All playoff games in each of the 50 states are now complete and championship games over the weekend brought change to the new FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com. Newly crowned state champs in Pennsylvania are the two newcomers this week: Class 6A boys champ Reading (Pa.) at No. 41 and Class 4A champ Lincoln Park (Midland, Pa.) at No. 50. No. 5 Ben Davis (Indianapolis, Ind.) completes historic, unbeaten run to a state title in basketball-crazed Indiana.
All the state champions across the country have now been crowned and the results created change in this week's FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com. All that is left for the 2022-23 season is GEICO Nationals, which tip offs March 31 in Ft. Myers, Fla., and the State Champions Invitational, which is set for April 6-8 at McDonough Arena at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
The highest ranked team that wrapped up its season over the weekend was No. 5 Ben Davis (Indianapolis, Ind.), which won the coveted Indiana High School State Athletic Association (IHSAA) Class 4A state crown with a 53-41 win over bubble club Kokomo (Ind.). The game was played in front of over 15,000 people at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, with fans waiting in line hours before tip-off to get into the highly-anticipated contest.
Valparaiso signee Zane Doughty led the way with 20 points in an interior showdown with Kokomo's Floury Budinga (19 points, 11 rebounds, 5 blocks). Sophomore Mark Zackery also had a big game for the Giants with 16 points. Ben Davis led 28-17 at halftime, but Kokomo, which was looking to win its first state crown since 1961, closed the third quarter on a 9-0 run to trial 36-33 entering the final period. That's when Ben Davis responded with a 8-0 run of its own to open the final period and clinch its undefeated season.
Ben Davis, which won its fourth state crown with the latest coming in 2017, secured a final high ranking by finishing unbeaten in Indiana's largest classification. The Giants won their games by an average of 18.3 points and won 29 games by double-digits, with one of the single-digit wins coming against Kokomo (58-51) in their first meeting. In 2017, the Giants finished No. 45 in the FAB 50, but is still in the running for the No. 1 spot and FAB 50 title this season. What happens with the top five will be decided at GEICO Nationals later this week.
Another highly-ranked team that captured a state crown was No. 8 Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.), which captured the New York State Federation Tournament of Champions Class AA title with a 81-57 victory over previous No. 49 Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.) on Sunday at Shaker (Latham, N.Y.). The game between ranked clubs was close early, but LuHi just had too much size and firepower for Stepinac to keep up with.
Senior Jayden Reid had a terrific TOC, going for 20 points, five rebounds and 14 assists in Sunday's title game win after going for 23 points, six assists and five steals in the 81-52 victory over Victor (N.Y.), the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) champs. Archbishop Stepinac, the New York State Catholic High School Athletic Association (NYCHSAA) champs defeated New York Public School Athletic League (PSAL) champ Eagle Academy (Brooklyn, N.Y.) in its semifinal contest, 75-70. Junior guard Boogie Fland scored 42 points in two TOC games for Stepinac. The federation TOC was played for the first time since 2019, but there is no guarantee if will continue in 2023-24.
LuHi is not done either (as noted by asterisk***), as it is the No. 2 seed in GEICO Nationals and takes on No. 7 seed and FAB 50 No. 22 AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.) at 4 pm ET (ESPNU) on Thursday.
Archbishop Stepinac fell out the FAB 50 this week and the other club to fall out was previous No. 24 Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia, Pa.). It's a tough drop for the Saints, but they have to be ranked behind one-loss Lincoln Park (Midland, Pa.), which captured the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Class 4A state crown with a 62-58 victory on March 23. The Leopards, which only lost to Central Catholic (Pittsburgh, Pa.) by five points on January 14, captured the program's third state crown behind the play of Maleek Thomas and Brandin "Beebah" Cummings. Thomas, one of the best guards in the country regardless of class who finished with 22 points, scored the game-winning basket (a driving, 12-foot runner) with 11 seconds remaining for Lincoln Park. Cummings, who finished with 25 points, made clutch free throws down the stretch, including two with 0.5 remaining in the game.
The other PIAA champ to enter the nation's longest running weekly rankings was Reading (Pa.), which captured the Class 6A crown with a 62-56 overtime win over previous No. 23 Roman Catholic (Philadelphia, Pa.) on Saturday evening. Seniors Aris Rodriguez (16 points) and Myles Grey (14 points) led the Red Knights to victory. Reading, which only lost to Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) power Gonzaga of D.C., closed its season on a 23-game winning streak and captured its second state crown in three seasons. In 2021, Reading made all of Berks County proud when it finished No. 19 in the FAB 50.
Roman Catholic, the Philadelphia Catholic League champs who won the second meeting of the season vs. Neumann-Goretti, must stay ranked ahead of South Carolina AAAAA champ Dorman (Roebuck, S.C.) because of a head-to-head victory. So the results from the PIAA championships puts Reading at No. 41, Roman Catholic at No. 42, while Dorman drops four spots this week to No. 43. The top-ranked PIAA club had no trouble in the Class 5A title game, as No. 11 Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia, Pa.) downed Exeter Township (Reading, Pa.), 78-40, on Friday. One of Imhotep Charter's three losses came against Long Island Lutheran.
Another ranked club that closed out its season with a state title was No. 25 Cass Tech (Detroit, Mich.), which won the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) D1 crown with a 78-63 victory over bubble club Muskegon (Mich.). Cass Tech only lost one game in overtime to two-loss and bubble club Brother Rice (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) to finish as Michigan's highest ranked overall team.
The state champions across the country have been crowned, but the final ranking for nationally ranked clubs for the 2022-23 season is not yet settled.
RELATED: 2023 GEICO Nationals Field Announced | Updated 2022-23 Mr. Basketball USA Tracker | "In The Paint" Podcast (Spotify) | "In The Paint" Podcast (YouTube)
Updated FAB 50 National Team Rankings
Powered by Ballislife.com
(15th poll of 2022-23 regular season; Through games played on Sunday, March 26; *Indicates forfeit wins, forfeit losses not included; **Indicates forfeits and defaults not included; ***Indicates season not complete)
| No. | Prev. | High School (City) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) | 23-2*** |
| 2 | 2 | Link Academy (Branson, Mo.) | 24-1*** |
| 3 | 3 | John Marshall (Richmond, Va.) | 28-0 |
| 4 | 4 | Duncanville (Duncanville, Texas) | 28-1 |
| 5 | 5 | Ben Davis (Indianapolis, Ind.) | 33-0 |
| 6 | 6 | Columbus (Miami, Fla.) | 26-4 |
| 7 | 7 | Lake Highlands (Dallas, Texas) | 34-3 |
| 8 | 8 | Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.) | 23-2*** |
| 9 | 9 | Central Cabarrus (Concord, N.C.) | 32-0 |
| 10 | 10 | Camden (Camden, N.J.) | 23-2** |
| 11 | 11 | Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia, Pa.) | 30-3 |
| 12 | 12 | Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.) | 33-2 |
| 13 | 13 | Beaumont United (Beaumont, Texas) | 36-2 |
| 14 | 14 | Sidwell Friends (Washington, D.C.) | 27-4*** |
| 15 | 15 | St. John’s (Washington, D.C.) | 32-4 |
| 16 | 16 | Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.) | 31-3*** |
| 17 | 17 | Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) | 21-7*** |
| 18 | 18 | Perry (Gilbert, Ariz.) | 30-1 |
| 19 | 19 | IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) | 16-7*** |
| 20 | 20 | Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.) | 22-5*** |
| 21 | 21 | Centennial (Corona, Calif.) | 30-4 |
| 22 | 22 | AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.) | 21-6*** |
| 23 | 26 | Bellevue West (Bellevue, Neb.) | 29-0 |
| 24 | 27 | De Pere (De Pere, Wis.) | 29-0 |
| 25 | 28 | Cass Tech (Detroit, Mich.) | 28-1 |
| 26 | 25 | Mt. St. Joseph (Baltimore, Md.) | 38-4 |
| 27 | 29 | Richmond Heights (Richmond Heights, Ohio) | 29-0 |
| 28 | 30 | Tualatin (Tualatin, Ore.) | 24-5 |
| 29 | 31 | West Linn (West Linn, Ore.) | 28-2 |
| 30 | 32 | St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) | 26-7 |
| 31 | 33 | Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.) | 26-6*** |
| 32 | 34 | Oak Cliff Faith Family (Dallas, Texas) | 31-3** |
| 33 | 35 | Kimball (Kimball, Texas) | 33-2 |
| 34 | 36 | Edmond North (Edmond, Okla.) | 26-2 |
| 35 | 37 | Warren Central (Bowling Green, Ky.) | 36-1 |
| 36 | 38 | Christ School (Arden, N.C.) | 31-4 |
| 37 | 40 | Lake City (Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho) | 26-0 |
| 38 | 41 | Curtis (University Place, Wash.) | 28-3*** |
| 39 | 42 | Jonesboro (Jonesboro, Ark.) | 30-3 |
| 40 | 43 | Central Pointe Christian (Kissimmee, Fla.) | 30-11 |
| 41 | NR | Reading (Reading, Pa.) | 32-1 |
| 42 | 23 | Roman Catholic (Philadelphia, Pa.) | 27-4 |
| 43 | 39 | Dorman (Roebuck, S.C.) | 29-2 |
| 44 | 44 | Durango (Las Vegas, Nev.) | 21-6 |
| 45 | 45 | Corner Canyon (Draper, Utah) | 24-2** |
| 46 | 46 | Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) | 27-10 |
| 47 | 47 | Moline (Moline, Ill.) | 35-3 |
| 48 | 48 | Kell (Marietta, Ga.) | 28-2 |
| 49 | 50 | Archbishop Hoban (Akron, Ohio) | 26-3 |
| 50 | NR | Lincoln Park (Midland, Pa.) | 30-1 |
Dropped Out: Previous No. 24 Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia, Pa.), No. 49 Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.).
Bubble Teams: Andover (Andover, Kan.) 23-2; Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.) 22-10; Benet Academy (Lisle, Ill.) 35-2; Blue Valley Northwest (Overland Park, Kan.) 21-4; Bondurant-Farrar (Bondurant, Iowa) 24-0; Brentwood Academy (Brentwood, Tenn.) 29-3; Briarcrest Christian (Eads, Tenn.) 32-3**; Broken Arrow (Broken Arrow, Okla.) 27-2; Brother Rice (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) 22-2; Carmel Christian (Matthews, N.C.) 28-4; Carter (Dallas, Texas) 31-4; Catholic B.R. (Baton Rouge, La.) 28-6; Centerville (Centerville, Ohio) 25-4; Cherokee (Canton, Ga.) 25-7; Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.) 23-5; East (Denver, Col.) 26-2; DME Academy (Daytona Beach, Fla.) 26-8**; Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) 29-1; Eagle’s Landing (McDonough, Ga.) 29-2; Ellison (Killeen, Texas) 38-4; Farmville Central (Farmville, N.C.) 30-1; Garfield (Seattle, Wash.) 25-2; Grand Blanc (Grand Blanc, Mich.) 25-3; Grayson (Loganville, Ga.) 24-6; Greensboro Day (Greensboro, N.C.) 30-5; Hayfield (Alexandria, Va.) 30-1; Highland (Warrenton, Va.) 30-3; Highland Park (Topeka Kan.) 21-0**; Hoover (Hoover, Ala.) 31-4; Isidore Newman (New Orleans, La.) 32-6; Kapun Mt. Carmel (Wichita, Kan.) 23-2; Kokomo (Kokomo, Ind.) 24-5; Liberty (Henderson, Nev.) 21-10; McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.) 23-7; Metamora (Metamora, Ill.) 34-2; Modesto Christian (Modesto, Calif.) 27-7; Muskegon (Muskegon, Mich.) 26-3; Myers Park (Charlotte, N.C.) 28-4; Norcross (Norcross, Ga.) 26-5; North Mecklenburg (Huntersville, N.C.) 29-3; Northside (Roanoke, Va.) 27-1; Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia, Pa.) 26-4; Park Center (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) 28-3; Penn (Wishawaka, Ind.) 28-2; Pickerington Central (Pickerington, Ohio) 25-6; Reidsville (Reidesville, N.C.) 26-1; Scotlandville (Baton Rouge, La.) 33-4; Simeon (Chicago, Ill.) 32-4; Staley (Kansas City, Mo.) 30-2; St. Augustine (San Diego, Calif.) 28-5; St. Maria Goretti (Hagerstown, Md.) 27-7; Vashon (St. Louis, Mo.) 24-7; Valley (West Des Moines, Iowa) 21-5; Volcano Vista (Albuquerque, N.M.) 29-1; Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah) 19-10; Wayzata (Plymouth, Minn.) 27-4; West Oaks (Orlando, Fla.) 21-9; West Ranch (Valencia, Calif.) 29-3; Yazoo City (Yazoo City, Miss.) 30-5***.
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 23 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
