BOYS BASKETBALL: State Rankings Released (Jan 13th)

 

All five number one teams were able to maintain their hold on the top spots this week but there is plenty of shuffling behind them in the latest Colorado Preps rankings.  Four teams also joined the rankings for the first time this week.  Below are the new rankings in each division with notes on results from last week and a breakdown of the top games for the coming week.

 

CLASS 5A

1.       Denver East (12-2)

2.       Mountain Vista (11-0)

3.       Chatfield (11-1)

4.       Arapahoe (9-2)

5.       ThunderRidge (7-4)

6.       Columbine (9-2)

7.       Regis (8-3)

8.       Overland (9-2)

9.       Rangeview (9-2)

10.   Eaglecrest (8-2)

NEW:  None

DROPPED OUT:  None

TEAMS TO WATCH:  Fossil Ridge (8-2), Fairview (7-2), Monarch (7-2), Loveland (8-2), Aurora Central (9-2), Dakota Ridge (7-5), Cherokee Trail (6-5), Grandview (7-4), Legend (8-2), Highlands Ranch (8-3), Lincoln (9-3), George Washington (8-5), Grand Junction (7-3)

NOTES:  While the top two and bottom two teams in the Colorado Preps poll are unchanged from last week, the middle six shuffle around quite a bit.  Denver East, which easily moved past ThunderRidge and Chaparral in-state and also won a game in Minnesota, remains the solid choice at #1 with Mountain Vista the easy pick at #2.  The Golden Eagles stopped Montbello in their only game of the week.  Arapahoe dropped one spot after a two point loss to Centennial rival Cherry Creek and ThunderRidge also fell one position because of the loss to Denver East.  Those two results allowed Chatfield to bump up two spots to three.  The Chargers have two important games this week against Dakota Ridge and Arvada West.  Columbine, which jumped one spot to sixth because of a loss by Overland, also meets Arvada West on Wednesday.  The Rebels are tied with Chatfield atop the Jeffco.  Overland was upset by Cherokee Trail (59-57) and it cost them three spots.  Regis also jumped one spot as they stretched their winning streak to four by hammering Fountain Fort Carson on the road.  Outside the rankings, there’s a good race brewing in the Front Range where Fossil Ridge, Fairview, Monarch and Loveland open the week tied for the lead.  Fairview and Monarch clash on Friday and Fossil Ridge meets Loveland on the same night as at least two teams will fall off that pace that night.  There should also be a fantastic chase in the Prep League featuring Denver East and Lincoln from 5A along with Thomas Jefferson and Denver South from 4A.

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CLASS 4A

1.       Valor Christian (12-2)

2.       D’Evelyn (10-1)

3.       Pueblo East (9-1)

4.       Lewis Palmer (9-2)

5.       Cheyenne Mountain (10-0)

6.       Sand Creek (9-0)

7.       Thomas Jefferson (8-4)

8.       Broomfield (7-3)

9.       Evergreen (7-4)

10.   Denver South (10-3)

NEW:  Evergreen

DROPPED OUT:  Longmont (6-2)

TEAMS TO WATCH:  Wasson (9-1), Sierra (7-4), Widefield (7-4), Thompson Valley (7-4), Silver Creek (7-3), Discovery Canyon (10-1), Windsor (8-4), Frederick (7-4), Mead (7-4), Weld Central (8-2)

NOTES:  No changes inside the top four as Valor Christian, D’Evelyn, Pueblo East and Lewis Palmer all worked through the week without a loss.  Pueblo East scored maybe the most impressive win of the bunch as they downed Denver South (57-44).  Despite that loss, Denver South maintained their 10^th position as they rebounded with a 61-48 decision over Longmont three nights later.  Thomas Jefferson lost twice and lost two spots in the rankings, dropping to seventh.  The Spartans are 8-4 overall but have already played ten games against 5A opponents compiling a 7-3 record in those games.  Losses last week occurred to a pair of big school opponents in Highlands Ranch and Aurora Central.  Those losses enabled Cheyenne Mountain and Sand Creek to each bump up one position.  Those two teams share the early lead with Lewis Palmer in the Pikes Peak league and they square off on Tuesday.  Cheyenne Mountain also visits Lewis Palmer on Friday so it’s a very difficult but important week for the Indians.  The only newcomer in the rankings is Evergreen.  The Cougars toppled Wheat Ridge and Green Mountain stretching their winning streak to three games.  They’re tied with D’Evelyn for the early Jeffco lead (both 2-0) and they collide on Friday.  Evergreen earned the ranking ahead of one loss teams in Wasson and Discovery Canyon because of their more difficult schedule.  The Cougars have losses to Valor Christian, Heritage, Mountain Vista and Elizabeth. 

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CLASS 3A

1.       Kent Denver (7-0)

2.       Pagosa Springs (7-0)

3.       Brush (6-0)

4.       Colorado Springs Christian (6-2)

5.       Holy Family (7-2)

6.       Peak to Peak (8-2)

7.       Colorado Academy (9-0)

8.       Eaton (5-4)

9.       Faith Christian (4-6)

10.   University (6-2)

NEW:  University

DROPPED OUT:  Aspen (6-2)

TEAMS TO WATCH:  Roaring Fork (6-2), Sterling (6-2), Jefferson Academy (5-3), Moffat County (7-1), Classical Academy (6-2), James Irwin (6-2), Alamosa (7-3), Centauri (8-2), Denver Science (4-3)

NOTES:  Other than the top three teams which remained in the same order as last week, there’s quite a bit of movement in the poll this week.  Five of the ranked teams from last week suffered losses during the week but virtually every one of them could be considered a quality loss.  Holy Family lost to University; Peak to Peak was outscored by Denver Science, Faith Christian lost to Eaton and Eaton fell to Machebeuf.  Aspen was beaten on the road at Moffat County in a key conference loss that gave sole possession of the Western Slope lead to Roaring Fork.  Roaring Fork was given strong consideration for the tenth spot but we went with University based on how the Bulldogs have played against some of the top teams in the state.  They fell to Kent Denver by just eight points before Christmas but also picked up a win over Holy Family last week.  University also challenges uneaten Brush on Tuesday in a very critical contest early in the Patriot league schedule. Roaring Fork has not lost since opening the season with back-to-back losses.  They also have an important league win over Moffat County and meet Aspen for an important contest on Friday.  Colorado Academy made the biggest jump this week moving up three spots to seventh.  The Mustangs, which have freshmen as their top three scorers, blasted Alexander Dawson last week.    The competition level jumps up this week as they host Jefferson Academy Tuesday night in their Metro league opener.  Faith Christian remains in the poll despite a three point loss at Eaton last week.  The Eagles have a key game at Holy Family and then continue the league schedule against Machebeuf and Kent Denver next week.  Atop the rankings, Kent Denver has an important league affair with Lutheran on Friday.  Pagosa Springs has an equally important IML battle with Centauri on Saturday and Brush has the aforementioned date with University.  Colorado Springs Christian also has the first of two meetings with Classical Academy on Tuesday.  The winner will gain the early lead in the Tri Peaks West.

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CLASS 2A

1.       Limon (9-0)

2.       Lutheran (6-1)

3.       Yuma (6-0)

4.       Haxtun (6-0)

5.       Resurrection Christian (6-3)

6.       Peyton (5-2)

7.       Sanford (6-2)

8.       Ignacio (7-2)

9.       Hayden (6-2)

10.   Heritage Christian (8-0)

NEW:  Heritage Christian

DROPPED OUT:  Denver Christian (6-2)

TEAMS TO WATCH:  Crowley County (8-1), Custer County (7-2), Simla (5-2), Rocky Ford (6-2), Sierra Grande (5-2), Akron (6-2), Byers (4-4), Meeker (4-2)

NOTES:  We were on hand for what turned out to be a great contest between two very good teams Saturday as Limon edged Peyton (65-64).  The Panthers used hot shooting to create a 31-13 second quarter lead but aggressive man-to-man defense and better shot selection sparked the Badgers to the crazy comeback to stay unbeaten on the season.  For Peyton, it was their second one point high quality loss of the season as they also lost to 2^nd ranked Lutheran (61-60) in their opening game.  Because of their great effort, the loss cost the Panthers just one spot in the rankings this week as they moved from fifth to sixth.  Limon stays solid at #1 and Lutheran, Yuma and Haxtun all maintained their spots second through fourth.  Lutheran scored three wins last week but now turns their attention to a brutal and 3A dominated Metro schedule.  It begins this week with games against Holy Family (Tues) and Kent Denver (Fri).  Yuma’s highly anticipated game with Brush (#3 in 3A) last Friday was postponed but the Indians also downed Highland by 24 points the next night.  Haxtun did not play last week as their scheduled date with Wray was also snowed out.  They return to the court this week hosting two ranked 1A opponents in Fleming (Tues) and Shining Mountain (Sat).  Resurrection Christian jumped from ninth to fifth this week as Peyton, Sanford, Ignacio and Denver Christian all suffered losses.  Sanford scored a nice win over 3A Centauri in OT but then came up short against another 3A team (Alamosa) the next night, Ignacio went 2-1 against bigger schools at a tournament in New Mexico while Denver Christian came up short in a wild triple overtime (74-72) decision to Byers.  Denver Christian dropped out of the poll with the loss.  The defending state champions fell to 6-2 and we had to make room for Heritage Christian.  The Eagles (8-0) stayed unbeaten with wins over Estes Park and Frontier Academy to enter the rankings.  The win over Estes Park came on the road in triple overtime with a combined 220 points scored (111-109).  The high scoring contest was tied at 89 after regulation.  Looking to the week ahead, Sanford has an interesting Southern Peaks contest at Custer County (Tues) and unranked Crowley County (8-1) could get a test at home against improving Rye on Friday.  The Chargers lead the Santa Fe conference by one game over Rocky Ford and Fowler. 

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CLASS 1A

1.       McClave (9-0)

2.       Shining Mountain (9-0)

3.       Caliche (6-1)

4.       Hi Plains (5-1)

5.       Fleming (5-1)

6.       Cheyenne Wells (7-0)

7.       Deer Trail (9-1)

8.       Otis (6-1)

9.       Vail Christian (6-2)

10.   Prairie (6-1)

NEW:  Prairie

DROPPED OUT:  Pawnee (6-1)

TEAMS TO WATCH:  Wiley (4-5), Norwood (5-3), Bethune (4-3)

NOTES:  Deer Trail, Vail Christian and Pawnee all suffered losses over the past week but the poll remains very steady from the previous rankings.  Deer Trail slid two spots after being stunned at 2A Burlington on Friday.  For the Cougars, it was just their second win of the season.  Pawnee fell to Otis in a good Saturday affair.  The victorious Bulldogs used the win to climb two more positions to eighth while the Coyotes were dropped from the rankings.  They were replaced by Prairie who had a game with Weldon Valley snowed out but still picked up a win over Liberty Common (49-45) the following night.  The Mustangs, which lost to Peetz before Christmas, have a difficult week ahead of them hosting both Caliche (Tues) and Pawnee (Fri).  The game with Pawnee is actually more important as it will factor into the North Central league standings.  Vail Christian stayed put at number nine as their loss came against 2^nd ranked Shining Mountain.  The Saints played well in the 12 point loss.  McClave stayed perfect by beating both Holly and South Baca.  Shining Mountain used the win over Vail Christian to solidify their hold on the 2^nd spot.  The Lions have a great test at 2A power Haxtun on Saturday.  Caliche mowed down Weldon Valley (80-30) and Hi Plains also collected an easy win over hi Plains (85-38).  The best win of the week may have been earned by Cheyenne Wells.  The Tigers are quietly 7-0 and easily dropped a good 2A club in Springfield (44-27) last weekend.  The Tigers have their league opener at Cheraw on Friday.  Outside the top ten, there is a lack of depth as the likes of Sierra Grande and Haxtun have moved up to Class 2A.  Wiley is below .500 but has won four of their last six games.  Bethune has won two straight since a loss to Weskan KS and gets a chance to challenge Otis on the road this Saturday.  Norwood has losses to Sargent and Vail Christian on their resume but they’ve won four straight and picked up a nice win over Ridgway (55-40) on Saturday.  They meet Telluride on Friday in an important game inside the San Juan.