2022 Class AA State Boys Basketball Tournament Preview

 2022 MINNESOTA STATE HIGH SCHOOL CLASS AA BOYS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINAL SCHEDULE

                               (Games played Tuesday, March 22 at Williams Arena on the University of Minnesota campus)

6:00:  Glencoe-Silver Lake vs. Minneapolis North (Seed 1)

8:00:  Morris Area/Chokio Alberta (Seed 5) vs. Minnehaha Academy (Seed 4)

                              (Games played Tuesday, March 22 at Target Center. Minneapolis. )

Examining the Field:  The Class AA portion at Williams Arena opens with the Glencoe-Silver Lake Panthers in their third trip down Highway 212 to Minneapolis but their first since 2001.  The Panthers bounced back after ending the regular season with two straight losses to beat the Maple River Eagles in the Section 2 finals.  They will face the top seeded Minneapolis North Polars, playing in their 25th state tournament.  The Polars have been one of the top Class AA teams in Minnesota this season and have won seven straight games.  They did play the Minnehaha Academy Redhawks in the season opener December 11 and beat them 84-81.  Is a semifinal rematch possible?  

Closing the day at Williams Arena a team with a long name but playing outstanding basketball, the Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta Tigers.  The Tigers, playing in their sixth state tournament held on to beat the Redwood Valley Cardinals in the Section 3 final.  The Redhawks have dropped from Class AAA to AA and are three wins away from the south Minneapolis school's fifth straight state title.  Minnehaha have rebounded from a 1-4 start to finish the season 16-6.  Can the Redhawks run continue?  

Over at Target Center. the Perham Yellowjackets head down Highway 10 for the sixth time.  The Yellowjackets were seeded third in Section 8, and beat top seeds Pelican Rapids and Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton.  The Warriors are unbeaten against instate teams with their only loss to DeForest from Wisconsin.  The Section 1 final at Mayo Civic Auditorium in Rochester turned out to be a dandy with Caledonia coming through a tough section with a triple overtime win over the Plainview-Elgin-Millville Bulldogs.  The Warriors have been successful in football with five straight Class AA titles.  Can they add one in basketball?  

Ending the day is the Pequot Lakes Patriots and the Annandale Cardinals.  The Patriots are in their fourth state tournament and first since 2007.  They have won five straight games and beat the perennial Section 7 power the Esko Eskomos 58-50 in the section final.  The Cardinals, in their 8th trip down Highway 55 to Minneapolis have not lost a game since December 16 when they lost 63-58 to the Albany Huskies.  One of the favorites to watch in Class AA.  

Next the Class A preview.