Boys Basketball State Tournament 2024: Advance Release

A seven-week winter state tournament marathon comes to a close this week with the Minnesota State High School League’s Boys Basketball State Tournament being played at three venues in the Twin Cities.

The Class AAAA quarterfinals are scheduled for Wednesday, March 20 at Target Center. A short distance away, the Class AAA quarterfinals get underway at Williams Arena on the University of Minnesota campus. Class AA begins Wednesday as well with two games at each of those sites. On Thursday, the Class A quarterfinals begin at Target Center.

All semifinals and championship games in the four enrollment classes will be played at Williams Arena.

Here is a look at the final state tournament of the winter sports season:

Wednesday, March 20

At Target Center

Class AAAA quarterfinals

• Rogers (21-8) vs. No. 1 Wayzata (27-1), 10 a.m.
• No. 5 Cretin-Derham Hall (24-4) vs. No. 4 Farmington (23-6), noon
• Eagan (17-12) vs. No. 2 Park Center (25-3), 2 p.m.
• Coon Rapids (16-13) vs. No. 3 Minnetonka (22-6), 4 p.m.

Class AA quarterfinals

• Jackson County Central (21-7) vs. No. 2 Albany (28-2), 6 p.m.
• Pelican Rapids (24-5) vs. No. 3 Lake City (24-5), 8 p.m.

At Williams Arena

Class AAA quarterfinals

• Stewartville (26-3) vs. No. 1 Totino-Grace (24-5), 10 a.m.
• No. 5 DeLaSalle (20-9) vs. No. 4 Orono (19-10), noon
• Chisago Lakes (22-7) vs. No. 2 Mankato East (26-2), 2 p.m.
• Minneapolis South (21-5) vs. No. 3 Alexandria Area (24-5), 4 p.m.

Class AA quarterfinals

• Waseca (20-10) vs. No. 1 Breck (28-1), 6 p.m.
• No. 5 Minnehaha Academy (14-14) vs. No. 4 Pequot Lakes (26-4), 8 p.m.

Thursday, March 21

At Target Center

Class A quarterfinals

• Russell-Tyler-Ruthton (23-7) vs. No. 1 Cherry (28-2), 11 a.m.
• No. 5 Nevis vs. No. 4 Mountain Lake Area/Comfrey (27-3, 1 p.m.
• Heritage Christian Academy (21-7) vs. No. 2 West Central Area (27-3), 3 p.m.
• Goodhue (18-13) vs. No. 3 Fertile-Beltrami (25-6), 5 p.m.

Spotlight

Class A

Russell-Tyler-Ruthton, the defending Class A champion, is on a 12-game winning streak. All five starters for Cherry average in double figures. Leading the way is University of Minnesota recruit Isaac Asuma at 18.2. Nevis is playing in the state tournament for the fourth consecutive season. The Tigers have three players with at least 1,000 career points: seniors Christian Moe and JohnPaul Benson and junior Alex Lester. Mountain Lake Area/Comfrey is making its 16^th state tournament appearance. The Wolverines split two games with Russell-Tyler-Ruthton during the regular season. Heritage Christian Academy is in the state tournament for the second time. Junior forward Joshua Sokeye powers the Eagles with 18.6 points per game. West Central Area is a state tournament rookie. Barrett and Elbow Lake combined to become West Central for the 1986-87 school term. Hoffman and Kensington joined to become West Central Area for the 1993-94 school year. Elbow Lake is the only one of the component schools that won a district championship in Boys Basketball. That was 10 times from 1929 through 1972. This year’s squad has a 17-game winning streak. Goodhue, the Class A runner-up in 2016, gets 18.9 points per game from sophomore guard Luke Roschen. Fertile-Beltrami won the Pine-to-Prairie North Conference title en route to its first state tournament berth since 2001. Senior guard Caiden Swenby, a Minnesota-Crookston recruit, pours in 24.3 points per game.

Class AA

Waseca, the Class AA champion in 2021, is led by sophomore guard Deron Russell, who averages 16.8 points per game. Close behind is junior guard Damarius Russell at 16.1 He had a single-game assist record with 19 against Blue Earth Area. Breck is the top seed behind senior guard Daniel Freitag. The University of Wisconsin recruit is a dynamic player who averages 25.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 2.5 steals. Minnehaha Academy is making its eighth consecutive state tournament trip. Redhawks coach Lance Johnson has five state titles, which is the fourth most all-time. He is 19-4 in 11 trips to the tournament. Junior forward George Norsman averages 16 points per game. Pequot Lakes is on an 11-game winning streak. Junior forward Harrison Kennen paces the Patriots with 14.2 points per game. Sophomore guard Roman Voss powers Jackson County Central with 21.5 points per game. The Huskies are on a seven-game winning streak. Albany is on a roll with 22 consecutive victories while aiming for a successful state title defense. Junior guard Zeke Austin averages 19 points per game and junior forward Sam Hondl is at 17.6. For Pelican Rapids, senior guard Timmy Guler averages 16.2 points per game. Despite missing two seasons with injuries, he scored his 1,000^th career point this season. Lake City avenged a late-season loss to Cannon Falls with a victory over the Bombers in the Section 1AA championship game. Senior guard Hunter Lorenson averages 17.9 points per game and senior guard Keegan Ryan, a University of North Dakota football recruit, chips in 15.7.

Class AAA

Stewartville is on a 20-game winning streak entering the state tournament. Senior guard Henry Tschetter, a St. John’s recruit, averages nearly 17 points per game and senior guard Tegan Malone chips in 12. The Tigers won the Class AAA Prep Bowl championship last fall. Totino-Grace is the two-time defending Class AAA champion. Senior forward Isaiah Johnson-Arigu, a Miami (Florida) recruit, averages 20.2 points and 85 rebounds per game. DeLaSalle extended its state-record streak of state tournament appearances to 13. Three of the Islanders’ losses this season were to schools in the Class AAAA field. Orono needed two overtimes and thrilling shots to finally top Benilde-St. Margaret’s in the Section 6AAA final. Junior guard Nolan averages 27.5 points per game and shoots 44 percent from three-point range. Chisago Lakes is powered by senior forward Patrick Rowe, who averages 31 points per game. Watch for his creativity on offense. Mankato East is in the Class AAA field for the third consecutive season. Senior Carson Schweim averages 18.5 points per game and holds the school record for three-pointers with 215. It has been nearly 100 years since Minneapolis South last won a boys basketball state title. The Tigers hope to end that behind, in part, senior guard Poet Davis, who averages 20 points per game. Alexandria Area is on a 13-game winning streak. Leading the way are junior Chase Thompson at 19.8 points per game and University of Minnesota recruit Grayson Grove, a senior forward, at 16.5.

Class AAAA

• Rogers is making its first state tournament trip since 2009 and second overall. Senior guard Blake Dalluge averages 19.4 points for the Royals, who are on a six-game winning streak. Wayzata is the defending big-school champion. The Trojans made a school-record 18 three-pointers in their victory over Hopkins in the Section 6AAAA championship game. Creighton recruit Jackson McAndrew, a 6-foot-9 all-everything player, can score from virtually anywhere on the floor. Cretin-Derham Hall is making its 16^th state trip and first since winning the Class AAAA title in dramatic fashion in 2018. Sophomore guard Jojo Mitchell averages 20 points per game. Farmington ended a long state tournament dry spell in 2024. How long? Since 1937. The Tigers have set a single-season record with 23 victories. Senior Branden Hrncir averages 20 points per game. Eagan was the Class AAAA runner-up in 1998. Senior guard Max Buslee leads the Wildcats with 14 points per game. Park Center averages nearly 85 points per game. Junior guard Casmir Chavis averages 23.5 points and 6.2 assists per game. Coon Rapids ended a long state tournament drought, too. The last time the Cardinals earned a state berth was 1983. Senior guard Jerry Freeman averages 16.6 points per game. Minnetonka will try to duplicate the feat of the school’s girls basketball team that won the Class AAAA crown this past Saturday. Senior guard Greyson Uelmen averages 20.6 points per game.