maddams

Sectional Matchups Northview/Greeneville - this game is a coin flip - could go either way. Greeneville has played well down the stretch and is at home. I’ll take Greeneville Elizabethton/Cocke - Elizabethton really improved as the heat went on. They graduated a lot last year and have overachieved to get to this sectional game. But I think Cocke Co wins this and heads to state. White/Heritage - best game of the night. Both these teams are talented enough to win a gold ball. Give me White Co on the road Signal Mtn/Upperman - Coach McWilliams has done a great job with this team. They’re not losing at home. Chester/Station Camp - I think this will be a good one. It’s a long drive for Chester but they win a close one on the road to get to state for first time since they won the title in 2005 Macon/South Side - South side wins comfortably. Tough place to play and SS is playing well lately. Covington/Dyersburg - Covington is not good. Dyersburg wins by 30+ South Gibson/Millington - could go either way. Millington hasn’t lost since early January but their schedule was pretty soft this year. SGC is limited but battle tested. I’ll take South Gibson for a return trip to state

I truly don’t think TSSAA purposely screws teams with the bracket. There is no benefit to TSSAA to putting the best teams on one side of the bracket. They don’t make more money by doing that. I don’t think they’ll ever go back to live draw with coaches in attendance. It was tough on coaches from far east TN and far west TN to drive up for the draw then go home just to drive back a couple days later. However, there is no reason for TSSAA not to livestream the draw to avoid any appearance of dishonesty

Can't confirm this but I heard today that Huntland job was open. Had a rough year but has been a solid program over the last decade.

I watched the video of the Dyersburg v SGC region championship last night. Feel like both teams' weaknesses were exposed. Dyersburg really struggled with the zone SGC played. Dyersburg looked unorganized in their halfcourt offense. That does not bode well for them in Murfreesboro, where they will have to play better teams than SGC. SGC only played five players. Literally did not sub the entire game. They really struggled when Dyersburg decided to get aggressive and physical in their full court press. SGC had a real shot at the upset but turnovers against the press cost them the game. I agree that Millington could give SGC some problems if they press and play physical. Dyersburg will win Saturday by 40+.

I think they've got a shot to get there this year. I don't think they beat York tonight but substate would likely be at East Nashville. That's not an easy place to play, but I would not be surprised if Smith pulled it off. Definitely a program on the rise.

AAA Region Championships Greeneville/Elizabethton - Elizabethton playing well late this season but I think Greeneville takes this one Northview/Cocke Co - Northview wins a close one Heritage/Signal Mtn - Heritage wins comfortably White Co/Upperman - should be a great game but White Co too big and too talented this year Macon Co/Portland - haven't seen Portland this year but I expect Macon to win this one South Side/Chester Co - South Side stays hot Dyersburg/South Gibson - impressed that SG is in this game with all their injuries; Dyersburg getting healthy at the right time and wins by double digits Millington/Covington - neither team is great, but Millington is better

Should be some good AA games tonight: Summertown/Loretto will be a war - I like Summertown but could go either way. GC/Westview - GC is too much for Westview; would be more competitive if Westview had not lost their PG earlier this year Gatlinburg/Alcoa - Gatlinburg gets their win back York/Smith - York by a lot East Nashville/Pearl Cohn - East Nashville by a lot Cheatham Co/Huntingdon - Kee leads Huntingdon to a win but should be a good game McMinn/Meigs - McMinn by as much as they want

Wayne County is the better team. Davis is incredible, but McKenzie supporting cast is not good enough to carry them to a win. Davis and Reynolds will have to combine for more than 50pts tonight. If that doesn't happen, Wayne County will win. I am interested to hear if Wayne Co stays with their usual zone defense tonight. Seems like you have to face guard Davis with at least one, maybe two players

I agree. York is very capable of winning the title this year and will likely be the heavy favorite in 2025. This year, AA has the most teams capable of winning a title. McMinn, Gatlinburg, York, Gibson County could all win the title. I don't think Westview, Huntingdon, Summertown or Loretto can with the whole thing, but they are talented enough to upset any of those teams on a given night. AA state tournament is going to be fun

Wayne Co and McKenzie has to be the game of the night. Not saying it will be the closest game, but so much intrigue based on the last couple seasons. Wayne Co feels like the favorite but hard to picture Savanna Davis finishing her career anywhere other than the Glass House

Best team over there is probably Millington. Millington lost to Dyer County, the last place team in 13AAA, twice. Millington also lost to Crockett early this year by 20. I think it's very likely that two teams from 13AAA are headed to Murfreesboro

A lot of games tonight will be non-competitive. However, there are a few across the state that should be solid. Here's a few I see that have the potential to be good games. What did I miss? Tennessee @ Greeneville Tellico Plains @ Sequatchie Co Upperman @ Tullahoma Brentwood @ Lincoln Co (I'm trying to figure out if I can make it to Lincoln for this one) Houston Co @ Collinwood South Gibson @ Fayette Ware Houston @ Memphis East

Fayette Ware has a shot against South Gibson. South Gibson is the better team but they have had so many injuries this year that I wouldn't be shocked if Fayette Ware found a way to beat them. Bolivar won't beat Obion Co.

My 3A state tournament predictions as of right now. David Crockett Northview Academy Heritage White Co South Side Sycamore Dyersburg Crockett Co

If Crawford gets healthy, Dyersburg is a threat to win the gold ball. Without her, they will still get there but won’t win the whole thing.

I love the idea of 4 classes for all sports with the same regions/districts across all sports. It would really allow for rivalries to develop. Don't think it will ever happen. Can't see football dropping to four.

I like the idea of keeping districts but doing away with district tournaments. Use regular season district standings to seed the region tournaments. This would also make the season one week shorter, which would be a positive.

That's probably true, though Westview and York would probably argue that point. Those teams were great and had elite PG play, which was required to play with you guys last year. What I meant in the original post was overall AA was stronger than AAA last year. Westview and York (best two teams in the tournament) played in the first round. Gibson County, McMinn Central, Gatlinburg were all there and were really good teams. AAA had South Side and Upperman (best two teams in the tournament) in the first round. Elizabethton was really good. Other than those three, the other AAA teams were solid but not great.

I think you nailed it. AA has been a stronger than AAA last year and this year. I don't think it will always be that way; it will likely cycle back and forth. AA is absolutely loaded right now. I think state tournament looks like this: Regions 1-2: Gatlinburg and McMinn Central Regions 3-4: York and East Nashville or Westmoreland Regions 5-6: 2 of Huntingdon, Cheatham Co, Summertown and Loretto Regions 7-8: Gibson Co and Westview Gatlinburg, McMinn, York, Gibson Co and maybe Huntingdon all have enough talent to win the whole thing.

Thats always the million dollar question. Easy to say that this person should have been a finalist, but who are you leaving off to make room. For example, 2A has Lily Kee and Ally Weathers who are both deserving but are you leaving out Newman, Hart or Beatty? With only 3 finalists, really good players will get left out every year.

8AAA is stout. White County, Upperman, Livingston, and Cumberland are state tournament level teams. Stone and DeKalb are not bad. In my opinion, it's the best top to bottom district in the state. 13AAA is solid top to bottom as well - Dyersburg, Obion, South Gibson, Crockett, Dyer Co. Maybe the only districts in the state where there are no off nights.

My take (that nobody asked for) on several West TN teams: Huntingdon is good and sometimes really good. When their guard play is good, they are really tough to beat but their guard play is not always good. Dyersburg is really talented but is missing something. Talented enough to win a gold ball, but wouldn't be shocked if they got upset in a region semifinal game. South Gibson, Crockett County, Obion County and Dyer County are all average to above average. Any of those teams could finish second in that district. I expect them to beat each other up in district play, district tournament and region tournament. Gibson County goes as far as Micah Hart takes them. They have a couple decent pieces around her but nothing close to what Cantrell was for Micah last year. Westview losing their PG is a big deal. They probably still make the state tournament, but the Peabody matchup for them just got really interesting. Peabody is a scary matchup, especially for Westview. McKenzie has one great player, one good player and not much else. Those two players might be enough to carry them to a state tournament. South Side is dangerous. They'll keep getting better and their defense will keep them in every game. I know they lost to Chester County recently, but I'd still put my money on South Side in that district. USJ could win the D2-A state tournament. Haylen Ayers is the real deal and they have a couple solid pieces around her. With no dominant team in their division, that might be enough.

Beaty is special. A top 5 player in the state. York also has some other pieces that can play. They are good enough to win the whole thing with a few breaks along the way. I would rank them 3rd in AA behind McMinn Central and Gatlinburg-Pittman but ahead of Gibson County and Huntingdon.

I don’t know the guy, but I read your post as a knock against him. Are we knocking a coach for trying to build his program? A coach going to local middle school games and travel tournaments is a positive

Both will be competitive but I don’t think either one has the talent to challenge Dyersburg this year. South Side is rebuilding, playing a lot of young kids. South Gibson lost two starters to knee injuries. However, with McNeal and Embrey, both programs have great coaches. They’ll get better as the year goes and will be tough outs in the postseason