Boys’ basketball regional rankings (Poll #5)
Bolles (Jacksonville) remains on top; Creekside (St. Johns) moves into the top five
Gainesville – Bolles (Jacksonville) remains on top of the Prep Zone Power Poll heading into the final week of the regular season.
The Class 4A Bulldogs collected all eight first-place votes. Bolles (21-2) has won 13 in a row since a 47-44 loss at Jackson (Jacksonville), which dropped the Tigers (15-5) from seventh to ninth in this week’s regional rankings following a loss to Ribault (Jacksonville) at the Gateway Conference Tournament.
Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) moved up two spots to second following a 2-0 week. The Crusaders (21-2) will travel to Bolles this Friday, January 29. Bolles won the first meeting between the two teams, 69-65, two weeks ago on the road.
The previous No. 2, Wolfson (Jacksonville), dropped one spot to third following its first loss of the season. The Wolfpack (22-1) went 2-1 with a loss to Ribault, 72-68 (OT), in the Gateway Conference championship game.
With the win, the Class 5A Trojans (13-9) enter the poll for the first time this season at No. 17. Ribault actually went 5-0 last week, including 3-0 against the top 20. They also defeated Atlantic (Port Orange), which moved up three spots to No. 15.
Rounding out the top five is defending 3A state champion Providence (Jacksonville) (16-6) and Creekside (St. Johns). The Knights (19-4) moved four spots to fifth following their seventh straight win on Friday against Ponte Vedra.
P.K. Yonge (Gainesville) (18-3), which knocked off previous No. 6 Gainesville by 22, moved up three spots to sixth, while GHS (18-4) fell two spots to eighth. The teams split their season series and both will be the top seed in their respective districts.
Class 8A Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (18-4) is ranked seventh, while 4A Jackson (Jacksonville) and 5A Leesburg (19-3) round out the top 10 at ninth and 10th, respectively.
Flagler Palm Coast made the biggest drop. The Class 8A Bulldogs (12-8) fell eight spots to 20th following back-to-back losses.
With No. 3 Wolfson’s first loss of the season, that leaves No. 12 Mount Dora Christian (23-0) as the only unbeaten team in the region.
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 #5
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, record through 1/23, and total voting points)
1. Bolles (Jacksonville) (4A) (8) (21-2) – 160
2. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (5A) (21-2) – 151
3. Wolfson (Jacksonville) (5A) (22-1) – 145
4. Providence (Jacksonville) (3A) (16-6) – 131
5. Creekside (St. Johns) (7A) (19-4) – 124
6. PK Yonge (Gainesville) (3A) (18-3) – 122
7. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (8A) (18-4) – 111
8. Gainesville (6A) (18-4) – 101
9. Jackson (Jacksonville) (4A) (15-5) – 87
10. Leesburg (5A) (19-3) – 85
11. Deltona (6A) (18-6) – 81
12. Mount Dora Christian Academy (2A) (23-0) – 77
13. Hawthorne (1A) (17-5) – 56
14. Vanguard (Ocala) (6A) (16-6) – 55
15. Atlantic (Port Orange) (6A) (22-3) – 53
16. Nature Coast Tech (Brooksville) (5A) (17-5) – 40
17. Ribault (Jacksonville) (5A) (13-9) – 38
18. Union County (Lake Butler) (1A) (18-6) – 20
19. Hamilton County (Jasper) (1A) (15-4) – 14
20. Flagler Palm Coast (8A) (12-8) – 12
Also receiving votes: Dunnellon (4A) (15-7) – 9; Trinity Christian (Deltona) (2A) (16-5) – 4; Lake Minneola (7A) (15-7) – 3; Madison County (1A) (17-6) – 1.
