Devils Lake will enter the state tournament as the No. 1 seed.
The Firebirds have made it to the state championship game each of the last two years. They’ve won the Region 2 championship in all three seasons competing in Division A.
And now they’ll go into another state tournament with a target on their backs.
Devils Lake has seven losses, atypical for a No. 1 seed. The team spent some time unranked in the NDAPSSA top five. Yet, the Firebirds have won their last seven games, including a three-game sweep in the region tournament.
Four Winds/Minnewaukan and Beulah entered the postseason ranked No. 1 and 2, respectively, in the state. But both teams lost in their region tournaments — including an FW/M loss to Devils Lake — which opened the door for the Firebirds to be seeded ahead of them.
Devils Lake will begin its state tournament run at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Fargodome against No. 8 seed Dunseith. The Firebirds beat Dunseith 77-54 on Jan. 24 despite not having Mason or Max Palmer on the court.
The Indians will go to state with the No. 3 seed after winning a qualifier game over Oak Grove. Their record is 22-3, with losses to Wahpeton, Hillsboro/Central Valley and Devils Lake.
FW/M’s first-round opponent is No. 6 seed Shiloh Christian. The Indians beat the Skyhawks 58-53 on Feb. 21.
Devils Lake and FW/M are on opposite sides of the bracket. The teams could meet in the state championship, should they get that far.
Region 1 champion Central Cass got the No. 2 seed and will face No. 7 seed Turtle Mountain in the first game of the tournament Thursday at 1 p.m.
The final quarterfinal game on Thursday will be No. 4 seed Beulah vs. No. 5 seed Wahpeton. Devils Lake and FW/M both won close games over Beulah during the regular season. Wahpeton beat Devils Lake twice and FW/M once.
The state tournament is being held March 19-21 at the Fargodome.
The full and up-to-date bracket can be found on ndhsaanow.com.
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