The North Dakota Class A East Region boys and girls basketball tournaments begin today at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks. The following are some things to keep an eye on during the three-day event:
Girls
1 Will this be the end of the Bruins' run? Fargo South has won the region tournament for four consecutive seasons. However, this year the Bruins appear vulnerable after regular-season losses to Fargo North, Devils Lake and top-seeded Grand Forks Red River.
2 The first-round matchup between Fargo South and Grand Forks Central will feature the top two scorers in the Eastern Dakota Conference with Bruins guard Meghan Roehrich and Knights forward Caitlin Farroh. Two-time defending EDC scoring champ Roehrich is averaging 23.1 points per game. Farroh averages 22.5 a game.
3 Only two games separated the No. 3 teams (Fargo Shanley, Fargo North) from the No. 6 team (West Fargo) in the regular-season standings. We could see some surprises.
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Boys
1 Two of the top guards in the EDC will make their final region tournament appearance. Fargo North senior Nik Savageau, headed to NCAA Division II Sioux Falls next season, led the league with 21.4 points a game. Grand Forks Red River senior Luke Schreiner was a first-team all-state selection as a junior.
2 Grand Forks Red River has the No. 3 seed, but the Roughriders could be a sneaky pick to take the title. The Roughriders are playing in front of their hometown fans, and they have defeated top-seeded Fargo North twice this year.
3 Aside from Fargo North, which defeated opponents by an average of 13 points a game, no EDC team is winning their games by an average of more than three points. Many of these games could go down to the wire.
