It is that time of season and we have finally reached the State Tournament and congratulations, You have made it to the big house! Follow along as I preview the State Tournament matchups
Class B Boys
#1 Calumet vs #10 Varnum
Wednesday at 4:30pm
Last Appearance: Calumet (Second consecutive appearance since 2022) Varnum (2021)
Calumet’s road to the big house
We have taking the approach of one game at a time. Expectations have been high and we talk constantly about just winning, only have to win by one. We haven’t played too many close games but have trailed three or four games at half and have always responded to the challenge in the second half. I know the pressure is there not only to win but to win by a lot. So I keep reminding the boys that we are only have to win by one!! said Calumet coach Jacob Mayfield. Calumet began their road to the big house by defeating Mulhall-Orlando 71-35 in districts, Defeating Dover 71-21 and #19 McCurtain 69-44 in regionals and defeating #6 Kinta 46-30 in area to advance to state.
Varnum’s road to the big house
Our team, our school, and our community are all excited that our Boys Program has made another State Tournament appearance. The opportunity to play in The Big House is something that every high school basketball player dreams of, and many of them have dreamed of it from the time they were really young. With approximately 120 teams in our Class, the road is never easy. Sometimes, not playing well one night, can make the difference between making it to the State Tournament and not make it. So it is never something you can assume or take for granted. Our girls made seven consecutive State Tournament appearances, but this will be our first appearance back at State for our Boys Program, since winning it in 2021. Many of our guys have gotten to see how special the State Tournament is and winning a State Championship is— watching our guys and girls make it to the Big House multiple times, and even winning a couple of gold balls. Several of our current players are brothers, cousins, or extended family to players on our past team(s). So that even makes it more special to them and they are excited that it is now their turn to play on that stage said Varnum coach Jon Hadley. The Whippets began with defeating New Lima 90-23 and Mason 60-50 in districts, Defeated #20 Carney 75-42 and #5 Earlsboro 78-65, Lost to #2 Duke 74-45 but bounced back against #16 Asher 56-43 to advance to the state tournament for first time since 2021 when they won the state championship.
#5 Leedey vs #11 Granite
Wednesday at 6:00pm
Last Appearance: Leedey (2022) Granite (1970)
Leedey’s road to the big house
In the first game of regionals we defeated Felt/Yarbrough then in the finals of regionals we defeated Balko , then in the Area finals we had to play Frontier and they defeated us then we had to come back on Saturday night and defeat Wesleyan Christian to advance to the state tournament. The boys were very excited . A couple were on the team that made it to the state tournament in 2022 and several of the younger players had older brothers that played in the big house a few years before that. So they were very excited to get their chance to play in the big house too. On a side note in the Class A boys state tournament we have played 4 out of the 8 teams that are in it . We have played Sentinel, Okarche, Seiling , and Red Oak said Leedey coach Lance Carpenter.
Granite’s road to the big house
First round regional we had to go to #18 Hammon on their home floor. They have a really nice team over there. They are tough anywhere, but they are especially tough on their home floor. For example, they knocked off at the time undefeated Class A #9 Texhoma and almost knocked off undefeated Class A #6 Sentinel in back to back nights at their place. We got down about 10 early to them. Nightmare start. We weathered the storm and pulled it out 62-53. I was super proud of the boys for that one. Our reward for pulling that off was #3 Fort Cobb in the Regional Finals. Obviously they have who is widely regarded the best player in our class in Kray Rogers, and one of the all time greatest coaches on the sideline in Scott Hines. That is a daunting combo. We decided to use a unique approach to guard them. We ran a triangle and two defense with two guys doubling Rogers without exceptions- we doubled him without the ball and we doubled him out of bounds, in the back court, etc. We lead 15-5 after one, 26-12 at half. In the second half we truly played at a three on four disadvantage for the whole half. It was late in the fourth by the time Rogers ever scored a field goal, and that was the only one he got all night. We pulled that one out 54-48. Again have to shout out my kids for trusting me on that game plan. They had to believe in it for it to work and they did a great job. In the Area Finals we played 26-1 #7 Wilson (Henryetta). Man they are good. You’ll see them this week- they may be both the most athletic and most talented team in the class. Again that game we had a horrendous start. We got down I believe both 12-0 and 18-6 and they had absolutely asserted their dominance. We finally saw the ball go through the hoop a couple times and got our press rolling. Weathering that particular storm is probably the proudest I have been of these boys all season. We thundered back late in the second quarter to actually take a 30-27 lead into halftime. I think we did give up the lead one time in the third, but when we took it back it was ours to stay. The reaction to going for the first time since 1970 has been awesome. A ton of support from not just our community, but surrounding communities too. The Granite faithful has waited a long time for this and they sure are showing their support. The reaction from my players was priceless too. I am totally emotional about basketball- I always have been. To see them also be emotional after these last couple monumental wins has been just so rewarding to me. It’s a pretty awesome deal- two of my starters are sophomores. When I first got here- my first year ever as head coach- they were 6th graders. Their parents and I went to the Big House to watch the state tournament that year and one of them took a picture of me and the kids sitting up there in the stands, saying we’d be playing there one day. Here we are, how special is that. To see those boys in tears hugging it out after we won on Friday was just as good as it gets. The anticipation leading up to the tournament is a little chaotic for us so far. I haven’t had time yet to even sit back and soak it all in. I figure I won’t have any time either. Lol. We are excited for sure, and ready to get back to work said Granite coach Kol Bomhoff.
#9 Braggs vs #2 Duke
Wednesday at 7:30pm
Last Appearance: Duke (2022) Braggs (2019)
Duke’s road to the big house
After just falling short last year and only graduating one senior, We felt like we had a good shot at state this year. Especially with the freshman class that we had coming up. Even with that, they’ve done better than I thought we would. The practices this year have been so competitive and the team is just so close to each other. It’s made this a really fun year. Getting back to state feels great. Duke has been fortunate enough to go to six of the last nine tournaments, but you never take it for granted because it’s so hard to get there. Now that we’re here, we’re just going to take it one game at a time and give it all we have said Duke coach Nick Gable. The Tigers began with defeating Mt. View-Gotebo 80-21 in districts, Defeated Ryan 84-39 and #17 Asher 50-33 in regionals and defeated #10 Varnum 74-45 in area to advance to the state tournament
Braggs road to the big house
Braggs Wildcats are 26-4 on the season. Three of those four losses are to Kinta. The first game of the year Kinta beat us by five points. We faced them again in the finals of the Porum Tournament and they beat us by one on a last second free throw. They beat us again in the regional finals two weeks ago. We went to the area consolation finals Saturday and got to face them one more time. Our young men were laser focused and together. We ended up beating Kinta 45-25. Probably the best defensive game we’ve played all year. We play Duke the first round of the state tournament. They look very solid and well coached. We are so excited to represent our town and play in the fairgrounds said Braggs coach Scott Hensley. The Wildcats began with defeating Hanna 78-34 and Schulter 88-44 in districts, Defeated #16 Kiowa 47-36 and lost to #6 Kinta 46-36 in regionals but would win three straight against Dover 37-32, #19 McCurtain 60-53 and #6 Kinta 45-25 to advance to the state tournament for the first time since 2019.
#4 Frontier vs #7 Wilson Henryetta
Wednesday at 9:00pm
Last Appearance: Frontier (2019) Wilson Henryetta (2002)
Frontier’s road to the big house
The Mustangs are back in the state tournament for the first time since 2019, They defeated South Coffeyville 86-25 and Oilton 99-24 in districts, Defeated Kremlin-Hillsdale 84-62 and #12 Wesleyan Christian 60-47 to win regionals and defeated #5 Leedey 72-61 to advance to the state tournament. The Mustangs are lead by longtime head coach Bob Weckstein who has been to the state tournament several times. The Mustangs are going for their first title since 2006, Last championship appearance came in 2018.
Wilson Henryetta’s road to the big house
Our road to the state tournament was one of adversity. We lost to granite in the area championship and beat Ft. Cobb on Saturday for the game to go to the state tournament. Our reaction was very excited for doing something that hasn’t been done in 22 years. My team is excited to play at the big house and showcase all their hard work from this year said Wilson Henryetta coach Grant Proctor. The Tigers defeated Agra 87-24 and Graham-Dustin 89-25 in districts, Defeated Tipton 78-70 and #13 Battiest 68-60 to win regionals, Lost to #11 Granite 71-65 but bounced back big against #3 Ft. Cobb-Broxton 63-40 to advance to State for first time since 2002.
The OKPreps Rundown 
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