The action is just heating up!
For two weeks, players, coaches, parents and fans descend on the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage for the Alaska School Activities Association’s state basketball tournament, dubbed March Madness Alaska. The first week, which started Wednesday, features teams from smaller communities around the state in the 1A and 2A classifications, everywhere from Kake in the Southeast, Ninilchik on the Kenai Peninsula, Chevak in the Southwest and Nunamiut in the northern Interior.
A total of 16 teams qualify for the 1A boys and girls championships, respectively, with eight teams in each of the 2A boys and girls tournaments. All told, after the first week, just over 70 games will be played in the arena’s main and auxiliary gyms. The small-schools tournament culminates on Saturday afternoon and evening when four championship games back-to-back-to-back-to-back .
“March Madness Alaska is probably the most attended event annually in the state of Alaska,” said Billy Strickland, the executive director of ASAA. “We’ve got communities from Metlakatla in Southeast, Unalaska in Southwest, Tikigaq in Northwest, Walter Northway in the northeast side of the state. So it’s an annual gathering of the state, celebrating our students, playing basketball and the fans are great and it’s just a wonderful event every year.
As the pride of their communities, village teams receive plenty of support from home and the stands, with fans traveling all the way to Anchorage to cheer them on. That makes for a raucous environment from the minute the ball is tipped from the first game of the tournament early Wednesday morning.
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