AURORA — Fairview, Regis, Eaglecrest and Ralston Valley were awarded No. 1 seeds for the week’s Class 5A boys basketball state tournament that begins this Thursday. It didn’t take a detective to figure who was missing from that quartet unveiled Sunday.

Defending 5A champion Denver East, which also happens to be the Denver Prep League titlist this season, was a No. 2 seed. However, Eaglecrest coach John Olander provided a succinct explanation for that.

“They lost to us, Fairview and Ralston Valley,” Olander said. “They were put in with Regis, who they didn’t play.”

East guard Jace Davis certainly wasn’t perturbed at coming in as a No. 2.

“Even if we had a No. 1 seed, it would be the same thing, the same road,” Davis said. “I was a little surprised, but I’m not too worried about it.”

That quadrant, the Ray Ball Region, looks to be one of the toughest, with Regis, East, Rampart, and Aurora Central.

Regis’ only two losses this season are to powerhouse Fairview, rarely challenged during an undefeated regular season. So, it would hard to argue that the Raiders (21-2) deserve to be anything but a No. 1 seed, even though East (19-4) won the Denver Prep League and always does well in the postseason.

“It’s a nice reward,” Regis coach Ken Shaw said of the Raiders’ seed. “I am feeling good about where we are at this point in the season.”

Regis has two dominant players in 6-foot-6 Bud Thomas and 5-8 R.J. Demps, plus a capable scorer in Joey Ptasinski and a defensive ace in Will Cobb.

The Raiders also have impressive wins, including one over then top-ranked Eaglecrest and another against ThunderRidge, the first time in school history Regis beat the Grizzlies.

“We obviously played pretty well because we got a No. 1 seed,” point guard Demps said. “I think that if we just keep on doing well as a team and roll it over to the playoffs, we’ll be fine.

“I think the challenge will be East. They’re a very good team. It’s going to be a pretty good tournament overall and our bracket is going to be pretty good as well.”

Aurora Central didn’t face the competition of other Ball Region teams, but the Trojans emerged as Skyline League champion and played at a high level toward the end of their schedule.

Trojans coach Ian Calvert had fretted that basketball committee members hadn’t come out to see his team, but he ended up satisfied with being a No. 4 seed.

“It worked out,” Calvert said. “I think we got healthy and a couple of kids developed, and we’ve got a lot of size for (facing) people.”

Fairview coach Frank Lee was at a Front Range League coaches meeting Sunday in Fort Collins and was unable to attend the bracket show, put on by the Colorado High School Activities Association.

But there was no question which was the top team in the state. Fairview won three invitational tournament titles, plus the Front Range League championship, and has a gifted trio with point guard Beau Gamble, center Jonathan Morse and forward Travis Shepherd.

Fairview (23-0) is followed by Doherty, Chatfield and Grand Junction as the top four seeds in the John Casey Region.

Olander, the Eaglecrest coach, has a healthy respect for his prospective opponents, Highlands Ranch and Bear Creek.

“We played Highlands Ranch in the Sweet 16 last year, and that’s a Bob Caton-coached team this year,” he said. “Bear Creek has talent. The second round for us won’t be easy.”

Eaglecrest (20-3) finished the season ranked third in Class 5A and leads the Glenn Wilson Region. Green Mountain is the No. 2 seed there, followed by ThunderRidge and Legacy.

Still, the Truscott Region’s top four of Ralston, George Washington (which has lost only to East), Gateway and Arapahoe might just be the most potent foursome of any region.

Ralston Valley (21-2) has a puzzling loss to Littleton and another one hard-to-judge because it was against a Pennsylvania team. Still, the Mustangs have one of the state’s most heralded players in Colorado State signee Pierce Hornung and one of the sweetest-shooting guards in Taylor Gillach.

Ralston is in the Truscott Region and is followed by George Washington, which has lost only to Denver East; Gateway, which has a real undiscovered talent in Josh Pleasant, and Arapahoe, another disciplined team led by Parker Semin and Tim Billingsley.

The top four seeds from each region receive first-round byes in the 48-team tournament. The round of eight will be held at the Denver Coliseum on Saturday, March 7. The final four is on Thursday, March 12, at the University of Colorado’s Coors Events Center in Boulder and the championship final is at CU two days later.

In Class 4A, the No. 1 seeds were: Pueblo South, Sierra, Sterling and Windsor.

In 5A girls, the No. 1 seeds were: Highlands Ranch, Horizon, Regis and ThunderRidge.

In 4A girls, Broomfield, Montrose, Mullen and Pueblo South all captured top seeds.

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