Providence (Jacksonville) is unanimous No. 1 team after holiday tournaments
GAINESVILLE — As 2022 comes to a close and we head into 2023, there was some movement in The Prep Zone Power Poll for boys basketball.
But as the holiday tournaments wrap up, the team at the top remains the same, and unanimously.
The Providence (Jacksonville) Stallions suffered their first loss of the season at the Kingdom of the Sun Tournament in Ocala, losing in the semifinals to Winter Haven, which is ranked No. 1 in 7A and also No. 1 in all classifications according to Max Preps.
Providence (12-1), which is ranked 1st in Class 3A and 7th statewide by Max Preps, also picked up wins over IMG Academy Blue (Bradenton) and No. 18 The Villages at the City of Palms in Fort Myers, and they defeated No. 5T Nease (Ponte Vedra) and No. 7 Oakleaf (Orange Park) at the Fortegra Invitational at Florida State College of Jacksonville.
That was enough for the Stallions to pick up all eight first-place votes as the unanimous No. 1 team this week.
Paxon (Jacksonville) moves up three spots to 2nd. ‘
The Golden Eagles (11-1) won all nine of their games over the holidays, picking up wins over Georgia teams Toombs County (Lyons) and Glynn Academy (Brunswick), as well as beating No. 15 Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville), Ed White (Jacksonville) and then-RV Beachside (St. Johns). Their only loss so far this season was to 4th-ranked Ponte Vedra.
North Florida Educational Institute (Jacksonville) moves up one spot to 3rd.
The Eagles (8-4) dropped a game to a team from New York and to defending 3A state champion Florida High (Tallahassee), along with Gibbs (St. Petersburg), but they did pick up a win over the 17th ranked team statewide in DME Academy (Daytona Beach).
Ponte Vedra drops a spot to 4th.
The Sharks (9-3) dropped two games Georgia teams at the St. Andrew’s Holiday Showcase, but they beat another Georgia team and also beat Nease and Fletcher (Neptune Beach).
Speaking of Nease, the Panthers (12-3) move up three slots and are tied for 5th with Ribault (Jacksonville).
Nease lost to No. 19 Santa Fe (Alachua) at the Hitchcock’s Classic in Alachua and also dropped a game to Ponte Vedra and Providence at the Fortegra Invitational. The Panthers beat Creekside (St. Johns) and Mater Academy Charter (Hialeah Gardens) and also had wins over Bishop Kenny, University Christian (Jacksonville), St. Augustine, and Fletcher.
Ribault (12-2) is up four spots to tie with Nease and round out the top five.
The Trojans picked up a win over then-No. 2 Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville), but also lost by a point to the Tigers. Ribault also beat No. 11 Orange Park at the Battle on the Island at Fleming Island (Orange Park), RV Bolles (Jacksonville), and Golden Gate (Naples) at that same tournament.
Oakleaf (Orange Park) makes the biggest move this week, up 12 spots to No. 7.
The Knights (12-1) picked up three wins at the Gus Gibbs Tournament at DeLand, and they defeated Sandalwood (Jacksonville) twice and Clay (Green Cove Springs).
Oakleaf’s only loss is an overtime setback to Providence at the Fortegra Invitational.
Impact Christian (Jacksonville) moved up 12 slots to No. 8.
The Lions (9-2) won two out of three games at the Kreul Classic in Coral Springs, and they knocked off No. 14 Fleming Island and then-No. 8 Riverside (Jacksonville).
Gainesville is up three spots to No. 9.
The Hurricanes (11-4) won two out of three games at the Holiday Hoopfest at Golden Gate, losing at the buzzer to Fort Myers.
GHS defeated No. 10 Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville) at the Battle on the Island, but lost two close games at that same tournament to the 2nd ranked team in 5A, Auburndale, and Orlando Christian Prep, the No. 2 overall team regardless of classification according to MaxPreps.
The ‘Canes also picked up wins against Santa Fe and No. 12 Columbia (Lake City).
Andrew Jackson rounds out the top 10.
The Tigers (7-7) dropped a bunch of games over the holidays, falling to Gainesville, RV Lake Minneola, Ribault, P.K. Yonge (Gainesville) and Martin County (Stuart). Jackson also defeated Ribault at the Northwest Christmas Tournament, and beat Riverside as well.
Moving into the top 20 this week is No. 13 Mainland (Daytona Beach), No. 15 Bishop Kenny, and 20th-ranked St. Joseph Academy (St. Augustine).
Riverside, Bradford (Starke) and Hawthorne drop out from the previous poll.
The Prep Zone Power Poll ranks the top 20 high school football, 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 POWERED BY ANYTIME FITNESS OF GAINESVILLE – 2022-23 BOYS BASKETBALL POLL #3
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, current record through 1/3, and total voting points)
1. Providence (Jacksonville) (3A) (8) (12-1) – 160
2. Paxon (Jacksonville) (4A) (11-1) – 145
3. North Florida Educational Institute (Jacksonville) (2A) (8-4) – 122
4. Ponte Vedra (6A) (9-3) – 121
5T. Nease (Ponte Vedra) (6A) (12-3) – 118
5T. Ribault (Jacksonville)(4A) (12-2) – 118
7. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (6A) (12-1) – 110
8. Impact Christian Academy (Jacksonville) (2A) (9-2) – 97
9. Gainesville (6A) (11-4) – 95
10. Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville) (4A) (7-7) – 71
11. Orange Park (6A) (10-4) – 69
12. Columbia (Lake City) (5A) (9-5) – 67
13. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (5A) (10-3) – 62
14. Fleming Island (Orange Park) (6A) (8-5) – 47
15. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (4A) (9-3) – 45
16. Mount Dora Christian Academy (2A) (9-5) – 38
17. Leesburg (5A) (7-5) – 28
18. The Villages (4A) (7-6) – 25
19. Santa Fe (Alachua) (4A) (7-5) – 21
20. St. Joseph Academy (St. Augustine) (2A) (8-2) – 20
Also receiving votes: New Smyrna Beach (6A) (9-0) – 18; Williston (1A) (10-4) – 18; Episcopal (Jacksonville) (3A) (8-4) – 16; Hawthorne (1A) (2-2) – 12; Lake Minneola (Minneola) (6A) (9-4) – 8; Forest (Ocala) (6A) (9-4) – 7; Central (Brooksville) (4A) (8-3) – 6; Deltona (5A) (10-4) – 5; Interlachen (3A) (11-4) – 4; Bolles (Jacksonville) (4A) (9-3) – 3; Oak Hall (Gainesville) (2A) (7-1) – 2; Wildwood (1A) (8-4) – 2; DeLand (7A) (3-9) – 1; Newberry (1A) (9-2) – 1.
