BOYS BASKETBALL: New Rankings Announced (Feb 17th)

A top ranked team and two number twos from last week all suffered last week in one of the more exciting weeks of the regular season.  Those losses and several others caused many changes in the newest basketball rankings released by Colorado Preps.  Also included in the rankings are six new members including two apiece in Classes 4A and 2A. 

CLASS 5A

1.        Denver East (20-2)

2.        Chatfield (20-1)

3.        Mountain Vista (19-1)

4.        Regis (17-4)

5.        Fairview (18-3)

6.        ThunderRidge (15-6)

7.        Fossil Ridge (17-4)

8.        Cherokee Trail (14-7)

9.        Eaglecrest (16-5)

10.     Grandview (15-6)

NEW:  None

DROPPED OUT:  None

TEAMS TO WATCH:  Monarch (17-4), Rangeview (17-4), Aurora Central (16-6), Columbine (17-4), Highlands Ranch (14-7), Legend (16-5), Arapahoe (15-6), Cherry Creek (12-9), Fountain Fort Carson (13-7), Liberty (13-8)

NOTES:  Because of a loss by Mountain Vista last Friday, Class 5A will enter the post-season without an undefeated team as the Golden Eagles were the last squad standing.  Their perfect season came to a close with a four point loss to Chaparral.  The loss dropped Mountain Vista into a first place tie with Regis atop the Continental but the Golden Eagles still retain the tiebreaker because of their win over the Raiders.  Regis collected a very important win over ThunderRidge that likely locked up a top two spot.  Mountain Vista slid one spot down to third with Chatfield bumping up to second.  The Chargers are one win away from the clinching the Jeffco and have won 18 straight.  ThunderRidge also dropped one position in the rankings to sixth with Fairview taking over the fifth spot.  Fairview continues their hold on the Front Range lead by one game over Fossil Ridge and Monarch and they meet the Coyotes in a huge game to close the season this week.  Cherokee Trail collected maybe the most impressive win as they outlasted Eaglecrest in double overtime for a wild victory that gave them sole possession of the Centennial lead.  The Cougars jumped to ninth with Eaglecrest dropping to ninth.  Grandview, which is tied with Eaglecrest for second in the Centennial, held steady at tenth.

CLASS 4A

1.        D’Evelyn (20-1)

2.        Sand Creek (20-1)

3.        Lewis Palmer (18-3)

4.        Valor Christian (18-4)

5.        Wasson (20-1)

6.        Broomfield (17-4)

7.        Pueblo East (17-2)

8.        Thomas Jefferson (14-7)

9.        Longmont (17-4)

10.     Windsor (16-6)

NEW:  Longmont, Windsor

DROPPED OUT:  Cheyenne Mountain (15-6), Denver South (17-5)

TEAMS TO WATCH:  Sierra (14-7), Widefield (15-6), Evergreen 914-7), Discovery Canyon (14-6), Frederick (16-6), Palisade (14-5), Elizabeth (14-7), Durango (14-5)

NOTES:  For the first time in a couple of weeks, we have new members to the 4A rankings as Windsor and Longmont join the top ten replacing Cheyenne Mountain and Denver South.  Cheyenne Mountain was seventh last week but suffered two losses and was dropped from the rankings for the first time this season.  Denver South came out on the short end of a critical game with Montbello that knocked them out of the City League championship chase.  They now face Denver East on Friday and face a must win situation or they could tumble to fourth in the conference heading into the playoffs.  Longmont is tied with Thompson Valley for second in the Northern behind Broomfield.  The Trojans actually lost to Thompson Valley head-to-head but we went with Longmont because they’ve been the hotter team down the stretch.  They also own a win over Broomfield while Thompson Valley was swept by the conference champion Eagles.  Longmont and Thompson Valley play a very important game on Tuesday.  Windsor clinched the Tri Valley title by beating Berthoud on Friday and makes their first appearance in the rankings this season.  Atop the rankings, Sand Creek stays put at number two despite suffering their first loss of the season to Discovery Canyon last Tuesday.  We kept them in second because they own a win over Lewis Palmer in the previous week so we didn’t feel it fair to drop the Scorpions lower than the defending state champions.  The rematch is set for Tuesday.  D’Evelyn, Wasson, Broomfield and Pueblo East all clinched league championships in the past week and stayed put in their respective spot as well.  Thomas Jefferson made the biggest move jumping two spots to eighth.

CLASS 3A

1.        Kent Denver (16-1)

2.        Colorado Springs Christian (15-2)

3.        Holy Family (16-2)

4.        Brush (16-2)

5.        Sterling (15-3)

6.        Pagosa Springs (15-2)

7.        Roaring Fork (15-3)

8.        Centauri (13-4)

9.        Aspen (15-3)

10.     University (14-4)

NEW:  Aspen

DROPPED OUT:  Moffat County (15-3)

TEAMS TO WATCH:  Estes Park (11-7), Pinnacle (12-7), Colorado Academy (13-4), Machebeuf (10-7), Faith Christian (8-9), Denver Science 913-5), James Irwin (13-5), La Junta (14-5), Dolores Huerta (13-6)

NOTES:  We’re almost back to where we started the season as Kent Denver regains the top spot this week.  The Sun Devils moved up because of a loss by Brush.  The Beetdiggers were knocked off by Jefferson Academy in a non-league game on Saturday.  It cost them three spots in the rankings as they dropped from first to fourth this week.  They remain one spot ahead of Sterling but those two teams will collide on Tuesday to determine the Patriot league crown and number one seed for districts.  Both are unbeaten in league action.  Colorado Springs Christian, which clinched the Tri Peaks West title, moves up to 2^nd this week which is their highest position of the season.  Holy Family jumped to third and will battle Kent Denver on Wednesday for the Metro championship.  University and Moffat County were two other teams that suffered losses last week.  University is battling injuries to key players but played well in a loss to Sterling that left them third in the Patriot.  Moffat County was beaten by Aspen early in the week and then dropped a second league contest to Roaring Fork on Saturday.  They fell from a first place tie in the WSL to third and were replaced in the rankings by Aspen.  The Skiers are one of the hottest teams in the state and enter the poll for the first time this season.  They edged Estes Park and Pinnacle for the open spot.  Pinnacle is unbeaten in league play (12-0) and captured their first ever basketball league championship but went 0-7 out of conference against a very tough schedule that included losses to Kent Denver, Holy Family, Denver Christian, Faith Christian, Machebeuf, Fort Lupton and Valley.

CLASS 2A

1.        Limon (17-0)

2.        Peyton (14-2)

3.        Yuma (16-1)

4.        Sanford (14-3)

5.        Lutheran (13-4)

6.        Resurrection Christian (13-4)

7.        Hayden (16-2)

8.        Heritage Christian (17-1)

9.        Haxtun (14-3)

10.     Denver Christian (12-4)

NEW:  Denver Christian, Haxtun

DROPPED OUT:  Ignacio (14-4), Rocky Ford (16-2)

TEAMS TO WATCH:  Sierra Grande (13-4), Sangre De Cristo (12-5), Akron (13-5), Meeker (13-5), Telluride (12-3), Dolores (13-5), Crowley County (13-6)

NOTES:  The top six teams from last week remain unchanged but there is some shuffling and two new members in the last four.  Haxtun and Denver Christian join the rankings replacing Ignacio and Rocky Ford.  Ignacio lost their hold on the seventh spot and the San Juan conference lead with a stunning loss to Telluride.  That left the Bobcats, Miners and Dolores tied for the conference lead.  Rocky Ford is the hard luck team of the week.  They finished the season with a four game lead in the Santa Fe and 12 straight wins but we moved both Haxtun and Denver Christian back into the rankings and ahead of the Meloneers because of a stronger schedule and that left Rocky Ford on the outside this week.  Haxtun blew past a very good Otis team and has a recent win over 3^rd ranked Yuma on their resume.  Denver Christian suffered a high quality one point loss to Lutheran last week and despite that decision remains tied with Resurrection Christian and Heritage Christian atop the Mile High.  Their schedule and solid record puts them in the rankings this week.  Both Rocky Ford and Denver Christian play Limon this week so we’ll get to see immediately if we made the right choice with the Crusaders and Meloneers.  Hayden and Heritage Christian both moved up one spot this week to seventh and eighth because of the loss by Ignacio.

CLASS 1A

1.        Shining Mountain (16-1)

2.        McClave (16-1)

3.        Fleming (13-3)

4.        Holly (12-5)

5.        Caliche (12-4)

6.        Denver Jewish Day (10-3)

7.        Hi Plains (13-4)

8.        Cheyenne Wells (15-3)

9.        Elbert (12-4)

10.     Vail Christian (13-4)

NEW:  Vail Christian

DROPPED OUT:  Otis (13-3)

TEAMS TO WATCH:  Pawnee (10-5), Prairie (11-5), La Veta (15-4), Granada (10-6), Wiley (10-7), Deer Trail (12-5), Norwood (11-6) 

NOTES:  Entering the final week of the season, we’ve almost resorted to flipping coins to determine the rankings in Class 1A.  It seems that on any given day, any team in the top ten can beat any opponent but also lose to any opponent.  Fleming, Caliche, Hi Plains, Cheyenne Wells and Otis all suffered losses last week and the good news is that four of the five teams with exception of Cheyenne Wells lost to a larger classification team.  Fleming fell to Holyoke, Caliche was taken out by Akron, Hi Plains fell to Burlington one day after scoring a quality non-league win over Cheyenne Wells and Otis was handled by Haxtun.  Of the five, Otis was the only team that fell from the rankings and the reason was the margin of loss to Haxtun who also used the win to move back into the 2A rankings.  With all those losses, Shining Mountain regained the top spot two weeks after dropping from the top spot with a loss to Denver Jewish Day.  McClave also bumps back up to second while Fleming dropped to third.  Holly made a nice jump of three spots to fourth thanks to a nice win over Kim and losses by others.  Denver Jewish Day also bumped up four spots to sixth as they continue to work their way through a much improved 5280 conference unbeaten.  Fleming dropped two spots to third while Caliche fell one spot to fifth.  Hi Plains dropped one spot to seventh with Cheyenne Wells dropping to third.  Elbert fell one spot to ninth as their schedule prevents them from moving up farther as they have not played the same level of competition as other teams in the rankings over the past two weeks.  Vail Christian picked up a high quality win over Meeker and with it took over second place in the Western Slope league.  They also moved into the rankings at number ten.