Week 9 Boys Basketball Rankings: DII-AA Middle Region chaos ensues

As expected, the Division II-AA Middle Region is going to be a mess. We learned that just over a week into region play as well.

A series of different results prompted several changes in this week’s large class area rankings. As for the small class teams, those remained fairly unchanged.

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 (16-2): Losses happen and for JPII, they haven’t happened often this year. The Knights struggled to get much going in a 12-point loss to Lipscomb Academy.

2. Hillsboro (15-4): The Burros only played once last week and were dominant in that game. They steamrolled East Nashville 71-34.

3. Ensworth (13-4): Did any team around here have a better week than the Tigers? They catapulted up our rankings after crushing Lipscomb Academy 64-48 and MBA 74-64.

4. Lipscomb Academy (13-3): A poor shooting first half doomed the Mustangs in their loss to Ensworth. However a 31-point night from Cam Blivens was enough to lead them past JPII 65-53 a few nights later.

5. MBA (12-2): It was a mixed week for the Big Red. They controlled the game in their 47-33 win over CPA but the same couldn’t be said when they went on the road to Ensworth.

The rest of the top 10

6. Hume-Fogg (11-3)

7. Father Ryan (12-4)

8. Franklin (12-3)

9. Kirkwood (12-3)

10. Blackman (11-3)

Who just missed out: Brentwood (12-4), Nolensville (13-4), Summit (11-3)

Small Class

1. Providence Christian (14-1): Is there a better team in the state right now than the Lions? They rolled Columbia Academy 70-40 before dismantling MTCS 103-26.

2. Goodpasture (15-1): PCA may be viewed as the top team in the state but Goodpasture isn’t too far off. The Cougars played twice last week beating Kenwood 62-39 and MJCA 83-20.

3. Ezell-Harding (18-0): All the Eagles do right now is win. Their best ever start to the season continued witha 61-47 win over Davidson Academy.

4. White House Heritage (13-3): Losing to Gallatin 53-50 on a last-second shot, the Patriots rebounded a few days later at Liberty Creek. They picked up a 45-33 win over the Wolves.

5. Eagleville (14-2): The week for the Eagles featured a pair of blowout wins. They beat Summertown 78-53 and Moore County 62-30.