With the excitement of Thursday now behind us ...

Let's see how the seeding breaks down for Class AAA. Obviously, the Hope juggernaut continues on its merry way to a four-peat, and St. Michael's ... Well, what's the point of bloviating here when I can do that below.


1. Hope Christian (21-1). After beating the Horsemen in what should be Round 1 of three matchups (and very likely four and maybe even five), the Huskies have preserved their spot atop the AAA list. Can it be undone? Yes, but the Horsemen have to beat them at least twice (one being in the Feb. 18 matchup, which would then commence a one-game playoff). No need to go through Hope's resume because when you play the best in Class AAAAA and AAAA to prep for the AAA level, you're usually guaranteed this spot.
2. St. Michael's (17-4). The Horsemen suffered their second lost to an in-state team (the other being Albuquerque St. Pius X), but as long as they don't stumble (the likely road blocks are Sandia Prep and at Pojoaque Valley) no one should threaten them for No. 2.
3. Shiprock (20-2). The way AAA stacks up is Hope and St. Michael's are at the top, Shiprock is a notch below, and then comes the rest. The Chieftains own a pair of wins over AAAA Piedra Vista and another over Kirtland Central. They beat Mesilla Valley, the two-time defending AA champion, and played the Horsemen tough for 2 1/2 quarters in the St. Michael's Invitational. If Shiprock runs the table in District 1AAA, it can look forward to a three-spot.
4. Sandia Prep (12-9). Don't let the nine losses fool you. The Sundevils have only two losses to AAA schools (those would be - you guessed it - Hope and the Horsies) and only eight to in-state teams. If they can pull off an upset to Hope or St. Michael's, that might squeeze them past Shiprock.
5. Las Vegas Robertson (12-6). The Cardinals are again making a late-season surge. After a 70-60 win over Taos to open 2AAA play, Robertson has a leg up on the Tigers. The resume includes wins over Socorro and Portales and AAAAA's Rio Rancho. The 10-point loss to the Horsemen isn't bad either. If the Cardinals continue their strong play (winners of six in a row), they could have a chance to get to the four spot.
6. Taos (13-6). This shows you the weakness of the AAA bracket. Of the top six spots, five belong to two districts (5AAA and 2AAA). The Tigers can boast wins over Pojoaque Valley, Santa Fe High and Socorro and were competitive against Bernalillo (an 83-77 loss) and St. Michael's (60-50). That they played Hope (85-47) helps.

Here's where seeding gets tricky. The rest of the pool of contenders have only two teams above .500 (11-10 Wingate and Thoreau), another at .500 (11-11 Socorro) and everybody else has a losing mark. Wish me luck on this ...

7. Wingate (11-10). At least the Bears are winning, but what stands out? A season-opening win over AAAA Miyamura (who is 4-13)? How about 6-13 Aztec? Maybe 7-11 West Las Vegas? Man, the more I try to make a convincing argument for the Bears, I'm inclined to drop them. But who else is there?
8. Silver (8-12). Again, this falls under "somebody has to be here," and so we put the Colts here on the strength of a 5-1 spurt. Of course, before that, they had lost 10 in a row after a 3-1 start. A 4-0 mark in District 3AAA puts Silver in first (meaning it also owns a win over Socorro), but this feels like we're pulling names out of a hat.
9. Pojoaque Valley (7-15). The good news for the Elks is that you look at their 15 losses and there's not one that leaves you sick to your stomach. Their problem has been closing out games. However, during a 6-2 run after an 0-7 start, Pojoaque beat some key teams (Wingate, Lovington, Portales). Add to that a 6-5 mark against AAA teams (four of the losses are to the top six teams in this bracket).
10. Socorro (11-11). The Chieftains have been a curious bunch, as their season has ebbed and flowed. They started 4-1, then went 1-6, and followed that with a 4-1 spurt. Socorro is 3-1 in 3AAA play, but the one loss to a suddenly surging Silver dropped them here.
11. Thoreau (11-10). Hey, 11-10 is 11-10. Even if you have two wins over AA Rehoboth, go 2-1 against AA Navajo Pine and are 1-2 against Tohatchi.
12. Lovington (8-12). The Wildcats are here because they lead 4AAA. Of course, they only played Ruidoso and have a big Feb. 7 matchup against Portales. The winner there moves up a couple of notches.
13. Portales (9-10). The Rams have a nice record, but when five of your wins come against AA schools - and your signature win is over Silver - you wonder how good they are. We'll find out against Lovington.
14. West Las Vegas (8-13). The Dons can hang their hat on a win over Portales and a competitive loss to Wingate. They have played a tough schedule, but they show the signs of a team that is still learning under new head coach Ernie Rodriguez.
15. Hot Springs (9-11). The Tigers find themselves 2-2 in 3AAA, but beating Cobre and Hatch Valley isn't saying much. They do have two wins over Ruidoso and another over Zuni and another to Raton. By the way, those two teams combine for 11 wins so far this season.
16. Ruidoso (6-14). It was the Warriors or the Crownpoint Eagles for this spot. By rule of thumb: Don't lose to an A school not named Cliff. The Eagles lost to Ramah. And they lose their spot in the tournament.