By Travis Kriens
KORN News Radio Sports Director
If Friday night’s Class B boys region semifinals feel more like a state tournament preview, you’re not imagining things.
One month after the SoDAK 32 proposals fell short at the advisory committee level, the current bracket is once again putting the spotlight on the same uncomfortable truth: not all regions are created equal.
And this year, the imbalance is impossible to ignore.
A Loaded East Side
Regions 1B, 2B and 4B combine to feature nine of the top 11 teams in the final Class B seed points. By simple math, at least three of those teams will fail to reach next week’s SoDAK 16.
That alone should raise eyebrows.
But Region 4B has taken things to another level.
The top three teams in all of Class B seed points, No. 1 Viborg-Hurley, No. 2 Parkston and No. 3 Freeman, all reside in the same region. It is, without exaggeration, an all-timer of a regional draw.
The marquee game Friday is Parkston vs. Freeman, a matchup that would look perfectly at home in the state semifinals. In fact, there’s a very real chance the winner won’t see another opponent of this caliber until the state tournament and possibly not until the championship game.
Yet one of them will be done on Friday night.
The “Win Your Region” Argument Falls Flat
You’ve heard the pushback.
“If you can’t make it out of your region, you don’t deserve to advance.”
That sounds tidy in theory. In practice, it ignores the reality in front of us.
Regions are geographic constructs, not competitive equals. When the top three teams in the entire class sit in one bracket, pretending every path is the same isn’t taking the system seriously.
If Region 7B suddenly housed Wall, White River and Kadoka Area as the top three teams in Class B, the conversation would sound very different in a hurry. The same goes if Region 8B stacked Dupree, Timber Lake and Harding County at the very top.
We don’t have to guess how frustrating that would feel.
Imagine a Class AA world where only two of Sioux Falls Lincoln, Sioux Falls Roosevelt and Huron could reach the state tournament. Nobody would call that ideal.
The Seed Point Debate
Another criticism that surfaced last week centered on the reliability of seed points.
The argument goes like this: power points aren’t perfect, so they shouldn’t drive major postseason changes.
That part is fair. No ranking system is flawless.
But here’s what the numbers and the eye test actually show.
The final media poll and seed points are closely aligned at the top of Class B:
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Castlewood: No. 1 in media poll, No. 6 in seed points
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De Smet: No. 2 in poll, No. 4 in seed points
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Freeman: No. 3 in poll, No. 3 in seed points
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Viborg-Hurley: No. 4 in poll, No. 1 in seed points
Those aren’t wild discrepancies. They’re within normal range for any ranking system.
More importantly, seed points already determine SoDAK 16 seeding and the state tournament bracket. The system is already trusted where it matters most.
And if you’ve watched these teams play, the top tier in Class B looks exactly like the numbers suggest.
Friday’s Split Reality
The contrast across regions this week is stark.
In the loaded brackets, fans get high-end matchups like:
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No. 2 Parkston vs. No. 3 Freeman
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No. 6 Castlewood vs. No. 9 Wessington Springs
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No. 8 Leola/Frederick Area vs. No. 11 Waubay/Summit
Those are quality-on-quality games. The kind you expect deep in March.
Meanwhile, other regions feature matchups such as:
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No. 29 Lower Brule vs. No. 64 Andes Central/Dakota Christian
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No. 28 Ipswich vs. No. 36 Gettysburg
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No. 19 Timber Lake vs. No. 59 Faith
That disparity isn’t anyone’s fault. Geography is doing what geography does.
But it does highlight the central question the state keeps circling.
What a SoDAK 32 Would Change
Under a true statewide Round of 32, the bracket would better reflect competitive balance.
Instead of elite teams eliminating each other early, higher seeds would face appropriately matched opponents, while still earning the right to host.
The proposed model for this year paints a clear picture:
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No. 2 Parkston vs. No. 31 Faith
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No. 3 Freeman vs. No. 30 Harding County
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No. 6 Castlewood vs. No. 27 Gettysburg
Those are the kinds of matchups seed-based systems are designed to produce.
Upsets would still happen. They always do.
But the path to March would be more consistent across the state.
The Conversation Isn’t Going Anywhere
To be clear, the current system has improved postseason basketball in South Dakota. The SoDAK 16 was a meaningful step forward.
But this week’s Class B bracket is another reminder that the evolution probably isn’t finished.
When nine of the top 11 teams cluster into three regions and the top three teams in the entire class share one bracket, the pressure to revisit the format doesn’t disappear.
It grows.
Friday night will deliver great basketball. There’s no doubt about that.
The bigger question is whether the state is comfortable with where and how some of its best teams see their seasons end.
Because based on what this Class B bracket is showing us, the SoDAK 32 conversation isn’t cooling off anytime soon.
REGION SEMIFINALS WITH CLASS B SEED POINT RANKINGS
REGION 1B
No. 5 Aberdeen Christian vs. No. 17 Warner
No. 8 Leola/Frederick Area vs. No. 11 Waubay/Summit
REGION 2B
No. 4 De Smet vs. No. 15 Deubrook Area
No. 6 Castlewood vs. No. 9 Wessington Springs
REGION 3B
No. 14 Bridgewater-Emery vs. No. 23 Sioux Falls Lutheran
No. 16 Sanborn Central/Woonsocket vs. No. 21 Ethan
REGION 4B
No. 1 Viborg-Hurley vs. No. 20 Centerville
No. 2 Parkston vs. No. 3 Freeman
REGION 5B
No. 13 Lyman vs. No. 42 Corsica-Stickney
No. 29 Lower Brule vs. No. 64 Andes Central/Dakota Christian
REGION 6B
No. 10 Sully Buttes vs. No. 39 Faulkton Area
No. 28 Ipswich vs. No. 36 Gettysburg
REGION 7B
No. 7 Wall vs. No. 34 New Underwood
No. 20 Kadoka Area vs. No. 31 White River
REGION 8B
No. 12 Dupree vs. No. 44 Harding County
No. 19 Timber Lake vs. No. 59 Faith
PROPOSED CLASS B BOYS SoDAK 32
No. 1 Viborg-Hurley vs. No. 32 Andes Central/Dakota Christian
No. 2 Parkston vs. No. 31 Faith
No. 3 Freeman vs. No. 30 Harding County
No. 4 De Smet vs. No. 29 Corsica-Stickney
No. 5 Aberdeen Christian vs. No. 28 Faulkton Area
No. 6 Castlewood vs. No. 27 Gettysburg
No. 7 Wall vs. No. 26 New Underwood
No. 8 Leola/Frederick Area vs. No. 25 White River
No. 9 Wessington Springs vs. No. 24 Lower Brule
No. 10 Sully Buttes vs. No. 23 Ipswich
No. 11 Waubay/Summit vs. No. 22 Sioux Falls Lutheran
No. 12 Dupree vs. No. 21 Ethan
No. 13 Lyman vs. No. 20 Centerville
No. 14 Bridgewater-Emery vs. No. 19 Kadoka Area
No. 15 Deubrook Area vs. No. 18 Timber Lake
No. 16 Sanborn Central/Woonsocket vs. No. 17 Warner