After a few exciting weeks of corn country hoops, I bring you the Week 13 power rankings you’ve all been waiting for. Some of the top teams have stumbled and some have continued their dominance over the past couple weeks.
Class 4A
Bloomington South (20-0) (+1)
An undefeated season and a recent win on the road against the #1 team in 3A, Silver Creek, has the Panthers solidly in the front of the pack. The game winner hit by senior Anthony Leal is being referred to as “the shot heard around southern Indiana” by many people across the state. Another recent win over Columbus North was a nice addition to an already strong resumé. They are one of only two undefeated teams remaining in the state.
Lawrence North (19-1) (-1)
A small blemish was added to the Wildcats’ resumé on January 24th when they stumbled and lost to North Central, a surprising loss considering how dominant this team has been all year. While this one loss sets them back I wouldn’t be surprised to see them make a deep run in the state tournament this year.
Lawrence Central (20-2) (-)
Seniors Deandre Davis and Nijel Pack have led the Bears to a very impressive record this year. Outside the team’s two losses to Lawrence North they have been very impressive and haven’t faltered all season.
Lafayette Jeff (20-3) (+1)
The Bronchos have a relatively unimpressive strength of schedule, but only have three losses all season. Recent wins against Marion and Lafayette Central Catholic, and many other top teams in the state losing has propelled this team all the way up to #4 in the state. A recent loss to a team in Kentucky has me questioning the strength of this team going forward though.
Brownsburg (17-3) (-1)
Losing two in a row to Carmel and Zionsville, the Bulldogs were on a little bit of a slide, but they have regathered themselves and are back on a four game winning streak. Their big wins and strength of their schedule keeps them from falling too far in my rankings.
Indianapolis Attucks (17-4) (NR)
Only having four losses with the brutal schedule Attucks has endured is impressive in it’s own right, but they have also managed to pile on a few good wins over Jeffersonville, North Central, and Cathedral. Scoring over 100 points in regulation on five separate occasions this season, including in each of their last two contests, shows the tigers elite offensive capabilities led by Sincere McMahon. Despite the recent loss to Culver Academy they deserve this spot in the rankings.
Culver Academy (14-4) (NR)
After a less than ideal 4-4 record to start the season, the Eagles now find themselves on a big 10 game win streak capped off by a big win over Attucks. They seem to be finding a good rhythm at the right time with the tournament approaching.
Munster (18-1) (NR)
With an impressive one loss season, the Mustangs have recently added a big win over Chesterton pushing them further up the rankings. Their one loss comes from Hammond back in December, but they have looked good ever since.
South Bend Adams (18-3) (-1)
With three losses, the Eagles are still in the top ten simply because the rest of their season has been pretty impressive. Losing to Michigan City is a serious concern and one more questionable loss is sure to push this team out of my top ten.
Chesterton (19-2) (NR)
Losing to Munster wasn’t necessarily a bad loss if the rest of Chesterton’s schedule was more challenging. The lack of good teams they have beaten and failure to win another big game pushes the Trojans down in the rankings for me.
Dropped Out: Fishers(6) Warren Central(7) Jeffersonville(10)
Class 3A
Silver Creek (20-2) (-)
A three point loss to the number one team in the state doesn’t change my opinion on this team’s ranking in their own class of basketball. They are clearly the team to beat in 3A largely because of junior duo Trey Kaufman and Kooper Jacobi.
Heritage Hills (17-3) (-)
Now with eight straight wins, Heritage Hills is proving to everyone that they are the team that people thought they were at the beginning of the season. There is a reason I put this team in my preseason top ten because they are just a great basketball team.
Danville (18-2) (+2)
Still with just two losses on the season, Danville has been slowly improving and getting some better wins recently with a win over Mooresville and one over Brebeuf. These better wins have pushed them past Norwell in my rankings.
Norwell (18-1) (-)
Still with one loss, it is hard to put anyone else in this position. Although the lack of signature wins is a concern for me, I will still have them high in the rankings until they lose to another team. They are very hard to judge as they have lost their only high profile match against Mishawaka Marian. They did, however, beat Missenawa.
Greensburg (19-2) (+1)
A nine game win streak after losing to Bloomington South and some quality wins has Greensburg in the top five for class 3A.
Mishawaka Marian (15-4) (NR)
The Knights started off the season 1-2, but have since won seven straight and picked up high quality wins against Norwell and South Bend St. Joseph. With the recent success of South Bend Adams in 4A, one of their early season losses doesn’t seem as bad. They also took a good Culver Academy team to overtime.
Hammond (16-4) (+3)
Their 14 game win streak finally comes to an end with a bad loss to Bowman Academy followed up by a good loss to Chesterton. This hurt the Wildcats in my rankings, but the good wins they gathered over their long win streak keeps them solidly in the top ten.
Delta (15-4) (-)
The Eagles have been playing well against 3A competition but have struggled against the bigger 4A schools as three of their four losses have come at the hands of a 4A school. They still look pretty impressive and have a good chance of making it out of sectionals this year.
Sullivan (18-2) (NR)
Sullivan has been on a roll lately, winning a lot of games. They have recently picked up a good win over Indian Creek and have a lot of momentum right now. Only having two losses is also impressive.
South Bend St. Joseph (15-5) (-7)
The Indians haven’t looked elite this season, but having a star player like J. R. Konieczny helps push them over some of the other teams on the verge of being in the top ten.
Dropped Out: Indian Creek(7)
Class 2A
Linton-Stockton (19-2) (+2)
A strong surge from the Miners as of late and recent losses by Blackhawk and Shenandoah push them from #3 to #1 in my rankings. The Miners have looked very impressive all season except for the two game stretch when they lost to Terre Haute North and Barr-Reeve.
FW Blackhawk Christian (18-3) (-1)
Picking up their third loss of the season at the hands of Crispus Attucks, the Braves are still in a good position and showing a lot of promise as they only have one bad loss to Homestead and have been able to clean up house so far against the 2A schools they’ve played.
Shenandoah (17-2) (-1)
Losing to Carroll is definitely not a good loss by any stretch of the imagination, but their performance in every other game this season has looked so good it seems foolish to punish them too harshly for suffering one bad loss.
South Decatur (19-2) (+1)
Despite losing two games since I last ranked the teams, South Decatur still moves up because their losses were to Greensburg and Southwestern (Hanover) who are both respectable opponents. They’ve done a good job beating all the teams they should beat.
Westview (17-3) (NR)
Currently on an eight game win streak, including a good win over Prairie Heights, Westview has battled their way into the top 5 after a rocky 1-2 start to the season.
Dropped Out: Evansville Mater Dei(5)
Class A
Gary 21st Century (18-3) (+3)
While they may have three losses, this team is playing out of their minds right now and have moved into the #1 spot in my rankings. They have a high powered offense that has led them to a win over Gary West Side and Cathedral as well as a 104-99 loss to Attucks. They struggled early on when they lost two games but I am starting to think that was a fluke, and they definitely look like the best team in Class A as of late.
Greenwood Christian(21-0)(-1)
Greenwood Christian is in elite company with Bloomington South as the only remaining undefeated teams in the state. I will give them credit because it is hard to win all the games on your schedule.
Barr-Reeve (19-1) (-1)
Barr-Reeve has fallen all the way down to third place. Not because they have been losing but because they are currently being outplayed by the two teams ahead of them. The Vikings are still a really good team able to blowout many teams in the state.
Kouts (17-2) (-)
The one loss to Boone Grove wasn’t bad enough for me to move them down any further in my rankings. They have an important matchup coming up against Gary 21st Century which will prove if they are legitimate contenders or not.
Lafayette Central Catholic (17-3) (-)
Their only loss after the first was given to them by Lafayette Jeff which is one of the better teams in 4A so it’s no surprise that they lost that game. They’ve looked pretty good after the first few games when they picked up two quick losses.
Dropped Out: None
