(03/20/2023) The Andover High School boys’ basketball team qualified for the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) Class AAAA state tournament and will open play on Tuesday, March 21, taking on top-seeded and defending state champion Park Center High School.
The Huskies (22-7) repeated as Section 7AAAA champions to earn their second straight state tournament appearance, the seventh in school history.
Andover and Park Center (26-2) will kick off this year’s Class AAAA tournament with tip-off set for 10 a.m. on March 21 at the Target Center in Minneapolis. The quarterfinals can be streamed (for a fee) online at nspn.tv/MSHSL. For tournament information, including tickets, visit the MSHSL website.
The winner between Andover and Park Center will advance to the semifinals on Thursday, March 23 at 6 p.m. at the Target Center to play the winner of No. 5 Eastview and No. 4 Minnetonka.
The Huskies and Pirates are quite familiar with one another and will be meeting for the second time this season. Andover hosted their Northwest Suburban Conference foe on Feb. 21 and came up just short in a 97-91 high-scoring affair. The two teams also met in the first round of the state tournament in 2022, with the Pirates winning that contest 74-60 before going on to win the state championship.
Andover won the consolation bracket last season, defeating Eden Prairie and Owatonna.
Andover enters the state tournament having won 15 of their last 17 games. The Huskies found their scoring touch throughout the section tournament defeating Coon Rapids 97-48, Anoka 99-82 and Cambridge-Isanti 106-79. The Huskies enter the tournament averaging nearly 87 points and 37 rebounds per game.
Senior guard Ben Kopetzki leads the Huskies in scoring averaging 25.4 points per game hitting a team-high 61 3-pointers on the season. Senior Sam Musungu is averaging 21.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. Senior Landyn Nelson leads the team averaging 6.6 rebounds per game to go along with 11.8 points per game.
The Huskies are led by Jeremy Hable, who was recently named the Section 7AAAA Coach of the Year.
