Each week, the O-Zone staff will rank the top 15 area boys’ basketball teams based on dominance by Class, aka how they stack up pound-for-pound with the other schools in their respective Class.
Strength of schedule and recent success are also factored into the rankings.
Overall record, Class and previous ranking are listed in parenthesis.
1. Hartville (8-0, Class 2, PR: 1) – Two more teams bit the proverbial dust against Hartville over the past seven days, one of which was a state-ranked Class 5 team: Hazelwood Central. The Eagles prevailed 88-80 at the Route 66 Shootout in Waynesville, behind a ridiculous 49 points from Deric Jones. Hartville also picked up its second Summit Conference win of the season last night by winning 59-26 at Norwood. It’s worth noting: Hartville has won 27 straight games. Its last loss was on Jan. 12, 40-37 at home to Nixa, a game it had a chance to win.
Upcoming games: Dec. 26-29 Blue and Gold Tournament
2. Walnut Grove (8-0, Class 1, PR: 2) – The Tigers whipped Wheatland, which is probably the third-best team in the Polk County League, by 30 at home last Thursday. Darin Meinder’s bunch is on a roll heading into the Walnut Grove Holiday Classic. The top-seed Tigers face Niangua tonight and likely the winner of Pleasant Hope-Liberal in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Upcoming games: Dec. 23-30 Walnut Grove Holiday Classic
3. Mtn. Grove (5-0, Class 3, PR: 3) – The Panthers took care of business on the road last night, beating Gainesville 81-33. Mtn. Grove has an average margin of victory of 31 points through five games; its closest game was a 72-62 road win at Conway. The Panthers host Fair Grove tomorrow night in a rematch of last season’s thrilling Class 3 state quarterfinal game.
Upcoming games: Dec. 22 vs. Fair Grove, Dec. 26-29 Blue and Gold Tournament
4. Kickapoo (7-2, Class 5, PR: 4) – The Chiefs have chewed up local competition thus far. Kickapoo won 78-60 at Central last night behind 40 points from Jared Ridder. Last Friday, the Chiefs got 25 points from Ridder and 20 points from Cam Davis in a 75-48 win at Ozark. Not in the Blue and Gold this year, the Chiefs will take a break for the holidays before returning to action Jan. 3 for their Ozark Conference opener, which will be at West Plains.
Upcoming games: Jan. 3 @ West Plains, Jan. 6 @ Blue Springs South, Jan. 7 @ Lee’s Summit
5. Licking (8-0, Class 3, PR: 5) – The Wildcats are another team in our top five that have yet to taste defeat. Licking picked up home wins over Salem (60-41) and Laquey (62-40) since last week. Senior Nathan Wilson, a 6’5” forward, is averaging close to 25 points and six rebounds through five games. But he’s not just a “tall guy” – Wilson leads the Wildcats with 13 made 3-pointers.
Upcoming games: Dec. 26-29 Cabool Holiday Tournament
6. Nixa (6-0, Class 5, PR: 6) – Perhaps the Eagles were peeking ahead to the holiday break in last night’s close-call against Harrison (Ark.), a 69-67 home win. For comparison’s sake, Kickapoo beat Harrison 89-53 at a neutral-site tournament. Harrison’s probably better than that Kickapoo score shows, and Christian Bundy also dealt with foul trouble last night. Nixa’s not the same team with him on the bench.
Upcoming games: Dec. 26-29 Blue and Gold Tournament
7. Bolivar (6-0, Class 4, PR: 7) – Still no love in the state rankings for the Liberators – or any Class 4 team from SWMO for that matter – but they continue to take care of business heading into the Blue and Gold. Bolivar beat Strafford 69-48 last night and faces Helias Catholic tonight in a makeup game from last Friday.
Upcoming games: Dec. 21 @ Helias Catholic, Dec. 26-29 Blue and Gold Tournament
8. Clever (7-1, Class 3, PR: 8) – Clever’s headed into the Blue and Gold on an upswing, winners of four straight since losing to Hartville in the finals of the Clever Tournament nearly three weeks ago. Since last week, Clever’s collected a 71-60 road win at Carthage and a 64-44 home win versus Hollister. All but one of the Blue Jays’ seven victories have come by double figures.
Upcoming games: Dec. 26-29 Blue and Gold Tournament
9. Fair Grove (7-1, Class 3, PR: 10) – It helps to have shooters, and Fair Grove’s got one of the best in senior Garrett Kesterson. He’s averaging 21 points per game and has made 25 3-pointers on the season. He dropped 27 points on Aurora – including a 5-for-11 performance from 3-point range – in last Friday’s 63-51 home win for the Eagles. Kesterson also went bonkers on Mt. Vernon back on Dec. 6, when he made 8 of 10 3-point attempts and finished with 26 points.
Upcoming games: Dec. 22 @ Fair Grove, Dec. 26-29 Blue and Gold Tournament
10. Mansfield (6-2, Class 2, PR: 9) – The Lions have cooled off a bit since winning six straight to start the season. The Lions fell 56-48 at Catholic last week. Both of Mansfield’s losses (the other was to Mountain Grove) have come against Class 3 schools. Senior guard Mason Roy is putting up solid all-around numbers for Mansfield: 15.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 3.7 steals per game.
Upcoming games: Dec. 26-29 Blue and Gold Tournament
11. Republic (4-1, Class 5, PR: 11) – Republic’s been off since beating Parkview 68-50 at home on Dec. 13, but the Tigers finally return to action tonight following a seven-day hiatus with a road trip up to Waynesville. Republic’s the No. 1 seed in the Blue Division for next week’s Blue and Gold Tournament. In the random early season stats department, here are Republic’s points per game allowed in each of its first five games: 50, 49, 45, 51, 50. That’s some defensive consistency.
Upcoming games: Dec. 21 @ Waynesville, Dec. 26-29 Blue and Gold Tournament
12. Hermitage (8-0, Class 1, PR: 14) – Outside of a six-point win against Wheatland in the championship game of the Humansville Tournament, Hermitage has trampled everyone in its path so far. Since Dec. 14, Hermitage has collected convincing wins over Dadeville (79-31), Lakeland (91-63) and Miller (91-32). Hermitage can light up the scoreboard with its array of guards. The Hornets are averaging 80.6 points per game through eight games. Seniors Jeff Salmon, Dillon Meyer, Austin Hostettler and Victor Le Verdier all average between 12-17 points per game.
Upcoming games: Dec. 23-30 Walnut Grove Classic
13. Glendale (3-4, Class 5, PR: 12) – Glendale’s the only team with a losing record in the top 15 of our power rankings, but I’m still keeping faith in the Falcons due to the quality schedule they’ve faced. Glendale took two more losses in this week’s Kreul Classic in Florida. Glendale had a slow start in Monday’s 78-61 loss to Miller Grove (Ga.), trailing by 30 at halftime. Miller Grove has won state championships in seven of the past eight seasons. Glendale suffered a 62-61 loss to Archbishop Carroll (Fla.) last night after opening the tournament with a 63-57 win over Boyd Anderson (Fla.) on Dec. 17. Monty Johal averaged 23 points in Glendale’s three games in Florida.
Upcoming games: Dec. 26-29 Blue and Gold Tournament
14. Thayer (7-1, Class 2, PR: Unranked) – It’s setting up to be a fun winter in Thayer. The Lady Bobcats are in the Top 15 of our girls’ power rankings – and coming off an exciting home win over Salem earlier this week – and now it’s the boys’ turn for some spotlight. Thayer’s won seven straight since dropping its season opener to Jackson. Thayer’s called upon a talented (and undefeated) JV team in order to replace five of its top six scorers from last season. Kobe Meyer (14.6 ppg), Ayden Stone (12.8 ppg, 7.4 rpg) and lone returning starter Zyman Langley (11.1 ppg) have given the Bobcats a new look, but the results (wins) have remained the same.
Upcoming games: Dec. 26-29 Cabool Holiday Classic
15. Eminence (3-2, Class 1, PR: Unranked) – Eminence is again out there lurking, setting up for another deep postseason run. Led by talented sophomore big man Trent McBride – who averaged nearly 16 and 10 last season – the Redwings gave Class 2 No. 4-ranked Bismarck a scare at home last night, falling 73-66. Eminence cracked the top 10 of the state rankings last week. We’ll get a good gauge on the Redwings from the Cabool Tournament next week, where Eminence is seeded sixth and will likely meet Liberty in the quarterfinals. Liberty won 72-62 at Eminence on Dec. 8.
Upcoming games: Dec. 26-29 Cabool Holiday Tournament
Dropped out: Lincoln (7-1, Class 2), McAuley Catholic (7-3, Class 2)
Knocking on the door: Greenfield (6-2, Class 1), Crane (6-2, Class 2), Lincoln (7-1, Class 2), McAuley Catholic (7-3, Class 2), Marionville (8-0, Class 2), Lamar (8-2, Class 3), Hillcrest (4-3, Class 4), Webb City (3-2, Class 4), Ozark (5-3, Class 5)
