bluesooner17
Member
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2010
- Messages
- 863
- Reaction score
- 3
If Midwest City’s 53-38 win over No. 2 Choctaw on Tuesday night didn’t alarm eastern girls basketball coaches, players and fans, they aren’t paying attention.
The Bombers are already closely challenging Owasso for the fourth regional hosting spot in the eastern half of the 6A playoff bracket.
And the Bombers figure to go even higher in the rankings after beating Choctaw for the second time this season, assuming they don’t falter in games they should win against Lawton and Del City this weekened.
As they were last year, the Bombers are one of three schools from the western half of the state who have been assigned by the OSSAA to the eastern area to create a 16-16 balance between eastern and western schools.
In each area, the four highest-rated schools earn the right to host regional tournaments. Sapulpa, Broken Arrow and Muskogee nabbed the top three eastern spots last year, but Midwest City got the fourth, meaning five of the eight 6A regionals were played in the western half of the state.
Eastern coaches don’t want to see that happen again. Hosting a regional is a huge advantage in reaching the state tournament. Owasso was surging at the end of last season, but had to play in Midwest City's regional and fell to the Bombers by two points in the regional final.
Cast into the losers bracket, the Rams ran into Broken Arrow, the eventual state champ, and were eliminated a game short of the state tournament. By contrast, Midwest City lost to Sapulpa in the area winners bracket, but bounced back to eliminate B.T. Washington and qualify for state.
That essentially meant that the West was represented in the state tournament by five teams to the East's three, even though the East was arguably the tougher half, evidenced by BA and Muskogee playing in the championship game.
Theoretically, No. 11 Sand Springs and No. 12 B.T. Washington are still in contention for that fourth eastern spot. But it seems altogether likely that if the ninth-ranked Bombers rise only slightly in the rankings and No. 8 Owasso dips, a fifth western regional again could be an uncomfortable reality.
The good news is that the time is running out for any significant movement in the rankings and Owasso faces three of the Frontier Conference’s lower teams — Bishop Kelley, Jenks and Union — over the next 10 days.
No. 1 Sapulpa, No. 4 Broken Arrow and No. 5 Muskogee appear safe in the top three spots, but there’s no telling what will happen when the Frontier Conference leaders start knocking off one another. Sapulpa visits Muskogee on Friday and hosts Broken Arrow the following Tuesday.
Games through Feb. 6 count for seedings purposes 6A regional assignments will be announced on Feb. 11, following a final rankings update on Feb. 8.
For now, here’s how the schools in the two areas are ranked:
East
Sapulpa – 1
Broken Arrow – 4
Muskogee – 5
Owasso – 8
Midwest City – 9
Sand Springs – 11
B.T. Washington – 12
Putnam North – 14
Moore – 16
Bartlesville – 17
West
Choctaw – 2
Westmoore – 3
Edmond Santa Fe – 6
Putnam West – 7
Deer Creek – 10
Edmond Memorial – 13
Edmond North – 15
Norman North — 18
Yukon — 19
Putnam City — 20
The Bombers are already closely challenging Owasso for the fourth regional hosting spot in the eastern half of the 6A playoff bracket.
And the Bombers figure to go even higher in the rankings after beating Choctaw for the second time this season, assuming they don’t falter in games they should win against Lawton and Del City this weekened.
As they were last year, the Bombers are one of three schools from the western half of the state who have been assigned by the OSSAA to the eastern area to create a 16-16 balance between eastern and western schools.
In each area, the four highest-rated schools earn the right to host regional tournaments. Sapulpa, Broken Arrow and Muskogee nabbed the top three eastern spots last year, but Midwest City got the fourth, meaning five of the eight 6A regionals were played in the western half of the state.
Eastern coaches don’t want to see that happen again. Hosting a regional is a huge advantage in reaching the state tournament. Owasso was surging at the end of last season, but had to play in Midwest City's regional and fell to the Bombers by two points in the regional final.
Cast into the losers bracket, the Rams ran into Broken Arrow, the eventual state champ, and were eliminated a game short of the state tournament. By contrast, Midwest City lost to Sapulpa in the area winners bracket, but bounced back to eliminate B.T. Washington and qualify for state.
That essentially meant that the West was represented in the state tournament by five teams to the East's three, even though the East was arguably the tougher half, evidenced by BA and Muskogee playing in the championship game.
Theoretically, No. 11 Sand Springs and No. 12 B.T. Washington are still in contention for that fourth eastern spot. But it seems altogether likely that if the ninth-ranked Bombers rise only slightly in the rankings and No. 8 Owasso dips, a fifth western regional again could be an uncomfortable reality.
The good news is that the time is running out for any significant movement in the rankings and Owasso faces three of the Frontier Conference’s lower teams — Bishop Kelley, Jenks and Union — over the next 10 days.
No. 1 Sapulpa, No. 4 Broken Arrow and No. 5 Muskogee appear safe in the top three spots, but there’s no telling what will happen when the Frontier Conference leaders start knocking off one another. Sapulpa visits Muskogee on Friday and hosts Broken Arrow the following Tuesday.
Games through Feb. 6 count for seedings purposes 6A regional assignments will be announced on Feb. 11, following a final rankings update on Feb. 8.
For now, here’s how the schools in the two areas are ranked:
East
Sapulpa – 1
Broken Arrow – 4
Muskogee – 5
Owasso – 8
Midwest City – 9
Sand Springs – 11
B.T. Washington – 12
Putnam North – 14
Moore – 16
Bartlesville – 17
West
Choctaw – 2
Westmoore – 3
Edmond Santa Fe – 6
Putnam West – 7
Deer Creek – 10
Edmond Memorial – 13
Edmond North – 15
Norman North — 18
Yukon — 19
Putnam City — 20
