Most of the country is now finished for 2022-23, as many state champions were crowned among the teams in the new FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com. New crowned state champs include No. 28 De Pere (Wis.) and No. 35 Richmond Heights (Richmond Heights, Ohio). There are two newcomers this week, including newly-crowned Ohio D1 state champ Archbishop Hoban (Akron, Ohio) and Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.), one of 18 teams still looking to close strong!
We now know who is going to play in end-of-the season events and just under 20 percent of the teams in this week's FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com are still going and looking to close strong.
Among the state champs who wrapped up their season this weekend include Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) Division 4 champ Richmond Heights (Ohio), which finished unbeaten and as the state's top ranked team with a 70-26 stomping of Convoy Crestview (Convoy, Ohio) on Sunday afternoon. The Spartans led 31-22 at the half, but completely blew open the game with a massive third quarter run, as the program won its second consecutive state crown to move up six spots in this week's rankings. Dorian Jones, one of the better sophomores (2025) in the Midwest, went bonkers from 3-point range and nearly outscored Convoy Crestview by himself, making 7-of-10 3-pointers and finishing with 25 points.
One of the two newcomers is OHSAA D1 champ Archbishop Hoban (Akron, Ohio), which took down defending D1 champ Pickerington Central (Pickerington, Ohio) on Sunday evening, 53-47, at the University of Dayton. Senior Logan Vowles led the way offensively for Hoban with 17 points, while senior Will Scott Jr. (13 points) and freshman Sam Greer (12 points) also hit double figures. In a game where points were at a premium, Vowles made five of the game's 10 3-pointers. Offensive rebounds were also a key to the game and Vowles and Greer came up with a combined nine, as the Knights grabbed 14 offensive rebounds to Pick Central's 11, even though the defending champions held the rebounding advantage by one (32-31).
Pick Central was looking to finish FAB 50 ranked for the second consecutive season, but had a rough go offensively, making only 3-of-16 3-point attempts and 4-of-7 free throws. Ohio Mr. Basketball Devin Royal scored a team-high 15 points, but made only 5-of-15 shot attempts.
Up three spots this week is No. 37 Warren Central (Bowling Green, Ky.), which only lost one game all season and captured the coveted UK HealthCare Sweet 16 title with a 64-60 victory over defending Kentucky High School Athletics Association (KHSAA) Sweet 16 champ George Rogers Clark (Winchester, Ky.) at Rupp Arena. In the single elimination, winner-take-all format, Warren Central looked to erase some of the painful memories of last year's final, when George Rogers Clark defeated the Dragons, 43-42, as a missed free throw late was a key factor in the outcome.
This time around, junior Kade Unseld hit two clutch free throws with 8.1 seconds remaining to seal with win for coach Will Unseld, his father. Unseld, who had a 26-point effort at the Sweet 16, was one of three Warren Central players to finish the championship game with 17 points. The others were Damarion Walkup and Omari Glover, both seniors. The Dragons' only other state crown came in 2004, when it won their last 21 games after seven regular season losses to finished No. 35 in the FAB 50 that season.
The two highest ranked teams looking to win state titles this week are unbeaten and No. 5 Ben Davis (Indianapolis, Ind.) and No. 11 Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia, Pa.). Ben Davis will play bubble club Kokomo (Ind.) on March 25 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse for the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) Class 4A state crown. Kokomo knocked off previous No. 22 Penn (Wishawaka, Ind.), 58-57, in the state semifinals. Imhotep Charter, meanwhile, is gunning for its second consecutive Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Class 5A state crown. It will play Archbishop Ryan (Philadelphia, Pa.), the club that knocked off previous No. 41 Radnor (Radnor, Pa.) in the state quarterfinals, in the semifinal on March 20. The state championship game is set for March 24.
Teams marked with an asterisk by their won-loss record are still playing, including the six state champions that will participate in the second annual State Champions Invitational set for April 6-8 at McDonough Arena at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
No. 41 Curtis (University Place, Wash.) plays No. 20 Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.), with the winner of that game meeting No. 33 Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.) in one semifinal contest. No. 14 Sidwell Friends (DC) is already slated in the other semifinal and will take on the winner of No. 45 Corner Canyon (Draper, Utah) and bubble club Yazoo City (Yazoo City, Miss.). The SCI championship game is set for 12 pm ET on April 8.
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Updated FAB 50 National Team Rankings
Powered by Ballislife.com
(14th poll of 2022-23 regular season; Through games played on Sunday, March 19; *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.) | 32-0*** |
| 6 | 6 | Columbus (Miami, Fla.) | 26-4 |
| 7 | 7 | Lake Highlands (Dallas, Texas) | 34-3 |
| 8 | 8 | Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.) | 21-2*** |
| 9 | 9 | Central Cabarrus (Concord, N.C.) | 32-0 |
| 10 | 10 | Camden (Camden, N.J.) | 23-2** |
| 11 | 11 | Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia, Pa.) | 28-3*** |
| 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 | 23 | AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.) | 21-6*** |
| 23 | 24 | Roman Catholic (Philadelphia, Pa.) | 26-3*** |
| 24 | 25 | Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia, Pa.) | 25-3*** |
| 25 | 26 | Mt. St. Joseph (Baltimore, Md.) | 38-4 |
| 26 | 27 | Bellevue West (Bellevue, Neb.) | 29-0 |
| 27 | 28 | De Pere (De Pere, Wis.) | 29-0 |
| 28 | 29 | Cass Tech (Detroit, Mich.) | 25-1*** |
| 29 | 35 | Richmond Heights (Richmond Heights, Ohio) | 29-0 |
| 30 | 30 | Tualatin (Tualatin, Ore.) | 24-5 |
| 31 | 31 | West Linn (West Linn, Ore.) | 28-2 |
| 32 | 32 | St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) | 26-7 |
| 33 | 33 | Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.) | 26-6*** |
| 34 | 34 | Oak Cliff Faith Family (Dallas, Texas) | 31-3** |
| 35 | 36 | Kimball (Kimball, Texas) | 33-2 |
| 36 | 37 | Edmond North (Edmond, Okla.) | 26-2 |
| 37 | 40 | Warren Central (Bowling Green, Ky.) | 36-1 |
| 38 | 38 | Christ School (Arden, N.C.) | 31-4 |
| 39 | 39 | Dorman (Roebuck, S.C.) | 29-2 |
| 40 | 42 | Lake City (Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho) | 26-0 |
| 41 | 43 | Curtis (University Place, Wash.) | 28-3*** |
| 42 | 44 | Jonesboro (Jonesboro, Ark.) | 30-3 |
| 43 | 45 | Central Pointe Christian (Kissimmee, Fla.) | 30-11 |
| 44 | 46 | Durango (Las Vegas, Nev.) | 21-6 |
| 45 | 47 | Corner Canyon (Draper, Utah) | 24-2** |
| 46 | 48 | Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) | 27-10 |
| 47 | 49 | Moline (Moline, Ill.) | 35-3 |
| 48 | 50 | Kell (Marietta, Ga.) | 28-2 |
| 49 | NR | Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.) | 21-9*** |
| 50 | NR | Archbishop Hoban (Akron, Ohio) | 26-3 |
Dropped Out: Previous No. 22 Penn (Wishawaka, Ind.), No. 41 Radnor (Radnor, Pa.).
Bubble Teams: Andover (Andover, Kan.) 23-2; 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; 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.) 24-2***; 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.) 24-4***; 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.) 24-2***; Myers Park (Charlotte, N.C.) 28-4; Norcross (Norcross, Ga.) 26-5; North Mecklenburg (Huntersville, N.C.) 29-3; Northside (Roanoke, Va.) 27-1; Park Center (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) 26-2***; 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; 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
