The road to the Denver Coliseum starts here. The Class 5A and 4A boys basketball state tournaments begin play this week with games starting Wednesday. With 48 teams entering the field, there are countless outcomes on the road to crowning a state champion.
In the early stages of the tournament, we give a glimpse at some of the favorites in each classification while also looking at standout players that could deliver big moments for their teams.
As always, the postseason is sure to provide entertaining matchups and thrilling moments that players and fans will remember for years to come. And those moments will start to reveal themselves this week.
Class 5A // BracketsThunderRidge (Highlands Ranch) has been riding the emotional wave of winning last year's state championship all season and as a result, the Grizzlies enter the 5A playoffs as the top overall seed. They dropped just one game to a Colorado team - against
Chaparral (Parker) on Feb. 8. Beyond that, they've played like state contenders.
They have four players averaging double figures, led by
Zach Keller who averages 15.3 points. He's also the team's leading rebounder at 7.1 per game.
Jackson Brennan,
Joey Bilello and
Andrew Crawford all score more than 10 points per game. The team as a whole has played sound basketball as it averages 34.7 rebounds, 13.7 assists and 9.3 steals per game. ThunderRidge will see the winner of
Pine Creek (Colorado Springs) and
Heritage (Littleton) in its first playoff game.
Fossil Ridge (Fort Collins) came into the season with a lot of hype and it has shown to be justified. The Sabercats blew through everyone on their schedule with the exception of ThunderRidge. Perhaps their most significant win of the season came against
Horizon (Thornton) on Feb. 8.
Brock Mishak scored a team-high 15 points to lead Fossil Ridge to a 61-59 win.
Aidan Kuhl, Rocky Mountain
File photo by Tim Bourke
Mishak has been outstanding this year, averaging 20.7 points and four assists. He's had some quality help as
Nick Randall adds 17.5 points and pulls down a team-high eight rebounds per game. Randall has 10 double-doubles to his name this season. The No. 2 seed is the highest for the Sabercats since 2014 when they came into the tournament as one of four No. 1 seeds and advanced to the state championship game before losing to
Denver East.
Chaparral is one of the toughest teams to get a read on prior to the start of tournament play. The Wolverines were the only ones to deal ThunderRIdge a loss, but they dropped a few close games to Denver East,
Rangeview (Aurora) and
Douglas County (Castle Rock).
Luke Williams and
Joel Speckman II each average 15.6 points per game, and Speckman is averaging a double-double with 11.1 rebounds per game. His 1.7 blocks per game are also a team-high, making him a player crucial to the Wolverines' success. Chaparral has played some of its best basketball in the past three weeks, including that 21-point win over ThunderRidge and it is certainly a team that is peaking at the right time.
Douglas County is another team that has had high and low moments. It got a big win over Chaparral on Jan. 18 but lost to
Rock Canyon (Highlands Ranch) by one. A five-point loss to ThunderRidge suggests the Huskies are more likely a contender and not a pretender.
They rely on senior production as
Jaeton Hackley leads the team with 15.1 points per game, while
Ty Nettles and
AJ Jackson also score in double figures. Hackley is just as likely to find an open shooter as he is to take a shot himself as he has a team-high 4.6 assists per game. Douglas County has a big road block if it wants to reach the Final 4 as it will likely have to go through Denver East. But they will just take one step at a time as they face the winner of
Columbine (Littleton) and
Prairie View (Henderson).
Having standout players can certainly benefit teams that hope to make a deep postseason run.
Rocky Mountain (Fort Collins) is hoping that's the case as
Aidan Kuhl leads 5A at 24.7 points per game. The Lobos take on
Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch) in the first round, with the winner traveling to No. 11
Smoky Hill (Aurora).
Ever since
Liberty (Colorado Springs) got
Jordan McKay back into the lineup, the Lancers have looked like a more polished basketball team. They went 7-4 in their final 11 games and he averaged 15.5 points per game in that span. Liberty is the No. 34 seed in the 5A tournament and will see
Monarch (Louisville) in the first round. The winner of that game will head to Fossil Ridge.
Class 4A // BracketsLewis-Palmer (Monument) heads into the tournament as the top overall seed, and the Rangers are looking for their first state title since 2019. They are led by Air Force commit
Cameron Lowe, who averages 17.1 points and 3.6 assists. The importance of Lowe getting his looks is amplified by
Brady Jones' production at 14.1 points, most of which come from the post.
The Rangers enjoy working their game from the inside out and it has led to a 22-1 record this season. That one loss came to Chaparral, a top-four seed in the 5A bracket. L-P plays in the 5A/4A Pikes Peak Athletic Conference, which pits them against the likes of
Air Academy,
Doherty (Colorado Springs) and
Vista Ridge (Colorado Springs), all of which find themselves with decent seeds in the 5A state tournament.
The No. 2 seed of the tournament belongs to
Pueblo South and a lot of people would argue that the Colts should be No. 1.
"That's the team I'd want to see the least," Palmer Ridge coach Nick Mayer said.
The Colts finished the regular season undefeated and had several impressive wins along the way. That includes two big league wins over
Pueblo Central, the No. 5 seed in the 4A tournament.
Ty Adam (21), Severance
File photo by Barry Smith
averaged nearly 20 points in those two wins over the Wildcats while his brother
Tarrance Austin added 14 per game. They both score 21.6 points per game on the season. Through the course of the regular season, the Colts nearly doubled their opponents' offensive output as they scored 1,818 points while holding their foes to 967.
Defending champion
Mead (Longmont) has the No. 3 seed and is looking to catch fire at an opportune time in order to win its second straight 4A title. The Mavericks have dropped four games this year, but just two of them have come to in-state teams. Of those two, just one was to a 4A team as they lost to
Longmont 53-48 on Jan. 26.
Since then, they've been unbeatable and that includes avenging that loss to Longmont as Feb. 16. They have a triple-threat scoring attack as
Elijah Knudsen leads the way with 18.8 points per game while
James Shiers adds 14.7 and
Nick Basson scores 13.3. Shiers also uses his 7-foot-1 frame to pull down 8.7 rebounds and blocks three shots per game. Both Knudsen and Shiers were key contributors in the state championship win over
Montrose last spring. Basson missed the game after suffering a stroke.
Speaking of last year's runner-up, Montrose finished the regular season with a perfect 23-0 record. They've outscored their opponents 1,438-875.
Luke Hutto leads the team in scoring at 16.3 points per game and is also the leading rebounder at 6.3 boards per game.
Fletcher Cheezum is the only other player scoring in double-figures as he averages 12.5 points.
Trey Reese is also an important player on both ends of the court as he dishes out 5.8 assists per game and also accounts for 2.7 steals per game, both team highs.
Falcon will be an interesting team to watch as 4A's leading scorer
Mason Black gives the Falcons a chance to win, regardless of the opponent. He scores 24 points per game and scored a season-high 40 in a loss to
Highlands Ranch on Jan. 8. Falcon will meet the winner of
Grand Junction and
Rifle.
Severance junior
Ty Adam has been a tough player to slow down. The big man averages 22.9 points and 9.1 rebounds per game and has been one of the best overall players in 4A all season. He will lead the Silver Knights in their Round 1 game against
Littleton, with the winner getting a crack at No. 6
Frederick.
The No. 37 seed is a bit deceiving when looking at
Regis Groff (Denver). The Fusion come into the tournament with a 12-11 record but
Chiedoziem Nwoke has been a solid guard for them all year. He scores 21.2 points per game and gives his team a shot to upset No. 28
Golden.
