With the Indiana state tournament wrapping up on Saturday, there is only one move to make in the latest FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com. That would be to give No. 10 Fishers (Ind.) one more win after capturing the coveted Class 4A state title with a 65-56 victory over Ben Davis (Indianapolis, Ind.). Chipotle Nationals will close out the 2023-24 season with the final rankings set for April 8.
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By Ronnie Flores
With only one state tournament still going this past week, it wasn't too difficult to make the updates for the second-to-last FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com for the 2023-24 season. The only thing we had to do to update the won-loss record for No. 10 Fishers (Ind.) and give the Tigers one more victory to finish their historic season at 29-1.
On Saturday evening, the Tigers captured the coveted Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) Class 4A with a 65-56 victory over Ben Davis (Indianapolis, Ind.) at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Fishers won its first ever state crown after making its first appearance in an Indiana state final since 1922. Ben Davis (23-6) was the defending champions coming off its own historic season with a 33-0 record and No. 4 FAB 50 finish in 2022-23.
Fishers, whose only loss is to a Carmel (Ind.) team it split with, stays at No. 10 this week. There is no other movement in the rankings as teams' overall resume will be considered for the final 2023-24 edition throughout the week.
The defending champions led Fishers heading into the final period, 48-47, but the Tigers scored the first six points of the final period to take control of the game. Fishers' guard JonAnthony Hall and forward Keenan Gardner sparked Fishers in the critical movements of the fourth period and throughout the game. Hall, a Grid-Hoop standout junior, had 23 points and 10 rebounds, making two 3-pointers and coming up with two seals in the process. Gardner, a 6-foot-6 senior forward, had 19 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
Ben Davis never seemed to recover after that early fourth period spurt by Indiana's top-ranked team and were outscored 18-8 in the final period. Ben Davis outscored Fishers, 18-11, in the third period after the Tigers led 36-30 at halftime.
Taden Metzger, a 6-foot-2 senior guard, was the third Fishers players in double figures with 10 points. Ben Davis had four players in double figures, led by 5-foot-10 Grid-Hoop standout Mark Zachary with 14 points.
With Fishers closing out its season with 13 consecutive victories, including an avenging win over Carmel, all that is left to conclude the season is Chipotle Nationals, which will be held just outside Indianapolis at Brownsburg (Ind.), April 4-6.
Unbeaten, top seeded and top-ranked Montverde Academy (Fla.) leads a field that includes eight teams in the top 14 of the FAB 50. Montverde is looking to capture its third FAB 50 title with an unblemished record in program history.
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Updated FAB 50 National Team Rankings
Powered by Ballislife.com
(15th poll of 2023-24 regular season; Through games played on Sunday, March 30; *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.) | 29-0*** |
| 2 | 2 | Columbus (Miami, Fla.) | 27–4*** |
| 3 | 3 | Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.) | 33-2*** |
| 4 | 4 | Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.) | 21-4**** |
| 5 | 5 | Plano East (Plano, Texas) | 40-0 |
| 6 | 6 | Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) | 31-5*** |
| 7 | 7 | Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.) | 33-3 |
| 8 | 8 | Central Cabarrus (Concord, N.C.) | 33-0 |
| 9 | 9 | Wisconsin Lutheran (Milwaukee, Wis.) | 30-0 |
| 10 | 10 | Fishers (Fishers, Ind.) | 29-1 |
| 11 | 11 | Link Academy (Branson, Mo.) | 25-6*** |
| 12 | 12 | AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.) | 27-5*** |
| 13 | 13 | Stony Point (Round Rock, Texas) | 38-2 |
| 14 | 14 | IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) | 18-8*** |
| 15 | 15 | St. Rose (Belmar, N.J.) | 29-2 |
| 16 | 16 | Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.) | 26-4 |
| 17 | 17 | Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) | 29-3 |
| 18 | 18 | St. Mary Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.) | 27-1 |
| 19 | 19 | Ridge View (Columbia, S.C.) | 27-2 |
| 20 | 20 | Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.) | 31-4 |
| 21 | 21 | Perry (Gilbert, Ariz.) | 24-6 |
| 22 | 22 | Grayson (Loganville, Ga.) | 30-2 |
| 23 | 23 | McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.) | 26-6 |
| 24 | 24 | North Mecklenburg (Huntersville, N.C.) | 30-3 |
| 25 | 25 | Oak Ridge (Orlando, Fla.) | 27-4 |
| 26 | 26 | Myers Park (Charlotte, N.C.) | 27-4 |
| 27 | 27 | John Marshall (Richmond, Va.) | 25-3 |
| 28 | 28 | Bullis (Potomac, Md.) | 27-3 |
| 29 | 29 | Sidwell Friends (Washington, D.C.) | 27-4 |
| 30 | 30 | Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) | 28-6 |
| 31 | 31 | St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) | 28-7 |
| 32 | 32 | Salesian (Richmond, Calif.) | 31-2 |
| 33 | 33 | La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.) | 23-5 |
| 34 | 34 | Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, N.H.) | 27-7 |
| 35 | 35 | Patrick School (Elizabeth, N.J.) | 28-4 |
| 36 | 36 | Camden (Camden, N.J.) | 30-2 |
| 37 | 37 | Kell (Marietta, Ga.) | 28-3 |
| 38 | 38 | Homewood Flossmor (Flossmor, Ill.) | 33-4 |
| 39 | 39 | Reidsville (Reidsville, N.C.) | 29-0 |
| 40 | 40 | Roman Catholic (Philadelphia, Pa.) | 26-3 |
| 41 | 41 | St. Ignatius (Cleveland, Ohio) | 26-3 |
| 42 | 42 | Millennium (Goodyear, Ariz.) | 25-5 |
| 43 | 43 | Winter Haven (Winter Haven, Fla.) | 27-2 |
| 44 | 44 | Jackson-Reed (Washington, D.C.) | 33-3 |
| 45 | 45 | Bellevue West (Bellevue, Neb.) | 27-1 |
| 46 | 46 | Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) | 29-6 |
| 47 | 47 | Lyon County (Eddyville, Ky.) | 36-3 |
| 48 | 48 | Beaumont United (Beaumont, Texas) | 34-4 |
| 49 | 49 | Northwest (Shawnee Mission, Kan.) | 25-0 |
| 50 | 50 | Great Crossing (Georgetown, Ky.) | 36-2 |
Dropped Out: None.
Bubble Teams: Arrowhead (Heartland, Wis.) 27-3; Bartlett (Bartlett, Tenn.) 32-5; Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) 24-5; Brennan (San Antonio, Texas) 31-5; Centerville (Centerville, Ohio) 20-9; Central Catholic (Portland, Ore.) 28-3; Christian (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 26-3; Combine Academy (Lincolnton, N.C.) 23-3; Curie (Chicago, Ill.) 31-3; Dale (Dale, Okla.) 30-2; De Paul Prep (Chicago, Ill.) 35-2; De Pere (De Pere, Wis.) 26-2; Edmond North (Edmond, Okla.) 24-4; Fort Bend Clements (Sugar Land, Texas) 32-1; Hayes (Delaware, Ohio) 27-2; Hickory (Hickory, N.C.) 31-1; Hoover (Hoover, Ala.) 30-3; Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia, Pa.) 29-3; Independence (Thompson’s Station, Tenn.) 32-6; Kennedy (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) 25-1; Kokomo (Kokomo, Ind.) 25-4; Lehi (Lehi, Utah) 24-4; Lexington (Lexington, S.C.) 28-2; Lexington Catholic (Lexington, Ky.) 32-3; Liberty Magnet (Baton Rouge, La.) 33-4; Lincoln (Warren, Mich.) 24-4; Lincoln Park (Midland, Pa.) 27-3; Marquette University (Milwaukee, Wis.) 26-4; Millard North (Omaha, Neb.) 23-3; Minnetonka (Minnetonka, Minn.) 25-6; Moeller (Cincinnati, Ohio) 26-2; Mt. St. Joseph (Baltimore, Md.) 36-5; Noblesville (Noblesville, Ind.) 22-3; Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) 31-4; Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) 21-6; Owasso (Owasso, Okla.) 26-4; Pewaukee (Pewaukee, Wis.) 25-5; Raymond (Raymond, Miss.) 31-4; Seven Lakes (Katy, Texas) 35-4**; Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) 26-4; St. Anne’s-Bellfield (Charlottesville, Va.) 26-4; St. Joseph (Santa Maria, Calif.) 31-4; St. Peter’s Prep (Jersey City, N.J.) 26-3; Totino-Grace (Fridley, Minn.) 27-5; Valley (West Des Moines, Iowa) 21-5; Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch, Col.) 26-2; Vashon (St. Louis, Mo.) 26-6; Volcano Vista (Albuquerque, N.M.) 30-1; Lincoln (Warren, Mich.) 24-4; Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah) 15-7; Wayzata (Plymouth, Minn.) 29-2; Westfield (Westfield, Ind.) 19-3; Whitmer (Toledo, Ohio) 25-3; Woodside (Newport News, Va.) 27-1.
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