Jackson County Central will play second-seeded Albany in the quarterfinals of the state Class 2A boys basketball tournament at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Target Center in Minneapolis.
Section 3AA champion JCC, 21-7, was unseeded. The top five teams were seeded and there was a random draw among the other three teams.
Albany (28-2) is the defending state champion and won the Section 6AA crown.
Season scores
JACKSON COUNTY CENTRAL (21-7)
Regular season
Fri., Dec. 1: at Blue Earth Area, W 67-65
Mon., Dec. 4: at Martin County West, W 81-48
Fri., Dec. 8: at Estherville Lincoln Central, L 65-54
Tues., Dec. 12: Luverne, L 68-47
Fri., Dec. 15: Waseca, W 87-71
Thurs., Dec. 21: at Windom, W 97-80
Fri., Dec. 29: Montevideo at SMSU, W 71-70
Sat., Dec. 30: Marshall at SMSU, L 73-58
Tues., Jan. 2: at Fairmont, W 67-47
Fri., Jan. 5: at Redwood Valley, W 60-59
Tues., Jan. 16: at Luverne, W 80-69
Fri., Jan. 19: Pipestone, W 63-54
Tues., Jan. 23: Blue Earth Area, W 76-68
Fri., Jan. 26: at Waseca, W 68-64
Sat., Jan. 27: Windom, W 103-59
Tues., Jan. 30: Worthington, L 87-85 (OT)
Thurs., Feb. 1: Maple River, W 82-68
Sat., Feb. 3: at St. James Area, W 80-75
Mon., Feb. 5: Fairmont, L 74-54
Fri., Feb. 9: Marshall, W 91-57
Tues., Feb. 13: Redwood Valley, L 79-66
Fri., Feb. 16: at Pipestone, W 76-65
Thurs., Feb. 22: at New Ulm, W 88-79
Sat., Feb. 24: St. Peter at Redwood Falls, W 83-66
Section 3AA
Sat., March 2: St. James Area, W 90-45
Thurs., March 7: Pipestone at Windom, W 94-80
Sat., March 9: Redwood Valley at SMSU, W 59-46
Thurs., March 14: Morris/Chokio-Alberta, W 67-52
Wed., March 20: Albany at Target Center, 6 p.m.
ALBANY (28-2)
Regular season
Sat., Dec. 9: Lake City at Hopkins, W 67-49
Tues., Dec. 12: at Eden Valley-Watkins, L 59-53
Thurs., Dec. 14: at Rocori, W 72-58
Thurs., Dec. 21: Mora, W 83-41
Fri., Dec. 22: Melrose Area, W 55-39
Fri., Dec. 29: Sauk Rapids-Rice at St. John’s, W 66-64
Sat., Dec. 30: Southwest Christian at St. John’s, W 72-63
Thurs., Jan. 4: Annandale, L 64-43
Fri., Jan. 5: Pequot Lakes, W 54-40
Tues., Jan. 9: at Osakis, W 68-49
Fri., Jan. 12: St. Cloud Cathedral, W 78-46
Tues., Jan. 16: Pierz, W 79-42
Thurs., Jan. 18: Holdingford, W 85-50
Fri., Jan. 19: at Little Falls, W 69-42
Thurs., Jan. 25: Milaca, W 81-27
Fri., Jan. 26: at Melrose Area, W 63-57
Tues., Jan. 30: at Foley, W 59-45
Fri., Feb. 2: at Mora, W 73-52
Tues., Feb. 6: Sauk Centre, W 63-57
Thurs., Feb. 8: at Pequot Lakes, W 82-67
Tues., Feb. 13: at Pierz, W 69-38
Thurs., Feb. 15: at Minnehaha Academy, W 73-66
Fri., Feb. 16: at St. Cloud Cathedral, W 70-43
Fri., Feb. 23: Little Falls, W 89-26
Mon., Feb. 26: at Milaca, W 79-43
Fri., March 1: Foley, W 68-48
Section 6AA
Thurs., March 7: Pine City, W 85-48
Sat., March 9: Melrose Area at St. John’s, W 57-50
Wed., March 13: Spectrum at St. John’s, W 87-64
Fri., March 15: Annandale at St. Cloud State, W 63-53
Class 2A schedule
Wednesday, March 20
Quarterfinals
Upper bracket
At Williams Arena
No. 1 Breck (28-1) vs. Waseca (20-10), 6 p.m.
No. 4 Pequot Lakes (26-4) vs. No. 5 Minnehaha Academy (14-14), 8 p.m.
Lower bracket
At Target Center
No. 2 Albany (28-2) vs. Jackson County Central (21-7), 6 p.m.
No. 3 Lake City (24-5) vs. Pelican Rapids (24-5), 8 p.m.
Thursday, March 21
Consolation semifinals
At Concordia-St. Paul
Upper bracket losers, 6 p.m.
Lower bracket losers, 8 p.m.
Friday, March 22
Consolation championship
At Concordia-St. Paul
Consolation semifinal winners, 2 p.m.
Semifinals
At Williams Arena
Upper bracket winners, 6 p.m.
Lower bracket winners, 8 p.m.
Saturday, March 23
Third place
At Concordia-St. Paul
Semifinal losers, 2 p.m.
Championship
At Williams Arena
Semifinal winners, 5 p.m.
Time change
Saturday’s state tournament schedule has changed from the one used for a number of years as the starting times for the Class 2A and Class 3A championship games have been switched.
The 3A championship game is scheduled for 1 p.m. and the 2A game is now at 5 p.m.
That will give the Class 2A teams a few hours more rest after their Friday night semifinals, although the move was made to help with crowd control by avoiding the Class 3A and Class 4A title games in the evening session.
Jackson County Central supporters recall that in 2016 the Huskies had a short turnaround time between their Friday night semifinal game and their Saturday afternoon championship game. Of course, that’s been the case every year for the Class 2A teams, particularly the team that played the second Friday night semifinal.
JCC was at Target Center past 11 p.m. on Friday after its semifinal win over Annandale and then had to be back 12 hours later for a 1 p.m. state championship game vs. Braham.
We’ll be re-posting a story with then-JCC coach Trent Sukalski about that state championship game this evening.
Doubling up
Six of the eight teams in this year’s state Class 2A boys basketball tournament come from three conferences.
Of course, one is the Big South Conference with Jackson County Central and Waseca in the field.
They were both in the BSC’s Blue Pod, which the Bluejays won with a 5-1 record and the Huskies second at 4-2.
Those teams split during the regular season with the home team winning each. JCC won at home 87-71 on Dec. 15 and Waseca won 68-64 on Jan. 26.
Albany and Pequot Lakes are both members of the Granite Ridge Conference. The Huskies were first in the eight-team conference with a 14-0 record, with the Patriots second at 12-2.
Albany handed Pequot Lakes both of its conference losses, 54-40 and 82-67. The Huskies have played two other teams in the tournament, beating Lake City 67-49 and Minnehaha Academy 73-66.
Also, Breck and Minnehaha Academy are in the six-team Independent Metro Athletic Conference, which the Mustangs won with a 9-0 record and the Redhawks were fourth at 4-4.
Breck beat Minnehaha twice, 90-75 and 79-68.
Minnehaha Academy went 0-4 against teams in the state tournament field, losing to Albany 73-66 and Lake City 65-58.
Pelican Rapids plays in the seven-team Heart O’ Lakes Conference, sharing the title with Barnesville with 10-2 records. Of course, JCC has had state football playoff games vs. Barnesville the past two years.
Finally, Lake City is a member of the nine-team Hiawatha Valley Conference. The Tigers were second with a 13-3 record. Class 3A state tournament entry Stewartville won the HVC with a 16-0 record.
State tournament appearances
State tournament appearances for each of the teams in the Class 2A state boys basketball tournament.
Waseca (13): 1918 Champion, 1919, 1948, 1974, 1975, 1987, 1988, 2002, 2016, 2019 AAA Runner-up, 2020 Section Finalist, 2021 AA Champion, 2024.
Minnehaha Academy (12): 1996, 2010, 2011, 2013 AA Champion, 2017 AA Champion, 2018 AA Champion, 2019 AA Champion, 2020 State Qualifier, 2021 AAA Champion, 2022, 2023 AA Runner-up, 2024.
Lake City (9): 1915, 1918, 1978 A Champion, 1979 A Champion, 1983, 1990 A Champion, 2017, 2019, 2024.
Pelican Rapids (7): 1977 A Runner-up, 1984 A Champion, 1993, 2003, 2006, 2009 AA Champion, 2024.
Albany (6): 1971, 1981, 1997, 2015, 2023 AA Champion, 2024.
Pequot Lakes (6): 2004, 2006, 2007, 2022, 2023, 2024.
Jackson County Central (4): 2016 Class AA Runner-up, 2017, 2020 State Qualifier, 2024.
Breck (2): 2006 AA Runner-up, 2024.
Enrollment
According to the MSHSL website, enrollment figures for the teams in the Class 2A state boys basketball tournament.
Pequot Lakes 538
Waseca 520
Albany 497
Breck 443
Minnehaha Academy 377
Lake City 361
Jackson County Central 288
Pelican Rapids 219
Points for
Scoring averages for the teams in the state Class 2A boys basketball tournament.
Breck 85.7
Jackson County Central 74.6
Waseca 72.8
Minnehaha Academy 72.0
Albany 70.2
Pelican Rapids 68.9
Lake City 67.2
Pequot Lakes 63.8
Points against
Defensive averages for the teams in the state Class 2A boys basketball tournament.
Pequot Lakes 48.0
Albany 49.7
Lake City 50.3
Pelican Rapids 54.2
Breck 61.4
Waseca 63.0
Jackson County Central 65.6
Minnehaha Academy 68.1
Tournament history
Here’s how Jackson County Central team fared in their previous appearances in the state Class 2A boys basketball tournament.
2016
Quarterfinals: Jackson County Central 79, Caledonia 74
Semifinals: Jackson County Central 63, Annandale 46
Championship: Braham 96, Jackson County Central 90
2017
Quarterfinals: Annandale 66, Jackson County Central 61
Consolation semifinals: Lake City 62, Jackson County Central 41
2020
Tournament canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Other classes
Here are the schedules for the other three classes in the state boys basketball tournament.
Class 1A
Thursday, March 21
Quarterfinals
At Target Center
Upper bracket
No. 1 Cherry (28-2) vs. Russell-Tyler-Ruthton (23-7), 11 a.m.
No. 4 Mountain Lake Area/Comfrey (27-3) vs. No. 5 Nevis (23-7), 1 p.m.
Lower bracket
No. 2 West Central Area (27-3) vs. Heritage Christian Academy (21-7), 3 p.m.
No. 3 Fertile-Beltrami (25-6) vs. Goodhue (18-13), 5 p.m.
Friday, March 22
Consolation semifinals
At Concordia-St. Paul
Upper bracket losers, 10 a.m.
Lower bracket losers, 12 p.m.
Semifinals
At Williams Arena
Upper bracket winners, 12 p.m.
Lower bracket winners, 2 p.m.
Saturday, March 23
Consolation championship
At Concordia-St. Paul
Consolation semifinal winners, 8 a.m.
Third place
At Concordia-St. Paul
Semifinal losers, 10 a.m.
Championship
At Williams Arena
Semifinal winners, 11 a.m.
Class 3A
Wednesday, March 20
At Williams Arena
Quarterfinals
Upper bracket
No. 1 Totino-Grace (24-5) vs. Stewartville (26-3), 10 a.m.
No. 4 Orono (19-10) vs. No. 5 DeLaSalle (20-9), 12 p.m.
Lower bracket
No. 2 Mankato East (26-2) vs. Chisago Lakes (22-7), 2 p.m.
No. 3 Alexandria (24-5) vs. Minneapolis South (21-5), 4 p.m.
Thursday, March 21
Consolation semifinals
At Concordia-St. Paul
Upper bracket losers, 2 p.m.
Lower bracket losers, 4 p.m.
Semifinals
At Williams Arena
Upper bracket winners, 12 p.m.
Lower bracket winners, 2 p.m.
Friday, March 22
Consolation championship
At Concordia-St. Paul
Consolation semifinal winners, 4 p.m.
Saturday, March 23
Third place
At Concordia-St. Paul
Semifinal losers, 4 p.m.
Championship
At Williams Arena
Semifinal winners, 1 p.m.
Class 4A
Wednesday, March 20
At Target Center
Quarterfinals
Upper bracket
No. 1 Wayzata (27-1) vs. Waseca (20-10), 10 a.m.
No. 4 Farmington (23-6) vs. No. 5 Cretin-Derham Hall (14-14), 12 p.m.
Lower bracket
No. 2 Park Center (25-3) vs. Eagan (17-12), 2 p.m.
No. 3 Minnetonka (22-6) vs. Coon Rapids (16-13), 4 p.m.
Thursday, March 21
Consolation semifinals
At Concordia-St. Paul
Upper bracket losers, 10 a.m.
Lower bracket losers, 12 p.m.
Semifinals
At Williams Arena
Upper bracket winners, 6 p.m.
Lower bracket winners, 8 p.m.
Friday, March 22
Consolation championship
At Concordia-St. Paul
Consolation semifinal winners, 6 p.m.
Saturday, March 23
Third place
At Concordia-St. Paul
Semifinal losers, 4 p.m.
Championship
At Williams Arena
Semifinal winners, 8 p.m.
Officials
Three officials from southwest Minnesota are among those assigned to state tournament games:
Justin Schmidt, Fairmont
Marc Craigmile, Marshall
Jeffery Gladis, Marshall