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Springfield boys basketball Class 3 districts preview: Schedule, top players, predictions

wyatt d. wheeler, springfield news-leader
·4 min read

It's postseason time for high school basketball across southwest Missouri.

Classes 1-3 will tip off district play on Monday all across the area. We went through and provided the brackets, top teams, players to watch and predictions for each local district.

Check MSHSAA.org for the most accurate times and brackets throughout the postseason.

SPRINGFIELD AREA GIRLS BASKETBALL DISTRICT PREVIEWS: Class 1 | Class 2 | Class 3

SPRINGFIELD AREA BOYS BASKETBALL DISTRICT PREVIEWS: Class 1 | Class 2 | Class 3

Class 3

No. 1 team (as of Feb. 5): Central (New Madrid County)

The Eagles have been one of the better teams in the state at the Class 3 level for several years. They've been to the state semifinals in the last two seasons, including a Class 3 state championship a year ago. Familiar names from the title team returned this year, including Jadis Jones, a 6-foot-5 all-state forward who has been one of Missouri's best players since he stepped on the court. They lost their final two games of the regular season which came against Class 5 opponents.

District 10 at Houston

Feb. 20

  • No. 4 Willow Springs vs. No. 5 Seymour

  • No. 2 Mountain View vs. No. 7 Houston

  • No. 3 Licking vs. No. 6 Alton

Feb. 22

  • No. 1 Thayer vs. 4/5

  • 2/7 vs. 3/6

Feb. 24

  • Championship at 3 p.m.

Team to beat: Thayer. The Bobcats have won 10 straight district championships. They started the year 6-6 but the record was deceiving with the number of out-of-state high-level games they were competing in nationwide. Aidan Burns is the Bobcats' star senior who will have Thayer competing for a state championship. They've reached the state semifinals and finished third in Class 3 over the last two years.

Next best: Mountain View. The Eagles have been great against conference opponents and those in their class. Terrell Gaines has been a high-scoring player all season who can put a team like Thayer on notice if he gets going. The Eagles dropped their game against the Bobcats 71-43 on Feb. 13.

Prediction: Thayer over Mountain View

The Greenwood Blue Jays took on the Sparta Spartans in the second round of the Blue Divsion during the Blue and Gold Tournament at Great Southern Bank Arena on December 27th, 2023.
The Greenwood Blue Jays took on the Sparta Spartans in the second round of the Blue Divsion during the Blue and Gold Tournament at Great Southern Bank Arena on December 27th, 2023.

District 11 at Sparta

Feb. 20

  • No. 4 Forsyth vs. No. 5 Pleasant Hope

  • No. 2 Sparta vs. No. 7 New Covenant

  • No. 3 Greenwood vs. No. 6 Conway

Feb. 22

  • No. 1 Fair Grove vs. 4/5

  • 2/7 vs. 3/6

Feb. 24

  • Championship at 6 p.m.

Team to beat: Fair Grove. The Eagles earned the top seed and avoided having to play Greenwood or Sparta in a semifinal game. They'll instead get a team like Forsyth or Pleasant Hope when they have a recent 75-48 win over Forysth. Tyler Barnett has been one of the better players in the area this season and is a mismatch problem for most teams in this field. Bryden Baxter, Spensar Seiger and Blake Winterberg have also been standouts on a team that's allowed more than 50 points twice since the tournament of champions.

Next best: Sparta. The Trojans won this district last season but enter the district as the two-seed thanks in large part to its 43-39 loss to Fair Grove on Jan. 27. It's difficult to count this team out when it has the big-game experience and Jacob Lafferty, who seems to play at a different level when the lights are the brightest.

Sleeper: Greenwood. The Blue Jays are capable of beating Sparta in a potential semifinal. From there, anything goes. Greenwood probably should have beaten Sparta in a quarterfinal game at the Blue and Gold Tournament but couldn't put the game away late. Collin Clark is among the best players in the area and we've seen others like Logan Sanders step up throughout the year.

Prediction: Fair Grove over Sparta

District 12 at Lamar

Feb. 20

  • No. 4 Pierce City vs. No. 5 Sarcoxie

  • No. 3 Marionville vs. No. 6 Diamond

Feb. 22

  • No. 1 Southwest (Washburn) vs. 4/5

  • No. 2 Lamar vs. 3/6

Feb. 24

  • Championship at 6 p.m.

Team to beat: Southwest (Washburn) The Trojans won the district last year and avoided having to play Lamar or Marionville in the semifinal. They'll instead get a four- or five-seed they've already beaten by double-digits. They've been hot as of late with blowout wins over Miller and Billings.

Next best: Lamar. The Tigers hit a rough stretch when playing the bigger Big 8 schools but remain a team that can win this district. Ian Ngugi has been a standout small-school area player this season.

Sleeper: Marionville. The Comets started the year with a tough slate while going 6-5 through 11 games. They've been a lot better since getting into Southwest Conference play with its lone loss coming to a solid Ash Grove team. They have a 51-40 loss to Southwest (Washburn) from the second game of the year when football players were just returning from winning the Class 1 state championship

Prediction: Marionville over Southwest (Washburn)

Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or X at @WyattWheeler_NL.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Springfield high school boys basketball Class 3 districts preview