the quarterfinals.

Rio Rancho opens against No. 12 Volcano Vista, which limps into state having lost six out of seven.

No. 2 Las Cruces has won six straight — two of them head-to-head against the Knights.

Other metro-area schools also earning first-round home games are No. 3 Cleveland, No. 6 Cibola and No. 8 Atrisco Heritage.

Here is one of the vagaries of seeding the state tournament: regular-season district standings largely dictate playoff seeds, but that doesn’t necessarily ensure the most

favorable matchup.

Take Valley, the No. 10 seed. The Vikings will travel 300 miles and open at Ralph Tasker Arena against No. 7 Hobbs. But No. 11 Albuquerque High, which finished behind the Vikings in District 4-6A, only has to go about a dozen miles to face Cibola.

Carlsbad, last year’s runner-up, visits Atrisco in the 9-8 matchup.

In 5A, Roswell, Capital, Farmington and defending champion Española Valley claimed the top seeds. Belen, the District 5-5A regular-season champ, is fifth, followed by 5-5A tournament champion Los Lunas.

Despite that lastsecond loss to Portales on Saturday, Hope Christian is the No. 1 seed in 4A. Bernalillo has the 8 seed and will be home to Socorro.

The remaining No. 1 seeds are 25-1 Pecos (3A), Magdalena (27-0 from 2A and the state’s only undefeated team) and Quemado (1A). Perennial power Cliff barely squeezed into the 2A field, at No. 16, and will visit the Steers in the first round. Menaul is No. 6 in the 2A field.

Girls

Hobbs coach Joe Carpenter has a rare opportunity: to win state in one classification last year (Roswell) and then another blue trophy in another city and in another class the following year.

The Eagles, with three wins against Carlsbad in the last 10 days, are possibly on track to face Carlsbad again on March 11.

West Mesa, the 3 seed, takes a 22-game winning streak into the playoffs and will start against No. 14 Oñate. Las Cruces is No. 4.

Seeds 5-8 are from the metro area: La Cueva, Eldorado, Sandia and Rio Rancho. Defending champ Volcano Vista is at No. 9 and opens against the Rams. The teams tied for the 1-6A regular-season title.

Albuquerque Academy has enjoyed a terrific season and was seeded No. 4 in the 5A bracket. The Chargers are behind Roswell, Los Lunas and Española Valley.

Hope, seeking a third straight title in 4A, leads the field in that division. Both Moriarty and Sandia Prep also will have home games Friday.

Elida (1A), Tatum (2A) and Eunice (3A) have No. 1 seeds. Elida has been a state champion every year since 2011.