The new year brought about the latest power rankings from the AIA. While we should have expected teams like Corona del Sol and Shadow Mountain to hold down No. 1 seeds, it’s 5A Buena emerging as the top seed overall in their conference that may be somewhat of a surprise. The Colts (18-1) were 19-9 last season and have been perennial contenders in their region, but coach Dave Glasgow’s group has not gotten off to this kind of start since 1971 when they were the state runners up. More impressively, they have taken down two other top 7 teams in 5A and have the inside track to avoid No. 2 Apollo until the would-be title game.
Below is how the playoffs in boys 6A through 4A would look if the tournament started today:
6A Conference
No. 1 Corona de Sol vs. No. 16 Perry
No. 2 Basha vs. No. 15 Mountain Pointe
No. 3 Desert Vista vs. No. 14 Desert Mountain
No. 4 Mountain View Mesa vs. No. 13 Hamilton
No. 5 Cesar Chavez vs. No. 12 Sunnyside
No. 6 Westview vs. No. 11 Pinnacle
No. 7 Brophy Prep vs. No. 10 Central
No. 8 Desert Ridge vs. No. 9 Gilbert
5A Conference
No. 1 Buena vs. No. 16 Fairfax
No. 2 Apollo vs. No. 15 Verrado
No. 3 Chaparral vs. No. 14 Camelback
No. 4 Arcadia vs. No. 13 Carl Hayden
No. 5 Sunnyslope vs. No. 12 Deer Valley
No. 6 Cienega vs. No. 11 Ironwood
No. 7 Cholla vs. No. 10 Sahuaro
No. 8 Paradise Valley vs. No. 9 McClintock
4A Conference
No. 1 Shadow Mountain vs. No. 16 Catalina Foothills
No. 2 Salpointe Catholic vs. No. 15 Cactus Shadows
No. 3 Moon Valley vs. No. 14 Dysart
No. 4 St. Mary’s vs. No. 13 Estrella Foothills
No. 5 Rio Rico vs. No. 12 Lee Williams
No. 6 Flagstaff vs. No. 11 Higley
No. 7 Mohave vs. No. 10 Walden Grove
No. 8 Tempe vs. No. 9 Greenway