MaxMadness: First round kind to higher seeds

The victory by the Little Cyclones comes just days after MaxPreps named star forward Harrison Barnes the National Player of the Year. Barnes averaged 26 points, 10 rebounds, three steals and three assists to lead Ames to a 27-0 record.

 

Ames is the favorite to emerge from the West region, but will have to slip past the likes of Westchester (Los Angeles, Calif.) and Northland (Columbus, Ohio) to do so.

Behind 65 percent of fan votes, No. 9 Starkville (Miss.) pulled off the minor upset over No. 8 seed St. Frances Academy (Baltimore, Md.), which means the Yellowjackets will be the next team to take a shot at No. 1 Ames.

Westchester, which sits at the bottom of the region's bracket as the No. 2 seed, overwhelmed its first round opponent, capturing 89% of fan votes against 'Iolani (Honolulu, Hawaii).

 

Some tightly-contested matchups highlighted the first round of voting in the Midwest region.

The No. 3 seed, Christ School (Arden, N.C.), narrowly held on against No. 14 Logan (W. Va.), closing with 54 percent of votes. 

At the top of the bracket, No. 16 Hope Christian (Albuquerque, N.M.) put forth an admirable effort against top-seeded Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia, Pa.), gaining 23 percent of fan votes. 

In an intriguing 7/10 showdown, Lake Norman (Mooresville, N.C.) received 38 percent of votes against No. 7 seed Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.), which was victorious in the Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament last month, beating rival DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) in the final.

No. 11 Central Catholic (Lawrence, Mass.) also managed 38 percent of votes against Florida power Winter Park (Fla.), which will meet the Christ School in round two.

The biggest story from the South region is that undefeated Peabody (Alexandria, La.) is going home early.

The Louisiana 4A champion, a No. 6 seed, was upset by Kentucky state champion Shelby Valley (Pikeville, Ky.), which landed a stunning 69 percent of fan votes. 

The Wildcats, hailing from Pikeville, a town of just over 6,000 people, captured the hearts of much of Eastern Kentucky with their improbable state title run which culminated in a victory over Ballard (Louisville, Ky.), a school with an enrollment of roughly 1,700.

Hundreds of people turned out to greet Shelby Valley on their return trip home from Lexington after capturing the state title, and hundreds more turned out to vote for Shelby Valley in MaxMadness.  

With that type of continued support, Shelby Valley appears poised to pull off a second round upset against No. 3 Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.), which downed Sanford (Hockessin, Del.) in the voting over the weekend.

Yates (Houston, Texas), the No. 1 seed in the West and the nation's No. 1 team overall, got past Essex (Essex Junction, Vt.) by securing 69 percent of votes.