Providence (Jacksonville) & Mainland (Daytona Beach) still on top
GAINESVILLE – There was a little bit of a shakeup in The Prep Zone Power Poll top five.
However, the top two boys basketball teams remained the same.
Providence (Jacksonville), which went 2-0 last week with blowout wins against Creekside (St. Johns) and Ribault (Jacksonville), is still No. 1. The Class 4A Stallions (19-2) received six of the seven first-place votes.
Mainland (Daytona Beach) remained second in the all-classification regional rankings. The Class 7A Bucs (23-1) also went 2-0, including a 55-46 win against previous No. 15 Atlantic (Port Orange). They collected the other first-place vote.
In a head-to-head match-up of top five teams, previous No. 4 Hawthorne defeated previous No. 3 P.K. Yonge (Gainesville), 54-49. That dropped the Class 4A Blue Wave (17-2) to fifth, while the Class 1A Hornets (18-1) moved up one spot to third.
Class 8A Fleming Island (Orange Park) (15-1) moved up from fifth to fourth following a 2-0 week.
Palatka remained sixth. The Class 6A Panthers (17-2) are followed by 6A Eastside (Gainesville), 4A University Christian (Jacksonville), 5A Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville) and 6A Paxon (Jacksonville) in the top 10.
The top 20 is still intact, as no teams fell out of this week’s rankings.
Class 7A Deltona made one of the biggest jumps. The Wolves (15-4) moved up five spots from 20th to No. 15 following a 3-0 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.
THE PREP ZONE POWER POLL – 2018-19 BOYS BASKETBALL POLL #4
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, record through 1/27, and total voting points)
1. Providence (Jacksonville) (4A) (6) (19-2) – 139
2. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (7A) (1) (23-1) – 134
3. Hawthorne (1A) (18-1) – 124
4. Fleming Island (Orange Park) (8A) (15-1) – 117
5. P.K. Yonge (Gainesville) (4A) (17-2) – 111
6. Palatka (6A) (17-2) – 106
7. Eastside (Gainesville) (6A) (18-2) – 97
8. University Christian (Jacksonville) (4A) (18-3) – 92
9. Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville) (5A) (17-4) – 87
10. Paxon (Jacksonville) (6A) (17-2) – 72
11. The Villages (5A) (13-6) – 60
12. Madison County (1A) (16-1) – 59
13. Bolles (Jacksonville) (5A) (16-5) – 54
14. Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (5A) (14-5) – 52
15. Deltona (7A) (15-4) – 37
16. Atlantic (Port Orange) (7A) (17-5) – 30
17. First Coast (Jacksonville) (8A) (13-5) – 28
18. Raines (Jacksonville) (5A) (13-5) – 26
19. Columbia (Lake City) (7A) (12-9) – 16
20. Leesburg (6A) (11-7) – 11
Also receiving votes: Oakleaf (Orange Park) (8A) (13-6) – 6; Forest (Ocala) (7A) (16-4) – 4; Eustis (6A) (14-7) – 3; Bishop Snyder (Jacksonville) (4A) (13-8) – 2; West Nassau (Callahan) (5A) (12-7) – 1; North Marion (Citra) (6A) (13-7) – 1; West Port (Ocala) (8A) (13-7) – 1.