Boys’ basketball regional rankings (Poll #3)
Top four teams are from Duval County
Gainesville – There was no movement at the top of the Prep Zone Power Poll.
In fact, the top 10 remained the same heading into Tuesday night’s action.
Unbeaten Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) is still No. 1 in the regional rankings. The Crusaders (18-0), who are the top-ranked team in the Class 5A state poll, were a unanimous selection receiving all eight first-place votes.
They have quality wins against #8 Jackson (Jacksonville), #10 Flagler Palm Coast, #11 Creekside (St. Johns), and 3A #4 Archbishop Carroll (Miami), among others.
Class 4A Bolles (Jacksonville) is next. The Bulldogs (18-2) have won 10 in a row since a three-point loss at #8 Jackson (Jacksonville). Their other loss was to defending 4A state champion Godby (Tallahassee) by four.
Unbeaten Wolfson (Jacksonville) is third. The Wolfpack (17-0), ranked 6th in the 5A state rankings, have won every game by 13 points or more.
Defending 3A state champion Providence (Jacksonville) is ranked fourth. That makes four Duval County teams in the top four. The Stallions (13-4) went 2-0 last week, including a 68-51 win over 7A Lake Minneola, which is receiving votes in this week’s poll.
Gainesville High, which won two district games last week by an average of 23.5 points, rounds out the top five. GHS (14-2) is ranked fourth in the state in Class 6A.
Deltona (15-3) is sixth, followed by Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (15-3), Jackson (Jacksonville) (13-4), P.K. Yonge (Gainesville) (12-3) and Flagler Palm Coast (10-4). They all remained sixth through 10th for the second consecutive week.
Creekside (St. Johns), which has won seven of its last eight, moved up two spots to 11th. The Class 7A Knights (14-4) defeated district opponents Buchholz (Gainesville), 56-50 in overtime, and RV Oakleaf (Orange Park), 64-57.
Unbeaten Mount Dora Christian (17-0) is 12th, followed by Leesburg at No 13.
The Yellow Jackets (14-3) went 3-0, including wins against 5A #9 Poinciana (Kissimmee) and 8A Colonial (Orlando), and moved up three spots. Leesburg has won 12 of its last 13 with the loss coming to The Rock (Gainesville) at the Dante Anderson Memorial Invitational.
Union County (Lake Butler) is ranked 14th and travels to No. 15 Hawthorne this Friday night in a battle for first place in Class 1A-District 6. The visiting Tigers (15-4) defeated the Hornets (12-5) in Lake Butler in December.
No teams dropped out of the rankings this week.
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.
PREP ZONE POWER POLL – 2015-16 BASKETBALL POLL #3
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, record through 1/9, and total voting points)
1. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (5A) (8) (18-0) – 160
2. Bolles (Jacksonville) (4A) (18-2) – 147
3. Wolfson (Jacksonville) (5A) (17-0) – 146
4. Providence (Jacksonville) (3A) (13-4) – 132
5. Gainesville (6A) (14-2) – 130
6. Deltona (6A) (15-3) – 116
7. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (8A) (15-3) – 114
8. Jackson (Jacksonville) (4A) (13-4) – 109
9. PK Yonge (Gainesville) (3A) (12-3) – 90
10. Flagler Palm Coast (8A) (10-4) – 79
11. Creekside (St. Johns) (7A) (14-4) – 78
12. Mount Dora Christian Academy (2A) (17-0) – 76
13. Leesburg (5A) (14-3) – 55
14. Union County (Lake Butler) (1A) (15-4) – 52
15. Hawthorne (1A) (12-5) – 50
16. Nature Coast Tech (5A) (13-5) – 40
17. Hamilton County (Jasper) (1A) (10-3) – 28
18. Atlantic (Port Orange) (6A) (15-2) – 25
19. Dunnellon (4A) (10-6) – 21
20. Vanguard (Ocala) (6A) (11-6) – 19
Also receiving votes: Lake Minneola (7A) (12-6) – 7; Ribault (Jacksonville) (4A) (7-6) – 3; Oakleaf (Orange Park) (7A) (8-6) – 2; Madison County (1A) (12-5) – 1.
