It has been a wild January and while we wanted to jump in with a boys hoops power poll quicker than 22 days, we had to let some things percolate with the ACAC and NECC Tournaments.
Games after those dominating championship performances make things even more intriguing.
As we head down the final stretch of the boys season, who holds the highest ground?
NO. 1 – WAYNE GENERALS (14-3, 6-0 SAC)
Their win over Bishop Luers cemented Wayne at the top and it will be hard to see anyone toppling that soon. Wayne’s three losses are out of area and while that is something they want to address before the postseason, in Northeast Indiana this is proving to be an impossible team to beat.
Wayne has now won six straight and they are either getting better or at least their depth is. Something not given enough credit lately has been Kharrington Terry’s emergence as a guy that Wayne has to find time to have on the court as he has been so strong defensively.
This is Wayne’s spot and I don’t see them moving.
NO. 2 – BISHOP LUERS KNIGHTS (13-2, 4-1 SAC)
Despite falling by three to Wayne and likely being out of a SAC title hope, it is hard to find anyone who is close to surpassing Luers as the area’s second best team. They won seven straight before last Friday’s loss to Wayne and there are only really two games remaining on their schedule that even given pause.
In that win streak, they were actually challenged but pulled away when it mattered in all of those games other than against Norwell. Still, they found a way to win in The Castle with a dagger after adjusting to the Knights’ zone.
Why Not Higher?
The loss to Wayne is it.
NO. 3 – COLUMBIA CITY EAGLES (12-6, 4-1 NE8)
There is a three way tie atop the NE8 right now but one of those teams is 9-7 overall and Columbia City secures a spot over fellow first place Bellmont by virtue of their win over the Braves. Controversial? Sure. But a win is a win and the Eagles find ways to win.
They have losses to teams ranked below them or unranked in this power poll but they also have some quality victories and you have to look at a blowout winnower Homestead a couple of weeks back as one of those.
Why Not Higher?
Inconsistency for the Eagles. They have won 5 in a row, sure but prior to that their longest win streak of the season was two. And do I think they could beat the team ahead of them in this poll? No.
NO. 4 – BELLMONT BRAVES (13-3, 4-1 NE8)
Does Bellmont have a better body of work than Columbia City? Perhaps. Do they have a better record? Yes. But the loss to the Eagles is too recent to ignore. Outside of that, Bellmont looks really good. They beat a Norwell team that was beating everyone, they beat a rapidly improving Huntington North and their 20-point win over Leo last weekend says something.
Bellmont is one of the better on the move programs on the boys side and in a couple of wins, we can probably start ignoring their one conference loss better.
Why Not Higher?
The loss to Columbia City. That’s it.
NO. 5 – MANCHESTER SQUIRES (14-2, 5-0 TRC)
Considered the 8th best team in Class 2A in the state right now by Sagarin ratings, Manchester makes their all-time power poll debut by just showing power recently as they’ve raced to the top of the Three Rivers Conference. Their only bad loss was a lopsided one in mid-December to Blackhawk Christian but the way they have played since makes that seem like an odd outlier that probably wouldn’t happen again.
The Squires have won six straight games, including against a fully loaded Canterbury, putting up 102 points against North Miami, avenging one of their two losses opposite Wabash and an eye opening win over Adams Central.
Why Not Higher?
A 204th ranked strength of schedule.
NO. 6 – ADAMS CENTRAL FLYING JETS (12-3, 5-0 ACAC)
The Flying Jets go down a bit because they have lost two of their last three, even if those two teams have a combined three losses this season, and a close than it should have been rematch with Heritage. That doesn’t mean AC isn’t pretty impressive with what they’ve done, it just means that the last three games have been more of a struggle than the other 12.
There may not be another team on the schedule that will beat the Flying Jets but games against Leo and North Side will answer more questions about how postseason built this team will end up being.
Why Not Higher?
The loss to Manchester.
NO. 7 – FAIRFIELD FALCONS (12-4, 5-1 NECC)
Fairfield was the big riser the last time Bounce did a boys hoops power poll. And then they won the NECC Tournament in dominant fashion. And all was looking like the Falcons had top 3 potential after nine straight wins. Then Bounce waited too long to write a new power poll and Fairfield was semi-convincingly upended by West Noble. So 7 seems fair right now.
What they did in their win streak was nice. They bested Westview twice, they dominated Fremont and they beat two SAC schools.
Why Not Higher?
The loss to West Noble is a bit of a hurter, isn’t it.
NO. 8 – LAKELAND LAKERS (11-4, 5-1 NECC)
Is this too high for the Lakers? They have the best win streak in the NECC at four games, which is also the third best win streak of any team in the four major area conferences. That said, this poll is all about who has the most power right now, so a solid win streak is important. Lakeland are winners of 10 of their last 12 games and their only blemish in the last seven is an overtime loss to Westview. Lately, Nate Keil has been one of the best and most consistent scorers in the area.
Why Not Higher?
They have a loss to Fairfield.
NO. 9 – NORTH SIDE LEGENDS (12-5, 3-2 SAC)
At their best, North Side is really good and maybe even a top 5 team. But we haven’t really gotten to see this team at full strength, even when everyone is on the court. They can really get things going when Jaxson Fugate, Eugene Young and Javion Davenport are all playing their best. That is something that North Side is going to have to hope they can produce on a more consistent basis moving forward because when it happens, they are very fun.
Why Not Higher?
A recent loss to Homestead and some so-so performances AT TIMES in wins over Leo and Concordia.
NO. 10 – BLACKHAWK CHRISTIAN BRAVES (13-5)
Isaac Smith just recently passed 1,000 career points and the Braves have won five of their last six, but those wins also come against teams that are a combined 34-44. That isn’t the fault of the Braves (see below), so Blackhawk Christian has been good this season at making good with the hand they’ve been dealt.
Why Not Higher?
Blackhawk is a victim of the area. Its hard to be impressed by their schedule, as we often are over the years, when everyone else is just kind of ok.
IN THE CONVERSATION
Central Noble
Homestead
Norwell
Warsaw
Westview
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