In this basketball test, the humans topped the computers.
Despite a low RPI ranking, Camas received the No. 1 seed in the Class 4A girls basketball state tournament on Sunday.
The Papermakers are among five Clark County girls or boys teams that will open state tournament play in Battle Ground on Friday or Saturday. The rest will play out of the area in the regional round.
A favorite to win the state title, Camas is ranked No. 9 in the RPI rankings used to inform tournament seeding.
That’s because each of the Papermakers’ six losses came to out-of-state opponents, most of which are among the best in the nation. The RPI computer formula doesn’t account for the strength of out-of-state foes.
But the humans on the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association’s selection committee were convinced that Camas (18-6) deserves the top seed. The Papermakers earned their second consecutive bi-district title on Saturday and have beaten all 13 Washington opponents by an average score of 65-38.
Camas faces No. 8 Gonzaga Prep at 4 p.m. Saturday at Battle Ground. That’s part of a triple-header that will also involve the Skyview and Columbia River boys.
Battle Ground will host two girls games on Friday as Ridgefield and Seton Catholic were given regional games close to home.
In regional games between top-eight seeds, the winner earns passage to the quarterfinals while the loser falls into an elimination game on Feb. 28. Games from that day and beyond are in Tacoma for Class 4A and 3A. Yakima hosts Class 2A and 1A.
Regional games involving seeds nine or worse are loser-out.
Class 4A
- The No. 11 Skyview boys face No. 14 Woodinville at 2 p.m. Saturday at Battle Ground.
- The No. 13 Camas boys head to Yakima to face No. 12 West Valley. The Papermakers clinched a state berth by beating defending champ Curtis in a loser-out game Saturday.
- The No. 16 Skyview girls head to Arlington to face No. 9 Lake Stevens. The Storm won three close bi-district games to reach state after finishing third in the 4A GSHL.
Class 3A
- The regional round actually kicks off Tuesday in the 20-team 3A state tournament when the No. 16 Evergreen girls host No. 17 Eastside Catholic. The winner faces No. 9 Lake Washington on Saturday in Bellevue.
- Also Tuesday, 3A Greater St. Helens League boys champ and No. 14 seed Kelso hosts Marysville-Getchell.
Class 2A
- The Columbia River girls, which repeated as 2A GSHL champs, earned the No. 8 seed. The Rapids have a tough regional test at top-seeded Ellensburg on Friday.
- No. 12 Columbia River boys face No. 13 White River in a regional game at 6 p.m. Saturday at Battle Ground.
- The No. 9 Ridgefield girls face No. 16 Kingston at 6 p.m. Friday at Battle Ground.
- The 2A GSHL champ Mark Morris boys head to Tacoma on Friday as a No. 6 seed to face No. 3 North Kitsap.
- The No. 13 seed Mark Morris girls head to Auburn to face No. 12 Enumclaw on Saturday.
Class 1A
- District and Trico League champ Seton Catholic boys are guaranteed a trip to Yakima. The No. 7 seed Cougars face No. 2 Lynden Christian in a regional game Saturday in Mount Vernon.
- The No 12 Seton Catholic girls face No. 13 Eatonville at 8 p.m. Friday at Battle Ground. The Cougars weren’t given a top-eight seed despite going undefeated in the 1A Trico League and reaching the District 4 championship game.
