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High School basketball
Were a month away from the playoffs and three weeks until the conference tournaments.
On the men’s side, Both East Rutherford and R-S Central split the two games they had this week as the SMAC conference continues to be up for grabs. The margin is just 2.5 games back from second to seventh. East Rutherford sits second and a game and a half out of first place overall. Central is in seventh, but a half game back of fifth. Most importantly, the Hilltoppers are the third place 2A team in conference which means they are still in line to get a wildcard spot and have a three game lead over the other two 2A teams in league play.
East will go to Burns on 1/27 and host Shelby in a big contest on 1/30. R-S Central has Crest on Friday (1/23).
Thomas Jefferson and Chase continue to struggle. The Gryphons are in a conference that has gotten better over the last year in basketball. Five teams have winning records now in the 1A Southern Piedmont. Meanwhile, Chase can stay around for a half, but opponents seem to pull away down the stretch.
Thomas Jefferson will host Highland Tech on Friday. Chase welcomes Draughn into town on Friday (1/23).
As for the ladies, R-S Central impressively won at Draughn last week, but were sloppy in a win over Shelby to end the week. The Lady Hilltoppers are still second overall in the SMAC and the No.1 2A team in the league by 3.5 games right now.
Things are looking a little better for East Rutherford, who also picked up two much needed wins to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Lady Cavs are within two games of spot among the 2A teams in conference play. Right now they sit fourth in standings among the 2A teams. It’s important to get to third, which would likely secure them a playoff spot.
NFL Football
As I expected, it will be a Seattle and New England Super Bowl. Although, Seattle had it the toughest of both teams still alive in a 28-22 overtime contest. I wasn’t surprised in that regard versus New England‘s path. Green Bay did almost everything right in the NFC Championship. However, they stopped being as aggressive in the fourth and let Seattle’s run game get going though. Still, when Aaron Rodgers builds a 12-point lead with less than four minutes to go, Green Bay normally doesn’t lose, That was the shocker for me.
New England on the other hand already had their toughest postseason game the week before with the Baltimore Ravens. Indy was no problem for the Patriots. New England rushed for 177 yards and three touchdowns as they destroyed Indy 45-7. This coming week is the Pro Bowl, so no Super Bowl prediction just yet.
ACC Basketball
I know March Madness is nearly two months away, but I am convinced that no less than seven ACC teams should make the NCAA tourney. Virginia, Notre Dame, North Carolina, N.C. State, Duke, Louisville and Miami are by far good enough to make The Big Dance. Pitt and Syracuse just lost to Clemson, so for now, they are pretenders despite having 13 wins each. There really isn’t one dominant team right now even with Virginia being undefeated. No doubt, the Cavaliers have one of the best defenses in the country. Although, as tough as the league has become this season, Virginia is bound to lose sooner or later.
