What everyone thought to be the top contender in the state for a state championship, Newport proved to buckle and unravel under the more dominant pressure of Central on Friday night. In Newport, Central got down and dirty on defense and forced Newport into bad shot selection, constant turnovers, almost zero rebounding and, what those around me pointed out, was a complete unraveling of the Newport team. Central was suffocating on defense and forced Newport to do exactly what it wanted, not score (0 in 4th qtr). Then on offense it maticulously chunked away a bigger and bigger lead until they left the City of Newport with a jaw-dropping 37 point win. You read it right 37 points. Yes, 59-22. Newport failed to score in the 4th quarter. What to say other than I was wrong with Newport after what I saw last night? They fell apart when the adversity of Central and their daunting defense went into their gym and gave them all they could handle. Tanner Omlid was prolific and everyone on Newport shrinked back into his shadow.

#2 Seaside remains undefeated since that first game match with Newport and is now 19-1 and is ranked #2 in the state by the OSAA rankings. This team is going to win the Cowapa and take a top seed into the playoffs.

#3 North Valley is now officially the real deal. They beat Phoenix last night by 18 at Phoenix. They are going to win the Skyline conference amazingly and take a top seed into the playoffs.

#4 Phoenix is good but not good enough to deal with strength and inside. Losing by 18 the North Valley just before the playoffs begins spells bad news for the Pirates.

#5 Newport has lost two games to #1 and #4. They have all the talent in the world but have put the cart in front of the horse. It may be too hard for them to recover from Fridays debacle in Newport.

#6 North Bend has lost two games to Newport and Marshfield. Since then they are on a 14 game winning streak. This team could be scary.

#7 Roosevelt has apparently had "3 starters missing all season and still done amazing things" according to an article that was recently written by a Roosevelt fan. Okay? If anyone has watched basketball for any part of their life a team normally cannot just add some players and it be a seamless transition. Not only that but I have said all season that Roosevelt is a semi-final team. Roosevelt should stop thinking about how much their being disrespected and realize that it doesn't matter what people say about you. ***See Newport above. In all reality though, like I have said all season, this is the team that will probably be in the Final 4 and may even get to the title game and who knows from there. I think that Roosevelt players and fans ought to stop worrying about their exploits and more about the playoffs coming up in which I think they are going to dominate.

League Projections

Cowapa League

1. Seaside

2. Scappoose

3. Tillamook

4. Yamhill-Carlton

Tri-Valley Conference

1. Madras

2. LaSalle

3. Mollalla

4. Gladstone

Far West League

1. North Bend

2. South Umpqua

3. Brookings-Harbor

4. Sutherlin

Sky-Em

1. Sisters

2. Cottage Grove

3. Elmira

4. Junction City

Greater Oregon

1. Baker

2. La Grande

3. Ontario

Skyline

1. North Valley

2. Phoenix

3. Mazama

4. Klamath Union

Oregon West

1. Central

2. Newport

3. Philomath

4. Stayton

Play-In Projections

Seaside vs Gladstone (Seaside)

Scappoose vs Mollala (Scappoose)

Tillamook @ LaSalle (LaSalle)

Y-C @ Madras (Madras)

Junction City @ Central (Central)

Elmira @ Newport (Newport)

Cottage Grove vs Philomath (Philomath)

Sisters vs Stayton (Sisters)

North Bend vs Klamath Union (North Bend)

South Umpqua vs Mazama (SU)

Brookings @ Phoenix (Phoenix)

Sutherlin @ North Valley (North Valley)

Crook County @ Baker (Baker)

North Marion @ La Grande (NM)

Ontario @ Cascade (Cascade)

Estacada @ Roosevelt (Roosevelt)

Second Round (rankings after play in)

#1 Central vs #16 North Marion (Central)

#2 Seaside vs #15 Baker (Seaside)

#3 North Valley vs #14 Cascade (North Valley)

#4 Phoenix vs #13 South Umpqua (Phoenix)

#5 Newport vs #12 Scappoose (Newport)

#6 Roosevelt vs #11 Philomath (Roosevelt)

#7 North Bend vs #10 Madras (Madras)

#8 La Salle vs #9 Sisters (Sisters)

Gill Coliseum

#1 Central vs #8 Sisters (Central)

#2 Seaside vs #7 Madras (Seaside)

#3 North Valley vs #6 Roosevelt (Roosevelt)

#4 Phoenix vs #5 Newport (Phoenix)

Semi Finals

#1 Central vs #4 Phoenix (Central)

#2 Seaside vs #6 Roosevelt (Roosevelt)

Finals

#1 Central vs #6 Roosevelt (Central 55-50)