Week 8 Rankings Update
After another eventful week around the state, there’s a lot of movement in the class rankings. Only one new team enters the rankings across the four classes, but an awful lot of shakeup took place. We detail some of it below.
There is very little movement in Class 1A, where the top seven teams remain ranked in the same order as last week. The only movement comes in the Nos. 8 and 9 spots, where Wapsie Valley (12-3) and South O’Brien (11-5) flip spots. South O’Brien suffered a loss to a good 2A Unity Christian team and drops a spot, while Wapsie Valley enjoyed a 3-0 week. No. 7 Dunkerton (14-1) dropped their first game of the season to Gladbrook-Reinbeck, but rebounded and picked up a huge win over then-No. 7 in 2A Aplington-Parkersburg to remain in their No. 7 slot.
As in Class 1A, all ten teams that were ranked last week in Class 2A are back there again this week. However, outside of top ranked Van Meter (14-0), no team remains in the same spot. Western Christian (13-0) keeps improving their résumé, beating then-3A No. 8 Spirit Lake and one of the best Class 1A teams (second largest class) in South Dakota, Tea Area. Cascade (16-0) keeps rolling along, yet drops a spot as the Wolfpack’s wins have been more impressive. The other big mover in the class is Treynor (14-0), who leaps from No. 10 to No. 7 following an overtime win over then-3A No. 6 Sioux City Heelan.
Oskaloosa (13-1) remains the top ranked team in Class 3A, with Cedar Rapids Xavier (10-3) moving up a spot to No. 2. The Saints are riding a six-game winning streak and starting to find some role players to step up alongside their “Big Two” of Matt Mims and Jackson Joens. Mount Pleasant (13-3) falls to No. 4 after a loss to Cedar Rapids Washington that may have been more of a “schedule loss” than anything. They rebounded to beat No. 8 Charles City (12-2) on Saturday at the Wells Fargo Advisors Shootout. LeMars (9-4) enters the rankings at No. 9, and despite being below .500, Dubuque Wahlert (6-7) remains in the rankings at No. 10.
Despite dropping a game to Cedar Falls, Iowa City West (11-1) remains the top team in Class 4A. The Trojans still have the most impressive résumé in the state with wins over DeLaSalle (MN), Bolingbrook (IL) and West Des Moines Dowling. Cedar Falls (10-3) makes the big jump, moving from No. 9 all the way up to No. 4 following their win over the Trojans. The Tigers are playing arguably the best basketball of anyone in the state, winning seven straight games behind star guard AJ Green. Johnston (10-3), who lost to both No. 8 Waukee (11-2) and No. 9 Dowling Catholic (10-3), falls all the way from No. 2 to No. 10.