It may be tournament time for public schools, but the matchups have turned it into impromptu rivalry week along with a huge private school clash.
Three grudge matches highlight the boys basketball schedule early this week, with Blue Ridge and Miller School in round two of the schools’ 2012 regular season series, Monticello and Western Albemarle’s boys locking up again in the Jefferson District semifinals and William Monroe and Madison County going toe-to-toe for the third time in the Bull Run semifinals.
All three clashes have interesting storylines.
The Barons and Mavericks are playing with Virginia Independent Conference standings on the line. A Blue Ridge win would give the Barons the regular season title while a Miller win would create a three-way tie at the top of the standings with Virginia Episcopal.
The Mavericks have been a little mercurial of late, including a challenging shooting night against VES last Tuesday. But defensively they’ve largely been sound. Can they contain a bigger Blue Ridge squad like they did in the first matchup?
Blue Ridge needs to pull things together after a difficult stretch where the Barons have looked out of sorts. The Miller games always seem to bring the best out of Blue Ridge though, so expect the usual classic.
Madison County is hurting after two losses to archrival William Monroe during the regular season. In the first, the Dragons needed overtime to get the win and rallied from 19 down even to force that. In the second, Monroe dominated. Expect Madison — particularly senior Travis Warren — to come out firing on all cylinders up at George Mason as the teams battle for a berth in the final.
Monroe is looking to bounce back with a strong tournament showing after Mason crushed the Dragons in the one-game regular season playoff. A third victory over Madison would likely give Dragons a fourth shot at George Mason.
Then there’s this Monticello/Western Albemarle matchup. This one is going to be interesting.
The squads split the season series, including a narrow victory at home by the Mustangs just a short couple of weeks ago. The two fan bases are spirited crews and that should make it a loud Wednesday night in Crozet. Regional seeding is at stake in a wide-open JD tournament, but this game will, more importantly, settle this year’s installment of a solid boys basketball rivalry.
They’re not the only ones though. With all these rivalry games this week, a lot of arguments are about to be settled.
Boys Top 5
1. Blue Ridge (13-6)
Blue Ridge isn’t hitting on all cylinders right now, but a victory in the Barons’ battle with Miller Tuesday night could definitely get Blue Ridge back on track. With the postseason looming, the Barons better find their way quickly.
2. Miller (15-7)
Two straight losses could’ve pushed the Mavericks out of this spot, but both defeats came on the road at the hands of talent squads (Benedictine and Virginia Episcopal). That tough stretch continues with Blue Ridge Tuesday night, a squad that’s reeling from a loss of its own Saturday.
3. Fluvanna County (20-2)
The Flucos haven’t looked invincible as evidenced by the squad’s late January loss to Monticello, but with YaYa Anderson running the show and the rest of the roster continuing to develop, Fluvanna is the favorite to win the Jefferson District tournament title they missed out on last year.
4. Monticello (13-7)
Maintaining their momentum is the Mustangs’ toughest task. Coming into last week’s incident-marred clash with Charlottesville, the Mustangs had won seven games in a row. Can they pick up where they left off after the loss to George Wythe and the unfinished ballgame with the Black Knights.
5 (tied). William Monroe (18-7)
The Dragons lost to George Mason but bounced back in the Bull Run quarterfinals. Now Monroe gets another matchup with archrival Madison County, a team still smarting from a frustrating loss in the two teams’ last meeting. Can Monroe pick up a third win against the Mountaineers up at George Mason in the Bull Run semifinals.
5 (tied). Buckingham County (18-3)
The Knights may have fallen to Amelia, but the way Buckingham is playing, the Knights seem primed for a postseason surge behind double double machine Tarian Ayres and low block force Cam Johnson.
On the cusp: Western Albemarle, Charlottesville
Girls Top 5
1. Miller (19-6)
Crazy week for the Mavericks as they played four games in six days. Miller took its two first games, by an average of 42 points and then went 1-1 in the Oak Hill showcase. Their reward this week is three games in five days on the road at VES, at home against LCA and then back on the road against Norfolk Christian. This group is grinding it out right now.
2. William Monroe (13-7)
The Dragons kicked off Bull Run District play on a solid note by taking down Manassas Park 55-30. A win in the semifinals comined with a George Mason win in the semifinals guarantees a Region B bid for Monroe, although their record alone likely puts them into the next round.
3. Monticello (12-9)
A real shame that Bridget Holleran’s game winning 3-pointer and the Mustangs come-from-behind win over Charlottesville wasn’t the big news maker last Tuesday night. By virtue of its second seed, Monticello got a breather with a bye to open the JD tournament. Can they force a rubber match against Powhatan in the finals? They’ll have to get past Western Albemarle first.
4. St. Anne’s-Belfield (12-9)
A tough loss to start the week for the Saints against Collegiate, but Phil Stinnie’s group put it together and then some after that by pounding St. Gertrude 54-27 and then beating up St. Margaret’s 60-18 in the first round of the LIS tournament.
5. Western Albemarle (8-12)
It doesn’t matter that Western fell to Powhatan to end the regular season. By beating Fluvanna County in the first round of the Jefferson District tournament, ii the Warriors can play against the Indians in JD finals, they’ll certainly have earned a Region II tournament bid. That means finding a way to stop Monticello which has won its last seven JD contests.
