Cretin-Derham Hall at St. Paul Central
1 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 3

Three Class 4A, Section 4 teams earned a spot in the preseason rankings, meaning it will likely be a season-long battle for the top seed in the playoffs of the ultra-competitive grouping.

For Cretin-Derham Hall, which wants to enter the postseason with the No. 1 seed and maintain hopes of improving upon last season's section semifinal loss, the fight begins Saturday when the No. 5-4A Raiders face a St. Paul Central team they defeated 62-53 in the section quarterfinals.

Daniel Oturu is one of the state's top prospects, and the 6-foot-9 junior will be counted on to lead an experienced Cretin-Derham Hall lineup that returns all but two players from last year’s 20-8 team.

The Raiders also welcome Braham transfer Ryan Larson. The junior guard was a key contributor with 28 points in last season's Class 2A championship, earning all-tournament honors.

The Minutemen experienced some major casualties following the graduation of their starting five from a year ago. Gone are the team's their top shooter, forward and scorer, but St. Paul Central’s program has been resilient, steadily suppling talent that has help the team post just two losing seasons in the past 10 years in the competitive St. Paul City Conference.

Shawn Blanchard Jr. and Re’Twan Balenger are expected to fill the Minutemen’s backcourt while Kelson Valentine should be the team’s top big man.