There’s no clear-cut favorite in the boys eight-team field for the Class 1A-Division II state basketball tournament in Hays.
A pair of 20-3 teams — Tribune-Greeley County and Hope — headline the tournament.
And, there’s an 18-4 Fowler team, which takes on Otis-Bison (14-9) in an opening-round game this afternoon at Gross Memorial Coliseum on the Fort Hays State University campus. Tipoff is set for 4:45.
Yet, there are no unbeatable teams in the tourney, as the aforementioned records attest. The likes of Kiowa-South Barber (17-6) and Rexford-Golden Plains (14-8), who meet in tonight’s finale at 8:15, show the parity in the field.
Otis-Bison’s modest record includes a modest 5-4 mark in the Central Prairie League.
The Cougars like to use their athleticism on the defensive end of the floor, usually keeping the score in the 40s while averaging 47.5 points themselves.
Otis-Bison is shooting 50 percent on the season, hitting 331 of 674 shots from the floor, and 30 percent on 3-pointers (42 for 140).
Trevor Keller, a 6-foot junior guard, leads the Cougars with a 10.4 scoring average, hitting a team-high 77-of-184 shots for 44 percent. He also leads the team with 15 of their 43 3s, and has totaled a team-best 239 points. Michael Hlavaty, a 5-10 senior guard, is averaging 9.0 points.
Brandon Pechanec, a 6-3 junior, and Dominic Trapp, a 6-0 senior, give Otis-Bison an inside presence.Pechanec, who is averaging 7.6 points, leads the Cougars with a 5.3 rebounds-per-game average in 122 boards. Trapp, who is averaging 6.4 points and 4.5 rebounds, has totaled 103 caroms this season.
Dylan Wissman, a 6-0 sophomore, is averaging 7.2 points and has a team-best 44 steals.