Only one team in the top 10 lost last week, but it still has far too many quality wins to drop all the way out of the FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com. Once again five new teams make the FAB 50 cut, and a few that hold on to a spot after a loss because of their entire resume. Read on to see who made the cut.
By Ronnie Flores
Longtime Cardozo (Bayside, N.Y.) coach Ron Naclerio made no bones about his team's 96-60 loss to Long Island Lutheran (Glen head, N.Y.) this past Saturday at the second annual Apparel Challenge at Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.). "It was one of those days," Naclerio told Ballislife.com.
Since LuHi was already a bubble club in last week's FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com, we considered keeping Naclerio's Judges in this week's FAB 50. At this point in the season, a bad loss can really hurt a team's ranking and we ultimately decided Cardozo had to drop out at 22-2. Had Cardozo lost on a fluke play or wild ending, such as was the case with its other loss to Queens Teaching on a half court buzzer beater while 'Dozo was missing two starters, it likely would have remained in. LuHi's margin of victory, however, means other teams from around the country deserve a crack in the nation's deepest set of national weekly rankings.
Long Island Lutheran is the highest ranked of five newcomers this week at No. 41, seven spots behind the Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.) team it previously lost to. LuHi's other loss is to Bishop Loughlin (Brooklyn, N.Y.). The highest ranked team in New York's Five Boros ahead of Cardozo is bubble club Archbishop Malloy (Queens, N.Y.).
The highest ranked team to taste defeat last week was previous No. 10 Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.), which was upset in Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) play by unranked Bishop O'Connell (Arlington, Va.), 69-65. The Eagles' resume is too strong, however, for them to drop out, as they have lost to No. 7 St. John's (Washington, D.C.) twice, including once in overtime, and have a split with No. 6 DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.). The natural spot for coach Steve Turner's club to fall is to No. 36, one spot behind the Roman Catholic (Philadelphia, Pa.) club it lost to in overtime.
The week's other big loss was a 76-69 victory by bubble club Rainier Beach (Seattle, Wash.) over previous No. 11 Garfield (Seattle, Wash.) in a Metro League showdown played between Washington's top top Class 3A clubs at Rainier Beach before an overflow crowd. Seattle loves its hoops and the crowd was treated to a dandy, as Rainier Beach's Sam Cunliffe netted 25 points to hand Garfield its first in-state loss of the season against a team it could potentially meet three more times. Rainier Beach and Garfield could meet in the Metro League tournament, in SeaKing District 2 play and potentially at the Tacoma Dome in the 3A state tourney March 3-5.
Rainier Beach had a letdown after its big win, falling to Seattle Prep 70-63. Had it not lost last week, the Vikings may have cracked the FAB 50, but the more deserving team regardless is new No. 44 Simeon (Chicago, Ill.). Coach Robert Smith's club defeated Rainier Beach, 70-56, at the Hoophall West in December. Two of Simeon's three losses are two clubs ranked ahead of them in local polls: No. 37 Morgan Park (Chicago, Ill.) and No. 40 Fenwick (Oak Park, Ill.). The fourth Illinois team that is playing terrific ball as of late is No. 32 Althoff Catholic (Belleville, Ill.), which recorded a convincing 80-64 win over Kenwood (Chicago, Ill.) on Saturday and could be the one team that keeps a Chicago Public League program from winning the Class 3A state title.
Updated FAB 50 National Team Rankings
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(Eighth poll of the 2015-16 regular season; Through games played on Sunday, February 7; Previous ranking in parentheses; *Indicates forfeit wins, forfeit losses not included; **Indicates forfeits and defaults not included)
| No. | Prev. | High School (City) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Chino Hills (Chino Hills, Calif.) | 25-0 |
| 2 | 2 | Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) | 22-1 |
| 3 | 3 | Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) | 32-1 |
| 4 | 4 | Atascocita (Humble, Texas) | 30-0 |
| 5 | 5 | St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.) | 18-0 |
| 6 | 6 | DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.) | 20-3 |
| 7 | 7 | St. John's (Washington, D.C.) | 23-2 |
| 8 | 8 | University of Detroit Jesuit (Detroit, Mich.) | 15-0 |
| 9 | 9 | Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.) | 23-1 |
| 10 | 14 | Memphis East (Memphis, Tenn.) | 22-1 |
| 11 | 12 | Providence Day (Charlotte, N.C.) | 25-3 |
| 12 | 13 | Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) | 21-3 |
| 13 | 15 | Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) | 23-1 |
| 14 | 16 | St. Benedict's (Newark, N.J.) | 23-1 |
| 15 | 18 | Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia, Pa.) | 20-2 |
| 16 | 20 | Seton Hall Prep (West Orange, N.J.) | 18-1 |
| 17 | 17 | Stevens Point (Stevens Point, Wis.) | 18-0 |
| 18 | 21 | Chaminade (St. Louis, Mo.) | 18-5 |
| 19 | 28 | La Lumiere (LaPorte, Ind.) | 22-3 |
| 20 | 24 | Hammond (Columbia, S.C.) | 21-1 |
| 21 | 25 | Greenforest Christian Academy (Decatur, Ga.) | 23-2 |
| 22 | 30 | Dakota (Macomb, Mich.) | 14-0 |
| 23 | 31 | Wayne (Huber Heights, Ohio) | 20-0 |
| 24 | 23 | Hamilton Heights Christian Academy (Chattanooga, Tenn.) | 22-3 |
| 25 | 26 | Hopkins (Minnetonka, Minn.) | 22-1 |
| 26 | 27 | Apple Valley (Apple Valley, Minn.) | 21-1 |
| 27 | 33 | Archbishop Carroll (Radnor, Pa.) | 21-2 |
| 28 | 29 | Lima Senior (Lima, Ohio) | 17-0 |
| 29 | 34 | High Point Christian (High Point, N.C.) | 21-4 |
| 30 | 35 | Greensboro Day (Greensboro, N.C.) | 26-4 |
| 31 | 37 | Edmond North (Edmond, Okla.) | 19-0 |
| 32 | 38 | Althoff Catholic (Belleville, Ill.) | 21-2 |
| 33 | 36 | Norcross (Norcross, Ga.) | 23-2 |
| 34 | 40 | Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.) | 20-5 |
| 35 | 41 | Roman Catholic (Philadelphia, Pa.) | 18-4 |
| 36 | 10 | Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) | 19-5 |
| 37 | 42 | Morgan Park (Chicago, Ill.) | 19-2 |
| 38 | 11 | Garfield (Seattle, Wash.) | 18-2 |
| 39 | 39 | West Linn (West Linn, Ore.) | 16-3 |
| 40 | 45 | Fenwick (Oak Park, Ill.) | 20-2 |
| 41 | NR | Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.) | 18-2 |
| 42 | 50 | Blackman (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) | 24-0 |
| 43 | 49 | Advanced International Prep (Dallas, Texas) | 25-7 |
| 44 | NR | Simeon (Chicago, Ill.) | 19-3 |
| 45 | 46 | Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah) | 23-3 |
| 46 | NR | Oldsmar Christian (Oldsmar, Fla.) | 25-6* |
| 47 | 48 | Miller Grove (Lithonia, Ga.) | 22-2 |
| 48 | 44 | West Oaks Academy (Orlando, Fla.) | 20-3 |
| 49 | NR | Scotlandville (Baton Rouge, La.) | 24-2 |
| 50 | NR | Omaha South (Omaha, Neb.) | 20-0 |
Dropped Out: Previous No. 19 Cardozo (Bayside, N.Y.), No. 22 DeSoto (DeSoto, Texas), No. 32 Foothills Christian (El Cajon, Calif.), No. 43 Moeller (Cincinnati, Ohio), No. 47 Lone Peak (Highland, Utah).
Bubble Teams: Allderdice (Pittsburgh, Pa.) 19-1; Archbishop Malloy (Queens, N.Y.) 17-3; Bingham (South Jordan, Utah) 16-2; Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) 18-7; Brandeis (San Antonio, Texas) 27-1; Burlington School (Burlington, N.C.) 30-0; Cardozo (Bayside, N.Y.) 22-2; Clarkston (Clarkston, Mich.) 12-1; Coatesville (Coatesville, Pa.) 21-1; Curie (Chicago, Ill.) 18-2**; DeSoto (DeSoto, Texas) 26-2; Dublin Jerome (Dublin, Ohio) 19-2; Eaglecrest (Centennial, Col.) 18-1; Father Tolton (Columbia, Mo.) 15-2; Fayetteville (Fayetteville, Ark.) 18-1; Federal Way (Federal Way, Wash.) 21-0; Foothills Christian (El Cajon, Calif.) 17-4; Fort Bend Bush (Richmond, Texas) 23-6; Fort Bend Elkins (Missouri City, Texas) 27-2; Gwynn Park (Brandywine, Md.) 16-0; H.D. Woodson (Washington, D.C.) 24-0*; Jonesboro (Jonesboro, Ga.) 21-4; Kickapoo (Springfield, Mo.) 19-2; Lancaster (Lancaster, Texas) 26-2; Lee's Summit (Lee's Summit, Mo.) 19-0; Lincoln (Gahanna, Ohio.) 20-1; Linden (Linden, N.J.) 13-3; Lone Peak (Highland, Utah) 16-4; Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) 23-3; McComb (McComb, Miss.) 22-0; Merrillville (Merrillville, Ind.) 17-1; Modesto Christian (Modesto, Calif.) 23-1; National Christian Academy (Ft. Washington, Md.) 17-1; New Albany (New Albany, Ind.) 16-1; Norland (Miami, Fla.) 23-4; Norman North (Norman, Okla.) 17-2; Overland (Aurora, Colo.) 15-3; Patrick School (Elizabeth, N.J.) 16-4; Peabody (Alexandria, La.) 26-1; Rainier Beach (Seattle, Wash.) 16-4; Rangeview (Aurora, Col.) 18-0; Sacred Heart (Waterbury, Conn.) 14-2; Shadow Mountain (Phoenix, Ariz.) 21-5; Shenendehowa (Clifton Park, N.Y.) 19-0; Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) 12-5; Tascosa (Amarillo, Texas) 27-0; Thornton (Harvey, Ill.) 18-1; Victory Rock Prep (Sarasota, Fla.) 19-5; Westerville South (Westerville, Ohio) 17-4; Westfield (Chantilly, Va.) 15-2; Westlake (Atlanta, Ga.) 19-4; Westtown School (West Chester, Pa.) 22-6; Wilmington (Wilmington, Ohio) 18-1.
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 16 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
