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Four weeks into the season and we’re prepping for holiday tournaments and district play starting to ramp up.
As January nears, we’re also getting a better picture of who the top teams in the area are just over a month into the season. Turning our attention fully to basketball and the latest large and small class area rankings.
Large Class teams include 4A, 3A, and Division II-AA. Small Class teams include 4A, 3A, and Division II-AA.
Here’s a look at the top 20 teams in our area entering the fifth week of the season.
Large Class
1. Pope John Paul II (9-1): It was a perfect week of action for the Knights who went 3-0. They started the week beating Baylor 77-70 before going to the Turnkey Hardwood Classic at Webb and beating Hardin Valley 79-40 and Maryville 63-57.
2. MBA (5-0): McCraken County (Ky.) held the Big Red in check for the most part but a 17-point outing from Collin O’Neal was just enough to lead them to the 42-39 win.
3. Page (7-1): The Patriots are one of the best surprises of the year. Their only loss is to the early 4A favorite in Bearden. Last week they beat Hendersonville 52-45 and dismantled Ravenwood 64-40.
4. Hume-Fogg (9-1): The Blue Knights are off to their best start in school history. They had a big week crushing Stratford 81-51, Station Camp 65-49 and McGavock 73-26.
5. Franklin (6-1): Christian Brown as cemented himself as an early Mr. Basketball favorite with his play this season. Last week he had 24 points and 20 rebounds in the Admirals’ 65-44 win over Cane RIdge and followed that up with 22 points and 11 rebounds in a narrow 62-61 win over Summit.
6. Nolensville (6-2): The Knights dominated both of their games last week with one being a bit of a surprise. A few days after beating Spring Hill 80-54, the Knights crushed their Williamson County rival Independence 57-37.
7. Independence (6-3): The Eagles are a top-five team but the 20-point loss to Nolensville is keeping them from being higher. They did crush Whites Creek 73-44 last week.
8. Hillsboro (10-2): Last week was a nice bounce-back week for the Burros after losing by 21 to Independence the week before. They crushed Green Hill 44-29 and closed out the week with a narrow 62-55 win over Kirkwood.
9. Blackman (5-1) The lone game of the week for the Blaze was a low-scoring contest against Lebanon. They walked away from that meeting with a 42-28 win.
10. Brentwood (7-1): Neither Columbia or Centennial proved much of a challenge to the Bruins last week. Davis Cochran had 21 points against Columbia and 25 against Centennial.
Who just missed out: Father Ryan (6-2), Kirkwood (6-2)
Small Class
1. Providence Christian (6-1): PCA’s trio of Aiden Bolden, Preston Wade and Chris Washington will be tough for most teams to handle. They shined in a pair of blowout wins over BGA (69-50) and FRA (64-49) last week.
2. Goodpasture (7-1): Putting behind the 59-56 loss to Lipscomb Academy, the Cougars rolled in their two games last week. The first of which was an 81-57 win over Friendship Christian followed by a 98-45 thumping against Davidson Academy.
3. Ezell-Harding (10-0): While PCA and Goodpasture were expected to contend for state titles this year, the Eagles are also a team that needs to be on radards. Last week they crushed Nashville Christian 58-37, beat Clarksville Academy 69-59 and Lancaster Christian 66-45 for 10 straight wins.
4. Eagleville (6-1) Every night it seems like the Eagles have a new player leading them in scoring. In Tuesday’s 68-56 win over Cascade it was Jackson Nichols who finished with 15. Two days later in a 56-46 win over Pickett County, Grey Barker led the way with 17.
5. Pearl-Cohn (2-0): The Firebirds haven’t played as many games as most, but they’ve won the ones they’ve played. That includes a 59-52 win over Overton and 71-60 win over Maplewood led by 29 points from Javion Kinnard..
6. White House Heritage (5-2): It was a mixed week for the Patriots who beat East Robertson 59-51 but lost to Beech 48-32.
7. Sycamore (7-1): Beating Stewart County 70-64 and Cheatham County 72-58, the War Eagles have now won three straight since the loss to White House Heritage.
8. Liberty Creek (6-2): CPA handed the Wolves a 54-44 loss early in the week but they rebounded a few days later beating Hendersonville 42-35.
9. BGA (7-4): The 19-point loss to PCA was rough but the Wildcats bounced back beating DCA 68-45 and GCA 81-53. Greyson Williams was unguardable in the GCA win scoring 41 points.
10. Friendship Christian (6-3): After losing to Goodpasture by 24, the Commanders closed out the week on a good note beating Nashville Christian 89-37.
