Week-11 Polls

In a shortened week, due to the snow postponing many of the games around the state on Saturday, several teams played just one game. Still though, there were plenty of intriguing outcomes, and a few surprises. I have gone back and looked at the outcomes from last week and adjusted the polls accordingly. We are now coming up on the home stretch, with just two weeks of regular-season games remaining before we head into state tournament play. We will continue to update these polls each week for the remainder of the regular season, typically on Mondays, with our last poll posting sometime around the 28th or 29th of January. The Top-25 is a look at who I think are the best teams throughout the state, regardless of class. Northwestern remains in the pole position, after impressive wins over Oak Hill and West Lafayette Harrison. Zionsville returned to the poll after a pair of wins last week, and if rumors in the Fall were correct, there might be a Maddie Nolan sighting sometime in the next couple of weeks. That would definitely be a welcomed addition to an already strong roster. Penn, Crown Point, Central Noble, and Vincennes Rivet remain undefeated, and they are the only four teams throughout the state who can lay claim to that. What's odd, though, is that the two Class 4A teams are led by underclassmen, while the two smaller schools are led by upperclassmen. With the season starting to wind down, the Top-25 will be a lot less fluid on a weekly basis, but there are still a handful of upsets likely to come. Like any season, as we progress, the best will show their mettle on a weekly basis.   PGH Indiana Top-25, Regardless of Class: 1. Northwestern (18-2) 2. Hamilton Southeastern (18-1) 3. Warren Central (14-2) 4. Penn (19-0) 5. Homestead (19-2) 6. Brownsburg (16-2) 7. Center Grove (16-2) 8. Crown Point (20-0) 9. Indianapolis North Central (16-5) 10. Marquette Catholic (16-2) 11. Lawrence North (16-4) 12. Bedford North Lawrence (15-4) 13. Mishawaka Marian (18-1) 14. Central Noble (19-0) 15. Castle (16-3) 16. Vincennes Rivet (19-0) 17. Bloomington South (15-3) 18. Benton Central (20-2) 19. Ben Davis (11-7) 20. Norwell (16-1) 21. Triton Central (17-1) 22. New Palestine (17-2) 23. Indianapolis Pike (12-7) 24. Oak Hill (15-3) 25. Zionsville (14-7) Dropped Out: West Lafayette Harrison   The biggest contest last week was likely Center Grove, behind Senior guards Ella Thompson and Emma Utterback, upsetting (?) Indianapolis North Central by a 7-point margin (51-44). That tied the lowest output of the season for North Central, who also scored just 44 points against Hamilton Southeastern earlier. Penn and Crown Point remain the only two undefeated teams in Class 4A, and I'll be curious to see if they end up meeting in the state tournament without a blemish. Penn still has tough matchups with South Bend Saint Joseph and Fort Wayne South Side left, while Crown Point probably eyes Kankakee Valley and Hammond Bishop Noll as their toughest remaining tests in the regular season. PGH Indiana Class 4A Top-10: 1. Hamilton Southeastern (18-1) 2. Warren Central (14-2) 3. Penn (19-0) 4. Homestead (19-2) 5. Brownsburg (16-2) 6. Center Grove (16-2) 7. Crown Point (20-0) 8. Indianapolis North Central (16-5) 9. Lawrence North (16-4) 10. Bedford North Lawrence (15-4) The Next-5: Castle, Bloomington South, Ben Davis, New Palestine, Indianapolis Pike   In Class 3A, I'd be a little fearful of Mishawaka Marian. They have a deep lineup with solid play at every position, Sophomore Guard McKenzie Hudgen has been very good of late, and they have played, and won, close games against good opponents. Vincennes Lincoln returns to the Top-10, and they have a scary frontcourt tandem of Senior Post Alison Hein and Sophomore Forward Maycee Lange. They'll be a top contender to possibly come out of the South. Class 3A strikes me as the class where we'll see several teams with four or more losses make deep tournament runs due to a good strength of schedule in the regular season. PGH Indiana Class 3A Top-10: 1. Northwestern (18-2) 2. Mishawaka Marian (18-1) 3. Benton Central (20-2) 4. Norwell (16-1) 5. Bellmont (16-1) 6. Danville (14-4) 7. NorthWood (15-4) 8. Greensburg (14-4) 9. Salem (17-3) 10. Vincennes Lincoln (16-3) The Next-5: Marion, Gibson Southern, Fort Wayne Concordia, Lawrenceburg, Evansville Memorial   The same teams remain in the Class 2A Top-10, with just a couple of changes. Central Noble is the lone undefeated team in Class 2A, and they had a nail-biter, but they survived their conference tournament last week. Triton Central and Junior Wing Rylie Stephens had a nice 8-point win over 17-2 Class 4A New Palestine, who is #22 this week in our overall Top-25 poll. No one likes moral victories, but considering Class 3A Northwestern has trounced a number of ranked Class 4A teams, Oak Hill held their own for a while in a 60-42 road loss. Junior Post Taylor Westgate has continued to play better and better as the season has worn on. Lafayette Central Catholic has a history of postseason success, and while we haven't talked about them much, they have lingered in the Top-10 all season and could be a scary matchup come tournament time. PGH Indiana Class 2A Top-10: 1. Central Noble (19-0) 2. Triton Central (17-1) 3. Oak Hill (15-3) 4. North Judson-San Pierre (14-3) 5. Winchester (19-3) 6. Linton-Stockton (16-3) 7. Tipton (16-3) 8. Lafayette Central Catholic (15-3) 9. Cloverdale (18-3) 10. Hammond Bishop Noll (16-2) The Next-5: Monroe Central, Shenandoah, Bremen, Eastern-Pekin, Covenant Christian-Indianapolis   The top four teams in Class 1A remain the same, and all look primed for a deep postseason run. Vincennes Rivet is the only undefeated team remaining in Class 1A, and they still have matchups with Class 1A #9 Tecumseh and a solid Class 3A Washington squad. Versatile Forward Grace Waggoner has had a strong Senior campaign. Jac-Cen-Del has a long string of success in girls' basketball, and this season is no different. The frontline duo of Senior Wing Mariah Day and Sophomore Post Paige Ledford create problems for all of their opponents. PGH Indiana Class 1A Top-10: 1. Marquette Catholic (16-2) 2. Vincennes Rivet (19-0) 3. Northfield (17-2) 4. University (17-1) 5. Loogootee (16-2) 6. Jac-Cen-Del (14-5) 7. South Central-Union Mills (13-5) 8. Blue River Valley (13-5) 9. Tecumseh (15-3) 10. Oregon-Davis (10-7) The Next-5: Morgan Township, Trinity Lutheran, Waldron, Oldenburg Academy, North Vermillion   Header photo of McKenzie Hudgen (in white) of Mishawaka Marian H.S.; photo courtesy of Robert Franklin of the South Bend Tribune at www.southbendtribune.com. Photo of the Hamilton Southeastern logo courtesy of the Royals' Athletics Twitter account. Photo of the Northwestern athletics logo courtesy of kokomoperspective.com. Photo of the Central Noble logo courtesy of centralnoble.k12.in.us. Photo of the Marquette Catholic insignia courtesy of ipfs.io.