Lakeland, Fla. — The Villages High School boys basketball team returns to the state's biggest stage.

The Buffalo are set to make their fourth Final Four appearance in program history, as they take the floor against No. 1 Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville) today at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland. Tipoff for the Class 4A state semifinal is set for 3 p.m.

No. 4 VHS, who finished as state runner-up a year ago, captured its second straight regional championship -- and fourth overall -- last Friday night with a 78-73 road win over Palm Bay in Melbourne.


GAME FACTS
Who: VHS (20-11) vs. Andrew Jackson (25-3)
What: Class 4A state semifinals
When: 3 p.m. today
Where: RP Funding Center, Lakeland
Admission: $15 (tickets), $10 (parking) 


GAME NOTES
Guess Who's Back: The Buffalo return to the RP Funding Center for the second consecutive season, after finishing as Class 4A state runner-up a year ago.
VHS defeated Ribault (Jacksonville), 43-39, in a state semifinal last March, before falling 77-41 to Mater Lakes (Hialeah) in the first-ever state championship game in school history.
A total of five players on this year's roster -- Jack Flanagan, Ben Koubek, Kymani Weathers, Jared Thompson and Chris Washington Jr. -- saw action for the Buffalo in last year's Final Four.

Keep Pace: The Villages and Andrew Jackson have seemingly made their way to Lakeland at contrasting paces.
The Buffalo average 54.3 shot attempts per game en route to 67.4 points scored per contest, while the Tigers average just 37.1 attempts per game and scores 58.2 points per contest.
Andrew Jackson scored 65 or more points in five games this season -- scoring 70+ points just once -- while The Villages scored 65+ points in 20 of its 31 games this winter. The Buffalo also eclipsed the 70-point mark a total of 15 times this season.

Go, Guards, Go: The road to the Final Four for VHS has been paved by strong guard play, as a trio of ballhandlers have kept the Buffalo afloat throughout the postseason.
Senior Ben Koubek, junior Adyn Corbin and freshman Aaron Britt, Jr. have stabilized The Villages down the stretch, providing a scoring punch and a defensive presence in the backcourt.
The three guards have combined for 24.2 points and 7.3 assists per game this season, while plucking away three steals per contest.

Watch For Washington: VHS sophomore forward Chris Washington Jr. leads the team in points (16.0), rebounds (7.4) and blocks (1.5) per game this season.
Washington tallied 25 points and 13 rebounds in last week's regional final victory at Palm Bay.

Bench Is Booming: The Buffalo have been aided by their bench during the stretch run, with non-starters averaging 25.5 points per game in the six contests since the district tournament began earlier this month.

Bringing Them Back: James Collins has rebuilt Andrew Jackson into a Duval County powerhouse once again.
Now in his 14th season as head coach of the Tigers, Collins notched his fifth season of 25-plus victories this winter in Jacksonville.
Collins is making his fourth trip to the state Final Four with the Tigers, having finished as state runner-up in all three previous appearances.
Andrew Jackson has won five state championships in program history, with the most recent coming in 1993.

Rocky Roads: Both VHS and Andrew Jackson have earned their respective bids to the Final Four, after navigating a pair of difficult schedules on their way to Lakeland.
The Tigers boast the fourth toughest strength of schedule in all of Class 4A statewide, per MaxPreps' rankings, while the Buffalo played the state's fifth-toughest schedule in Class 4A.



Cody Hills can be reached for questions or comment at cody.hills@tvcs.org or by calling (352) 259-6890.