Class AA Boys Basketball Wide Open Midway Through Regular Season

If you haven't been paying attention to Class AA boys basketball in South Dakota this season my advice to you is to start.

It's been a great season so far for teams around South Dakota. Every team in Class AA has played, or played more, than ten games. What we have found so far is that there is no true favorite.

The brand new South Dakota Prep Media Basketball Polls were released on Monday, and just a matter of two days later we can guarantee that the poll will have a bit of a shakeup next week. As of Wednesday (January 24) this is what has happened to the top-five teams.

Class AA

Harrisburg (18) *Loss to Yankton 50-48 on 1/23
Sioux Falls Lincoln (6) *Loss to Watertown 61-52 on 1/23
Rapid City Central (Next game January 26)
Brandon Valley *Loss to SF Washington 62-58 on 1/23
Rapid City Stevens (Next game January 27)

Three teams in the new rankings suffered losses this week to teams on the outside. Washington and Yankton both received a couple of votes this past weekend, while Watertown wasn't even on the radar.

Fact is, this season is balanced and wide open. Here's how they stand as of Wednesday (1/24).

(Team, Seed Points, Record, and the teams they have lost to)

RC Central, 43.846, 12-1 (OG)
SF Lincoln, 43.727, 8-3 (WAT + 2 teams out of state)
Harrisburg, 43.545, 10-1 (YAN)
RC Stevens, 42.846, 11-2 (OG/RHS)
Douglas, 42.000, 8-4 (RCS, RCC, Sturgis, Sisseton)
Sturgis Brown, 41.917, 9-3 (RCS, RCC, AC)
Yankton, 41.833, 8-4 (PIE, HHS, LHS, 1 out of state)
SF Washington, 41.538, 7-6 (RHS, OG, HHS, and 4 out of state)
Brandon Valley, 41.083, 8-4 (LHS, YAN, HHS, and WHS)
SF Roosevelt, 40.636, 4-7 (LHS, BV, HHS, RCC, and 2 out of state)
SF O'Gorman, 40.462, 6-7 (LHS, SF Christian, WHS, BV, YAN, RCS, + 1 out of state)
Aberdeen Central, 40.154, 6-7 (WAT, BV, RCC, RCS, HHS, YAN, + 1 out of state)
Watertown, 39.818, 6-5 (BV, HHS, OG, YAN, WHS)
Spearfish, 38.667, 4-8
Huron, 37.667, 4-8
Pierre T.F. Riggs, 37.333, 2-10
Brookings, 36.400, 2-8
Mitchell, 35.250, 0-12

The results so far have proved that at the midpoint of the season this class is beyond wide open. Teams 1-13 have shown that they have a chance to win any game.

It's a steep drop after Watertown at 13. Spearfish, Huron, Pierre, Brookings, and Mitchell have all picked up whatever wins they have against each other, or against teams in a lower classification. The only outlier to this is a Pierre win over Yankton on December 16.

Two teams will be dropped at the end of the season and 16 will have a chance to play for a state tournament bid. The teams at the top of the standings will look to make a huge push to get into one of the first two spots to open play against the teams in the bottom tier.

Outside of the top two spots, there will be a tough fight for the other teams to secure a top eight seed and host a game during the new Round of 16. As of now, any of those teams in the spots of 3-14 could potentially shake things up if the postseason started today. The second half of this Class AA season will be crucial when it comes to standings for teams in the middle of the pack.

Now is the time to jump on the bandwagon for Class AA boys basketball for this season. It's wide open, and it will be a wild ride to the end.

Buckle up.

Source: South Dakota Class AA Boys Basketball Wide Open Midway Through Season