2014 Nebraska boys basketball state playoffs facts and figures

The Class A field appears to be a little more wide open than usual in 2014. Then again maybe it isn't.

Omaha Central is back and they don't lose in the postseason very often. Omaha Creighton Prep is the last squad to get by the Eagles in the tournament when they bumped Central out of the 2005 championships with a 68-59 semifinal win. Since then, Central has reeled off 21 straight tournament wins while claiming seven of the last eight titles. Omaha Central did not earn a berth in the 2009 Class A field. Until someone figures out how to knock Eric Behrens' club out of contention we're going with the Eagles.

Omaha South and Benson (Omaha) look like the best bets to take over the top spot should Central falter. Omaha Westside is the pick to get by Lincoln Southeast in an opening round contest that is tough to pick. Central's first round foe Bellevue West upended the Eagles 65-61 during the regular season. Lincoln Northeast and Norfolk are also in Nebraska's big-school field.

After finishing fourth in last year's Class B tournament, Elkhorn South (24-0), the state's only unbeaten team, is the pick to win it all this weekend. Elkhorn South is led by Matt Thomas' 18.3 points a game and the Storm score almost 71 points an outing as a team – the second-highest offensive output in the 48-team field. Beatrice, York and Skutt Catholic (Omaha) appear to be South's biggest challengers, while Pius X (Lincoln), Roncalli Catholic (Omaha), Northwest (Grand Island) and Scottsbluff are also in the mix here.

Class C-1 may be the toughest classification to pick so we're going to trust our ratings and go with MaxPreps' top-ranked Wayne to take the title. The Blue Devils did lose to Wahoo and went 2-1 against Boone Central/Newman Grove (Albion) during the regular season. Scotus (Columbus) fell to Bishop Neumann (Wahoo) and Boone Central/Newman Grove (Albion) before postseason play began, but the Shamrocks should play their way into contention. Falls City figures to be in the championship talk as well. Cozad and Kearney Catholic round out the C-1 field.

The best guess in Class C-2 is that top-ranked Archbishop Bergan (Fremont) will make it into the championship game and edge 6-foot-10 South Dakota State bound Michael Daum and his Kimball teammates. Daum brings the top scoring average into the tournament as well as an amazing all-around game. Ainsworth will have an opportunity to shut the door on this pick in the semifinals should the second-ranked Bulldogs first get by Battle Creek and then upend Kimball. Ainsworth owns the tournament's highest scoring average and is led by Matt McLeod, the second-leading scorer in the field of 48. Kimball faces a tough opening-round foe in 10th-ranked Freeman (Adams), while Archbishop Bergan has to find a way to outscore No. 7 Southern Valley (Oxford) in opening-round action. Doniphan-Trumbull (Doniphan) and Sutton battle in the other first-round game.

The pick in D-1 is for top-ranked Overton and No. 2 Howells-Dodge (Howells) to meet in the semifinals with the winner edging out third-ranked Elm Creek for the title. St. Patrick's (North Platte), one of the hotter teams in the six-class, 48-team field, and Clearwater/Orchard (Clearwater) do have the talent to win it all as well and Randolph, which owns the tournament's lowest-scoring defensive average, claimed a 62-60 Class D1-2 district final win over Howells-Dodge just last week. No. 5 Lourdes Central Catholic (Nebraska City) has played well enough to put its name in the championship talk and Fullerton comes into the tournament on a roll.

We're calling up the No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup in the championship game in Class D-2 this weekend with top-ranked High Plains (Polk) edging Bancroft-Rosalie (Bancroft) for the championship. But both clubs could get challenged in opening-round action with the Storm taking down dark horse Exeter-Milligan (Exeter) and the Panthers getting by Hitchcock County (Trenton). Sacred Heart (Falls City) and Spalding/Spalding Academy look to be the other semifinalists after squeezing out wins over Leyton (Dalton) and Elwood respectively.

State tournament qualifiers' longest winning streaks
Elkhorn South (Elkhorn), 24
Exeter-Milligan (Exeter), 14
St. Patrick's (North Platte), 13
Archbishop Bergan (Fremont), 9
High Plains (Polk), 9
Kimball, 9
Ainsworth, 9
Falls City, 8
Hitchcock County (Trenton), 8
Omaha South (Omaha), 7
Overton, 7
Omaha Westside (Omaha), 6
Wayne, 6
Scotus (Columbus), 6
Bishop Neumann (Wahoo), 6
Kearney Catholic (Kearney), 6
Fullerton, 6

Leading scorers at the state tournament
Michael Daum, Kimball 625 (25.0)
Matt McLeod, Ainsworth 582 (23.3)
Ty Danielson, York 502 (20.9)
Logan Fleming, High Plains (Polk) 522 (20.1)
Skyler Werger, Elwood 460 (20.0)
Grant Lahm, Scotus (Columbus) 496 (19.8)
Luke Hegemann, Howells-Dodge (Howells) 516 (19.1)
Matt Thomas, Elkhorn South (Elkhorn) 440 (18.3)
Khryi Thomas, Benson (Omaha) 326 (18.1)
Ben Hoskins, Wayne 475 (17.6)
Tanner Ryan, Overton 450 (17.3)
Jalen Barry, Wayne 462 (17.1)
Austin Blume, Hitchcock County (Trenton) 405 (16.9)
Tre'Shawn Thurman, Omaha Central (Omaha) 434 (16.7)
Tyler Hagedorn, Norfolk 416 (16.6)
Tyler Hedlund, Boone Central/Newman Grove (Albion) 416 (16.6)
Adam Dykman, Archbishop Bergan (Fremont) 399 (16.6)
Hunter Quinn, Southern Valley (Oxford) 381 (16.6)
Creighton Buhr, Doniphan-Trumbull (Doniphan) 430 (16.5)
Andy Kerkman, Clearwater/Orchard (Clearwater) 412 (16.5)
Zach Bellar, Battle Creek 396 (16.5)
Payton Helmstadter, Lincoln Northeast (Lincoln) 346 (16.5)
Trent Harris, Scottsbluff, 405 (16.2)
Brady Delimont, Ainsworth 405 (16.2)
NIck Sjuts, Bancroft-Rosalie (Bancroft) 534 (16.1)
Ben Scheef, Wahoo 402 (16.1)
Jared Bellar, Battle Creek 386 (16.1)

Team scoring offense
Ainsworth, 71.68
Elkhorn South (Elkhorn), 70.88
Scottsbluff, 66.29
High Plains (Polk), 66.27
Bancroft-Rosalie (Bancroft), 64.96
Wahoo, 64.48
Spalding/Spalding Academy, 64.44
Howells-Dodge (Howells), 64.04
Norfolk, 63.68
Overton, 63.62
Lincoln Southeast (Lincoln), 62.92
Benson (Omaha), 62.81
Battle Creek, 62.79
Archbishop Bergan (Fremont), 62.71
Elwood, 62.54
Bishop Neumann (Wahoo), 62.48
Boone Central/Newman Grove (Albion), 62.28
Wayne, 62.00
Lourdes Central Catholic (Nebraska City), 61.46
Omaha Central (Omaha), 61.12
Clearwater/Orchard (Clearwater), 61.12
Omaha Westside (Omaha), 60.17
York, 60.00

Team scoring defense
Randolph, 34.67
Sutton, 34.92
Freeman (Adams), 35.37
Hitchcock County (Trenton), 37.13
High Plains (Polk), 37.46
Leyton (Dalton), 38.96
Falls City, 40.35
Beatrice, 40.36
St. Patrick's (North Platte), 40.40
Elm Creek, 40.48
Sacred Heart (Falls City), 41.15
Southern Valley (Oxford), 41.42
Bancroft-Rosalie (Bancroft), 41.44
Exeter-Milligan (Exeter), 42.36
Howells-Dodge (Howells), 42.63
Omaha South (Omaha), 43.16
York, 43.58
Doniphan-Trumbull (Doniphan), 43.62
Bishop Neumann (Wahoo), 43.76
Fullerton, 44.11

First-round rematches with results
Class A
Benson (Omaha) - Lincoln Northeast (63-42)
Bellevue West - Omaha Central (65-61)
Class B
Beatrice - Roncalli Catholic (Omaha) (52-24)
Class C-2
Sutton - Doniphan-Trumbull (Doniphan) (43-39 2OT)
Class D-2
High Plains (Polk) - Exeter-Milligan (Exeter) (60-58, 50-59)

Picking the field
The rankings next to each team were taken from MaxPreps' computer rankings

Class A
No. 1 Benson (Omaha) (23-3) over No. 17 Lincoln Northeast (12-13)
No. 4 Omaha Westside (19-5) over No. 5 Lincoln Southeast (20-5)
No. 3 Omaha South (20-5) over No. 7 Norfolk (20-5)
No. 2 Omaha Central (22-4) over No. 6 Bellevue West (18-6)

No. 1 Benson (Omaha) (24-3) over No. 4 Omaha Westside (20-5)
No. 2 Omaha Central (23-4) over No. 3 Omaha South (21-5)

Consolation Championship – No. 3 Omaha South (21-6) over No. 4 Omaha Westside (20-6)
Championship – No. 2 Omaha Central (24-4) over No. 1 Benson (Omaha) (25-3)

Dark Horse: No. 5 Lincoln Southeast

Other players to watch: Malik Hluchoweckyjj, Bellevue West; Clester Johnson Jr., Bellevue West; Christian Hatterle, Bellevue West; Jarek Coles, Omaha Central; Logan Strom, Norfolk; James Dumes, Omaha South; Karlon Mcspadden, Omaha South; Clayton Peterson, Lincoln Southeast; Danny Clare, Lincoln Southeast; Luke Gifford, Lincoln Southeast; BJ Day, Lincoln Southeast; Kevin Metoyer, Omaha Westside; MIke Herrmann, Omaha Westside; Mike Kiger, Omaha Westside; Connor Springman, Lincoln Northeast; Tyree Peters, Benson (Omaha); Thik Bol, Benson (Omaha).

Class B
No. 4 York (22-2) over No. 5 Pius X (Lincoln) (15-7)
No. 2 Beatrice (20-2) over No. 13 Roncalli Catholic (Omaha) (14-11)
No. 1 Elkhorn South (24-0) over No. 23 Northwest (Grand Island) (11-16)
No. 3 Skutt Catholic (Omaha) (19-6) over No. 10 Scottsbluff (16-8)

No. 2 Beatrice (21-2) over No. 4 York (23-2)
No. 1 Elkhorn South (25-0) over No. 3 Skutt Catholic (Omaha) (20-6)

Consolation Championship – No. 4 York (23-3) over No. 3 Skutt Catholic (Omaha) (20-7)
Championship – No. 1 Elkhorn South (Elkhorn) (26-0) over No. 2 Beatrice (22-2)

Dark Horse: No. 5 Pius X (Lincoln)

Other players to watch: Johnny Trueblood, Elkhorn South; J.J. Zumbrennen, Elkhorn South; Andru Kuxhausen, Scottsbluff; Jackson Hinze, Scottsbluff; Ty O'Brien, Omaha Skutt; William Wallrapp, Omaha Skutt; Nick Bouda, Omaha Skutt; Darrek McNelis, Northwest (Grand Island); Brandon Utrup, Pius X (Lincoln); Noah Appleget, Pius X (Lincoln); Jody Bryant, Roncalli Catholic (Omaha); Cole Meister, Roncalli Catholic (Omaha); Rylee Zimmerman, Beatrice; Alec Cromer, Beatrice.

Class C-1
No. 1 Wayne (23-4) over No. 12 Cozad (17-8)
No. 4 Wahoo (20-5) over No. 6 Falls City (24-2)
No. 3 Scotus (Columbus) (21-4) over No. 11 Kearney Catholic (15-11)
No. 5 Boone Central/Newman Grove (Albion) (19-6) over No. 2 Bishop Neumann (Wahoo) (19-6)

No. 1 Wayne (24-4) over No. 4 Wahoo (21-5)
No. 5 Boone Central/Newman Grove (Albion) (20-6) over No. 3 Scotus (Columbus) (22-4)

Consolation Championship – No. 4 Wahoo (21-6) over No. 3 Scotus (Columbus) (22-5)
Championship – No. 1 Wayne (25-4) over No. 5 Boone Central/Newman Grove (Albion) (21-6)

Dark Horse: No. 2 Bishop Neumann (Wahoo)

Other players to watch: Pierce Koch, Boone Central-Newman Grove; Derek Gentrup, Boone Central-Newman Grove; Zach Ahrens, Bishop Neumann; Connor Loos, Bishop Neumann; Austin Woita, Bishop Neumann; Nate Ebner, Scotus (Columbus); Blake Holtmeier, Kearney Catholic; Jordy Stoller, Falls City; Mitchell Harling, Falls City; Jake Scheef, Wahoo; Gavin Iversen, Wahoo; Jake Paulsen, Cozad; Conor Young, Cozad.

Class C-2
No. 2 Ainsworth (23-2) over No. 14 Battle Creek (12-12)
No. 6 Kimball (22-3) over No. 10 Freeman (Adams) (23-4)
No. 3 Doniphan-Trumbull (Doniphan) (22-4) over No. 15 Sutton (17-9)
No. 1 Archbishop Bergan (Fremont) (21-3) over No. 7 Southern Valley (Oxford) (21-3)

No. 6 Kimball (23-3) over No. 2 Ainsworth (24-2)
No. 1 Archbishop Bergan (Fremont) (22-3) over No. 3 Doniphan-Trumbull (Doniphan) (23-4)

Consolation Championship – No. 3 Doniphan-Trumbull (Doniphan) (23-5) over No. 2 Ainsworth (24-3)
Championship – No. 1 Archbishop Bergan (Fremont) (23-3) over No. 6 Kimball (24-3)

Dark Horse: No. 10 Freeman (Adams)

Other players to watch: Nate Griffen, Archbishop Bergan; Colton Brdicko, Archbishop Bergan; Alex Kaup, Southern Valley; Seth Miller, Southern Valley; Cole Wiseman, Sutton; Jordan Slough, Doniphan-Trumbull; Lorenzo Williams, Doniphan-Trumbull; Riley Wiltfong, Doniphan-Trumbull; Colton Stull, Kimball; Jacob Reader, Kimball; Isaac Frerichs, Freeman; Cole Schuster, Freeman; Tanner Fuelberth, Ainsworth; Hunter Martin, Ainsworth.

Class D-1
No. 4 St. Patrick's (North Platte) (24-1) over No. 8 Clearwater/Orchard (Clearwater) (21-4)
No. 3 Elm Creek (20-3) over No. 7 Randolph (20-4)
No. 2 Howells-Dodge (Howells) (25-2) over No. 14 Fullerton (11-7)
No. 1 Overton (22-4) over No. 5 Lourdes Central Catholic (Nebraska City) (20-6)

No. 3 Elm Creek (21-3) over No. 4 St. Patrick's (North Platte) (25-1)
No. 2 Howells-Dodge (Howells) (26-2) over No. 1 Overton (23-4)

Consolation Championship – No. 1 Overton (23-5) over No. 4 St. Patrick's (North Platte) (25-2)
Championship – No. 2 Howells-Dodge (Howells) (27-2) over No. 3 Elm Creek (22-3)

Dark Horse: No. 7 Randolph

Other players to watch: Marco Fabietti, Lourdes Central Catholic; Noah Vasa, Lourdes Central Catholic; Aaron Miller, Lourdes Central Catholic; Mitch Gude, Lourdes Central Catholic; Creighton Ryan, Overton; Hayden Cahoy, Overton; Joel Shafer, Overton; Ethan Shotkoski, Fullerton; Zach Johnson, Elm Creek, Nic Crowley, Elm Creek; Jake Bartling, Elm Creek; Nolan Nordhues, Randolph; Garrett Watters, Randolph; Tate Schutt, Clearwater-Orchard; Zach Martin, Clearwater-Orchard; Trevor Mlnarik, Clearwater-Orchard; Drew McClellen, St. Patrick's (North Platte); Andrew O'Neill, St. Patrick's (North Platte); Alex Harms, St. Patrick's (North Platte); Mark Mayfield, St. Patrick's (North Platte); Casey Wisnieski, Howells-Dodge; Jesse Faltys, Howells-Dodge.

Class D-2
No. 2 Bancroft-Rosalie (Bancroft) (23-4) over No. 8 Hitchcock County (Trenton) (21-3)
No. 5 Sacred Heart (Falls City) (23-4) over No. 16 Leyton (Dalton) (18-5)
No. 1 High Plains (Polk) (25-1) over No. 3 Exeter-Milligan (Exeter) (22-3)
No. 4 Spalding/Spalding Academy (22-3) over No. 17 Elwood (14-10)

No. 2 Bancroft-Rosalie (Bancroft) (24-4) over No. 5 Sacred Heart (Falls City) (24-4)
No. 1 High Plains (Polk) (26-1) over No. 4 Spalding/Spalding Academy (23-3)

Consolation Championship – No. 5 Sacred Heart (Falls City) (24-5) over No. 4 Spalding/Spalding Academy (23-4)
Championship – No. 1 High Plains (Polk) (27-1) over No. 2 Bancroft-Rosalie (Bancroft) (25-4)

Dark Horse: No. 3 Exeter-Milligan (Exeter)

Other players to watch: Jacob Schmeeckle, Elwood; Blake Summer, Elwood; Billie Smith, Elwood; Zach Hackbart, Elwood; Brandon Stevens, Spalding-Spalding Academy; Joe Glaser, Spalding-Spalding Academy; Tanner Hudson, Spalding-Spalding Academy; Derek Luzum, Exeter-Milligan; James Sluka, Exeter-Milligan; Nolan White, Exeter-Milligan; Cole Klingsporn, High Plains; Chaz Dunn, Sacred Heart (Falls City); Austin Malone, Sacred Heart (Falls City); Matt Goltz, Sacred Heart (Falls City); Alex Whipps, Hitchcock County; Daniel Arp, Hitchcock County; Dylan Brenner, Leyton; Brennen Cruise, Leyton; Cody McKay, Leyton; Kenny Appleton, Bancroft-Rosalie; Drew Zitek, Bancroft-Rosalie; Preston Peters, Bancroft-Rosalie.