Greetings HS hoops junkies from across the chilly again Piedmont! The Great One is here to recap the 2nd round and give you the regional participants. The Sadster posted what was a disappointing 52-12 mark for him. He dropped 2 picks in OT (Tabor, Maiden) and lost another on 20 seed HP Central’s buzzer beater over 4 seed Robinson, bringing his total to 158-34, or almost 83%. His best category was the 2A as he went 15-1, sweeping the board with an 8-0 mark in the East. His worst category was the wild 3A as he went 11-5, 4-4 in the West. The 2nd round had its share of stunners and near misses, but The Sad One went a dismal 3-4 on his upset picks, missing by 3 points on 2 of them, both in OT. The old adage, “Beware of the directional schools,” also rings true as there is a host of them in the Sectional Finals. North Meck, S. Stokes, SW Onslow, Southern Wayne and Northeastern to name a few. The 2nd frame was also the round of the dreaded 5-12 matchups which didn’t disappoint. 12 seed winners were HUSS, LINCOLNTON, and WHITE OAK. 2 other 5 seeds survived by 2 points each in Independence and Northeastern. This round also revealed which teams are “wrecking machines”. Some teams rolling over the opposition by an average of 20 or more points are North Meck, 71ST, So. Durham, Reidsville, Salisbury, Farmville, Ea. Wayne, Shelby, S. Granville, SW Onslow, Bishop McGuiness, Corvian, Wash. Co., Lejeune, and Voyager. A couple of these teams meet in the Sectional Finals so we will see who are the contenders and who are the pretenders. We will now delve out some official Cinderella labels and see if they can keep dancing or will their carriages turn back into pumpkins at midnight. The Great One’s official current Cinderella list is as follows:
4A: #26 APEX FS
3A: #24 CENT. DAVIDSON
#20 HP CENTRAL
#15 OAK GROVE
2A: #15 BANDYS
1A: #22 E. WILKES
#14 BERTIE
We also saw 2 notable streaks come to a screeching halt as Bertie ended Lakewood’s 22-game win streak and Oak Grove spoiled E. Henderson’s undefeated season, on the road no less. In another note, kudos to Weddington as they managed to avoid a possible K.O.D. (Kiss of Death) in slipping past E. Forsyth. We will now move on to what The Ol’ Cubic Zirconia Ball (can’t afford crystal) has dished up for us and see who will advance to the regionals……TO THE PICKS!!!!
4A WEST: LAKE NORMAN, NORTH MECK, W. FORSYTH and Upset Special winner CHAMBERS
4A EAST: NEW HANOVER, GREEN LEVEL, SANDERSON, GARNER
3A WEST: ASHBROOK, HUSS, CREST, and Upset Special winner BEN SMITH
3A EAST: SWANSBORO, PERSON CO., SOUTHERN DURHAM, and Upset Special winner 71ST
2A WEST: REIDSVILLE, SALISBURY, N. SURRY, and Upset Special winner BANDYS
2A EAST: FARMVILLE, W. BLADEN, NORTHWOOD, SW ONSLOW
1A WEST: BISHOP MCGUINESS, CORVIAN, QUEENS GRANT, S. STOKES
1A EAST: WASH. CO., VOYAGER, S. WAKE and Upset Special winner BERTIE
There you have it folks! A few of these games could easily go the other way so get out and support these young athletes as they pursue their dreams. The Sadster will return Friday to review the Sectional Finals and reveal who will advance to their respective Final Fours. Stay tuned!!!!
SAD SAM – HS HOOPS GENIUS