March Madness Alaska dominates the courts at the Alaska Airlines Center on the campus of UAA with the 3A and 4A divisions of high school basketball beginning three days of competition to determine champions in both girls and boys basketball in Alaska’s largest classifications.
The Bulldogs open 3A tournament play on Thursday, March 22nd with a 5:00 p.m. contest against the Barrow Whalers. Follow the Bulldogs on ESPN 1140AM and www.radiokenai.com
The Nikiski Bulldog girls represent the Kenai Peninsula as the only qualifier to the 3A or 4A basketball state tournaments.
3A Basketball Preview: Girls
The 3A classification on the girls side has been dominated by the Anchorage Christian School Lions girls team which has posted an undefeated record in the Southcentral Conference and in the 3A division. The Nikiski girls, seeded #5 by WPI rankings, have defeated two top-five seeds, with regular season victories over #2 Sitka and #4 Barrow. Based on the WPI formula for seeding the tournament, three of the top four teams will battle for one spot in the championship game with Nikiski opening against Barrow and the winner facing ACS on Friday.
3A Basketball Preview: Boys
The 3A boys field may prove to be more wide-open, especially with the Monroe Rams seeded #1 in a loaded boys bracket. The Rams completed play with a 17-1 record against team in the 3A classification; Anchorage Christian School posted a 16-1 record and Grace Christian finished 19-3 in divisional play. Add in the Valdez Buccaneers at 14-5 and a strong Barrow team at 9-5 and the boys 3A bracket may prove the most competitive of championship weekend. The top four seeds are Monroe, #2 ACS, #3 Grace and #4 Valdez.
4A Basketball Preview: Girls
The 2017 4A girls champion Wasilla Warriors enter the 2018 4A girls tournament as the #3 seed after a 16-4 regular season in divisional play. Last year’s state runner-up Dimond High School earns the top seed, closing the regular season with an undefeated 20-0 record. With Wasilla and Dimond on opposite sides of the bracket, #2 East Anchorage (19-4) and #4 West Valley (13-4) round out the top four seeds; however, do not count out Colony or Ketchikan’s ability to make a tournament run. Dimond, with 4A Player of the Year Alissa Pili and 1st team selection Jahnna Hajdukovich, are favored; however, don’t count out Wasilla lead by 1st team All-State selections Azlynn Brandenburg and Olivia Davies.
4A Basketball Preview: Boys
The 2017 4A boys champion Dimond Lynx are ready to defend following a 22-1 regular season and a Cook Inlet Conference tournament championship. Dimond is the #1 seed with Juneau, Chugiak and West Valley on the Lynx side of the bracket. Juneau is poised for a first-round upset of Dimond with 4A Player of the Year Erik Kelly. The #2 seed Wasilla Warriors, last year’s state runner-up, posted a 17-3 regular season and are ready for a 2018 title run. Colony (15-3) and West Valley (14-2) fill out the top four on the 4A boys bracket.
