I didn't have the chance to visit either Glens Falls or Hudson Valley today, but I watched the scores on the TU website most of the afternoon. While my scouting ability might not be top notch, so far, the forecasting model is doing very well. For the boys it had 9 of the 10 teams to make the finals and is four for four thus far on the champions. For the girls it also had 9 of the 10 finals teams, however it only had one of the four champions. A second years' data should help improve those numbers for the girls next year.
Looking through the final brackets I can't help but be impressed with what the Watervliet teams have done. Both the boys and girls have had to deal with suspensions to starters with the girls having one during sectionals as well as an injury to another starter. Both teams overcame adversity and should be commended for their accomplishments. The Troy girls also made a great second half run to defeat Holy Names today. After being down 11 and giving up 19 points in the first quarter, they outscored Holy Names by 13 in the final period to secure their first title in a long time.
Despite what the model was saying, I always thought the Hoosic Valley girls were the best team in the C bracket, though I really didn't think there was that much space between them and everyone else as today's score would seem to indicate. Now that I think back on it, I made a point about how Waterford and Maple Hill each beat Taconic Hills by 2 and 4 points respectively (and Maple Hill had beaten Berne-Knox by 4) arguing that they shouldn't be that far apart in the seedings. While I didn't realize it at the time, it seems apparent now that their proximity was a sign of Maple Hill and Berne-Knox's weakness, rather than Waterford's strength. Fort Edward finished off a perfect Section 2 run by beating Fort Ann for the third time this season. It's always cleaner that way.
In the boys', Scotia finished off their own perfect Section 2 season by beating Glens Falls by 6. Scotia has had a fantastic season but I do wonder if teams were starting to catch up as the season went on. Five of the eight teams they played more than once lost by less the last time they played them than the previous game by an average of 14.6 points. Luckily, from this point on, they only play everyone once.
I was wrong in my analysis of Lake George in one key respect, Joel Wincowski was the best player on the floor and he proved it today as he was the difference between them and Hoosic Valley. Luckily for me, the model is better at predicting than I am. I'd rather the model be right anyway since that's what the blog is based on. I also have a feeling this may not be the last time we see these two teams facing off in sectionals. Joel Wincowski is a Sophomore as is John Rooney and Mike Pierre is a Junior. We'll see what kind of supporting casts they'll have with them, or maybe it won't even matter.
Finally, Argyle took care of business in the D bracket and settled the discussion of how the CHVL's best would compete against them. I don't think anyone is shocked or surprised at how this one turned out. Congratulations to all the winners today and good luck at the State tournament. I don't have a forecast model for that one so I root for all the Section 2 teams, not just the ones I pick.
No comments:
Post a Comment