Class 2 and 3 Bracket Updates...

Right off the top, there will be a new Boys Champion in Class 2. Hayti knocked off Oran, winning by 15. That's a heckuva statement by Coach Aaron Bidewell and his team. Congratulations to Oran, who have put together a great run over the past two seasons, and good luck to Hayti moving forward.

They'll have to knock off another State Champion in Hartville, winners in 2016, as Hartville knocked off Thayer 37-25 (that is not a typo). Hartville and Hayti should be an epic clash of styles.

Crocker won 77-69 (that's putting up a lot points!), and the rest of the bracket played out as expected, with one exception. Purdy, Van-Far, Sacred Heart, and Mid-Buchanan all moved on. However, Milan (now 27-2, pay attention to this team) knocked off Harrisburg. I thought the Bulldogs had a chance to win the entire tournament, and they had a late lead. But Milan went on a 14-0 run in the late 3rd and early 4th quarter that put them ahead for good, as they won 89-79 (that's a lot of points).

On the girls side, the winners were Oran, Neelyville, Skyline, Blue Eye, New Haven, Northeast, Tipton, and Mid-Buchanan.

Oran won fairly easy, but that was expected. That sets up an EPIC rematch with Neelyville, one of the best games in the entire state tournament for sure. Oran beat them last year. That will be a great game.

Sante Fe losing to Mid-Buchanan was a mild surprise for me, but I'll be honest, I haven't seen Mid-Buch play. They're now 27-2. Time to pay attention to that team. All in all, this entire bracket has played out as expected.

Switching over to Class 3 Girls, Saxony Lutheran, Whitfield, Licking, Strafford, Lutheran North, Clark County, California, and Penney moved on. There were a couple of upsets here. Licking (26-2) handled South Calloway (26-0 coming in) fairly easily. Also, California, who has had a terrific year (23-4) knocked off Barstow. That's not an "upset," but I am a bit surprised. California has now positioned themselves with a real shot to make it to the state finals.

Moving back over to the boys side, in Class 3 we saw Charleston, Whitfield, Moutain Grove, Springfield Catholic, Transportation & Law, Christian, Hogan Prep, and Maryville advance.

There were no upsets in this entire bracket. The game to watch in the next round, in my opinion, is Charleston vs. Whitfield. I said this way, way back in December. Don't be against Coach Danny Farmer, and don't bet against this Charleston bunch. This group from Charleston was "marked" way back in elementary school as the next up and coming Charleston team. They have never been to a Final Four. They're hungry. They're talented. Some of the young kids have moved up from JV to fortify that bench.

I've seen both teams play. Charleston can beat Whitfield. They're going to have to figure out how to deal with Torrence Watson and the rest of that roster, which is big, deep, and talented. But Charleston has the type of roster and mental makeup to be able to pull off this upset.

The Class 3 Boys bracket is the only bracket I've got right! Saturday will be an awesome day of basketball with Classes 1, 2, and 3 all playing. Good luck to all of the teams moving ahead in the bracket. Congratulations to all of the teams that saw their season end tonight. As disappointing as it is to lose, there were only 16 teams remaining in each bracket at the beginning of the week. To make it this far is truly an accomplishment to be proud of.

Thanks for reading.