Below are previews of the Hardwood Classic boys basketball tournaments involving local teams.
The 12-team tournaments begin with Wednesday’s loser-out games. The winners of those contests advance to Thursday’s quarterfinals. From there, the tournaments take on a modified double-elimination format, where one loss eliminates a team from state-title contention and two losses eliminate a team from the tournament.
Unless otherwise noted, the rankings refer to a team’s seed among the 16 teams in each classification that qualified for last weekend’s state regionals.
CLASS 4A
Where: Tacoma Dome
Wednesday’s loser-out games
(6) West Valley-Yakima vs. (11) Skyview, 3:45 p.m.
(7) Auburn vs. (10) Olympia, 5:30 p.m.
(5) Federal Way vs. (12) Battle Ground, 7:15 p.m.
(8) Gonzaga Prep vs. (9) Sumner, 9 p.m.
Thursday’s quarterfinals
(4) Central Valley vs. West Valley-Skyview winner, 3:45 p.m.
(1) Union vs. Auburn-Olympia winner, 5:30 p.m.
(3) Mount Si vs. Federal Way-Battle Ground winner, 7:15 p.m.
(2) Glacier Peak vs. Gonzaga Prep-Sumner winner, 9 p.m.
FAVORITES
No. 1 Union. The unbeaten Titans (25-0) have outscored opponents by an average of 27.9 points and won all but three of their games by double digits. Union is 10-0 against 4A Hardwood Classic teams, including a 17-point non-league win over third-seeded Mount Si in December. Tanner Toolson, a 6-foot-5 senior guard, leads the Titans’ fast-paced attack, which averages 82.8 points per game and has scored 90-plus points nine times. Toolson, named the overall state player of the year by the state’s coaches association, averages 23 points per game. Union is making its fifth consecutive Hardwood Classic appearance.
No. 2 Glacier Peak. The unbeaten Grizzlies (24-0) outscore opponents by 23.3 points per game and have won all but five contests by double digits. Glacier Peak’s smothering defense allows just 44.8 points per game and has given up more than 57 points only once this season. Tucker Molina, Brayden Quantrille, Bobby Siebers and Brayden Corwin lead the Grizzlies’ balanced scoring attack, which averages 68.1 points per contest. Glacier Peak is making its fourth consecutive Hardwood Classic trip, but its first state quarterfinal appearance since 2011.
No. 3 Mount Si. The Wildcats (23-4) advanced to last year’s 4A state title game. They are led by a pair of NCAA Division I-bound senior guards in 6-6 Saint Mary’s College commit Jabe Mullins and 6-7 Montana State University signee Tyler Patterson. The duo combines to average 35 points per game for Mount Si, which is 20-2 against in-state opponents. After a surprising bi-district quarterfinal loss to Woodinville, the Wildcats rebounded to earn a return trip to the state quarterfinals. Mount Si features five players in its rotation who are 6-6 or taller.
NON-TITLE GAME MATCHUP WE WANT TO SEE
No. 2 Glacier Peak vs. No. 3 Mount Si. These teams were seemingly on course for a title-game showdown in the 4A Wes-King Bi-District Tournament, but Mount Si’s surprising loss to Woodinville kept that from happening. If both teams win their state quarterfinal matchups, they would meet in a very intriguing state semifinal clash. This would be a rematch of Mount Si’s overtime win over Glacier Peak in last year’s bi-district semifinals.
PREDICTION
Union rides its fast-paced attack past No. 10 Olympia and No. 4 Central Valley to reach the title game. Then in a championship showdown of unbeatens, the Titans top Glacier Peak to cap an undefeated season and claim their program’s second state crown.
CLASS 3A
Where: Tacoma Dome
Wednesday’s loser-out games
(3) Marysville Pilchuck vs. (14) Central Kitsap, 9 a.m.
(2) Wilson vs. (15) Marysville Getchell, 10:30 a.m.
(5) Evergreen-Vancouver vs. (13) Rainier Beach, 12:15 p.m.
(8) Mount Spokane vs. (9) Seattle Prep, 2 p.m.
Thursday’s quarterfinals
(4) Garfield vs. Marysville Pilchuck-Central Kitsap winner, 9 a.m.
(1) Eastside Catholic vs. Wilson-Marysville Getchell winner, 10:30 a.m.
(6) Kamiakin vs. Evergreen-Rainier Beach winner, 12:15 p.m.
(7) O’Dea vs. Mount Spokane-Seattle Prep winner, 2 p.m.
FAVORITES
No. 1 Eastside Catholic. The Crusaders (23-3) beat defending 3A state champion O’Dea three times and are 20-2 against in-state opponents, with their only two losses being to Metro League rival Garfield. Eastside Catholic averages 75.5 points per game and is led by four-star junior guards Nolan Hickman and Shane Nowell. The latter is the younger brother of former University of Washington standout Jaylen Nowell. The Crusaders have reached the state semifinals each of the past two seasons and four times in the past six years.
No. 4 Garfield. The Bulldogs (22-4) beat top-seeded Eastside Catholic twice and are 20-2 against in-state opponents, with their only two losses being to defending state 3A champion O’Dea. Garfield averages 78.8 points per game and features a pair of standout 6-8 senior forwards in Tari Eason and Kendall Munson. Eason, the state coaches association’s 3A state player of the year, is a University of Cincinnati commit. Munson is a Pepperdine University signee. The Bulldogs have won three state titles in the past six seasons.
No. 7 O’Dea. Don’t be fooled by the Fighting Irish’s seed. O’Dea (21-5) won the state title last year as a No. 11 seed and features the tournament’s reigning most valuable player in 6-10 power forward Paolo Banchero. The ultra-talented Banchero, ranked by ESPN as the nation’s No. 4 junior recruit, averages 22.7 points per game for a team that scores 73.7 points per contest. O’Dea beat Garfield twice and is 20-3 against in-state opponents, with all three losses coming to top-seeded Eastside Catholic.
LOCAL TEAMS
No. 3 Marysville Pilchuck. The Tomahawks’ 15-game win streak was snapped with an 81-71 overtime loss to No. 6 Kamiakin on Saturday in the state regional round. Marysville Pilchuck (21-3) averages 67.7 points per game and has four scorers averaging in double figures, led by senior wing Cameron Stordahl’s 20 points per contest. The senior-laden Tomahawks are making a return trip to the Hardwood Classic after claiming a program-best fourth-place state trophy last year.
No. 15 Marysville Getchell. After winning four consecutive loser-out games, the Chargers (17-8) are making the first Hardwood Classic appearance in their program’s nine-year history. Marysville Getchell won three consecutive district elimination games to earn its first-ever state regional berth, then edged No. 10 Mount Tahoma 54-51 in a loser-out state regional contest to advance to the Tacoma Dome. The Chargers are led by Oregon State University baseball commit Malakhi Knight, a talented junior guard who averages 26 points per game.
METRO LEAGUE DOMINANCE
The Metro League has won each of the past eight 3A state titles, and that trend could very well continue. Aside from their matchups against each other, Metro League regular-season co-champions Eastside Catholic, Garfield and O’Dea are a combined 53-0 against in-state opponents. All three teams earned byes into the state quarterfinals.
NON-TITLE GAME MATCHUP WE WANT TO SEE
No. 1 Eastside Catholic vs. No. 4 Garfield. If these Metro League rivals both win their quarterfinal games, they would square off in a star-studded semifinal showdown. Garfield won both of the teams’ previous matchups this season, including a dramatic 65-64 victory on a buzzer-beating tip-in by Eason in the Metro League title game.
PREDICTION
Banchero makes another legendary Tacoma Dome run, leading O’Dea past No. 8 Mount Spokane and No. 6 Kamiakin before lifting the Fighting Irish to back-to-back state titles with a narrow win over Metro League rival Garfield in the championship game.
CLASS 2A
Where: Yakima Valley SunDome
Wednesday’s loser-out games
(3) North Kitsap vs. (11) Selah, 3:45 p.m.
(2) Toppenish vs. (10) Prosser, 5:30 p.m.
(4) Lindbergh vs. (12) Lakewood, 7:15 p.m.
(8) Mountlake Terrace vs. (9) Black Hills, 9 p.m.
Thursday’s quarterfinals
(5) White River vs. North Kitsap-Selah winner, 3:45 p.m.
(1) Lynden vs. Toppenish-Prosser winner, 5:30 p.m.
(6) Tumwater vs. Lindbergh-Lakewood winner, 7:15 p.m.
(7) Clarkston vs. Mountlake Terrace-Black Hills winner, 9 p.m.
FAVORITE
No. 1 Lynden. Despite graduating 10 seniors from last year’s team, two-time defending state champion Lynden (22-2) is the 2A state tournament’s top seed for the fourth consecutive season. Led by 6-11 junior center Liam Hanenburg and 6-1 senior forward Brock Heppner, the Lions average 68.2 points per game and have scored at least 80 points five times. Lynden has claimed seven top-three state trophies in the past eight seasons, including three state titles.
LOCAL TEAMS
No. 8 Mountlake Terrace. The Hawks (18-7) are making their third Hardwood Classic appearance in four seasons. Mountlake Terrace tied for third place in the 15-team Wesco 3A/2A and beat a pair of 3A state regional qualifiers in Marysville Getchell and Shorecrest. The Hawks’ stingy defense allows just 51.3 points per game and has held opponents to less than 60 points in all but three contests. Mountlake Terrace played top-seeded Lynden tough in a pair of postseason losses, including a four-point defeat in the state regional round.
No. 12 Lakewood. The Cougars (15-9) are headed to the Hardwood Classic for the first time in the school’s 37-year history. Lakewood upset Burlington-Edison in a bi-district semifinal to clinch its first-ever trip to the state regional round, where the Cougars held off No. 13 Franklin Pierce in a loser-out contest to earn their historic Hardwood Classic berth. Four-year starting point guard Alex Jensen averages 17 points per game for Lakewood, which scores 68.3 points per contest and has topped 80 points seven times.
NON-TITLE GAME MATCHUP WE WANT TO SEE
No. 1 Lynden vs. No. 3 North Kitsap. North Kitsap is coming off a two-game losing skid and would have to win back-to-back games in Yakima to set up a potential semifinal clash against Lynden. But if the Vikings can rebound, they could provide one of the toughest roadblocks to a Lynden three-peat. Earlier this season, North Kitsap beat Wesco 3A/2A runner-up Stanwood and trailed 4A unbeaten Union by just seven points entering the fourth quarter.
PREDICTION
Lynden beats No. 10 Prosser and North Kitsap to advance to the state title game. The Lions then top district rival Mountlake Terrace for the third time in 19 days to capture their third consecutive state crown and the 11th in their program’s storied history.
CLASS 1A
Where: Yakima Valley SunDome
Wednesday’s loser-out games
(3) Zillah vs. (14) King’s, 9 a.m.
(7) King’s Way Christian vs. (10) La Center, 10:30 a.m.
(5) Bellevue Christian vs. (12) Meridian, 12:15 p.m.
(8) Omak vs. (9) La Salle, 2 p.m.
Thursday’s quarterfinals
(4) River View vs. Zillah-King’s winner, 9 a.m.
(1) Seattle Academy vs. King’s Way Christian-La Center winner, 10:30 a.m.
(6) Lynden Christian vs. Bellevue Christian-Meridian winner, 12:15 p.m.
(2) Cashmere vs. Omak-La Salle winner, 2 p.m.
LOCAL TEAM
No. 14 King’s. Despite their low seed, the Knights (15-10) are one of the most talented teams in the 1A state field. King’s suffered double-digit losses by virtue of an ultra-tough non-league schedule, but is 13-2 against 1A opponents and hung with a pair of 4A state-title contenders in Glacier Peak and Mount Si, losing 58-53 and 67-59, respectively. The Knights are led by 6-7 sophomore forward Tyler Linhardt, who has an offer from Boise State University. King’s has a challenging first-round, loser-out matchup against No. 3 Zillah, which is 22-2 and sports an impressive resume. But if the Knights can get past the Leopards, they could make a run at their seventh top-three state trophy in eight years.
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