Northfield Second, Lakeville North Fourth Seed at State

The Northfield Raiders received the number two seed in the Class AAA MSHSL Girls State high School Basketball Tournament.  The Lakeville North Panthers are the #4 Class  AAAA seed.  The Raiders open against fellow Big Nine Conference member Mankato West at Williams Arena Wednesday afternoon at 2:00 p.m.

Roy Koenig will have the call on POWER 96 Radio, 95.9 FM and the game can also be heard worldwide at www.power96radio.com or by tapping the FREE power 96 faribault app available in whatever store you get your apps.  Northfield was ranked #4 in the final Minnesota Basketball News girls high school basketball rankings and Mankato West was rated #15.

All of the teams involved in the Class AAA State Tournament were in the final rankings.#1 Robbinsdale Cooper received the top seed and will play #9 Alexandria Area in the quarterfinal opener at 1:00 a.m. Wednesday.  All the quarterfinal round Class AAA games are Wednesday at Williams Arena on the University of Minnesota campus.

#2 rated Academy of Holy Angels is the #3 seed and opens with #7 ranked Grand Rapids at 4:00 p.m..  #4 seed and #5 rated DeLaSalle goes up against #5 seed and #6 ranked Willmar at Noon.

In Class AAAA Lakeville North received the #4 seed and was ranked #4 in the final Minnesota Basketball News ratings.  The Panthers open at Noon on Wednesday at the Target Center against #5 seed and #7 ranked Maple Grove. I will have the call on that contest on KDHL Radio, 920AM or www.kdhlradio.com.  If you download the FREE kdhl radio app on your favorite mobile device all you have to do is tap the app to listen.

#3 rated Centennial didn't make the tournament.  #10 ranked Cretin-Derham Hall received the #3 seed by fellow coaches in the tournament who seed the top five and then the remaining teams are drawn to determine the match-ups for the top three seeds.

Northfield Head Coach Tony Mathison told me it was harder to seed the top five then just determining all the seeds because you have to decide who to leave out of the top five.  All the quarterfinal round Class AAAA games are at the Target Center in downtown Minneapolis on Wednesday.

The Raiders will open with Roseville Area at 4:00 p.m.  #1 seed Eastview is unbeaten and also the #1 rated team in Class AAAA.  They play fellow South Suburban Conference member and unranked Prior Lake at 10:00 a.m.

#2 seed and #2 rated Hopkins tangles with unranked Forest Lake at 2:00 p.m.

In Class AA top ranked and top seed unbeaten Sauk Centre will face #15 rated Byron at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday evening at the Target Center.  That ranking is a bit misleading because the Section One Champion Bears have Division One Kansas State recruit 6'5 Ayoka Lee on their team.  Byron has 10 losses but Lee missed 9 games and halves of two other contests with ankle issues.

The senior is averaging about 28 points, 17 rebounds and 4 blocks a game this season.

#2 seed and #2 ranked Maranatha Christian Academy opens with unrated Mesabi East at 6:00 p.m. Wednesday in Williams Arena.

The 8:00 p.m. Williams Arena game is #3 seed and #3 ranked Roseau facing #18 rated Tracy-Milroy/Balaton.  The Rams have five losses and the Panthers just two.

The late Target Center game is #4 seed and #4 ranked Minnehaha Academy and #5 seed and #6 rated Norwood-Young America going toe to toe.

In Class A all the teams were in the final Minnesota Basketball News rankings.

The top seed and #1 rated Lyle/Pacelli Athletics survived the toughest section in the state and still have not lost to a Minnesota teams this season.  The Athletics will open with #19 rated Heritage Christian Academy at 11:00 a.m. Thursday at Williams Arena.

All quarterfinal round Class A games are Thursday at Williams Arena.  #2 seed and #2 ranked Mountain Iron-Buhl opens with #10 rated Stephen-Argyle at 3:00 p.m..  #3 seed and #6 ranked Ada-Borup goes up against #17 rated Sleepy Eye Public at 5:00 p.m.

The #4 seed and #7 rated Minneota Vikings open with #5 seed and #5 rated unbeaten Menahga.

Consolation round games are at Concordia University in St. Paul.