Boys basketball rankings: Arvada West, Rock Canyon join 5A poll
The No. 1-ranked teams in this week’s CHSAANow.com basketball polls held steady, but a flurry of new teams were added.
With play beginning last week and most teams in action it was only a matter of time before the look and feel of the polls started shifting, specifically in the higher classes. But the top teams of Overland (5A), Longmont (4A), Colorado Springs Christian (3A), Sanford (2A) and Fleming (1A) all held on to the top spots in their respective divisions.
The Class 5A poll saw the addition of two new teams in Arvada West at No. 8 and Rock Canyon at No. 9. The Wildcats started the season on a tear, taking down Smoky Hill, Northglenn and Mountain Range.
Rock Canyon overcame a season-opening loss to Eaglecrest and rattled off three straight wins of their own, good enough to crack this week’s poll.
In 4A, Valor Christian showed they can pose a threat to Longmont as the top seed in the class as they ran out defending champion Air Academy. But the most impressive jump this week came from Pueblo South, which jumped from No. 10 to No. 3 on the strength of a 63-59 win over Lewis-Palmer.
The Rangers only fell one slot thanks to a one-point win over Pueblo Central, which still looks like a good team despite the loss of Kobi Betts for the season.
Mead and Green Mountain are this week’s 4A newcomers, coming in at No. 9 and No. 10, respectively.
It was the 3A poll that look the most different from the preseason rankings. They added four new teams, a staggering number for any week. Bennett, Grand Valley, DSST-Stapleton and Eaton all jump into the top 10 this week.
It was Bennett who made the biggest impact, breaking at No. 5. They topped Lutheran (who jumped one spot this week to No. 7) 49-47 Friday. Grand Valley, DSST-Stapleton and Eaton came in at 8, 9 and 10.
No new teams were added to this week’s 2A rankings, but there was some shuffling that took place.
Rye fell two slots to No. 6 after a 61-57 loss to Alamosa and Sedgwick County jumped three spots from No. 8 to No. 5.
Three new teams jumped into 1A’s top 10 as Sierra Grande (No. 6), Wiley (No. 8) and Shining Mountain (No. 9) all jump into the basketball rankings for the first time this year.
Fleming was the only top seed to actually lose this week as they fell to Holyoke 68-65. Even with the loss, they held on to the top spot in this week’s rankings. Holyoke is ranked No. 4 in 2A.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. During the regular season, they are released each Monday.
Complete rankings are below.
CHSAANow.com Boys Basketball Polls
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
First-place votes are in parentheses.
Coaches and media members looking to vote should email rcasey@chsaa.org.
| Class 5A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Overland (14) | 1-0 | 149 | 1 | 1-0 |
| 2 | ThunderRidge (1) | 3-0 | 128 | 3 | 3-0 |
| 3 | Legend | 2-0 | 124 | 2 | 2-0 |
| 4 | Rangeview | 2-0 | 94 | 5 | 2-0 |
| 5 | Denver East | 2-1 | 70 | 7 | 2-1 |
| 6 | Eaglecrest | 3-0 | 66 | 9 | 3-0 |
| 7 | Regis Jesuit | 1-0 | 52 | 6 | 1-0 |
| 8 | Arvada West | 3-0 | 38 | – | 3-0 |
| 9 | Rock Canyon | 3-1 | 23 | – | 3-1 |
| 10 | Cherokee Trail | 2-1 | 20 | 8 | 2-1 |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Chatfield 14, Boulder 9, Dakota Ridge 9, Abraham Lincoln 6, George Washington 5, Cherry Creek 4, Fort Collins 3, Mountain Vista 3, Rampart 3, Doherty 2, Aurora Central 1, Fossil Ridge 1, FNE Warriors 1. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| George Washington (4), Dakota Ridge (10). | |||||
| Class 4A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Longmont (16) | 1-0 | 194 | 1 | 1-0 |
| 2 | Valor Christian (2) | 2-0 | 171 | 2 | 2-0 |
| 3 | Pueblo South (2) | 4-0 | 141 | 10 | 4-0 |
| 4 | Lewis-Palmer | 3-1 | 122 | 3 | 3-1 |
| 5 | Sand Creek | 2-0 | 115 | 6 | 2-0 |
| 6 | Pueblo West | 3-0 | 94 | 9 | 3-0 |
| 7 | Golden | 2-1 | 73 | 5 | 2-1 |
| 8 | Pueblo Central | 1-3 | 31 | 4 | 1-3 |
| 9 | Mead | 1-1 | 26 | – | 1-1 |
| 10 | Green Mountain | 2-0 | 19 | – | 2-0 |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| D’Evelyn 16, Holy Family 16, Denver South 14, Windsor 14, Conifer 11, Air Academy 9, Thomas Jefferson 7, Vista Ridge 7, Evergreen 5, Mesa Ridge 3, Mountain View 3, Ponderosa 3, Sierra 2, Centaurus 1, Delta 1, Falcon 1, Rifle 1. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| Air Academy (7), Denver South (8). | |||||
| Class 3A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Colorado Springs Christian (8) | 2-0 | 130 | 1 | 2-0 |
| 2 | Colorado Academy (4) | 1-2 | 104 | 2 | 1-2 |
| 3 | Faith Christian (2) | 1-2 | 98 | 3 | 1-2 |
| 4 | Sterling | 2-0 | 97 | 4 | 2-0 |
| 5 | Bennett | 3-0 | 53 | – | 3-0 |
| 6 | Alamosa | 2-1 | 52 | 5 | 2-1 |
| 7 | Lutheran | 3-1 | 49 | 8 | 3-1 |
| 8 | Grand Valley | 2-0 | 29 | – | 2-0 |
| 9 | DSST-Stapleton | 3-0 | 26 | – | 3-0 |
| 10 | Eaton | 1-0 | 23 | – | 1-0 |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| St. Mary’s 20, Monte Vista 15, Jefferson Academy 11, Kent Denver 9, Liberty Common 8, Platte Valley 8, Manitou Springs 7, Bayfield 6, Moffat County 6, Sky View Academy 6, The Pinnacle 5, Buena Vista 3, Pagosa Springs 2, Ridgeview Academy 2, KIPP Collegiate 1. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| Kent Denver (6), Jefferson Academy (7), St. Mary’s (9), Brush (10). | |||||
| Class 2A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Sanford (10) | 2-0 | 100 | 1 | 2-0 |
| 2 | Ignacio | 3-0 | 83 | 3 | 3-0 |
| 3 | Resurrection Christian | 3-0 | 79 | 2 | 3-0 |
| 4 | Holyoke | 1-0 | 56 | 5 | 1-0 |
| 5 | Sedgwick County | 2-0 | 51 | 8 | 2-0 |
| 6 | Rye | 1-1 | 49 | 4 | 1-1 |
| 7 | Burlington | 1-0 | 39 | 6 | 1-0 |
| 8 | Meeker | 0-0 | 33 | 7 | 0-0 |
| 9 | Paonia | 2-0 | 24 | 10 | 2-0 |
| 10 | Simla | 2-0 | 17 | 9 | 2-0 |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Dayspring Christian 14, Akron 4, Rocky Ford 1. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| None. | |||||
| Class 1A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Fleming (5) | 1-1 | 75 | 1 | 1-1 |
| 2 | Kit Carson (2) | 1-0 | 67 | 4 | 1-0 |
| 3 | Holly (1) | 1-0 | 64 | 2 | 1-0 |
| 4 | South Baca | 2-0 | 53 | 5 | 2-0 |
| 5 | Ouray | 1-0 | 40 | 6 | 1-0 |
| 6 | Sierra Grande | 2-1 | 35 | – | 2-1 |
| 7 | Arickaree/Woodlin | 1-1 | 28 | 7 | 1-1 |
| 8 | Wiley | 1-0 | 24 | – | 1-0 |
| 9 | Shining Mountain | 1-1 | 16 | – | 1-1 |
| 10 | Heritage Christian | 1-1 | 11 | 9 | 1-1 |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Jim Elliot 9, Sangre De Cristo 6, Longmont Christian 4, Primero 3, Rocky Mountain Lutheran 3, Community Christian 1, Norwood 1. | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| Sangre De Cristo (3), Norwood (8), Jim Elliot (10). | |||||
