New No. 1 as Paxon flip-flops with Andrew Jackson after Gateway Conference Tournament title
GAINESVILLE – You can add another tournament title for the new No. 1 team in The Prep Zone Power Poll.
Paxon (Jacksonville), which won the EC 16 Invitational at Northwest Florida State College in Niceville in December, moved up one spot from second to first after winning the Gateway Conference Tournament title.
The Golden Eagles (20-5), who are ranked 4th in Class 4A by MaxPreps, defeated current RV First Coast (Jacksonville) in the championship game, 69-38, and also defeated #4 Lee (Robert E. Lee), 53-50, in the semifinals.
They received six of the nine first-place votes.
Previous No. 1 Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville) dropped to second.
The Tigers, who are ranked 4th in Class 3A, were upset by Terry Parker (Jacksonville) in the Gateway Conference Tournament quarterfinals but finished 3-1 since the last all-classification regional rankings were released.
Jackson (18-3) received one first-place vote.
The other two first-place votes went to Columbia (Lake City), which remained third in the rankings.
The Class 6A Tigers (21-2) haven’t lost in 2020 and have won 11 in a row heading into their showdown on Friday night with No. 17 Madison County (17-4).
Following 4th-ranked Lee and rounding out the top five is North Florida Educational Institute (Jacksonville). The Eagles (19-4) are ranked 2nd in Class 2A.
Class 4A Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (20-3), which moved up nine spots, is ranked sixth, followed by 3A Providence (Jacksonville) (16-8), 1A Wildwood (17-7), 4A The Villages (17-6), and 2A unbeaten Mount Dora Christian (24-0) in the top 10.
Class 4A Eastside (Gainesville) jumps into the rankings at No. 20 following the Rams’ (16-7) sixth straight win.
The Prep Zone Power Poll ranks the top 20 high school football, basketball, baseball & softball teams (regardless of FHSAA classification) across 26 counties in North Florida (Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Columbia, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Levy, Madison, Marion, Nassau, Putnam, Sumter, St. Johns, Suwannee, Taylor, Union & Volusia counties). It is voted on weekly by sportswriters and sportscasters and it is powered by Anytime Fitness of Gainesville.
THE PREP ZONE POWER POLL – 2019-20 BOYS BASKETBALL POLL #4
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, record through 2/4, and total voting points)
1. Paxon (Jacksonville) (4A) (6) (20-5) – 175
2. Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville) (3A) (1) (18-3) – 171
3. Columbia (Lake City) (2) (6A) (21-2) – 162
4. Robert E. Lee (Jacksonville) (5A) (19-4) – 153
5. North Florida Educational Institute (Jacksonville) (2A) (19-3) – 126
6. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (4A) (20-3) – 106
7. Providence (Jacksonville) (3A) (16-8) – 100
8. Wildwood (1A) (17-7) – 99
9. The Villages (4A) (17-6) – 98
10. Mount Dora Christian Academy (2A) (24-0) – 95
11. Palatka (4A) (17-6) – 90
12. Impact Christian Academy (Jacksonville) (2A) (14-6) – 75
13. Bolles (Jacksonville) (4A) (16-7) – 71
14. Fleming Island (Orange Park) (6A) (16-7) – 70
15. Hawthorne (1A) (18-3) – 65
16. Leesburg (5A) (14-7) – 50
17. Madison County (1A) (17-4) – 48
18. Forest (Ocala) (6A) (18-6) – 36
19. Hilliard (1A) (18-2) – 33
20. Eastside (Gainesville) (4A) (16-7) – 26
Also receiving votes: Mainland (Daytona Beach) (6A) (13-10) – 16; Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (4A) (15-8) – 10; Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (7A) (15-7) – 9; North Marion (Citra) (4A) (14-8) – 2; Orange Park (5A) (14-9) – 2; First Coast (Jacksonville) (6A) (14-9) – 1; St. Augustine (5A) (13-7) – 1.
