Final RPI, playoff brackets released for 4A state basketball

The Dixie Flyers lift the UHSAA 4A boys basketball state championship trophy after their victory in the finals over Sky View at Weber State University, Ogden, Utah, Feb. 29, 2020 | File photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — The final seedings and playoff brackets for 4A were released by the Utah High School Activities Association on Saturday morning.

Pine View at Dixie, St. George, Utah, Feb. 19, 2021 | Photo by Aaron Crane, St. George News

All teams make the state tournament, so Region 9 will send all 16 of its teams out in a bid for the state championship.

On the boys side, Region 9 regular season champion Dixie claimed the No. 2 seed in RPI behind Juan Diego Catholic. Crimson Cliffs and Desert Hills come in third and second in the final RPI rankings. The two tied with No. 6 Cedar with 10-4 Region 9 records for second place behind the Flyers. Snow Canyon comes in eighth in the final rankings to round out top-half finishers that earned a first-round bye.

Pine View came in at No. 16, just one ahead of Hurricane. Canyon View, after securing its first and only Region 9 win of the season Friday night, came in 19th out of 21.

Pine View will host Hurricane in the first round on Feb. 23. Canyon View will travel to No. 14 Tooele. The second round will be played on Feb. 26. Dixie will host the winner of No. 15 Bear River vs. No. 18 Ben Lomond, Crimson Cliffs will host the winner of Tooele/Canyon View, Desert Hills will host the winner of No. 13 Cedar Valley vs. No. 20 Mountain Crest, Cedar will host No. 11 Green Canyon and Snow Canyon will host No. 9 Logan. The winner of Pine View vs. Hurricane will travel to No. 1 Juan Diego.

An all-Region 9 state final, or perhaps even quarterfinal, is in play. Desert Hills is on the opposite side of the bracket from Dixie, Crimson Cliffs and Cedar, the heaviest favorites from Southern Utah.

Cedar basketball at Desert Hills, St. George, Utah, Feb. 18. 2021 | Photo by Rich Allen, St. George News / Cedar City News

On the girls side, Pine View retained its No. 1 ranking in the RPI despite finishing second in the region standings to the undefeated Desert Hills Thunder, who came in second in the rankings. The next highest finisher for the region is Cedar at No. 8 and Hurricane narrowly maintained a top-half finish at No. 10. Canyon View finished at 12, Dixie at 15, Snow Canyon at 18 and Crimson Cliffs at 20.

The first round of the girls bracket will be played on Feb. 24. Dixie will host Snow Canyon after the two teams played to a thrilling 46-45 victory at the Hangar on Feb. 11. Canyon View will host Ben Lomond and Crimson Cliffs will travel to Bear River.

The second round will also be played on Feb. 26, though in previous seasons they have been traditionally played on different days. Hurricane will travel to No. 7 Juan Diego, Cedar will host Tooele in a doubleheader with the boys team, Desert Hills will host the winner of the Dixie/Snow Canyon matchup and Pine View will host the winner of No. 16 Mountain Crest and No. 17 Ogden. With victories, Crimson Cliffs would travel to No. 4 Green Canyon and Canyon View would travel to No. 5 Logan.

All teams that advance out of the second round will descend on the Sevier Valley Center starting March 1 for the quarterfinals through the finals on March 3.

The final boys RPI rankings can be found here and the tournament bracket can be found here.

The final girls RPI rankings can be found here and the tournament bracket can be found here.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

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