There are two newcomers to this week's edition of the FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com. There is also some movement, as teams that play in tough conferences get the benefit of the doubt while those that don't have to be careful about taking a loss at the wrong time.
By Ronnie Flores
Most of the nation's best teams are in league, conference or district play and most are winning as they gear up to earn favorable seeds in the post-season. That is reflected in the latest edition of the FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com.
There are only two newcomers to the fold: No. 28 Westfield (Westfield, Ind.) and No. 50 Alta (Sandy, Utah). Westfield is now the No. 2 ranked team in Indiana after previous state No. 1 Fishers (Ind.) fell to always-tough Carmel (Ind.), 54-46, as junior guard Alex Couto netted 26 points. Fishers always have trouble with Carmel on the road, and the win is the 22nd in a row by the Greyhounds at home. Fishers is now No. 3 in the state and falls 40 points in the FAB 50 to No. 48.
The highest ranked team that fell out after a loss last week was previous No. 22 Wayzata (Plymouth, Minn.), which fell to always-tough Hopkins (Minnetonka, Minn.), 80-69, in a Lake Conference match-up of traditional state powers. Junior Anthony Smith III led the way for Hopkins with 22 points, including four 3-pointers, while sophomore Jayden Moore added 12 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists and four steals.
Breaking in for Wayzata is Alta (Sandy, Utah), Utah's top-ranked team and the favorite to capture the Class 5A state title. The Hawks have done enough to overcome their 81-69 loss to unranked St. Pius X-Matthias (Downey, Calif.) in the quarterfinals of the Tarkanian Classic in December, an event in which that club eventually won the championship.
It would bode well for Alta if St. Pius X were to be selected to play in the upcoming CIF Southern Section open division playoffs, where the Warriors are one of approximately 10 teams being considered to play in one of the two pools of four teams each, with the winner of each pool meeting in the CIF Southern Section championship game. That's where playing in a strong league or conference comes into play in the FAB 50 formula. For the first time in over 40 years of weekly state rankings, the top three teams by Cal-Hi Sports are from the same league: the Mission League in the San Fernando Valley. This week, No. 15 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.), No. 20 Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) and No. 22 Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.) will all be competing in the Mission League Tournament. One of the teams is going to win the tourney on February 2 and earn a top two seed in the CIFSS open playoffs. Either Notre Dame or Harvard-Westlake is going to lose in the semifinals and that team will be dropping down in the rankings. That drop, however, will not be happening until next week as those teams get rewarded for playing in tough conferences for now. For instance, Notre Dame lost to Sierra Canyon last week and dropped another showcase game to Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) at the Nike Extravaganza, but only drops one spot in the state rankings and nine in the FAB 50.
The Trinity League, which is made up of parochial schools primarily in Orange County, could also have three teams in the CIFSS open playoffs. No. 25 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) now has a split with unranked JSerra (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) after the Monarch lost the return match last week, 68-62, even though JSerra coach Keith Wilkinson was still serving a six-game suspension for tossing his shoes in protest of the officiating in the first round of league play. JSerra has lost twice to No. 33 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.), but also owns a double overtime win over No. 26 Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.). The best scenario for St. Pius X will be to win its Del Rey League title with an unbeaten slate, have unranked Centennial (Corona, Calif.) beat Roosevelt for the second time this week in the Big VIII League title game and for JSerra to lose to a unranked team in the Trinity League.
The tough league slates will undoubtedly change the FAB 50 next week, as the Mission League teams will not be 1-2-3 in California. Already we know some results from Monday that will also affect next week's FAB 50. In a Border Battle, bubble club Bartlett (Bartlett, Tenn.) downed No. 18 Huntsville (Huntsville, Ala.), 58-53. Coming into the game, Huntsville had only lost to No. 1 Montverde Academy, which captured its own Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament (MAIT) with a 78-72 victory over No. 3 Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.). It was the Eagles' second win of the season over The Crew. In other Monday action, St. John's (Washington, D.C.) downed No. 30 Bishop O’Connell (Arlington, Va.) in a contest that was a make-up game from the Capitol Hoops Challenge on January 20 that counts towards the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) standings.
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Updated FAB 50 National Team Rankings
Powered by Ballislife.com
(6th poll of 2023-24 regular season; Through games played on Sunday, January 28; *Indicates forfeit wins, forfeit losses not included; **Indicates forfeits and defaults not included)
| No. | Prev. | High School (City) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) | 22-0 |
| 2 | 2 | Columbus (Miami, Fla.) | 19-4 |
| 3 | 3 | Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) | 23-4 |
| 4 | 4 | Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.) | 18-2 |
| 5 | 5 | Link Academy (Branson, Mo.) | 17-4 |
| 6 | 6 | Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.) | 12-3 |
| 7 | 7 | Plano East (Plano, Texas) | 28-0 |
| 8 | 10 | Stony Point (Round Rock, Texas) | 27-1 |
| 9 | 9 | Lawrence North (Indianapolis, Ind.) | 17-0 |
| 10 | 13 | Myers Park (Charlotte, N.C.) | 17-2 |
| 11 | 12 | Patrick School (Elizabeth, N.J.) | 23-0 |
| 12 | 14 | St. Rose (Belmar, N.J.) | 18-1 |
| 13 | 19 | Central Cabarrus (Concord, N.C.) | 19-0 |
| 14 | 15 | AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.) | 18-5 |
| 15 | 18 | Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) | 24-1 |
| 16 | 16 | Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.) | 14-3 |
| 17 | 17 | Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) | 16-3 |
| 18 | 25 | Huntsville (Huntsville (Ala.) | 26-1 |
| 19 | 26 | Combine Academy (Lincolnton, N.C.) | 19-2 |
| 20 | 11 | Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) | 24-2 |
| 21 | 21 | Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) | 18-3 |
| 22 | 23 | Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.) | 23-3 |
| 23 | 33 | Roman Catholic (Philadelphia, Pa.) | 17-1 |
| 24 | 27 | McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.) | 17-5 |
| 25 | 20 | Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) | 24-2 |
| 26 | 28 | Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.) | 25-2 |
| 27 | 48 | Wisconsin Lutheran (Milwaukee, Wis.) | 16-0 |
| 28 | NR | Westfield (Westfield, Ind.) | 14-1 |
| 29 | 50 | De Pere (De Pere, Wis.) | 15-1 |
| 30 | 29 | Bishop O’Connell (Arlington, Va.) | 15-4 |
| 31 | 30 | Great Crossing (Georgetown, Ky.) | 22-1 |
| 32 | 31 | Oak Ridge (Orlando, Fla.) | 21-3 |
| 33 | 32 | St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) | 22-4 |
| 34 | 34 | Salesian (Richmond, Calif.) | 23-1 |
| 35 | 35 | Edmond North (Edmond, Okla.) | 12-2 |
| 36 | 36 | North Mecklenburg (Huntersville, N.C.) | 15-3 |
| 37 | 37 | Ridge View (Columbia, S.C.) | 19-1 |
| 38 | 38 | Millennium (Goodyear, Ariz.) | 17-4 |
| 39 | 39 | Grayson (Loganville, Ga.) | 19-2 |
| 40 | 40 | Kell (Marietta, Ga.) | 18-3 |
| 41 | 41 | Jackson-Reed (Washington, D.C.) | 23-2 |
| 42 | 42 | Bullis (Potomac, Md.) | 17-2 |
| 43 | 43 | Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah) | 12-3 |
| 44 | 44 | La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.) | 14-3 |
| 45 | 45 | IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) | 11-7 |
| 46 | 46 | Sidwell Friends (Washington, D.C.) | 15-4 |
| 47 | 24 | Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia, Pa.) | 16-1 |
| 48 | 8 | Fishers (Fishers, Ind.) | 16-1 |
| 49 | 49 | Homewood Flossmor (Flossmor, Ill.) | 21-2 |
| 50 | NR | Alta (Sandy, Utah) | 18-1 |
Dropped Out: Previous No. 22 Wayzata (Plymouth, Minn.), No. 47 Curie (Chicago, Ill.).
Bubble Teams: Alexander (Douglasville, Ga.) 19-2; Allen (Allen, Texas) 26-4; Atascocita (Humble, Texas) 29-2**; Bartlett (Bartlett, Tenn.) 20-2; Bellevue West (Bellevue, Neb.) 15-1; Benet Academy (Lisle, Ill.) 19-3; Blue Valley Northwest (Overland Park, Kan.) 12-1; Brennan (San Antonio, Texas) 23-4; Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, N.H.) 17-5; Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.) 16-2; Cordova (Cordova, Tenn.) 20-1; Curie (Chicago, Ill.) 22-2; De Paul Prep (Chicago, Ill.) 21-2; East Lansing (East Lansing, Mich.) 13-1; Fort Bend Clements (Sugar Land, Texas) 25-0; Garfield Heights (Garfield Heights, Ohio) 17-0; Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia, Pa.) 14-3; John Marshall (Richmond, Va.) 15-3; Lake Taylor (Norfolk, Va.) 16-0; Lexington (Lexington, S.C.) 20-2; Lexington Catholic (Lexington, Ky.) 20-2; Liberty (Henderson, Nev.) 15-1; Lincoln (Warren, Mich.) 12-2; Lyon County (Eddyville, Ky.) 20-2; Madison Prep (Baton Rouge, La.) 19-2; Millard North (Omaha, Neb.) 14-2; Muskegon (Muskegon, Mich.) 9-0; Newport (Newport, Ky.) 21-3; North Crowley (Ft. Worth, Texas) 25-3; Northwest (Shawnee Mission, Kan.) 12-0; Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) 16-3; Oak Park (Kansas City, Mo.) 16-1; Olentangy Orange (Lewis Center, Ohio) 16-0; Owasso (Owasso, Okla.) 15-2; Park Center (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) 18-1; Pascagoula (Pascagoula, Miss.) 23-1; Pewaukee (Pewaukee, Wis.) 13-2; Reidsville (Reidsville, N.C.) 15-0; Roosevelt (Portland, Ore.) 13-1; Southern Guilford (Greensboro, N.C.) 17-1; St. Ignatius (Cleveland, Ohio) 14-3; St. Joseph (Santa Maria, Calif.) 21-2; St. Mary’s (St. Louis, Mo.) 21-1; St. Mary Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.) 12-1; St. Peter’s Prep (Jersey City, N.J.) 16-1; St. Raymond’s (Bronx, N.Y.) 15-3; Thornton (Harvey, Ill.) 20-3; Totino-Grace (Fridley, Minn.) 14-3; Volcano Vista (Albuquerque, N.M.) 19-1; Waubonsie Valley (Aurora, Ill.) 22-0; Wayzata (Plymouth, Minn.) 15-1; Winter Haven (Winter Haven, Fla.) 20-1.
Note: The FAB 50 powered by Ballislife.com is a continuation of the National Sports News Service ratings that began in 1952. These were the first national high school rankings and the late Art Johlfs of Minnesota compiled them. They were compiled for many years by the late Barry Sollenberger of Phoenix, who merged them into the FAB 50 24 years ago.
Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of Ballislife.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. Don't forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores