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 (13-3, Class 2, PR: 1) – Hard to penalize Hartville for an eight-point road loss against a state-ranked Class 5 team (Nixa). For the second straight year against Nixa, Hartville was in position to win the game. A costly five-point possession by Nixa cost Hartville the upset, but Hartville should benefit from the experience going forward. The Eagles remain really good against schools their own size. Hartville is 12-0 versus Class 1-3 competition, with an average margin of victory of 22.75 points per game. Its losses have come to a trio of Class 5 schools: Glendale, Parkview and Nixa.
Upcoming games: Jan. 20 @ Mountain Grove, Jan. 23-28 @ Mountain Grove Tournament
2. Walnut Grove (16-1, Class 1, PR: 2) – Business as usual for the Tigers, who picked up wins over Ash Grove (82-68) and Humansville (81-14) since last Wednesday. Walnut Grove has a trip to Weaubleau on Friday before competing in the Sparta Tournament next week. A potential finals matchup looms with Fair Grove, which was one of only two teams to beat the Tigers (Crane being the other) in the regular season last year.
Upcoming games: Jan. 20 @ Weaubleau, Jan. 23-28 @ Sparta Tournament
3. Mountain Grove (13-2, Class 3, PR: 3) – Only one game for the Panthers over the past seven days: an 81-55 drubbing of rival Cabool. The Panthers can now set their sights on revenge this Friday, when Hartville visits town. Hartville beat Mountain Grove twice last season (74-64, 55-31), accounting for two of the Panthers’ five losses.
Upcoming games: Jan. 20 vs. Hartville, Jan. 23-28 @ Mountain Grove Tournament
4. Bolivar (15-2, Class 4, PR: 5) – The Liberators picked up a pair of blowout wins over the past week, defeating Hollister (71-48) and Camdenton (70-42) at home in convincing fashion. Revenge is the theme of the week for some of the teams in the top-half of our power rankings. Bolivar gets a rematch will Willard this Friday, a Willard team that gave the Liberators a surprise loss in the Blue and Gold Tournament last month.
Upcoming games: Jan. 20 @ Willard, Jan. 26-28 @ Bolivar Tournament
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5. Kickapoo (11-4, Class 5, PR: 4) – The Chiefs lost against two elite, nationally ranked teams at the Tournament of Champions: Montverde Academy (Fla.) and Greenforest (Ga.). Don’t fret, they’re still a good team. Kickapoo had a chance to win against Greenforest, only to come up short, but rebounded the next day with a win over Republic. The Chiefs led from start to finish against Republic, but were never quite able to put the Tigers away and nearly gave away the win. We’ll see how Kickapoo responds from a grueling past two weeks (remember, the Chiefs played Blue Springs South and Lee’s Summit on the road Jan. 6-7), this Friday when the Chiefs play at Nixa.
Upcoming games: Jan. 20 @ Nixa, Jan. 27 vs. Parkview
6. Licking (14-2, Class 3, PR: 6) – The Wildcats, after dispatching Cuba 61-22 on Monday, find themselves in the semifinals of the St. James Tournament tomorrow night, against Rolla. This will be one of Licking’s tougher tests thus far – Rolla played Hillcrest to a double-overtime loss last week, and the Hornets are one of the area’s hottest teams right now. If Licking can win, the Wildcats would likely play Blair Oaks in Saturday’s championship game.
Upcoming games: Jan. 19-21 @ St. James Tournament, Jan. 24 @ Houston, Jan. 27 vs. Cuba
7. Nixa (13-1, Class 5, PR: 7) – Christian Bundy and Austin Bracker in the post. A backcourt trio of Evan Bergmann, Seth Viebrock and Braeden Combs. Add in a sharpshooter like Nathan Elmer, and Nixa becomes really dangerous. Elmer showed what he’s capable of in last night’s home win over Hartville, scoring a career-high 21. Teams will often game plan to take away Bundy – as Hartville did – and that’s going to leave guys like Elmer open for shots. Maybe the best regular season game in the area comes this Friday when Nixa hosts Kickapoo.
Upcoming games: Jan. 20 vs. Kickapoo, Jan. 26-28 @ Nixa Tournament
8. Thayer (14-2, Class 2, PR: 8) – The Bobcats crushed Summersville 74-18 on Monday in the quarterfinals of the Mountain View-Birch Tree/Liberty Tournament, setting up a semifinals date with Eminence on Thursday. The Bobcats could face a third meeting with Liberty this season if they make it to Saturday’s title game. Thayer and Liberty would then play a fourth time, in the official SCA game, on Feb. 3. If you’re keeping tabs on this series – which can be challenging to do – Liberty and Thayer have played 14 times dating back to the 2012-13 season. Despite Thayer’s two wins this season, Liberty holds the series advantage in that time span, 8-6.
Upcoming games: Jan. 19-21 @ Liberty Tournament, Jan. 23 vs. Salem, Jan. 27 vs. Koshkonong
9. Clever (10-4, Class 3, PR: 9) – The Blue Jays jumped out quick on Crane in last night’s SWCL matchup and withstood a third-quarter surge by the home team to claim a 56-44 road victory. The outcome sets up Clever on the inside track toward a repeat SWCL title, with several conference games still remaining. Devan Hampton scored 17 to lead Clever, which led by only three going into the fourth quarter. The Blue Jays face a good Class 3 test this Friday when they host Mt. Vernon.
Upcoming games: Jan. 20 vs. Mt. Vernon, Jan. 26-28 @ Nixa Tournament
10. Fair Grove (13-4, Class 3, PR: 11) – Fair Grove was out-scored in the second half, but held on for a 61-58 home win over Central last night. The Eagles are the top seed for next week’s Sparta Tournament and face Bakersfield in Monday’s opening round, followed by Forsyth or Sparta in the semifinals on Friday.
Upcoming games: Jan. 23-28 Sparta Tournament
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11. Republic (11-5, Class 5, PR: 10) – Sierra Canyon (Calif.) might be the best team in the country, Madison Prep (La.) is a defending state champ, and Kickapoo boasts a pair of Division I commits and is one of the best teams in Missouri. Those are the three teams that Republic lost to in the Tournament of Champions last weekend. No reason to hit the panic button for Republic. The Tigers played very well and held their own; Sierra Canyon coach Ty Nichols went out of his way to praise the Tigers’ game plan and execution in the Trailblazers’ 72-54 win on Thursday. The bigger concern going forward will be Republic’s depth. Republic lost reserve Cameron Doke to a season-ending injury. He was a big part of Republic’s seven-man rotation; junior Hunter Creek looks to be next in line for those available minutes.
Upcoming games: Jan. 20 vs. McDonald County, Jan. 27 @ Father Tolton
12. Hermitage (15-2, Class 1, PR: 12) – If you’re in the Polk County League, you’re often in the same regular season tournaments as other members of your conference. That’s the case with Hermitage and Fair Play this season, as the two Hornet teams will play at least three times before the season is over. The two are set to meet in the finals of the Lakeland Tournament on Feb. 1, a game that was rescheduled from last Saturday. Last night, Hermitage held on for a narrow 53-50 win at Fair Play in the official PCL meeting. Hermitage trailed by seven (42-35) going into the fourth quarter. Senior Victor Le Verdier scored 21 pace Hermitage. Hermitage also beat Fair Play 68-63 in the semifinals of the Walnut Grove Tournament last month.
Upcoming games: Jan. 21 @ Halfway, Jan. 24 vs. Ballard
13. Hillcrest (10-3, Class 4, PR: 13) – The winning streak is at nine games for the Northsiders, after an impressive 66-40 home win over Marshfield last night. Marshfield’s 6-8 overall, but they’ve had a chance to win most of their games. The only other teams to beat the Jays in such lopsided fashion were Bolivar and Republic, so that should tell you something about Hillcrest’s ceiling.
Upcoming games: Jan. 20 @ Central, Jan. 24 @ Glendale
14. Mansfield (12-5, Class 2, PR: 14) – The Lions rebounded from consecutive losses to Mountain Grove (74-61) and Hartville (75-46) by defeating Bradleyville 86-67 at home last Friday. Mason Roy led four MHS players in double figures with 25 points. The Lions are in the midst of a light portion of their regular season schedule; Mansfield hosts Plato this Friday. The Lions beat Plato 68-60 on Jan. 6 in the Seymour Tournament.
Upcoming games: Jan. 20 vs. Plato, Jan. 28 vs. South Iron (@ Ozark High School)
15. Ozark (10-3, Class 5, PR: 15) – No action for the Tigers since a 64-31 win at Carthage on Jan. 10. Hopefully Ozark’s well-rested because it has a daunting schedule ahead, starting with a game at Glendale tomorrow night followed by a home game against Class 5 No. 3-ranked St. Louis University High this Saturday.
Upcoming games: Jan. 19 vs. Glendale, Jan. 21 vs. St. Louis University High, Jan. 26-28 @ Nixa Tournament
Knocking on the door: Greenfield (11-3, Class 1), Fair Play (10-5, Class 1), Lincoln (13-1, Class 2), Marionville (13-1, Class 2), Greenwood (10-3, Class 2), Lamar (12-2, Class 3), Rogersville (9-7, Class 4), Glendale (11-5, Class 5), Willard (8-6, Class 5)
