Regular season ends Friday
This week will see the end of the regular season for basketball players. The Blackhawks will be having two road games as the lead in to the district tournament.
The ‘Hawks played at Farmington last (boys and girls) with the respective squads heading off on the long trip to Ozark this coming Friday. The Blackhawks are coming off two wrenching close losses to Gravette and Berryville in the pursuit of higher seedings for the district tournament which begins next week at Gravette.
It looks like Shiloh will have the No. 1 seed with Gravette, Pea Ridge and Berryville fighting it out for the next three. The importance of gaining the top two seeds is that it guarantees advancement into the regional tournament (1 and 2 seeds are automatic district semifinalists) and most usually means that the two seeds will get a lesser opponent to earn a state tournament berth.
Of course, teams like last year’s Gravette girls team blew up the system as they took their No. 6 district seed well into the state tournament, so you never know. This year’s regional tournament will be held in Ozark with the top four teams from the 4A-1 and the top four from the 4A-4. The 4A-4 include the Clarksville Panthers which boasts the fabulous Lee family. With four Lee boys on the roster, the Panthers have been beating up on just about everybody south of a 7A status. Assuming they win their district tournament, they will take on our district’s fourth seed.
The district is like a kind of progressive tournament with your conference finish determining how many times you play. Third and fourth seeds draw a bye into the quarterfinals and first and second seeds draw a bye into the semifinals. Fifth and eighth seeds play to see who will play the No. 4 seed while sixth and seventh seeds play off for the right to face the No. 3 seed. Having a good conference record does prove to be advantageous oftentimes, but everyone does have a shot at going on.
Both the Pea Ridge girls and boys teams have proven that they can play with anyone when they play at their best. The boys have been in the top four all season and could credibly be a threat make the district finals. While the girls have three of the top teams in the state in the district, they have a legitimate shot to get to the semi-finals which would gain them a regional berth. The top team in the 4A-4 for the girls is Pottsville. While the Apaches are a good team, they would finish fourth in the 4A-1.
The regional will begin Wednesday Feb. 22nd in Ozark with the top district seeds playing the 4th seeds. The state tournament begins the following Wednesday in Pine Bluff at the Pine Bluff Convention Center. The facilities there are great and the Razorbacks have hosted major colleges such as North Carolina there in the past. great facilities isn’t everything but it is something.