Since the current SMC thread is 9 pages long, thought it might be good to start a new one for the playoffs. A few thoughts on tonight's games, hope others add to it:
Boys
(32) Highlands at (1) Lincoln Charter--Highlands stole a bid by winning their conference tournament, but I think their run stops tonight. Good news is Carrier (23 ppg) is only a sophomore and they're a pretty young team overall, so they'll be back and will have some playoff experience under their belt.
(28) Swain at (5) Hayesville--Never fun to draw a familiar opponent in the first round. Swain has shown they can play with Hayesville--they were up on them at the half at Swain. I think Hayesville takes it at home but it could be a close one.
(25) Andrews at (8) Mitchell--Andrews has lost 4 of 5 after a great start but I think has a shot at the upset in this one (if you'd call an 18-win team beating a 9-win team an upset). I've been reading that Mitchell has talented guards but not much size, which seems similar to Andrews, although Andrews does have some size now that B. Holloway is back from his injury. Only common opponent is Robbinsville, who played Andrews tight two of three times and who Mitchell destroyed by 40+--but Mitchell played Robbinsville about a week after the football state final so I'm not reading too much into that.
(24) Community School of Davidson at (9) Hiwassee Dam--Community School of Davidson is coming out of a tough conference with what looks like they a deep, balanced squad (only one player averages double digits, but 8 average at least four points) and ten seniors on the roster. There are some years when the Little Smoky Champ would also be a top Big Smoky team, but this HD team went 2-8 against Big Smoky teams.
(20) South Stokes at (13) Cherokee--Any NWC team is going to be tough team this year--although most of South Stokes league wins seem to have come from really having their rival North Stokes' number. I think this one will come down to which team can dictate the style. Cherokee averages over 70 points a game, while South Stokes has played some really good teams tight because they've kept things low scoring, but are 0-6 when the other team can get to 60 (and 2-11 when their opponent gets to 55).
Girls
(32) Pine Lake Prep at (1) Murphy--Pine Lake Prep performed pretty well in their league, but the fact that they didn't win a single non-conference game has me wondering how tough that league is. Long road trip for PLP. Union County--who Murphy beat by 25 with Addison out--playing tonight in GA's 2A quarterfinals is really driving home how good Murphy is this year.
(26) Bessemer City at (7) Highlands--For any Little Smoky skeptics, Highlands has beaten a 2A conference tournament champ (Brevard) and several other playoff teams (Rosman, Hayesville, Swain), and played some other really good teams (Franklin, Cherokee, Robbinsville) to within a basket. They're tough.
(24) Swain at (9) Cherokee-- They always say it's hard to beat a team three times, but based on how well Cherokee played in the SMC tournament, I don't expect a changed result from the regular season between these two.
(20) WS Prep at (13) Robbinsville-- Robbinsville has shown they're as good as anybody when they're healthy and clicking, but WS Prep's 10-14 record could be deceiving-- they're coming from a tough league and most of their non-conference was against larger schools.
(18) Polk County at (15) Hayesville--Tough game to call. Polk is coming out of a split conference with some really tough teams in it. Hayesville has been a little up and down, hope they are up tonight.
(17) Rosman at (16) Union Academy--I was really impressed with Union Academy when they came to Murphy two years ago. Obviously won't be the same players, but I thought they were a very well-coached program. Rosman is hard to get a read on, and is going into the playoffs on a four game skid.
Boys
(32) Highlands at (1) Lincoln Charter--Highlands stole a bid by winning their conference tournament, but I think their run stops tonight. Good news is Carrier (23 ppg) is only a sophomore and they're a pretty young team overall, so they'll be back and will have some playoff experience under their belt.
(28) Swain at (5) Hayesville--Never fun to draw a familiar opponent in the first round. Swain has shown they can play with Hayesville--they were up on them at the half at Swain. I think Hayesville takes it at home but it could be a close one.
(25) Andrews at (8) Mitchell--Andrews has lost 4 of 5 after a great start but I think has a shot at the upset in this one (if you'd call an 18-win team beating a 9-win team an upset). I've been reading that Mitchell has talented guards but not much size, which seems similar to Andrews, although Andrews does have some size now that B. Holloway is back from his injury. Only common opponent is Robbinsville, who played Andrews tight two of three times and who Mitchell destroyed by 40+--but Mitchell played Robbinsville about a week after the football state final so I'm not reading too much into that.
(24) Community School of Davidson at (9) Hiwassee Dam--Community School of Davidson is coming out of a tough conference with what looks like they a deep, balanced squad (only one player averages double digits, but 8 average at least four points) and ten seniors on the roster. There are some years when the Little Smoky Champ would also be a top Big Smoky team, but this HD team went 2-8 against Big Smoky teams.
(20) South Stokes at (13) Cherokee--Any NWC team is going to be tough team this year--although most of South Stokes league wins seem to have come from really having their rival North Stokes' number. I think this one will come down to which team can dictate the style. Cherokee averages over 70 points a game, while South Stokes has played some really good teams tight because they've kept things low scoring, but are 0-6 when the other team can get to 60 (and 2-11 when their opponent gets to 55).
Girls
(32) Pine Lake Prep at (1) Murphy--Pine Lake Prep performed pretty well in their league, but the fact that they didn't win a single non-conference game has me wondering how tough that league is. Long road trip for PLP. Union County--who Murphy beat by 25 with Addison out--playing tonight in GA's 2A quarterfinals is really driving home how good Murphy is this year.
(26) Bessemer City at (7) Highlands--For any Little Smoky skeptics, Highlands has beaten a 2A conference tournament champ (Brevard) and several other playoff teams (Rosman, Hayesville, Swain), and played some other really good teams (Franklin, Cherokee, Robbinsville) to within a basket. They're tough.
(24) Swain at (9) Cherokee-- They always say it's hard to beat a team three times, but based on how well Cherokee played in the SMC tournament, I don't expect a changed result from the regular season between these two.
(20) WS Prep at (13) Robbinsville-- Robbinsville has shown they're as good as anybody when they're healthy and clicking, but WS Prep's 10-14 record could be deceiving-- they're coming from a tough league and most of their non-conference was against larger schools.
(18) Polk County at (15) Hayesville--Tough game to call. Polk is coming out of a split conference with some really tough teams in it. Hayesville has been a little up and down, hope they are up tonight.
(17) Rosman at (16) Union Academy--I was really impressed with Union Academy when they came to Murphy two years ago. Obviously won't be the same players, but I thought they were a very well-coached program. Rosman is hard to get a read on, and is going into the playoffs on a four game skid.
