The Wacky, Wild, Wide-Open World of AA Boys’ Basketball

Maybe those coaches had it all right in the preseason polls.

Before the Class AA boys' basketball season began, the Bozeman Hawks and Kalispell Glacier Wolfpack were tabbed to win the Eastern and Western Conferences, respectively.

Right now, those teams are at polar opposites. The Wolfpack sputtered out of the gate, but have soared into a two-way tie with Missoula Sentinel thanks to a 6-game winning streak.

The Hawks started the season 10-0, but lost to Billings Skyview and Missoula Sentinel two weeks ago to lose their stranglehold on the state's number one ranking. Bozeman now sits at 12-2 overall after wins over Class A Belgrade and winless Butte last week, but their toughest stretch it still ahead of them.

Speaking of the Skyview Falcons, no team has been harder to read so far this year. Key wins over Bozeman, Great Falls, and Great Falls C.M. Russell (three teams ahead of Skyview in the standings) had the Falcons soaring high. But, a listless effort last night against cross-town rival Billings Senior produced a 61-41 loss that dropped Skyview into 5th place in the latest standings.

Here are the up-to-the-second standings, starting with the Eastern AA:

1. BOZEMAN (5-1, 12-2)
2. GREAT FALLS (5-2, 12-3)
   
3. BILLINGS WEST (4-2, 11-3)
   
4. BILLINGS SENIOR (4-3, 11-4)
5. BILLINGS SKYVIEW (4-5, 9-6)
   
6. GREAT FALLS C.M. RUSSELL (3-4, 10-5)
   
7. BUTTE (0-8, 0-14)

And in the Western AA:

1. MISSOULA HELLGATE (7-1, 11-4)
2. KALISPELL GLACIER (5-2, 9-6)
3. MISSOULA SENTINEL (5-2, 9-6)
4. KALISPELL FLATHEAD (3-3, 7-6)
5. HELENA CAPITAL (2-5, 5-10)
6. MISSOULA BIG SKY (1-5, 3-11)
7. HELENA (1-6, 2-13)