JACKSON – Two teams that have been at or even a little below the .500 mark all season but enter postseason play with an impressive win will meet in the quarterfinals of the Section 3AA South Sub-Section boys basketball tournament Saturday when Jackson County Central hosts Montevideo.
Tip off has been moved to 1 p.m. because of inclement weather that is expected to enter the region Saturday night.
Both teams did end their regular-season schedule on a high note.
The fourth-seeded Huskies, who are 11-15, won 77-75 win at Class 3A No. 17 New Ulm (20-6) on Feb. 24.
The fifth-seeded Thunderbirds (11-11) were 58-48 winners over BOLD (18-8) on Monday.
Each team is averaging 62.2 points per game. JCC has allowed 66.9 points per contest and Montevideo 60.7.
JCC and Montevideo did not meet during the regular season.
The schools played in three consecutive seasons with each game played at Southwest Minnesota State and the Huskies winning each time.
Jackson County Central defeated Montevideo 70-65 in overtime in the championship game of the 2016 Section 3AA tourney as the Thunderhawks were in the North Sub-Section at that time.
The next two years the teams played during the holiday break at SMSU. JCC won 66-48 in the 2016-17 season and 94-69 during the 2017-18 campaign.
Something in common
The teams have four common opponents:
Jackson County Central
Luverne – W 48-40, W 55-42
Pipestone – L 84-51, L 56-52
Redwood Valley – L 86-67, W 70-66
St. James Area – L 56-52
Montevideo
Luverne – L 60-54
Pipestone – L 52-41
Redwood Valley – L 78-62
St. James Area – W 81-52
The JCC-Montevideo winner advances to the semifinals to play either top-seeded Pipestone or Windom in the sub-section semifinals at a site to be determined on Thursday.
Morris/Chokio-Alberta is seeded first and New London-Spicer second in the North Sub-Section.
The sub-section championship game is at SMSU at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, March 12 and the section title game is at 8 p.m. Thursday, March 17 in Marshall.
SECTION 3AA SOUTH SUB-SECTION
Saturday, March 5
Quarterfinals
Upper bracket
Windom (10-16) at Pipestone (20-5), 1 p.m.
Montevideo (11-11) at Jackson County Central (11-15), 1 p.m.
Lower bracket
St. James Area (12-14) at Redwood Valley (19-7), 1 p.m.
Luverne (10-13) at Fairmont (12-11), 3 p.m.
Thursday, March 10
Semifinals
Site TBA
Upper bracket winners, 6 p.m.
Lower bracket winners, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 12
Championship
At SMSU
Semifinal winners, 2:30 p.m.
SECTION 3AA NORTH SUB-SECTION
Number in parenthesis indicates seed number
Saturday, March 5
Quarterfinals
Upper bracket
Minnewaska Area (4-22) at Morris/Chokio-Alberta (23-2), 1 p.m.
Litchfield (11-15) at Paynesville (16-10), 1 p.m.
Lower bracket
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City (9-16) at New London-Spicer (13-12), 5 p.m.
Eden Valley-Watkins (15-11) at West Central Area (20-4), 1 p.m.
Thursday, March 10
Semifinals
At SMSU
Upper bracket winners, 6 p.m.
Lower bracket winners, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 12
Championship
Site TBA
Semifinal winners, 12:30 p.m.
SECTION 3AA
Thursday, March 17
Championship
At SMSU
South Sub-Section vs. North Sub-Section, 8 p.m.