State readies for next wave

With six state titles having been handed out on Saturday, the final week of the high school basketball season begins starting with the Class 5A tournament in Corvallis Tuesday.

The Class 6A tournament and Class 4A tournament begin Wednesday in Portland and Forest Grove, respectively.

The Class 3A, 2A and 1A tournaments for boys and girls all ended Saturday.

West Linn figures to be the key focus this week as the Lions are the top seed after playing their way to the No. 1 ranking in boys basketball not only in Oregon, but in the state.

Barlow enters the tournament at the University of Portland as the top challenger to the Lions, who won four straight titles a decade ago (2013-16) behind NBA-bound Payton Pritchard. A team from the Mt. Hood Conference has not won a state title since 1994 when Central Catholic beat Clackamas 56-54.

A public school from the Mt. Hood Conference has not won a state title since 1982 when Parkrose went unbeaten. Barlow has played for the state title just once - losing the final to South Salem in 1996.

In the girls tourney, Jesuit enters as the top seed with South Medford at No. 2. Jesuit won a title just once - in 2011. South Medford won the title the following year during its 30-0 season.

At Class 5A, Summit enters as the boys favorite a year after playing into the final as 6A. League rivals Mountain View and Redmond are on its side of the bracket that plays out at Oregon State University's Gill Coliseum.

The girls tournament features Springfield as the top seed with Silverton at No. 2.

The Class 4A at Forest Grove High School features Philomath and Junction City seeded No. 1 and 2, respectively. Philomath last won a title in 2016. Junction City played for the title last year.

In the girls tournament, Baker and Gladstone are seeded first and second, respectively. Baker won the title in 2019. Gladstone has played for a title just once - losing to Stayton in 2007.

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