An anticipated showdown between the Salpointe Catholic and Catalina Foothills boys basketball teams in the Class 4A state championship has fallen victim to a late shuffle of MaxPreps ratings which dropped the previous top-ranked Lancers down to second while maintaining the No. 3 rank for the Falcons. Peoria takes over as the top seed.
So now, if Salpointe and Foothills both win their first- and second-round games, they will meet in the semifinals instead.
Salpointe opens with a home game against Rio Rico on Tuesday while Foothills will host No. 14 Yuma Gila Ridge in the opener.
Four area teams advanced to the 5A state tournament, but only two will advance to the second round thanks to scheduling. Wednesday, No. 5 Sierra Vista Buena hosts No. 12 Ironwood Ridge and No. 10 Nogales travels to No. 7 Cienega.
The area’s only representative in 6A, Tucson High, travels to second-seeded Chandler Hamilton on Wednesday.
In 3A, No. 14 Pusch Ridge hosts No. 19 Monument Valley while No. 24 Tanque Verde travels to No. 9 San Tan Foothills. Both games are Wednesday. Fifth-seeded Sabino plays host Saturday to the winner of No. 12 Holbrook and No. 21 Show Low.
No. 10 St. Augustine is the only local squad in the 2A playoffs and it will host No. 23 Parker on Wednesday in a play-in game.
Defending two-time state champion, No. 4-seeded The Gregory School, saw its hopes of repeating dashed Saturday when it fell to No. 13 Patagonia Union 55-53. No. 6 Sells Baboquivari advanced to the next round by defeating No. 11 Anthem Prep 73-45.
Girls basketball
For the most part, Tucson-area girls teams acquitted themselves well in state play-in games last week.
In 6A play, this area’s only entry, No. 16 Tucson High fell to No. 17 Mesa 61-49.
Local teams fared better in 5A with four of seven schools advancing with wins: No. 9 Flowing Wells, No. 12 Rincon/University, No. 17 Sunnyside and No. 22 Mountain View.
In the championship round starting Tuesday, No. 6 Sierra Vista Buena hosts Cholla, Flowing Wells plays at No. 8 Desert Mountain, Rincon visits No. 5 Buckeye Verrado and Sunnyside plays at top-seeded Goodyear Millennium.
Three of four local teams advanced in 4A: No. 10 Salpointe, No. 14 Rio Rico and No. 17 Catalina Foothills.
Wednesday, No. 3 Sahuaro hosts No. 14 Phoenix Moon Valley, Salpointe takes on No. 7 Scottsdale Saguaro, Catalina Foothills visits No. 2 Shadow Mountain and Rio Rico plays at No. 4 Phoenix Greenway.
In 3A, top seed Sabino has a bye and plays its first game on Friday against the winner of No. 16 Valley Christian and No. 17 Show Low. No. 12 Tanque Verde hosts No. 21 Queen Creek American Leadership Academy on Tuesday. The winner plays at No. 6 Tuba City on Friday.
In 2A, Bisbee has qualified for the championship round but its opponent has not been determined. No. 15 Benson plays No. 19 Morenci on Tuesday.
In 1A, No. 6 Sells Baboquivari defeated No. 11 Arete Prep 49-39, but No. 12 The Gregory School lost to No. 5 Fort Thomas 52-22. Baboquivari plays No. 5 Mogollon on Thursday.
