News and Notes: Playoff seeding shuffle
BY BARRY LEWIS World Sports Writer
Monday, February 04, 2013
2/04/13 at 4:05 AM
The Class 6A and 5A boys playoff pairings will be announced on Thursday. Playoff seedings are determined on games played through Saturday (Feb. 2).
The top four teams in each classification will host regionals.
In Class 5A, it appears that the East's top four will be Memorial, Coweta, Edison and Bishop Kelley.
However, there is quite a scramble in 6A. Last week's okrankings.com rankings had the East in this order for the top nine out of 16: 1. Jenks; 2. Broken Arrow; 3. Bartlesville; 4. Owasso; 5. Stillwater; 6. Union; 7. Mustang; 8. Moore; 9. Booker T. Washington.
During the past week, Owasso was the only team in the top four to go undefeated, including a victory over Jenks that could vault Owasso to No. 1. Stillwater could sneak into the top four after a 48-47 victory over 5A No. 1 Oklahoma City McGuinness on Friday.
"To me, there's no doubt Owasso will be No. 1, but it's going to be very interesting to see how the next five or six teams are ranked," Bartlesville coach Tim Bart said. "The East is very balanced. I think it's very possible that none of the four hosts will win their regional."
Bruins avenge loss: Bartlesville helped its playoff case with a 64-62 victory over NOAH on Saturday, avenging an overtime loss on Dec. 22. NOAH's Allonzo Trier, who scored 64 in the first meeting, had 33 points in the rematch.
"We used a 2-3 zone and made him shoot to beat us, not let him drive," Bart said. "We kept him from shooting a ton of free throws this time. He still made eight 3s and some were really deep. It was a victory to hold him to 33."
Quinton Smith led Bartlesville with 17 points. Freshman guard A.J. Parker had two treys in four minutes in his first meaningful varsity playing time.
"A.J. gave us a lift," Bart said. "He's going to be pretty special."
Warriors extend streak: Webster (10-9), which has won five in a row, hosts Booker T. Washington on Monday in a rematch of Webster's opening-game victory.
"We're feeling pretty good," Webster coach Scott Bowman said. "Jake Arterburn and Tommy Dunn are combining to give us 18-to-20 rebounds a game. This will be more of a test this week. After Booker T., we play McLain on Tuesday and Memorial on Friday."
Bowman said he is hopeful that Juwan Parker, who has signed with Georgia, will play for Booker T. Washington after missing the past two games due to illness.
Associated Images:
Owasso's Jaylen Lowe shoots during Friday's game against Jenks in Owasso. CORY YOUNG / Tulsa World
Jenks' Luke Phillips and Owasso's Eli Russell get in position for a rebound. CORY YOUNG / Tulsa World
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