KSPR Boys Basketball Power Rankings – Week 2
(Teams are ranked by the KSPR Sports Department based on their relative strength to class size. Overall dominance, strength of schedule, quality wins, and momentum are factors in determining the order. Feel free to email comments to mscott@kspr.com)
(Last week in parenthesis)
1. Billings (1) – A couple of comfortable wins over Marionville and Pierce City keep the Wildcats on top of the rankings. Junior guard Austin Essick turning in another high caliber week, averaging 28 points a game.
2. Nixa (2) – A huge bounce back week for the Eagles. The week began with a 100-34 highlight reel win over Central, followed by a championship run at the CNB Invitational in Leavenworth, Kansas with wins over Highland Park (KS), Hogan Prep, and the host Leavenworth (KS). Coach Osborne's team also received news they earned a top seed at the Blue and Gold.
3. Hillcrest (3) – There's a lot of new pieces to this years Hornets team, but things are starting to fall into place. Easy wins over Bolivar, Ozark, and Seymour gave them a chance to work on some things. DGB had his usual week complimented by a couple big games from Austin Petry. Varsity newcomers Roy Hardy and Juwan Johnson are mixing in nicely and adding energy to Coach Schaefer's uptempo style. Hillcrest also earned a Blue and Gold top seed.
4. Marshfield (7) – The Blue Jays continued their hot start with big wins over Lebanon and Branson. They could be a sleeper contender in the Blue and Gold.
5. Rogersville (8) – A 44 point win over Neosho would suggest all systems are go for the Wildcats.
6. Glendale (10) – The Falcons will only get better as the season moves along. They move up a few spots with an 81-65 win at Branson. Senior Joey Harbour leading the way with 21 points.
7. Kickapoo (11) – Wins over Carthage and Neosho this week led by a couple 30 point performances from Ryan Rippee. At this rate the Poo senior will score over 800 points this season alone. Wow!
8. Norwood (6) – A big win over Niangua, but the inconsistency strikes again with a 40-39 loss to Ava at the Mansfield Tournament.
9. Morrisville (12) -The Panthers are big climbers this week after 30 point victories over Buffalo and Miller. Maybe the most impressive performance of the year belongs to Brandon Martinsen who racked up 42 points on 10-11 3-pt field goals against the Bison.10. Thomas Jefferson (4) - I'll be honest, I don't know a thing about Riverton, KS, but a loss is a loss so TJ moves down. The Cavaliers also picked up a 14 point win over Golden City led by 27 points for Alex Oserowsky.
11. Climax Springs (5) – An 87-56 win over Wheatland improved the Cougars to 2-2 on the young season.
12. Fair Grove (13) - Not a bad week for the Eagles with a 22 point win over Highway 65 rival Buffalo; 20 points for Jarrod Harmon.
13. Wheaton (9) – A win over Pierce City, but a tough 2-point loss to Verona last week.
14. Seymour (14)– The Tigers lost by 20 to Hillcrest, but we won't fault them for that. 20 is actually pretty good to the class 4 3rd ranked team in the state.15. Licking (15) – A good week; the Wildcats got 29 points from Ben Denbow in a win over Willow Springs then a 23 point blowout of MV-BT/Liberty.
Knocking on the door: Ava, Strafford, Republic, Mt Vernon, Chadwick, Conway, Diamond, Fair Play, Carthage