THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: In seeding state tourneys, MaxPreps still seems better than the old way

It’s still interesting to look back after state tournaments in Idaho and wonder, did MaxPreps get the seedings right?

Did the top seeds dominate, and did the lower seeds exit quickly?

This is Year 2 of a two-year trial basis for Idaho using final regular-season MaxPreps rankings to determine state seeding in volleyball, soccer, basketball and softball.

While some still grumble about the rankings a bit, most admit it’s better than the old way — when the state tried to match district champs against non-champs from other districts, and hope upsets at districts didn’t mean the top two teams in a classification met in the first round at state.

Or, in 3A where there are five district champions, pray the lone champ vs. champ matchup didn’t involve the top two teams.

SO HERE we go …

In the recently completed state girls basketball tournaments, three of the six top seeds — 5A Coeur d’Alene, 3A Snake River and 2A Melba — won state titles.

Of the other No. 1 seeds, Shelley (4A) lost to No. 3 Sandpoint, and Lapwai (1A Division I) and Deary (1A Division II) each lost in third-place games.

The other No. 3 seed to win a state title was Raft River (1A Division I).

The lowest seed to win a state title was No. 6 Council (1A Division II), which beat No. 3 Kendrick, No. 2 Rockland and No. 4 Dietrich along the way.

Of the other four No. 3 seeds, two lost in the third-place game, and two were consolation champs.

Each of the six No. 4 seeds brought home a trophy, led by Dietrich, runner-up in 1A Division II.

Four of the eight teams in each tournament bring home trophies, and four of the six No. 5 seeds trophied, led by 1A Division I Oakley, which finished as runner-up after stunning top seed Lapwai in the semifinals.

Other than Council, none of the other No. 6 seeds brought home a trophy.

All six of the No. 8 seeds went two-and-out. Four of the six No. 7 seeds also went 0-2, though one No. 7 seed, Rocky Mountain, reached the 5A title game, where it was pummeled by Coeur d’Alene.

So of the 18 teams seeded 6-8, only two brought home trophies.

All told, No. 1 seeds went 13-5 in the six tourneys, No. 2 seeds 8-8, No. 3 seeds 12-6, No. 4 seeds 12-6, No. 5 seeds 10-8, No. 6 seeds 8-10, No. 7 seeds 3-11, No. 8 seeds 0-12.

BOYS BASKETBALL’s state tournament is next week. Last year, three No. 1 seeds won state titles, two No.2 seeds won and one No. 3 seed won.

Then, the Idaho High School Activities Association is scheduled to discuss at its April board of control meeting whether to continue using MaxPreps to seed state tourneys next year and beyond, or try something else.

It will be interesting to see kind of feedback the IHSAA gets.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @CdAPressSports.