North Dakota Preps

State 'A' Tournament: Fargodome

Thursday (3/10) Opening Games

Mandan vs. Shanley 2:00 PM

Century vs. West Fargo 4:00 PM

Bismarck vs. Fargo South 6:00 PM

Minot vs. Fargo North 8:00 PM

I'll take Shanley. Century. Bismarck. North.

here is my predictions

shanley- mandan shanley is the best chance for the east to get a win, unless coyle has agame like he did against jamestown then mandan has a chance if he does mandan will win in a close one.

century- west fargo i'll go with century, they have just enough offense with ledger and fraase on the outside and wentz and rivinius on the inside, plus they play pretty good defense, don't know how west fargo will be able toscore enough to keep up.century wins between 12-to 15 pts.

bismarck- fargo south bismarck could win this big, werner best center in the state will have his usual 20 pts
12 rbs. liggins can shut down pretty much anybody in the state on defense, i hear south has some pretty good athletes but i think liggins can match up pretty good with anyone. fitterer and schirado are a key if they can hit some from the outside, i see bismarck by about 15 to 20.

minot- f argo north i'll take minot in a close.

South Bis game will be very fun to watch with all the athletes on the floor.

Can't wait until Thur to see some more basketball...

Mandan vs. Shanley

This could be a very tight game. Shanley has more true basketball players on their team and Rodenbiker has always played well against Mandan. I think Mandan will approach Jacobson with a physical defender and have a good chance to contain him. I expect Shanley tries to get the ball out of Coyle's hands at make the rest of the team beat them.

Century vs. West Fargo

I think Century wins this game simply because of their size. Usually Limke has a coaching edge and does some amazing things defensively, but I see Century's size overwhelming West Fargo.

Bismarck vs. Fargo South

I see this being probably the tightest game of the first round. Werner struggled some against Jamestown's Willer. I wonder how athletes like Okland and Deng will do against him. I am also interested to see what Liggins is like when he goes up against a very athletic team. In the WDA, he is so much more athletic than anyone that he can do whatever he wants. South may be able to counter this. Bismarck's biggest advantage in this game is Steve Miller. That said, I think Schirado and Fitterer are the key to Bismarck's success.

Minot vs. Fargo North

This game could literally be a blowout in either direction. There is no team that is quite like Minot. Minot's biggest weapon is that they are incredibly solid all the way around. A legit starting 5 and their underclassmen bench players will be college material at some point. On the other hand, Schultz should be far and away the best player in the game, and this will cause an interesting match up. Bergeron and Syverson need to play well for North to win.

roundem6 wrote:State 'A' Tournament: Fargodome

Thursday (3/10) Opening Games

Mandan vs. Shanley 2:00 PM

Century vs. West Fargo 4:00 PM

Bismarck vs. Fargo South 6:00 PM

Minot vs. Fargo North 8:00 PM

I'll take Shanley. Century. Bismarck. North.

I agree. Then Shanley and Bismarck for the championship.

Good assessment Balla. I agree Minot North could go either way. I do think Bismarck will beat South, but this game should be interesting. At state last year, Werner got in foul trouble against Okland, and this summer Werner did not play well against South. I don't think Werner sees the speed he will see in Okland and Deng in the WDA. This game will come down to role players and how Liggins and Kazane play. South needs to be able to hit threes to spread out the floor or they won't be able to score. Parker will need to be on for South to stay in the game.

Shanley is looking tough right now and has the best basketball talent. That should be enough to beat Mandan. West Fargo may be well coached, but they don't have the talent and depth to play with Century.

Minot-North will be a close game, I think. They went to OT first game of the year. Granted both teams have likely changed a lot 20 games ago. North's only hope at a championship is South beating Bismarck.

roundem6 wrote:Minot-North will be a close game, I think. They went to OT first game of the year. Granted both teams have likely changed a lot 20 games ago. North's only hope at a championship is South beating Bismarck.

Your right, North won 71-70. I'm looking for some very good games this weekend. Best wishes to all teams but I've got to go with my boys from Minot

Overall, I seee Shanley, Century, Bismarck and Minot/FN (is a toss up) going to the semis. The semi's are gonna be some knock down drag out fights for the title

Should be a fun weekend of basketball.

Do the West teams just run man defense?
And what kind of team is Minot? I'm not too familiar with the WDA.

roundem6 wrote:Should be a fun weekend of basketball.

Do the West teams just run man defense?
And what kind of team is Minot? I'm not too familiar with the WDA.

Most teams run man to man, not much zone

Minot is a very pesty team, they play alot of man with good help. They use their bench. You can't focus on one player because the bench in several games have been the high scorer. They have alot of players who can score if left alone.

Both Bismarck teams play a lot of man. Both pressure man and sagging man. Minot plays a variety of defenses, depending on the opposition, as does Mandan.

Minot is a team with 7 legitimate players that get most of the playing time. Attacking the rim and getting on the glass are their strengths. Crosby and Adams are very good inside. Obviously Steinwand can do a lot of things with the ball and he has very good vision. Magnuson and Elgie can hit the 3, and I have seen Elgie hit the offensive glass pretty hard. Off the bench, Frank and Gerding are very good sophomores. Both are looking at an all conference spot next season. They can hit the 3 and play with a high level of intelligence.

Sounds like a good matchup then..Shultis goes 7-8 deep on the bench as well. North has been using a sagging zone a lot, kind of backfired against Shanley though.

Sorry if this has already been discussed but I did not see a thread anywhere. Does anyone know how they televise the State tournament with both guys/girls going on at the same time? Surely they don't relevise one, and not the other?

They only televise on Friday and Saturday, so just the "championship" rounds.

Balla45. I am not as high on Minot as you. As far as the tournament goes I would say it is WIDE open as there is not a clear favorite like Mandan in 2009 or Mandan/BHS in 2010. Bhs and Chs defend so well I can see them in the title game. They are both very beatable however. I would say BHS is very vulnerable to a full court press with no point guard. I don't know much about the east but don't envy Shanley drawing Mandan in the first round

I could see three east teams advancing in the first round with north and shanley, and then if south can disrupt the inside play of bismarck I think they win this game

Mandan just dominated Shanley..Coyle with 26. Looked like it was going to be a tight one, I think a four point game at half but Mandan pulled away 67-49.

So Far today:
Mandan 67 Fargo Shanley 49
Century 53 West Fargo 51 (buzzer beater for Ledger)
Bismarck 52 Fargo South 40
Fargo North vs. Minot - coming soon!

north beat minot 56-43, was never a close game, north shot lights out first half

Century-WF
Very exciting game; Ledger went coast to coast with a reverse layup for the win.
Bismarck-South
South was up 16-13 at half then Bismarck exploded in the 2nd half for the win; Also, Werner was injured but returned late in the 2nd half.
North-Minot
North shot lights out in the first half, Minot could not hit the broad side of a barn.

Semis
Century-Mandan... Don't know much about the teams but I'd say Mandan has the edge with the big 1st rd win
North-Bismarck... Last year Bismarck absolutely dominated North in the semis; not sure North has an answer for Dexter; but who thought Mandan would handle Shanley?

Consolation Semifinal Games
Fargo Shanley vs. West Fargo
Fargo South vs. Minot

Championship Semifinal Games
Mandan vs. Century
Fargo North vs. Bismarck

My Predictions
Consolation Semifinal Games
Fargo Shanley vs. West Fargo
Fargo South vs. Minot

Championship Semifinal Games
Mandan vs. Century
Fargo North vs. Bismarck

I second those predictions.

Championship Semifinals-
Century vs Mandan
North vs Bismarck

Consolation Semifinals-
West Fargo vs Shanley
South vs Minot