This is an exceptional slate of games today. The Stax Index (which is what determines the Game of the Day), factors in a bunch of different numbers, and is basically looking for the most entertaining game, something worth driving to.
On the boys side, the numbers look like this:
Gray-New Gloucester/Noble: 87.8
Orono/Old Town: 87.5
Oceanside/Lincoln Academy: 87.2
Hampden/Messalonskee: 86.7
That’s crazy.
All of these games look awesome. Jamier Rose is probably the breakout star of the tourney so far, leading a Noble team in their first real tourney experience in almost 40 years…Lincoln Academy is in their first Regional Final since 1989 and they’ll try to finish the job they couldn’t complete when they nearly beat Oceanside in January. Meanwhile, Oceanside is looking for their first Gold Ball since Rockland and Georges Valley merged as they work through a season made unnecessarily more difficult by ADs and IGs outside of their control (can’t wait for Dana White to show up)…And after the front-runners all had underwhelming semifinals, Zach McLaughlin of Hampden is making a late push for Mr. Basketball against a Messalonskee team that has turned into a legit contender.
But none of those are Game of the Day.
Because the Game of the Day is Brunswick and Mt. Ararat boys.
I’m a little surprised by this because Brunswick has looked unbeatable thus far in the A South tourney and Mt. Ararat has looked vulnerable, but they’ve gotten the job done.
You can look at this a lot of different ways. If you want to deep-dive into the Model, Brunswick has gotten a slightly easier draw and yadda yadda yadda.
They split the season series. They’re rivals. They’re the No. 1 seed and the No. 2 seed. If you need more convincing than that, I can’t help you.
Just go to the Expo today. Session 1: Spruce/Oceanside and Lincoln/Oceanside. Session 2: Mt. Ararat/Brunswick and Noble/GNG. All four of those games have the potential to be classics. I think all of these lower seeds can win.
Looking back at Thursday’s games…
Up in Bangor, Cami Shields led Southern Aroostook to their sixth consecutive Regional Final. Six straight. I don’t care what class you’re in. That’s incredibly impressive.
In Girls action at the ACC, Madison pulled off a small upset in C South. NYA was the No.1 seed and Madison the No. 4, but the Model thought NYA was over-seeded and Madison under-seeded and that’s a pretty good recipe for an upset.
Madison got 14 & 12 from Raegan Cowen in the win, but NYA got the consolation prize of one of the best assists of the tourney.
