Preview: Tides to Face No. 2 Seed Ballard in Playoffs

What: First Round State Playoff Game

Where: Puyallup High School

When: Friday, Feb. 25, at 6 p.m.

Situation: The WIAA switched things up this year with the state basketball playoff format, switching from the old 16-team, four-day Tacoma Dome event to one that features four different regional rounds followed by a round of eight the following weekend at the T-Dome.

Each regional site will feature four teams, two of which will advance to the round of eight. Every regional will have one automatic advance game and one loser-out game on Friday. The winner of the loser-out game will then play the loser of the automatic advance game on Saturday for the final spot in the round of eight from the regional. For example, Gig Harbor and Ballard play in a loser-out game. The winner will advance to play to the loser of the Curtis/Puyallup game for a spot in the round of eight (the winner of the Curtis/Puyallup game will have already advanced). The loser of that game will be eliminated.

Teams:

Gig Harbor (13-11) – The Tides went 3-2 in the playoffs to qualify for the round of sixteen. Gig Harbor is coming off a close loss to Kentridge on Monday, in which the Tides held a nine-point fourth quarter lead, but fell victim to Gary Bell’s 34-point effort to fall into the loser-out game of the Puyallup regional. Gig Harbor is led by seniors Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Brandon Gagliardi.

Ballard (15-8) – The Beavers enter the state tournament as the number-two seed out of the Sea-King district after advancing to the KingCo 4A title game. Ballard is 9-3 over its last 12 games and is led by 6-foot-6-inch forward Salim Goyd, who averages 21 points and 12 rebounds per game.

The loser of this game is eliminated. The winner will play the loser of the Puyallup/Curtis game on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Puyallup High School.