OGDEN — When the 5A state tournament gets underway this Tuesday at Weber State, expect the unexpected. There's intrigue in all eight first-round games, and nobody should be shocked if a No. 1 seed bows out on the opening day.
After all, a top seed has been eliminated in the opening round five out of the past six years — which definitely has the attention of Bountiful, Olympus, Jordan and Skyridge.
Even top-ranked Olympus, which has won 35 straight games against teams in its own classification, can't breathe easy in the opener.
The 21-win Titans own the top scoring offense in 5A, but at 12:50 p.m. they face 14-win Woods Cross which was the third-highest scoring team in the regular season. The Wildcats' resume during the regular season includes wins over Fremont and Skyridge.
“We know it’s not going to be easy but so far we’ve met every challenge and very proud of the kids the way they’ve done that.”
Olympus coach Matt Barnes
Regardless of the opponent, though, in whatever round defending state champion Olympus takes the floor it will be the team to beat. Rylan Jones and Jeremy Dowdell are the only returning starters from last year's championship team, and between the two of them they average 50.8 points.
Olympus coach Matt Barnes has been pleased with the way the complementary pieces have settled into their roles.
"They've come together and done a nice job of being who we are and finding ways to win. It's been quite a year for us so far but like we always say, we have unfinished business and a lot of hopes ahead of us," said Barnes. "We know it's not going to be easy but so far we've met every challenge and very proud of the kids the way they've done that."
Unlike a year ago when Olympus was pretty much unbeatable, this year's team has vulnerabilities which Highland revealed in pushing the Titans to overtime in a region game three weeks ago.
That not only gives Woods Cross hope in the first round, but hope for potential Olympus opponents in the upper half of the bracket like Timpanogos, Bountiful and Corner Canyon.
Bountiful won the Region 5 title in Mike Maxwell's 30th year as head coach, and his team heads into the playoffs with the second-ranked scoring offense in 5A.
Mike Terry
Bountiful High School Coach Mike Maxwell gets his team pumped in the final minutes of a close game as the Bingham Miners host the Bountiful Braves at Bingham High School in South Jordan, Utah on Friday, Dec., 3, 2010. (Mike Terry, Deseret News)
Timpanogos might be a No. 2 seed in the playoffs, but it's still a co-Region 7 champion with Skyridge and with four seniors it is definitely capable of winning four games this week at the Dee Events Center.
While the top half of the bracket features the top five scoring offenses in 5A (Olympus, Bountiful, Woods Cross, Timpanogos, Timpview), the bottom half of the bracket could take on a much more defensive tone.
Region 7 champion Jordan owns the top scoring defense in 5A, while Skyridge owns the second-best scoring defense.
Dating back to his head coaching stints at Mountain View and then Brighton, Skyridge coach Jeff Gardner has always tried to build a defensive culture and this year's team has bought into that approach.
"Defensively is where we really want to focus and really want to be at our best, and if we can play well defensively then we can stay in the game even if we're not shooting the ball well or if we come out a little sluggish and tight offensively," said Gardner.
Skyridge's side of the bracket isn't as loaded as the top half of the bracket, but he's only concerned with Alta in the 7:30 p.m. tipoff.
"Obviously our focus has been on Alta and as I've watched them close and looked at them, that's a team that's plenty capable of making a run. They have good pieces and coach (Jim) Barker does a great job," said Gardner.
When Gardner was Brighton's head coach for five seasons from 2011 to 2017, his Bengals were in the same region as Barker's Alta Hawks for four years. Barker got the better of Gardner with a 6-2 record, but this week Gardner's new team is the favorite.
Jordan and Skyridge are the favorites to advance to the semifinals from the bottom half of the bracket, and if the seeding holds true it would be a rematch of a Jan. 4 game that Jordan won 55-53. Skyridge was without leading scorer Trevon Snoddy in that game, and it still had a 3-pointer attempt at the buzzer that would've won the game.
from Deseret News https://ift.tt/2tzxYAN
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