Class B North Dakota Team Rankings
Four Winds/Minnewaukan The Indians are the last undefeated team in Class B. So if there was any doubt that they are the best team in the state and most deserving of the top ranking, it’s gone now. They play in…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingFour Winds/Minnewaukan
The Indians are the last undefeated team in Class B. So if there was any doubt that they are the best team in the state and most deserving of the top ranking, it’s gone now. They play in arguably the best region in the state and have played one of toughest schedules and continue to win. Doug Yankton missed a few games a couple weeks ago and in his absence, Jayden Yankton, Jaeshaun Shaw and Bronson Walter all showed that they can be relied upon for huge production. This team is going to be awfully hard to beat because of their depth, discipline, athleticism and high-end talent.
St. John
The Woodchucks are 11-1 on the year and sitting at the top of District 8. St. John hasn’t been tested much since December, but the upcoming slate will tell us more as the Woodchucks face New Rockford-Sheyenne (the only team to beat St. John this year), Hatton/Northwood and Langdon/Edmore/Munich.
Shiloh Christian
Aside from a rough week in the middle of January, the Skyhawks have been terrific this year and have arguably the best resume of any team in Class B. They added to that resume last week, beating previously undefeated Rugby. Jaden Mitzel is putting together a Player-of-the-Year kind of campaign and was dominant in that win, going for 31 points and 14 rebounds. Trey Brunelle has been a stabilizing presence on both ends of the floor too.
Rugby
The Panthers drop from the ranks of the undefeated after a 66-64 defeat at the hands of Shiloh Christian. There isn’t a whole lot to glean from the loss other than that the Panthers struggled offensively for the first time all year really and compounded their shooting issues with only six free throw attempts. This team is still good enough to win at the highest level. A loss to another top-five type team doesn’t change their outlook a whole lot.
Hatton/Northwood
The Thunder moved to 12-2 on the year with its 10th straight win on Tuesday over North Border. We’ll find out a lot about this Hatton/Northwood team over the final few weeks of the year, as four of its last seven games are against teams that figure to contend in their respective regions.
Enderlin
The Eagles’ toughest days are coming as their schedule is heavily backloaded with the top teams in Region 1. Joe Hurlburt’s scoring has come down in recent weeks though he’s still putting up nearly 24 points and 15 rebounds. The balance has been there for Enderlin though as Dawson Lemna and Carson Bartholomay have given the group a boost.
Dickinson Trinity
The Titans reminded anybody who needed it that they are still to be considered one of the favorites in Region 7 last week when they blew the doors off Bowman County for the second time. Their only two losses are to Four Winds/Minnewaukan and Shiloh Christian. This team went into the year with high expectations and are clearly rounding into form.
Kindred
The Vikings started the year slow with three losses in their first four games. Since then, they are 9-0 and just picked up two terrific wins over Central Cass and Richland in the last week. Gavin Keller is one of the best bigs in Class B and senior wings Dawson Shaffer and Andrew Freier provide rock-solid two-way play.
Beulah
The Miners, like the Vikings, started slow on the year but quietly rounded into form during January. Trey Brandt has been terrific, averaging 20 points, six rebounds and nearly four assists and guys like Nathan Battest and Dawson Zuroff have been excellent as playmakers on the perimeter.
Richland
The Colts lost in a Region 1 showdown to Kindred this week, getting 18 points apiece from Cole Myers and Carter Lingen. The high-end talent is there for the Colts to make a run, but their depth isn’t great and they haven’t been nearly as dominant as they were a year ago. Don’t count them out, as they’ve got the talent and experience to beat anybody, but a loss to Kindred exposes some things that they’ll have to overcome.