2021 3A State Tournament - 1st Round Preview
'The Road To The PIT' starts today as the first round of the state tournament takes place. The field of 8-teams are all fighting for the blue trophy and we break it down on who will win it all.
Top Seed: Robertson Cardinals (12-0 overall)
The contest has moved to Socorro High School with a 4 pm tip-off against the No. 8 Cobre Indians (8-4 overall). Robertson had one of their best with an undefeated regular season at 12-0 is looking to bring home a state championship to Las Vegas. Robertson battled in a strong district and look to the leadership of top player Matthew Gonzales (2022) in their state tournament run. They'll battle in the opening round with Cobre a team that was showing signs of being a top-5 seed late in the season.
Bracket Buster: No. 5 St. Michael's (7-2 overall)
The Horsemen as of late have been the team getting busted as a top seed. Will this year be the one that we see back in the state championship? The roster has seemed to only start getting together, they bring size, and they have overall a talented group. The first-round game against No. 4 Sandia Prep, whom many believe will win it all and is the overwhelming favorite, could be considered the best game in the first round as well.
New Champ or Gap Year: No. 2 Hot Springs Tigers (11-1 overall)
Technically yes we will have a new state champion as Bosque didn't make the 8-team field this season. However, will the 2019 state champion Hot Springs Tigers fill in after a year away from being the state champs? They sure are battled test as this will be their 7th game in 8-days - they went 6-0 last week playing Monday through Saturday. They will have a small test with Thoreau in the opening round but why we like another Tiger run is because top-50 player Verrels Lukman at point guard for his senior season.
Upset Special (again): No. 6 NMMI Colts (8-3 overall) vs No. 3 Navajo Prep Eagles (11-1 overall)
Well, the location has changed to Rio Rancho at Cleveland High School (6 pm) and maybe that will shake off the nightmare of falling again as the better seed. NMMI took out the Eagles last in Farmington. The headline remains the same this season with Dontrelle Denestso (2021) leading the way for Navajo Prep and Daniel Xibille (2021) guiding the NMMI Colts.
Grine's Picks: Hot Springs over Sandia Prep for the SC; Hot Springs over NMMI & Sandia Prep over Robertson in the Final Four.
'The Road To The PIT' starts today as the first round of the state tournament takes place. The field of 8-teams are all fighting for the blue trophy and we break it down on who will win it all.
Top Seed: Robertson Cardinals (12-0 overall)
The contest has moved to Socorro High School with a 4 pm tip-off against the No. 8 Cobre Indians (8-4 overall). Robertson had one of their best with an undefeated regular season at 12-0 is looking to bring home a state championship to Las Vegas. Robertson battled in a strong district and look to the leadership of top player Matthew Gonzales (2022) in their state tournament run. They'll battle in the opening round with Cobre a team that was showing signs of being a top-5 seed late in the season.
Bracket Buster: No. 5 St. Michael's (7-2 overall)
The Horsemen as of late have been the team getting busted as a top seed. Will this year be the one that we see back in the state championship? The roster has seemed to only start getting together, they bring size, and they have overall a talented group. The first-round game against No. 4 Sandia Prep, whom many believe will win it all and is the overwhelming favorite, could be considered the best game in the first round as well.
New Champ or Gap Year: No. 2 Hot Springs Tigers (11-1 overall)
Technically yes we will have a new state champion as Bosque didn't make the 8-team field this season. However, will the 2019 state champion Hot Springs Tigers fill in after a year away from being the state champs? They sure are battled test as this will be their 7th game in 8-days - they went 6-0 last week playing Monday through Saturday. They will have a small test with Thoreau in the opening round but why we like another Tiger run is because top-50 player Verrels Lukman at point guard for his senior season.
Upset Special (again): No. 6 NMMI Colts (8-3 overall) vs No. 3 Navajo Prep Eagles (11-1 overall)
Well, the location has changed to Rio Rancho at Cleveland High School (6 pm) and maybe that will shake off the nightmare of falling again as the better seed. NMMI took out the Eagles last in Farmington. The headline remains the same this season with Dontrelle Denestso (2021) leading the way for Navajo Prep and Daniel Xibille (2021) guiding the NMMI Colts.
Grine's Picks: Hot Springs over Sandia Prep for the SC; Hot Springs over NMMI & Sandia Prep over Robertson in the Final Four.
