The Bryant Hornets basketball team is going to be seeded higher for the Class 7A State Tournament next[more] week than any previous BHS boys team since the 1980’s. With a win tonight at Little Rock Central, in fact, the Hornets can not only achieve a No. 2 seeding from the Central Conference but, with it, a first-round bye.
Even with a loss at the sauna that is the Little Rock Central gym, they could wind up with that second seed if Van Buren keeps North Little Rock’s three-game losing streak going.
If Bryant and North Little Rock finished tied, as they are going into tonight's action, Bryant wins the first tiebreaker, which is head-to-head. The Hornets beat the Charging Wildcats by 7 and lost to them by just 5. (Points ratings enter into it when the teams haven't played each other, which pertains to Little Rock Hall and West Memphis, teams that play during the regular season in the East Conference.)
As the No. 2 seed, the Hornets will play at the State Tournament in Cabot on Friday, March 2, at 8:30 p.m., against the winner of the first-round game between the third seed from the 7A-West and the sixth seed from the 7A-Central. The former could still be Fayetteville, Rogers or Springdale. The latter could still be any one of four or five teams including Little Rock Central. No one in the Central boys race has been eliminated yet.
So tonight’s game has significance for both teams.
Worst case, Bryant would be a No. 3 seed and open State on Wednesday, Feb. 29, at 5:30 p.m., against Bentonville, the sixth seed from the West.
The Lady Hornets too will be headed to State. It’s first time since 2002 that both BHS schools have made it.
With a win over Little Rock Central tonight, the Lady Hornets will probably be the fourth seed. West Memphis would need to knock off top-ranked Little Rock Parkview to surpass the Lady Hornets. If both teams lose, it’ll come down to points. Coming in Bryant has a slight edge, 76-73.
As the No. 4 seed, Bryant will open State on Wednesday, Feb. 29, at 7 p.m., against the seventh seed from the West. As the No. 5 seed, they’ll take on the fourth seed from the West on Wednesday at 1 p.m.
The fourth and fifth seed from the West will be determined tonight as well between Bentonville, which plays at Rogers, and Springdale Har-Ber, which plays at Rogers Heritage. Those match-ups would appear to favor Har-Ber gaining the No. 4 spot. Rogers is second in the West while Heritage is seventh and will miss the post-season.
The Lady Hornets would certainly like to end the regular season on a high note after taking their lumps from the co-leaders in the Central Conference, Cabot and North Little Rock in consecutive games. There performance against North Little Rock should be encouraging, however. They were in the game until the end and only lost by 7.
The Hornets, on the other hand, will be trying to stay hot. They’ve come roaring down the stretch with six wins in their last seven games including three in a row.
Here are the standings and the State Tournament brackets:
7A/6A-CENTRAL CONFERENCE
2011-12 standings
Girls
Conf. Overall
No. Little Rock 12-1 24-3
Cabot 12-1 23-5
Russellville 10-3 19-7
Van Buren 7-6 19-8
BRYANT 6-7 14-13
Conway 3-10 11-14
LR Central 2-11 8-17
Mount St. Mary 0-13 6-19
Tuesday, Feb. 21
North Little Rock 57, Bryant 50
Cabot 55, Van Buren 41
Russellville 64, Conway 29
LR Central 46, Mount St. Mary 36
Friday, Feb. 24
Bryant at LR Central
Russellville at Cabot
Mount St. Mary at Conway
Van Buren at North Little Rock
RATINGS POINTS
Girls
Cabot 169
North Little Rock 169
Little Rock Hall 140
Bryant 76
West Memphis 73
Conway 35
LR Central 22
Mount St. Mary 0
7A/6A-CENTRAL CONFERENCE
2011-12 standings
Boys
Conf. Overall
Russellville 12-1 21-5
No. Little Rock 8-5 17-8
BRYANT 8-5 16-9
Conway 6-7 16-10
Cabot 5-8 14-8
LR Central 5-8 10-14
LR Catholic 5-8 6-12
Van Buren 3-10 10-16
Tuesday, Feb. 21
Bryant 45, North Little Rock 38
Cabot 44, Van Buren 40
Russellville 49, Conway 45
LR Central 55, LR Catholic 54
Friday, Feb. 24
Bryant at LR Central
Russellville at Cabot
LR Catholic at Conway
Van Buren at North Little Rock
Ratings Points
Boys
Little Rock Hall 181
North Little Rock 125
Bryant 118
Conway 82
Little Rock Central 76
Little Rock Catholic 75
Cabot 69
West Memphis 66
CLASS 7A STATE TOURNAMENT
At Cabot
Girls
Wednesday, Feb. 29
Game 1 — Bentonville (19-8) or Springdale Har-Ber (20-9) (West 4) vs. Bryant (14-13) or West Memphis (15-12) (Central 5), 1 p.m.
Game 3 — Little Rock Hall (19-5) (Central 3) vs. Fayetteville (11-14) (West 6), 4 p.m.
Game 5 — Bryant (14-13) or West Memphis (15-12) (Central 4) vs. Bentonville (19-8) or Springdale Har-Ber (20-9) (West 5), 7 p.m.
Thursday, March 1
Game 7 — Fort Smith Southside (16-10) (West 3) vs. Conway (11-14) (Central 6), 1 p.m.
Game 9 — Cabot (23-5) or North Little Rock (24-3) (Central 1) vs. game 1 winner, 4 p.m.
Game 11 — Rogers (21-5) (West 2) vs. game 3 winner, 7 p.m.
Friday, March 2
Game 13 — Fort Smith Northside (26-1) (West 1) vs. game 5 winner, 4 p.m.
Game 15 — Cabot (23-5) or North Little Rock (24-3) (Central 2) vs. game 7 winner, 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 3
Game 17 — Game 9 winner vs. game 11 winner, 12 p.m.
Game 19 — Game 13 winner vs. game 15 winner, 6 p.m.
Class 7A State championship game
Summit Arena, Hot Springs
Game 21 — Game 17 winner vs. game 19 winner, TBA
Boys
Wednesday, Feb. 29
Game 2 — Springdale (17-9), Rogers (18-8) or Fayetteville (19-6) (West 4) vs. Conway (16-10), LR Central (10-14), LR Catholic (6-13), Cabot (14-8) or West Memphis (17-9) (Central 5), 2:30 p.m.
Game 4 — North Little Rock (17-8) or Bryant (16-9) (Central 3) vs. Bentonville (15-12) (West 6), 5:30 p.m.
Game 6 — Conway (16-10), LR Central (10-14), LR Catholic (6-13), Cabot (14-8) or West Memphis (17-9) (Central 4) vs. Fort Smith Northside (12-15) (West 5), 8:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 1
Game 8 — Springdale (17-9), Rogers (18-8) or Fayetteville (19-6) (West 3) vs. Conway (16-10), LR Central (10-14), LR Catholic (6-13), Cabot (14-8) or West Memphis (17-9) (Central 6), 2:30 p.m.
Game 10 — Little Rock Hall (22-3) (Central 1) vs. game 2 winner, 5:30 p.m.
Game 12 — Springdale (17-9), Rogers (18-8) or Fayetteville (19-6) (West 2) vs. game 4 winner, 8:30 p.m.
Friday, March 2
Game 14 — Fort Smith Southside (22-5) (West 1) vs. game 6 winner, 5:30 p.m.
Game 16 — North Little Rock (17-8) or Bryant (16-9) (Central 2) vs. game 8 winner, 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 3
Game 18 — Game 10 winner vs. game 12 winner, 1:30 p.m.
Game 20 — Game 14 winner vs. game 16 winner, 7:30 p.m.
Class 7A State championship game
Summit Arena, Hot Springs
Game 22 — Game 18 winner vs. game 20 winner, TBA
