We have entered the two-week holiday stretch and, while there are not as many tournaments to look forward to over this time (tear), there is still plenty to talk about.
How about a pre-Christmas power poll from Bounce?
No. 1 – BLACKHAWK CHRISTIAN
Records: 5-0 overall; 1-0 vs. current Top 10
Previous Rank: 1
Another week, another drubbing of a local team. The latest victim was Canterbury last Friday, a 40-point pasting that improved the Braves to 5-0.
Coach Marc Davidson’s team has Lighthouse CPA coming up on Tuesday night, then will take on Barr-Reeve at the Hall of Fame Classic on Dec. 30.
In Bounce’s opinion, it is tough to see anyone hanging with the Braves before the showdown with Homestead on Jan. 12.
Best win: Silver Creek
No. 2 – HOMESTEAD
Records: 7-0 overall; 2-0 SAC; 1-0 vs. current Top 10
Previous Rank: 2
It was a dominating weekend for Homestead last week, with a 38-point rout of Bishop Luers followed by a 25-point beatdown of South Bend St. Joe as brothers collided, Homestead’s Chris Johnson and St. Joe’s Mark.
How good is Fletcher Loyer? He is hitting just three percentage points less from three-point range (48 percent) than he is from inside the arc (51 percent).
Homestead gets a pair of games as an appetizer on Tuesday at the inaugural OPS Holiday Hoops at Carroll – taking on Warren Central and Brownsburg.
Best win: Cathedral
No. 3 – CARROLL
Records: 5-0 overall; 2-0 SAC; 0-0 vs. current Top 10
Previous Rank: 3
While we expected Blackhawk Christian and Homestead to be dominant, the most impressive team through the first several weeks of the year may be Carroll. Why? Because the expectations weren’t THIS high.
Consider that Coach Marty Beasley’s team is winning by an average of 24 points per game, and the offensive balance and defensive prowess have been exceptional.
But there are questions that the Chargers have yet to be challenged. That changes on Tuesday at the OPS Holiday Hoops event with games against Brownsburg and undefeated South Bend Adams.
Best win: Penn
No. 4 – LEO
Records: 6-0 overall; 0-0 NE8; 2-0 vs. current Top 10
Previous Rank: 4
Leo had its showdown at Huntington North last Friday postponed, but it was still able to get a win under its belt with a 16-point victory over previously undefeated Shenandoah on Saturday, followed by a comfortable win over Concordia Lutheran on Monday.
The Lions’ next game will be at Warsaw on Dec. 30, and while the January schedule has some big league games, Bounce has already circled the Feb. 23 game against Blackhawk Christian.
Best win: Snider
No. 5 – SNIDER
Records: 4-2 overall; 2-0 SAC; 0-1 vs. current Top 10
Previous Rank: 5
Yes, Snider lost its second game of the year on Saturday, but it was in overtime to a one-loss South Bend Riley squad.
Bounce is still hard pressed to find any team better than the Panthers at this point to knock them from the No. 5 spot. Perhaps when we get into the new year, someone can make a case.
Best win: Wayne
No. 6 – WESTVIEW
Records: 4-1 overall; 2-0 NECC; 2-0 vs. current Top 10
Previous Rank: 7
Sometimes, being idle for the week is just as good as a win.
That is where the Warriors find themselves, having moved up a spot in Bounce’s poll despite no game last week.
Westview has wins over Central Noble and Churubusco already this year, and the lone loss was to Northridge.
But another huge NECC showdown looms Tuesday at undefeated Lakeland.
Best win: Central Noble
No. 7 – BISHOP LUERS
Records: 1-2 overall; 0-1 SAC; 0-2 vs. current Top 10
Previous Rank: 6
Just how much do we punish teams for losing to Blackhawk Christian and Homestead by a sizable margin? That’s tough to ascertain.
Hence, Bounce is only dropping the Knights one spot for a lopsided defeat at the hands of the Spartans last Friday. In fact, the two losses have come to Homestead and Leo, two of the top four teams in this poll.
Best win: Canterbury
No. 8 – CENTRAL NOBLE
Records: 5-1 overall; 3-1 NECC; 0-0 vs. current Top 10
Previous Rank: 8
Coach John Bodey’s team notched a pair of wins last week, a league victory over West Noble followed by a win over DeKalb at Grace College.
The Cougars will play their final game for awhile on Tuesday by hosting one-loss Bremen.
Following Tuesday, Central Noble is not back in action until Jan. 5 against Wawasee.
Best win: DeKalb
No. 9 – CHURUBUSCO
Records: 3-1 overall; 1-1 NECC; 1-1 vs. current Top 10
Previous Rank: 9
A single game week for Churubusco last week with the game against Prairie Heights being postponed. But their comeback win over South Side felt like a major momentum shift for them.
The last few weeks have felt to Bounce like the low point for the Eagles on this poll. This team will likely end up much higher by the end of the season if the youngsters continue to grow and support Landen Jordan and Jackson Paul to take some of the pressure off of them.
Churubusco hosts Columbia City on Wednesday in its final scheduled game for 2020.
Best win: South Side
No. 10 – HUNTINGTON NORTH
Records: 3-1 overall; 0-0 NE8; 0-1 vs. current Top 10
Previous Rank: 10
The hope after having last week’s two games postponed is to have Huntington North back and ready at the Huntington North Tournament on Dec. 29-30.
That said, who knows what is possible in the days of Covid. All we know is that the Vikings have looked pretty solid through the first four games and may very well be the biggest threat to Leo in the Northeast 8.
Best win: Warsaw
IN THE ARGUMENT (in no particular order)
Columbia City 2-1
North Side 3-5
New Haven 3-2
West Noble 2-2
South Side 2-3
Bishop Dwenger 2-2
Lakeland 3-0
These opinions represent those of Bounce and Outside the Huddle. No opinions expressed on Outside the Huddle represent those of any of our advertisers. Follow Bounce on Twitter at Bounce_OTH
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