1A Boys State Basketball Preview

Published 2:35 pm Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Thursday’s Quarterfinals

Kalama vs. Cashmere, 9 a.m.

Freeman vs. Hoquiam, 10:30 a.m.

King’s vs. Zillah, 12:15 p.m.

Medical Lake vs. King’s Way Christian 2 p.m.

The Favorite

Zillah. The No. 2-ranked Leopards are the highest-ranked team remaining in the 1A tournament after they beat top-ranked Lynden Christian in last weekend’s regional round. As if their regional draw wasn’t tough enough, they get the defending state champion King’s Knights in their quarterfinal, but their one loss on the season and 16-game winning streak speaks for itself.

The Dark Horse

What dark horse? The winner of Thursday’s Zillah-King’s quarterfinal will go on to win the state championship.

Did you know?

King’s is attempting to advance to the state-title game for the fourth consecutive season. The Knights lost the first two times they made it to the championship contest before finally beating Lynden Christian in last year’s final. They meet Zillah in the quarterfinals on Thursday in a matchup that features the past two 1A state champions.

Player to watch

Scotty Burge, guard, Zillah. The senior leads the Leopards in scoring with an average of 17.1 points per game. His quarterfinal matchup with King’s junior guard Corey Kispert, who is widely regarded as one of the best players in the state, should be one of the highlights of Thursday’s action.

Game we want to see

We don’t have to wait long for this one. There is no question the top teams in the field are Zillah and King’s, and they meet in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

Prediction

The difference in this tournament is King’s has Corey Kispert and the other seven teams don’t. The Knights get past Zillah in a difficult first-round game and go on to defeat King’s Way Christian in the semifinals and Freeman in Saturday’s championship to claim their second straight state title.