The summer has flown by quickly. So has the Metro Basketball Summer League. The six weeks of play has flown by and it all culminates into Tuesday night’s final three rounds of the season ending tournament.
The quarterfinals, semifinals and final will be played Tuesday night at the Omaha Sports Academy starting at 6:00 p.m. Based on last week’s start of tournament play, seven of the top eight seeds start off in the quarterfinal round which should make for some fierce competition throughout the evening. Here are the quarterfinal matchups and some predictions and key matchups should they happen through the finals.
Quarterfinals
6:00 p.m. (Court 1) #1 Bank of Nebraska vs. #8 HCMC
Bluejays to Watch: Justin Carter
To be real honest, Bank of Nebraska has shown no weaknesses throughout the summer setting themselves up for a nice chance to make a run to the finals and win the whole team. Incoming Husker transferDeverell Biggs and Bellevue veteran Ben Holling have been solid leading the team up and down the court, Justin Carter has been showing off his dunking ability and Wes Wilkinson has held his own on the defensive end. Add in the scoring explosion of Klaye Rowe, this team will be hard to beat. Several of these players were on the winning team that won the league two years ago.
On the other side, HCMC has been pretty solid with players from Hastings College and Morningside carrying the team evenly. This may look like mismatch, and honestly it is. It would be a shocker if HCMC would upset the team of very experienced players on Bank of Nebraska.
6:00 p.m. (Court 2) #4 Narmi Group @ Smith Barney vs. #12 Judd Knispel Agency
Bluejays to Watch: Austin Chatman, Nick Bahe, Ross Ferarrini, Josh Dotzler, Nate Funk, Taylor Stormberg, Alex Olsen, Others?
This game is a rematch from week one where the Narmi Group just destroyed the Judd Knispel Agency. There was a lot of hype coming into the summer with this team due to the original listing of Creighton’s Doug McDermott and Antoine Young on a roster with other Creighton greats Nick Bahe, Nate Funk and incumbent starting point guard Austin Chatman.
Unfortunately for Judd Knispel, the roster didn’t come to fruition and there were struggles adjusting to what the roster would be. Former Husker Stephon Bradford has done his best to keep Knispel in games and Josh Dotzler even came and played a couple games and helped them make a turnaround. The momentum carried into the playoffs last Tuesday night where they were the only team to win two games in the evening and get into this position.
For the Narmi Group, Samford graduate Andy King and UNO Junior Caleb Steffensmeier have led this team throughout the summer hitting a lot of big shots from behind the arc. If the outside shot is going for the Narmi Group, that will be what decides the game and who advances.
6:00 p.m. (Court 3) #2 Andy’s Lawn & Landscape vs. #7 Shanks Law Firm
This game is another rematch, this one from week two of the season where Shanks pulled out a close victory 76-67. Other than that stumble, Andy’s Lawn and Landscape has been on a roll, including a dominating victory over Bellevue University in the round of 16 last week. Andy’s is carried by former Huskers Andrew Drevo, Jason Dourisseau and John Turek. Each of them have had huge games during the summer. Throw in Charles Richardson and they could win this one going away.
For Shanks Law Firm, mostly made up of Bellevue University graduates, the key to their team is the unselfishness with the ball with even distribution of the scoring. The other key is physical play. There was a lot of physical play and emotion last week in their win against the Construction Zone. If Shanks plays physical and takes one of the Nebraska three out of their game, then there could be an upset scored.
6:00 p.m. (Court 4) #3 UNO Alumni vs. #6 Higgins Weatherguard
Bluejay to Watch: Brody Deren
These teams were going in opposite directions heading into the end of pool play and into the playoffs. Higgins Weatherguard started off pretty hot, but with the loss of UNK’s Mike Dentlinger to a non-summer league injury, they have struggled at times. They got the win last week against a Thompson Basketball Camp team pieced together due to absences and it wasn’t too convincing. This diverse team will have to come together to score and upset.
The UNO Alumni on the other hand started off a little slow, but are heading into Tuesday night with a lot of momentum winning their past three games by an average of 22 points. Most of the players on this team have played together the past three years and could easily make their way to the finals.
Semifinals
The semifinals could create some interesting matchups. If Bank of Nebraska advances, they have already played both of their potential opponents. If they play the Narmi Group, that sets up a rematch from week three where B of N destroyed them 94-77. Bank of Nebraska defeated Judd Knispel in week two 90-65. However, that week, the Knispel roster was all mixed up and had mostly high school prospects on that team. Things could be different this time. HCMC did not play any of their other potential opponents.
On the other side of the bracket a potential matchup pits Andy’s Lawn & Landscape against UNO Alumni where Andy’s gave the Alumni their only loss this summer in a close one 90-87. Should Shank’s Law Firm advance, they lost 66-53 against UNO Alumni in game three of pool play where there was a lot of balanced scoring between both teams.
Predictions: Bank of Nebraska vs. Judd Knispel Agency and Andy’s Lawn & Landscape vs. UNO Alumni
Finals
Whoever makes it to the finals will have a lot of grit, playing three games in three hours. It does take a toll on the body. The deeper teams and ones with more experience will be likely to make it to the championship game. Bank of Nebraska and UNO Alumni are probably the deepest and have the most experience. In that game, all the fans in attendance should have someone to cheer for.
Prediction: Bank of Nebraska vs. UNO Alumni
