There was a fair amount of team ranking shake-ups this week. Here are Indiana Basketball Source’s thoughts behind the rankings.
4A
After another great week, Warren Central is the new number one team in Indiana Basketball Source’s team rankings. Warren Central has been a machine so far this season. The Warriors have a different player step up offensively each game while their defense is always at a high level. The defensive intensity sticks out each game. They are able to switch nearly all screens then pressure the ball after switching. That makes the offense uncomfortable at all times. David Bell, Dean Tate, Jakobie Robinson, Jesse Bingham and Antwaan Cushingberry have been excellent this season.
New Albany ranks second after its dismantling of Jeffersonville over the weekend. Romeo Langford and Sean East have New Albany playing really well. The only loss for New Albany is an overtime defeat to Floyd Central in early December.
South Bend Riley is sitting at the third spot. Riley has been dominant this season as its defense has taken a major step forward under Eric Brand. The Wildcats haven’t been tested like the other 4A teams around the state. That’s why Damezi Anderson and Riley are ranked third despite being undefeated.
2017 state champions Ben Davis is fourth. The Giants have found major production from Aaron Henry and Jalen Windham to begin the year. Now, it looks like Dawand Jones is ready to be a consistent player in the middle for Mark James. Guard play will be a major question mark against the top competition, though.
North Side has won five games in a row. When Keion Brooks and Austin Boucher are clicking together, the Legends are nearly unbeatable. Boucher has been a tremendous complement to Brooks this season. North Side has already played 15 games this season. The schedule lightens up from here in terms of volume of games and quality of games. The Legends should be ready for another March run.
Hamilton Southeastern was the number one team the last few weeks. The Royals dropped games to Lawrence Central and Warren Central over the weekend. It was a two-point loss to Warren. As long as Hamilton Southeastern doesn’t meltdown, the losses could be good for them long-term. If they remain focused, HSE will be tough to beat in the sectional and regional.
Zionsville has played the second softest schedule of the top 4A teams according to the Sagarin Ratings. That being said, the Eagles have handled every challenge so far this season. Isaiah Thompson committed to Purdue over the weekend. He’s averaging a hair under 26 points per game as a junior.
3A
New Castle remains at number one in 3A for Indiana Basketball Source. The Trojans are cruising along at 12-0. They should be 16-0 when they travel to Carmel in late January. That would add extra energy to the game as former Carmel assistant Daniel Cox brings his New Castle team to Carmel.
Evansville Bosse sticks at number two despite losing to Scott County out of Kentucky. Scott County normally has a good team. Bosse is going out of its way to play a tough schedule. That will pay dividends in March.
Crispus Attucks is number three after blowing out Broad Ripple Saturday. If Micah Poole and Harold Bennett shoot well from three-point range, Attucks is going to be really tough to beat. The Broad Ripple game was the first time that Bennett knocked down outside shots this season, though. Attucks is in contention to repeat as 3A champs.
Four through 13 are really close in 3A. Indiana Basketball Source went with Brebeuf because they have been competitive against one of the toughest schedules in the state so far. Evansville Memorial and Princeton are two really good teams down south. Culver Academies is going through a meat-grinder of a schedule. If they stick together as a team, nothing will scare them in the postseason. Ritter is coming together now that Shelby Turner has returned from a knee injury.
There is not much separation between the top 3A teams.
2A
Westview remains at the top spot in the Indiana Basketball Source 2A rankings. They slipped by East Noble 54-53 at home last week then blew out Hamilton. Westview has the Northeast Corner Tournament this week where they will be heavy favorites.
Resumes of 2A teams are not very strong at this point. Even Westview has major holes as its strength of schedule is extremely weak. That being said, Indiana Basketball Source has moved Frankton back to number two after a week at three. Frankton has quality wins over Tipton, Wapahani, Oak Hill and Shenandoah. That gives him enough to be one of the top teams.
Oak Hill has lost three of its last four games. All of the losses have come against really good teams. Once Oak Hill gets back to playing 2A teams, the Golden Eagles will get back on track.
After Oak Hill, it is a toss-up for positioning. Forest Park, Tipton, Paoli, Indianapolis Howe, Covington, Henryville and Shenandoah all deserve to be in the top 10, but the order is really close.
1A
There is a new number one after Tindley dropped games to University and Brebeuf over the weekend. Indiana Basketball Source decided to go with Blackhawk Christian as the top team in 1A. Blackhawk is a really talented team with tons of size. The lone loss on the season came at the hands of 4A contender North Side. Blackhawk handled Barr-Reeve easily a few weeks ago.
University has a strong case to be number one after beating Tindley. If they had not lost to Lincoln in the Vincennes Lincoln tournament, University would be the number one team. Right now, Blackhawk has them by a nose.
Tindley ranks third. They have played an extremely tough schedule and have only lost to top teams. They will be a contender in 1A, there’s no doubt about that. Eric Hunter cracked the top 20 of the all-time scoring list in Indiana with 28 points against Brebeuf.
Southwood, Gary 21st Century and Lafayette Central Catholic are all playing really well right now. 21st Century might have cracked the top three if it had beat Hammond instead of losing in overtime. Nonetheless, 21st Century seems to be finding a groove.
Barr-Reeve got back on track by beating Forest Park. In its previous game, Barr-Reeve was smoked by Blackhawk Christian.