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. Walnut Grove (18-1, Class 1, PR: 2) – The Tigers continue to be on different level than everyone else in the Polk County League, and all of local Class 1. Walnut Grove’s PCL winning streak is now at 27 games (by my count) after recent lopsided wins over Humansville and Weaubleau. The Tigers, if they can beat Fordland in the semifinals of the Sparta Tournament this Friday, would face a potential finals matchup with Fair Grove the following night. In eight games against Class 1 competition this season, Walnut Grove’s won by an average of 31 points – a figure that’s lowered significantly by a recent two-point win against Hermitage.
Upcoming games: Sparta Tournament (semifinals Jan. 27 vs. Fordland, finals Jan. 28), Jan. 31 vs. Dadeville
2. Hartville (14-4, Class 2, PR: 1) – When the Eagles suffer a rare loss, they usually do so against fellow elite teams or schools twice their size. Here are Hartville’s four losses this season: Class 5 Glendale, Class 5 Parkview, Class 5 (and state-ranked) Nixa and Class 3 (and state-ranked) Mtn. Grove. Hartville and Mtn. Grove packed the gym last Friday night, and delivered one of the best games this season. The two may meet again this week in the finals of the Mtn. Grove Tournament, if Grove can beat Rogersville in pool play on Thursday. After beating Dora 80-41 on Monday, Hartville faces Class 4 Marshfield tomorrow night.
Upcoming games: Mtn. Grove Tournament (Jan. 26-28), Feb. 3 @ Dora
3. Mtn. Grove (15-2, Class 3, PR: 3) – The only reason the Panthers stay at No. 3, behind Hartville, is that there are more close to Mtn. Grove’s level (locally: Fair Grove, Clever, Licking) in Class 3 than there are teams at Hartville’s level in Class 2. The Panthers are somehow only ranked No. 7 in Class 3, behind Licking AND Lamar, which doesn’t make much sense considering Grove beat Licking head-to-head (in a non-tournament game) and has played a better schedule. It’s a bit of disrespect, but the Panthers thrive on an “us against everyone” mentality and love to prove doubters wrong.
Upcoming games: Jan. 26-28 @ Mtn. Grove Tournament, Jan. 31 vs. Willow Springs
4. Bolivar (16-2, Class 4, PR: 4) – The Liberators seem to have hit a glass ceiling in the Class 4 state rankings, unable to move up into the top-half of the poll. But, they just keep winning games and they’re a pair of buzzer-beating shots away from being 18-0. Bolivar rode a red-hot start – making 10 of its first 11 field goals – to win 43-37 at Willard last Friday night. Bolivar got 31 of its 43 points from the duo of Conley Garrison and Brandon Emmert. The Liberators host their own three-day tournament starting tomorrow and may see a much-improved Hillcrest team in the finals, nearly two months after shredding the Hornets at home.
Upcoming games: Jan. 26-28 @ Bolivar Tournament, Feb. 4 vs. Waynesville
5. Kickapoo (12-4, Class 5, PR: 5) – Local teams often emerge from the Tournament of Champions worse for wear – it’s a grueling tournament both physically and mentally – so it was a positive sign for the Chiefs that they could go on the road in a tough environment and win. Chiefs senior and Xavier signee Jared Ridder delivered a pair of key baskets late, as Kickapoo held on for a 61-57 victory at Nixa last Friday night in a back-and-forth game. The schedule will ease up a bit for the Chiefs over the next month, understandably so, and we’ll see what they have left in the tank for a potential postseason run back to Columbia.
Upcoming games: Jan. 27 vs. Parkview, Jan. 31 vs. Camdenton
6. Thayer (17-2, Class 2, PR: 8) – If it’s really hard to beat a good team multiple times, what’s it like to beat your rival (who’s also pretty good) three times over the course of 50 days? Thayer claimed the Liberty Tournament championship last weekend, defeating rival MV-BT/Liberty 67-63 in double-overtime, its third win over the Eagles’ this season. The two teams will play again next week in the official SCA meeting. Thayer continues to be very balanced. Five starters – Dagen Jones, Jalen Andrews, Aiden Stone, Zyman Langley and Kobe Meyer – average between 7.8-13.6 points per game. Thayer beat Salem 67-53 at home on Monday, as Jones, Meyer, Langley and Andrews all scored at least 14 points.
Upcoming games: Jan. 27 vs. Koshkonong, Jan. 31 vs. Ava, Feb. 3 @ Liberty
7. Nixa (13-2, Class 5, PR: 7) – A tough loss to swallow last Friday night against Kickapoo, but also a sign the Eagles are capable of unseating the Chiefs as our Class 5 representative in Columbia in March. Republic stands in the way of a district title, but the Eagles have to hope they’ll see Kickapoo again in the sectional round. Nixa’s lost three straight to the Chiefs. The Eagles will look to rebound in their own home tournament this weekend, with play starting tomorrow.
Upcoming games: Jan. 26-28 @ Nixa Tournament, Jan. 31 @ Branson, Feb. 3 vs. Ozark
8. Licking (16-3, Class 3, PR: 6) – We’re about to begin a stretch of Class 3 teams that I think could beat – or lose to – the others on a given night. Between Districts 10 and 11 in local Class 3, we’re due for some really good district semifinals and title games this year. Licking went 2-1 in the St. James Tournament as the top seed last week, beating Cuba (61-22) and Sullivan (60-50) but losing to Class 4 Rolla in the semifinals. Rolla, which beat Blair Oaks 71-66 in the finals, graduated a lot from last season’s team, but the Bulldogs (9-6) are starting to put things together and have given some good teams (Hillcrest, Licking) problems in recent outings. Licking rebounded with a 30-point win over Texas County rival Houston (80-50) last night.
Upcoming games: Jan. 27 vs. Cuba, Jan. 31 vs. St. James, Feb. 3 @ Dixon
9. Clever (11-4, Class 3, PR: 9) – The Blue Jays pulled off quite the comeback to maintain their No. 9 spot in the power rankings, rallying back from a 16-point deficit with four minutes remaining to defeat Mt. Vernon 70-68 at home last Friday night. Is it a sign of problems for Clever, falling behind by 16 points at home against an unranked team? Give credit to Mt. Vernon, which had won seven straight games before losing to Clever. The Mountaineers (9-8 overall) are much improved after losing their first five games of the season. Clever takes on the underdog role in this week’s Nixa Invitational.
Upcoming games: Jan. 26-28 @ Nixa Tournament, Jan. 31 vs. Forsyth, Feb. 3 @ Spokane
10. Fair Grove (14-4, Class 3, PR: 10) – Garrett Kesterson and Evan Fullerton have been key parts of Fair Grove’s varsity team since they were freshmen and both will have their names all over the FG Basketball record book once their careers are over. Fullterton reached the 1,000 career points milestone in Fair Grove’s 87-31 win over Bakersfield on Monday in the quarterfinals of the Sparta Tournament. Kesterson is due to go down as the best shooter Fair Grove’s ever had and one of its best overall players. The Eagles face a tough task Friday night against Forsyth in the semifinals of the Sparta Tournament, a Forsyth team that played the Eagles to a 69-64 loss in Fair Grove’s season opener. A potential finals matchup against Walnut Grove on Saturday would feature two of the area’s premier 3-point shooters (Kesterson and Walnut Grove’s Logan Thomazin).
Upcoming games: Jan 27-28 @ Sparta Tournament (semifinals Jan. 27 vs. Forsyth), Jan. 31 vs. Reeds Spring, Feb. 3 @ Skyline
11. Republic (12-5, Class 5, PR: 11) – Like Kickapoo, Republic’s taken it light since a grueling weekend at the Tournament of Champions. The Tigers clamped down on McDonald County in a 62-20 home win last Friday, marking the fourth time this season that Republic has limited a team to 30 or fewer points. Republic begins a stretch of road games this Friday, taking a trip up to Columbia to face a Porter brothers-less Father Tolton Catholic team.
Upcoming games: Jan. 27 @ Father Tolton Catholic, Jan. 31 @ Neosho, Feb. 3 @ Webb City
12. Hermitage (16-2, Class 1, PR: 12) – Two blowout wins for the Hornets over the past seven days, beating Halfway (76-30) on Jan. 21 and Ballard (67-26) last night. A pair of losses to Walnut Grove account for Hermitage’s only losses up to this point. Seniors Jeff Salmon (18.5 ppg) and Dillon Meyer (17.0 ppg) are Hermitage’s leading scorers, while fellow senior Austin Hostettler has emerged as the team’s leading rebounder (8.7 rpg).
Upcoming games: Jan. 27 @ Bronaugh, Jan. 31 @ Osceola, Feb. 3 vs. Climax Springs
13. Hillcrest (11-4, Class 4, PR: 13) – Loss schmoss. I walked away – after catching my breath and drinking some Gatorade – very impressed with the Hornets after last night’s wild 118-115 overtime loss at Glendale. The Hornets looked and played like a different from when I saw them earlier in the season against Bolivar. This is a dangerous team going forward. They’ve got a budding superstar in Tyem Freeman, and proven varsity players surrounding him. While neither team’s defense was that great, I think it was more of a case of both teams having premier scorers and those scorers being locked in, as well as complimentary guys having really good games. Also, free throws (78 total attempts, in all) extended the game and gave both teams extra scoring opportunities.
Upcoming games: Jan. 26-28 @ Bolivar Tournament, Feb. 3 vs. Parkview
14. Greenfield (14-3, Class 1, PR: Unranked) – New blood in the power rankings! Greenfield’s certainly earned it, on the heels of an eight-game winning streak and a championship at the Stockton Tournament (beating Butler in the finals) last Saturday. Coach Preston Hyde’s group, which handed Marionville its first loss of the season back on Jan. 10, thumped Dadeville 68-30 last night but faces a couple of challenging SRVC road games over the next seven days.
Upcoming games: Jan. 27 @ Lockwood, Jan. 31 @ Pierce City, Feb. 3 vs. Golden City
15. Mansfield (13-5, Class 2, PR: 14) – The Lions have delivered two solid outings since a blowout loss at Hartville on Jan. 10. Mansfield followed up an 86-67 win over Bradleyville (Jan. 13) by beating Plato 75-53 at home last Friday night. Two upcoming games could get the Lions to 15 wins heading into a good Feb. 3 matchup with Conway.
Upcoming games: Jan. 28 vs. South Iron (@ Ozark High School), Jan. 31 @ Bakersfield, Feb. 3 vs. Conway
Dropped out: Ozark (10-5, Class 5)
Knocking on the door: Marionville (16-2, Class 2), Lincoln (16-1, Class 2), Greenwood (14-3, Class 2), Lamar (12-2, Class 3), Rogersville (11-7, Class 4), Glendale (14-5, Class 5)
