2019 Class AAAA State Boys Basketball Tournament Preview

              2019 CLASS AAAA STATE BOYS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE  
                              (Games played Wednesday, March 20 at Target Center, Minneapolis)
10:00:  Maple Grove vs. Park Center (Seed 1)
12:00:  Lakeville North (Seed 5) vs. Eden Prairie (Seed 4)
2:00:   Cambridge-Isanti vs. Hopkins (Seed 2)
4:00:   Eastview vs. East Ridge (Seed 3)
   
                                            EXAMINING THE FIELD
Minnesota March Madness heads into the homestretch as the 2019 State Boys Basketball Tournament opens up with a Northwest Suburban Conference showdown between the Maple Grove Crimson and the top seeded Park Center Pirates.  The two schools played each other in the regular season and the Pirates swept the Crimson.  Maple Grove is in their fourth straight state appearance and seventh overall and Park Center heads down I-94 to Minneapolis for the fourth time and their first trip to state since 2013.  Park Center is led by 6'10" junior Dain Dainja and their only regular season loss was by six points to the Armstrong Falcons January 8.  Could there be a caravan heading down Brooklyn Blvd. late Saturday night if the Pirates get the gold medals?

The fifth seeded Lakeville North Panthers are back at Target Center for the eighth straight year and ninth overall.  Once again they denied basketball fans an opportunity to see Matthew Hurt in action with a resounding win over the Rochester John Marshall Rockets in the Section 1 final.  Their opponent is the fourth seeded Eden Prairie Eagles who make their 12th trip to state.  Eden Prairie is on a six game winning streak following a 62-45 victory over the top seeded Prior Lake Lakers.  If this match up sounds familiar, they are the same two teams who played for the Class AAAAAA football championship with the Panthers prevailing.  Who will come out on top on the basketball court?

Returning to the state tournament after an 11 year hiatus is the Cambridge-Isanti Bluejackets.  The Bluejackets were seeded third in Section 7 and beat the second seeded Duluth East Greyhounds and the  top seeded Blaine Bengals.  They face another giant in the second seeded Hopkins Royals.  It's been a big week for the Nnaji family.  First Maya leads the Royals to the state Class AAAA girls basketball title with a drubbing of the Stillwater Ponies and now her brother Zeke looks to lead the Royals to their 22nd trip to state.  Hopkins has won six of their last seven games.  Will another title trophy be transported to Lindbergh Center?

No need to head East for the final Class AAAA quarterfinal game as the Eastview Lightning battle the third seeded East Ridge Raptors in their first trip to Target Center.  The Lightning head up Highway 77 for the first time  since 2012 in their fourth trip to Minneapolis and have won their last five games following an overtime loss to the Shakopee Sabers.  If you haven't seen the Raptors in action this season, get off work early to see one of the state's top juniors in 6'10" Ben Carlson.  East Ridge has not lost since December 18, losing 55-50 to the Eden Prairie Eagles.  They opened the season on December 1 with a 74-65 win over the Hopkins Royals.  There's a possible rematch in the works for Thursday night.

Next up:  The Class AAA preview