NMPreps.com's Road to the Pit - Week 9 Playoff Predictions
- By J Grine
- New Mexico High School Basketball - Boys
- 15 Replies
5A BASKETBALL
Metro West District (MWD)
Cleveland 17-0, 0-0
Volcano Vista 14-2, 0-0
Atrisco Heritage 10-6, 0-0
Rio Rancho 10-7, 0-0
Cibola 7-8, 0-0
Scoop: District play kicks off on Wednesday night. Cleveland at Volcano Vista and Cibola travels to Atrisco Heritage to open play. Favorites Cleveland and Volcano Vista have met already this month in the APS Metro Championships with the Storm winning the title game.
Who We Like: Cleveland may drop a game in district play but this is the year of the Storm. Volcano Vista could steal one along the way and they are a solid March pick to the Final Four. Atrisco and Rio Rancho also in the mix have a shot at the DRUP.
What We Know: This is the best basketball district in New Mexico regardless of classification. I could see at least two teams making the Final Four again this season. Likely to have the top seed too. They feature the four most recent state champions - Atrisco (2019, 2018), Volcano Vista (2017), and Rio Rancho (2016). Typically, you find at least two in the Final Four.
Locks: Cleveland, Volcano Vista, Atrisco, Rio Rancho
Work Left: Cibola: The Cougars are seldom talked about here but they helped their resume with recently going 5-1. Wins over West Mesa, Albuquerque, and La Cueva boost their talk.
Northwest District (NWD)
Eldorado 14-2, 1-0
La Cueva 9-6, 1-0
Farmington 8-11, 0-1
Piedra Vista 5-14, 0-1
West Mesa 5-10, 0-0
Opening night: Eldorado thumped Piedra Vista, 76-35 on opening night at home. Eldorado, the favorite, should move along in this district and potentially be the four seed in the state tournament. If they go perfect they could get the 3-seed. La Cueva got past Farmington, 64-59.
Locked: Eldorado
Work Left: La Cueva, Farmington, West Mesa. Weird mix and yes two of the three will be dancing but uncertainty in the three. Piedra Vista is here but almost in the situation where they would have to win the District Tournament.
Final Four: Eldorado would be the only pick but I do like potentially upset favorites coming from this group. West Mesa is streaky, coming off a nice win over Rio Rancho, so who will we get now down the stretch? La Cueva the most potential to be an Elite Eight squad.
Southern District (SD)
Las Cruces 17-1, 4-0
Centennial 9-10, 4-1
Alamogordo 13-5, 2-2
Gadsden 10-7, 2-2
Onate 15-4, 2-3
Deming 5-10, 1-3
Mayfield 4-14, 0-4
Locks: Las Cruces
Musical Chairs: Centennial, Alamogordo, Gadsden, Onate, and Deming. These five will fight for the second spot in a royal rumble fashion. Onate, once the favorite, did show some fight last night taking on Las Cruces. Alamogordo the best turnaround squad nominee. Centennial the best out of nowhere nominee is playing well.
Southeast NM District (SED)
Clovis 14-5
Roswell 14-5
Carlsbad 12-6
Hobbs 13-7
Favorite: Clovis? Hobbs? Roswell? Carlsbad? Any takers? Clovis is our favorite with Hobbs a close second. Carlsbad has shown signs of both being good but recently losses to Lovington and Gadsden and going 1-3 in their last four cooled their stock.
Opening Night: This district will kick off next week on the 28th with Clovis taking on Carlsbad and Hobbs traveling to Roswell. Should allow some insight on the way this district goes this season.
Metro East District (MED)
Capital 14-2
Santa Fe 12-3
Albuquerque 5-9
Manzano 5-9
Rio Grande 3-10
Sandia 3-11
Cindy: The Santa Fe Demons were the story of March in 2019. We all fell in love with the Demons for the week as they reached the final game. This year truly has the possibility of an all Santa Fe championship. Could you imagine that? Capital is very good this season and if you've followed me on here since 2009 I've always admired Ben Gomez coached teams. I know feel this same about Zac Cole at SFHS. What a story that would be with those two in the final game.
The Rest: Inconsistent and streaky. Albuquerque has looked good at times, Jude Tapia is solid, but looking for a little more. Manzano could be a bid but need to finish in third. Last season they tied for the DC.
Today: Opening night takes place today in Albuquerque. Sandia at Manzano, Capital at Rio Grande and Santa Fe at Albuquerque. Sandia and Manzano has the most on the line. Albuquerque gets up for big games, today they get their shot.
PLAYOFF SEEDS (JAN 22)
No. 1 Cleveland (Auto; DC) vs No. 16 Gadsden (At-Large; D4P)
No. 2 Las Cruces (Auto; DC) No. 15 Alamogordo (At-Large; D3P)
No. 3 Capital (Auto; DC) vs No. 14 Centennial (At-Large; DRUP)
No. 4 Eldorado (Auto; DC) vs No. 13 Atrisco Heritage (At-Large; D4P)
No. 5 Clovis (Auto; DC) vs No. 12 Roswell (At-Large; D4P)
No. 6 Volcano Vista (At-Large; DRUP) vs No. 11 Rio Rancho (At-Large; D3P)
No. 7 Santa Fe (At-Large; DRUP) vs No. 10 Carlsbad (At-Large; D3P)
No. 8 Hobbs (At-Large; DRUP) vs No. 9 La Cueva (At-Large; DRUP)
Next Three: Onate, Manzano, Cibola
How: We have some predictions for those district that have yet to play. The questions will come from Onate being out as of today. Well, today they are fifth in the standings and Centennial have a rating of 17 could push the Knights out. All I will say is there is a lot to change before the final week in February.
DC: It rarely happens with all five DC's getting the top five seeds. Today, that could happen and Clovis' recent win over Volcano Vista edged it now.
Intriguing Match-Up Today: Eldorado-Atrisco could be the pick here. Las Cruces could end up in a spot facing a district opponent again the first round.
Metro West District (MWD)
Cleveland 17-0, 0-0
Volcano Vista 14-2, 0-0
Atrisco Heritage 10-6, 0-0
Rio Rancho 10-7, 0-0
Cibola 7-8, 0-0
Scoop: District play kicks off on Wednesday night. Cleveland at Volcano Vista and Cibola travels to Atrisco Heritage to open play. Favorites Cleveland and Volcano Vista have met already this month in the APS Metro Championships with the Storm winning the title game.
Who We Like: Cleveland may drop a game in district play but this is the year of the Storm. Volcano Vista could steal one along the way and they are a solid March pick to the Final Four. Atrisco and Rio Rancho also in the mix have a shot at the DRUP.
What We Know: This is the best basketball district in New Mexico regardless of classification. I could see at least two teams making the Final Four again this season. Likely to have the top seed too. They feature the four most recent state champions - Atrisco (2019, 2018), Volcano Vista (2017), and Rio Rancho (2016). Typically, you find at least two in the Final Four.
Locks: Cleveland, Volcano Vista, Atrisco, Rio Rancho
Work Left: Cibola: The Cougars are seldom talked about here but they helped their resume with recently going 5-1. Wins over West Mesa, Albuquerque, and La Cueva boost their talk.
Northwest District (NWD)
Eldorado 14-2, 1-0
La Cueva 9-6, 1-0
Farmington 8-11, 0-1
Piedra Vista 5-14, 0-1
West Mesa 5-10, 0-0
Opening night: Eldorado thumped Piedra Vista, 76-35 on opening night at home. Eldorado, the favorite, should move along in this district and potentially be the four seed in the state tournament. If they go perfect they could get the 3-seed. La Cueva got past Farmington, 64-59.
Locked: Eldorado
Work Left: La Cueva, Farmington, West Mesa. Weird mix and yes two of the three will be dancing but uncertainty in the three. Piedra Vista is here but almost in the situation where they would have to win the District Tournament.
Final Four: Eldorado would be the only pick but I do like potentially upset favorites coming from this group. West Mesa is streaky, coming off a nice win over Rio Rancho, so who will we get now down the stretch? La Cueva the most potential to be an Elite Eight squad.
Southern District (SD)
Las Cruces 17-1, 4-0
Centennial 9-10, 4-1
Alamogordo 13-5, 2-2
Gadsden 10-7, 2-2
Onate 15-4, 2-3
Deming 5-10, 1-3
Mayfield 4-14, 0-4
Locks: Las Cruces
Musical Chairs: Centennial, Alamogordo, Gadsden, Onate, and Deming. These five will fight for the second spot in a royal rumble fashion. Onate, once the favorite, did show some fight last night taking on Las Cruces. Alamogordo the best turnaround squad nominee. Centennial the best out of nowhere nominee is playing well.
Southeast NM District (SED)
Clovis 14-5
Roswell 14-5
Carlsbad 12-6
Hobbs 13-7
Favorite: Clovis? Hobbs? Roswell? Carlsbad? Any takers? Clovis is our favorite with Hobbs a close second. Carlsbad has shown signs of both being good but recently losses to Lovington and Gadsden and going 1-3 in their last four cooled their stock.
Opening Night: This district will kick off next week on the 28th with Clovis taking on Carlsbad and Hobbs traveling to Roswell. Should allow some insight on the way this district goes this season.
Metro East District (MED)
Capital 14-2
Santa Fe 12-3
Albuquerque 5-9
Manzano 5-9
Rio Grande 3-10
Sandia 3-11
Cindy: The Santa Fe Demons were the story of March in 2019. We all fell in love with the Demons for the week as they reached the final game. This year truly has the possibility of an all Santa Fe championship. Could you imagine that? Capital is very good this season and if you've followed me on here since 2009 I've always admired Ben Gomez coached teams. I know feel this same about Zac Cole at SFHS. What a story that would be with those two in the final game.
The Rest: Inconsistent and streaky. Albuquerque has looked good at times, Jude Tapia is solid, but looking for a little more. Manzano could be a bid but need to finish in third. Last season they tied for the DC.
Today: Opening night takes place today in Albuquerque. Sandia at Manzano, Capital at Rio Grande and Santa Fe at Albuquerque. Sandia and Manzano has the most on the line. Albuquerque gets up for big games, today they get their shot.
PLAYOFF SEEDS (JAN 22)
No. 1 Cleveland (Auto; DC) vs No. 16 Gadsden (At-Large; D4P)
No. 2 Las Cruces (Auto; DC) No. 15 Alamogordo (At-Large; D3P)
No. 3 Capital (Auto; DC) vs No. 14 Centennial (At-Large; DRUP)
No. 4 Eldorado (Auto; DC) vs No. 13 Atrisco Heritage (At-Large; D4P)
No. 5 Clovis (Auto; DC) vs No. 12 Roswell (At-Large; D4P)
No. 6 Volcano Vista (At-Large; DRUP) vs No. 11 Rio Rancho (At-Large; D3P)
No. 7 Santa Fe (At-Large; DRUP) vs No. 10 Carlsbad (At-Large; D3P)
No. 8 Hobbs (At-Large; DRUP) vs No. 9 La Cueva (At-Large; DRUP)
Next Three: Onate, Manzano, Cibola
How: We have some predictions for those district that have yet to play. The questions will come from Onate being out as of today. Well, today they are fifth in the standings and Centennial have a rating of 17 could push the Knights out. All I will say is there is a lot to change before the final week in February.
DC: It rarely happens with all five DC's getting the top five seeds. Today, that could happen and Clovis' recent win over Volcano Vista edged it now.
Intriguing Match-Up Today: Eldorado-Atrisco could be the pick here. Las Cruces could end up in a spot facing a district opponent again the first round.
