Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville) unanimous top-ranked team after another undefeated week
GAINESVILLE — The high school basketball season is back in full swing in the first month of 2022.
And one team continues to consistently be the best and remains at the top of The Prep Zone Power Poll for boys basketball.
Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville) was 3-0 last week with wins over No. 9 Orange Park and Victory Rock Prep (Sarasota) at the MLK Tournament, as well a win over Bishop Snyder (Jacksonville). The Tigers (14-2) stay in the top spot and receive all seven first-place votes this week.
Andrew Jackson is ranked 9th overall regardless of classification by Max Preps.
Moving up a spot to No. 2 is Fleming Island (Orange Park).
The Golden Eagles (16-1), whose only loss came to Andrew Jackson in the Battle of the Island tournament before Christmas, won their only game last week, 52-51, over No. 6T Fletcher (Neptune Beach).
Fleming Island is ranked 7th statewide according to the Max Preps rankings.
Ponte Vedra moves up a spot to No. 3.
The Sharks (14-2) took care of Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville), Atlantic Coast (Jacksonville), and Stanton (Jacksonville), and have won 10 in a row since back-to-back losses to Episcopal (Jacksonville) and No. 6T Riverside (Jacksonville) in an early season tournament.
The red-hot Providence Stallions are up two spots to 4th this week.
Providence (12-3) won five games in a row in the opening week of 2022, including beating Orange Park and then No. 20 Palatka, as well as stomping Bolles (Jacksonville), 55-38, earlier this week.
Despite wins over Raines (Jacksonville) and Auburndale, Paxon drops three spots this week.
However, the Golden Eagles (14-1) remain in the top five. They have won nine games in a row since their only loss, 56-54, at Bishop Snyder on December 6.
Riverside (13-4), ranked No. 1 in 5A by Max Preps, is tied for 6th with Fletcher, who moves up four slots form No. 10 previously. The Senators (12-4) rebounded from the one-point loss to Fleming Island by edging Riverside, 44-43, on Wednesday.
Trinity Catholic drops three spots to No. 8 after losing its only game of the week to P.K. Yonge (Gainesville).
Orange Park (14-2) lost their first two games of the season against Providence and Jackson. The Raiders play 11th-ranked The Villages Saturday at the Forest MLK Event in Ocala.
Nease (Ponte Vedra) rounds out the top 10, up two spots from last week’s poll. The Panthers (13-4) were 3-0 last week with wins over Bolles and Bartram Trail (St. Johns).
Creekside (St. Johns) is the only new team to the poll this week at No. 17.
DeLand and Palatka, ranked 19th and T-20th respectively a week ago, both drop out.
The Prep Zone Power Poll ranks the top 20 high school football, girls volleyball, girls basketball, boys basketball, softball & baseball 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 – 2021-22 BOYS BASKETBALL POLL #3
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, record through 1/12, and total voting points)
1. Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville) (4A) (7) (14-2) – 140
2. Fleming Island (Orange Park) (6A) (16-1) – 125
3. Ponte Vedra (6A) (14-2) – 121
4. Providence (Jacksonville) (3A) (12-3) – 116
5. Paxon (Jacksonville) (4A) (14-1) – 112
6T. Fletcher (Neptune Beach) (6A) (12-4) – 88
6T. Riverside (Jacksonville) (5A) (13-4) – 88
8. Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (3A) (14-3) – 86
9. Orange Park (5A) (14-2) – 83
10. Nease (Ponte Vedra) (7A) (13-4) – 80
11. The Villages (4A) (12-3) – 79
12. Leesburg (5A) (10-5) – 61
13. Mount Dora Christian Academy (2A) (14-1) – 56
14. Springstead (Spring Hill) (5A) (14-3) – 49
15. Ribault (Jacksonville) (5A) (10-4) – 46
16. Forest (Ocala) (6A) (12-5) – 30
17. Creekside (St. Johns) (7A) (10-3) – 27
18. North Florida Educational Institute (Jacksonville) (2A) (9-5) – 25
19. Santa Fe (Alachua) (4A) (8-5) – 23
20. Hawthorne (1A) (4-2) – 11
Also receiving votes: Mainland (Daytona Beach) (5A) (9-5) – 10; DeLand (7A) (10-4) – 6; Atlantic (Port Orange) (4A) (10-3) – 3; Central (Brooksville) (4A) (13-3) – 2; Columbia (Lake City) (6A) (8-7) – 2; North Marion (Citra) (9-5) – 2.
