Lightning strikes as Eastview takes over top spot in AAAA
Boom! That was the sound heard throughout the girl's high school basketball scene Friday night in Minnesota as word circulated that Eastview had defeated Hopkins 66-56 at the St. Olaf College holiday tournament. There will be little cacaphony today as…
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Continue ReadingBoom! That was the sound heard throughout the girl's high school basketball scene Friday night in Minnesota as word circulated that Eastview had defeated Hopkins 66-56 at the St. Olaf College holiday tournament. There will be little cacaphony today as we publish the class 4A team rankings update: undefeated Eastview is now numero uno. The noise you hear in the background is coming from Wayzata where the 12-0 Trojans find themselves in third place.
Actually, the rumbling began not long after the game as more than one Wayzata constituent implored us to leave the Trojans in second. Instead, we believe Hopkins belongs at number two. Yes, the Trojans are undefeated, and have victories over Moorhead, Maple Grove, Lakeville North, and Holy Angels, but all of those were very close. Against Roseville, they built a substantial lead but were outclassed in the second half. Against teams like Rogers, Hill-Murray and Rosemount, which should have been blowouts, Wayzata won by an average of just nine points.
In the meantime, Hopkins has been making mincemeat of virtually everyone. The Royals have nine wins over Minnesota teams by an average of 24 points. Five of those teams were in the top 10. They have also beaten the #1 team in Wisconsin, and the #2 team in Iowa. Bottom line? Until Wayzata can score a W over Hopkins on the court, the Royals deserve to be ahead. The Trojans can prove us wrong next Friday, Jan. 12 when the two teams meet.
So what about the rest of AAAA?
Cretin-Derham Hall fell to Champlin Park at the Park Center holiday tournament, thanks mostly to a very strange 10 seconds and a strong performance by the Rebels. As a result, we left the Raiders at #5, just behind St. Michael-Albertville. The Knights beat Maple Grove and Edina. Champlin Park gets promoted to #6. The other big gainer is Roseville, which won three times, including an impressive performance against top 10 Centennial. With a record of 8-2, and losses only to top 5 opponents, the Raiders have cracked the top 10. Meanwhile, Moorhead stubbed its toe against 2A Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton, dropping the Spuds two places to #8. Centennial (7-3) also fell two places to #9. Other movement of note included:
- Park Center slid from #9 to #12 with losses to Cretin and Minnetonka
- Minnetonka's roller coaster ride continued. With wins over Champlin Park and Park Center, the Skippers deserve to be in the top 20.
- Hastings (7-3) fell four spots to #22 after losing three of its past four.
- St. Francis is toast after two more losses. Lakeville South lasted just one week on the list.
- We welcome Irondale to the party at #24. Even with a weak schedule, a record of 8-3 deserves a little recognition.
Holy Angels ascends to the top in class AAA
After losing in the Roseville tournament to Centennial, Robbinsdale Cooper has a record of 8-2. There is no shame in losing to the Cougars, but it was the way they lost that caught our attention. This encounter was our Game of the Week, and it had the makings of a good one. Instead, it was a thrashing. Cooper was down by as much as 17 in the first half, as much as 24 in the second, before Centennial's starters made their exit. Worse, Cooper seemed to lose interest as the inevitable played out. Championship teams rarely do that. As a result, we have a new number one – the Stars of Holy Angels – and a new number two – the Zephyrs of Mahtomedi.
Holy Angels also lost this week to drop to 10-2, but the Stars turned in a nice performance against 4A power Wayzata and has a series of wins over solid opponents. One could also make a case for 9-1 Mahtomedi. The Zephyrs' record includes a victory over 4A White Bear Lake. Their only loss was to a ranked Chisago Lakes team by a single basket. The rest of the order stays the same through #13.
- We did not punish Northfield for a pair of losses at St. Olaf because their opponents were 4A #1 Eastview and a powerhouse Beaver Dam, Wisc. team.
- Fergus Falls vaults six spots to #14 by beating Thief River Falls and Maranatha.
- The remainder of the poll is basically static with the exception of St. Croix Lutheran, which lost twice and dropped out.
- We welcome 7-4 Princeton at #19. The Tigers have won five in a row, including an impressive victory over Watertown-Mayer. They also have a win over #10 Hermantown.