With holiday tournaments looming, let’s hammer out our second edition of this season’s boys’ basketball power rankings. I’ll try not to foreshadow my Blue and Gold seeding projections that will be published later today…
As with all of our power rankings in each team sport, these are based on dominance by Class, not head-to-head. It’s the “pound-for-pound” best teams in the Ozarks.
Current record, Class and previous ranking are listed in parenthesis.
1. Kickapoo (4-0, C5, PR: 1) No changes in the Top 6, because no one 1-through-6 has lost yet. The Chiefs defeated Champaign (Ill.) Central 59-41 in the Ozark Mountain Shootout on Friday night. Kickapoo has a pair of non-conference games against COC-Large teams this week, traveling to Branson on Tuesday and hosting Ozark on Friday.
2. Bolivar (3-0, C4, PR: 2) – The Liberators had two blowout victories last week, trouncing Hillcrest 77-45 and Warrensburg 72-41. The Hillcrest-Bolivar game was a matchup of 2015 Final Four teams, with the Liberators having the benefit of returning all five starters under eighth-year coach Robby Hoegh. Brandon Emmert (21), Johnny Scott (19) and Bryce Krueger (16) all scored in double figures in the win over Hillcrest. Bolivar travels to Lebanon on Thursday night in their last game before the Blue and Gold.
3. Hartville (4-0, C2, PR: 3) – The Eagles have put the turbo clock on teams in four of their five games thus far, including last week’s 69-21 win over Buffalo. Hartville’s closest call was in the finals of the Clever Tournament, which it still won 69-56 over the host school. Hartville plays at Ava on Tuesday night then travels to Waynesville on Friday afternoon for a neutral-site game against St. Joseph Lafayette.
4. Nixa (3-0, C5, PR: 4) – Nixa had one of the most impressive weeks of any team on this list, knocking off Van Buren (Ark.) and Mizzou commit Mitchell Smith 53-34 on Friday night in the Ozark Mountain Shootout. Smith scored 16 of Van Buren’s 34 points. A day later, Nixa would see Chase Allen go down with an ankle injury in the opening minutes versus Champaign (Ill.) Central. After the game was tied at halftime, the Allen-less Eagles showed some grit and depth in the second half by coming together for a 64-52 win. Seth Viebrock (15), Christian Bundy (14) and Garrett Bacon (12) all scored in double figures for Nixa. The Eagles host Glendale on Tuesday night in their final game before the Blue and Gold.
5. Walnut Grove (6-0, C1, PR: 5) – Logan Thomazin (28) and Dallas Meinders (23) combined for 51 points as Walnut Grove crushed Neelyville (18-7 in Class 2 last season) 84-63 in the Ozark Mountain Shootout on Saturday. Walnut Grove also collected another 20-point win over Greenfield, 78-53, on Tuesday in a rematch of the Marionville Tournament championship game. Walnut Grove hosts Lockwood on Tuesday then travels to Wheatland on Thursday night for its Polk County League opener. The 2015 Walnut Grove Holiday Classic runs Dec. 21, Dec. 23, Dec. 28 and Dec. 30.
6. Thayer (5-0, C2, PR: 6) – The Bobcats had a pair of double-digit victories last week, defeating Winona 65-49 (Dec. 8) and Couch 78-31 (Dec. 11). The Couch game saw Thayer’s Ayden Henry surpass 1,000 career points. Thayer hosts Mammoth Springs (Ark.) this Friday night before heading to the Cabool Holiday Tournament starting Dec. 26.
7. Clever (5-1, C3, PR: 10) – At last, some movement in these rankings. After falling to Hartville in the Clever Tournament finals, Clever bounced-back with wins over two teams (Conway, Mtn. Grove) ranked on this list. In the game against Conway, a 44-40 Clever win, Blue Jays forward Jakob Partee had a monster game with 27 points and 12 rebounds. Clever hosts Carthage on Thursday night in its final game before the Blue and Gold.
8. Glendale (3-2, C4, PR: 8) – The Falcons’ nearly pulled off a great comeback in Saturday’s Ozark Mountain Shootout game against Booker T. Washington (Okla.) but ultimately fell short, 59-58. Glendale beat Confluence Prep 78-31 in their first game of the two-day event. Monty Johal scored a team-high 22 for Glendale in the loss to Booker T. Washington. Glendale has road games this week at Nixa (Dec. 15) and at Rogersville (Dec. 17).
9. Crane (5-0, C2, PR: 9) – With only three games between Dec. 7 and its first Blue and Gold game, the Pirates will have a lot of practice time to work on things. The Pirates defeated Hurley 72-51 in their lone game last week and host Reeds Spring tonight in their only game for this week.
10. Fair Grove (6-1, C3, PR: 11) – In the bottom part of these rankings, we have a run of Class 3 teams who could all probably beat one another on a given night. There’s not much separation between them (Clever, Fair Grove, Mtn. Grove, Conway) at the moment. Fair Grove posted double-digit wins over Mt. Vernon and Buffalo last week. In the game against Mt. Vernon, Fair Grove senior Kyle Cavanaugh surpassed 1,000 career points. Fair Grove has two road games ahead this week, traveling to Hollister on Tuesday night and Aurora on Friday night.
11. Mtn .Grove (5-0, C3, PR: Unranked) – The Panthers, on the strength of a 5-0 start and last Thursday’s 66-54 home win over Conway, join the Top 15 this week after previously being in the “Knocking on the door” category. Mountain Grove hosts Mansfield on Tuesday night in its final game before the Blue and Gold. A win over Mansfield would probably give the Panthers a B&G seed in the 6-to-8 range.
12. Rolla (5-1, C4, PR: 13) – The Bulldogs emerged the victor last week in an epic dual between guards Kobe Wands (Rolla) and Cameron VanLeer (Pacific). Wands poured in 29 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter, to help Rolla overcome VanLeer’s game-high 31 points and claim a 62-57 non-conference home victory. Wands, a Class 4 all-state player last season, made 10 of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter. Two days earlier, Rolla won 60-45 at St. James. The Class 4 Bulldogs, who were up to No. 4 in last week’s state poll, host Salem on Tuesday night then head to Springfield on Thursday to face Central.
13. Ozark (4-1, C5, PR: 12) – The Tigers ran into a strong Blue Valley Northwest (Kan.) team in the Ozark Mountain Shootout last week and lost, 80-53. Before that, Ozark had seven players score at least six points in a 66-53 road win at Central. Riley Simmons scored a team-high 15. Ozark travels to Kickapoo on Friday night in a rematch of last season’s district title game thriller.
14. Conway (3-2, C3, PR: 7) – The Bears drop a bit in the rankings, due to losses to other Class 3 schools (Mtn. Grove, Clever) last week. Conway played Clever to a 44-40 outcome, a score that shows how close these Class 3 teams in the 7-through-14 range really are to each other. Conway, Clever, Fair Grove and Strafford are all in District 11. The Bears may now be in “bubble” territory in terms of Blue and Gold seed consideration. For now, they’ll close out the week with game vs. Fordland (Dec. 15) and at Strafford (Dec. 18), a rematch of the Strafford Tournament finals.
15. Weaubleau (6-0, C1, PR: 15) – The Tigers haven’t lost since winning the Humansville Tournament, so no reason to add a new team in here at No. 15. Weaubleau recorded a nice 52-49 win over Class 2 Greewnood last Tuesday, then thumped Macks Creek at home, 67-43, two days later. The Tigers host Lakeland on Thursday then head to Climax Springs for a Friday night game.
Knocking on the door: Strafford (C3, 3-2), Bakersfield (C2, 5-0), Waynesville (C5, 3-1), Hermitage (C1, 4-1), Aurora (C4, 4-1), Bradleyville (C1, 4-2)
