Mike Ridaught
The boys high school basketball regular season is down to the final two weeks.
And although we don’t know who will be No. 1 in each of the seven classifications at the end of the season, we at least know who the best team in the region is currently.
Andrew Jackson of Jacksonville remains on top of The Prep Zone Power Poll, which ranks the top 20 teams across 26 counties in Florida.
The Tigers have been state runners-up in two of the last three years. They are currently ranked seventh overall in Florida by MaxPreps and third in Class 4A.
Jackson (18-2) showed their merit by knocking off defending 6A state champion Bartow, 64-47, on Saturday, and nationally ranked Lake Highland Prep (Orlando), 58-51, on Friday, at the Wally Keller Classic at Charlotte (Punta Gorda).
They received all seven first-place votes to remain No. 1 in the all-classification regional rankings.
Fleming Island (Orange Park), which is ranked eighth overall in Florida and No. 1 in Class 6A, remained second. The Golden Eagles (19-1) have won six in a row since a 67-51 loss to top-ranked Jackson on Dec. 23.
Ponte Vedra remained third.
The Sharks (18-2), who are ranked 26th overall in Florida and No. 7 in 6A, had wins against previous No. 17 Creekside (St. Johns) and at previous No. 6 Fletcher (Neptune Beach), which dropped out of the top 10 to No. 11 following a 1-3 record since the last poll.
Jacksonville schools Providence and Paxon flip-flopped, with Providence dropping from fourth to fifth and Paxon moving up one spot from fifth to fourth.
The No. 4 Golden Eagles are ranked 36th overall in Florida and No. 6 in 4A. Paxon (18-2) lost to No. 27 overall in Florida, Sagemont, 71-59, on Friday, but they also had a win against current No. 19 Santa Fe (Alachua).
The fifth-ranked Stallions are ranked 16th overall in Florida and No. 2 in 3A by MaxPreps. Providence (16-3) went 4-0 since the last poll, including a 33-31 win against No. 9 Nease (Ponte Vedra).
Class 5A Riverside (Jacksonville) (17-4), 3A Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (16-3), 5A Orange Park (17-3), 7A Nease (15-5), and 5A Leesburg (14-5) round out the top 10.
Class 7A Creekside (11-5) and 1A Hawthorne (5-4), which went 1-2, dropped out of the rankings, while 4A Central (Brooksville) (17-3) and 7A Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (13-6) moved into the rankings and are tied at No. 20.
Class 5A Mainland (Daytona Beach) (11-7) also moved into the rankings at No. 18.
The Prep Zone Power Poll ranks the top 20 high school football, girls volleyball, girls basketball, boys basketball, softball & baseball teams (regardless of FHSAA classification) across 26 counties in North Florida (Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Columbia, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Levy, Madison, Marion, Nassau, Putnam, Sumter, St. Johns, Suwannee, Taylor, Union & Volusia counties). It is voted on weekly by sportswriters and sportscasters and it is powered by Anytime Fitness of Gainesville.
THE PREP ZONE POWER POLL – 2021-22 BOYS BASKETBALL POLL #4
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, record through 1/22, and total voting points)
1. Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville) (4A) (7) (18-2) – 140
2. Fleming Island (Orange Park) (6A) (19-1) – 128
3. Ponte Vedra (6A) (18-2) – 127
4. Paxon (Jacksonville) (4A) (18-2) – 115
5. Providence (Jacksonville) (3A) (16-3) – 114
6. Riverside (Jacksonville) (5A) (17-4) – 99
7. Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (3A) (16-3) – 97
8. Orange Park (5A) (17-3) – 87
9. Nease (Ponte Vedra) (7A) (15-5) – 80
10. Leesburg (5A) (14-5) – 78
11. Fletcher (Neptune Beach) (6A) (13-7) – 61
12. Springstead (Spring Hill) (5A) (17-3) – 60
13. Mount Dora Christian Academy (2A) (18-1) – 58
14. North Florida Educational Institute (Jacksonville) (2A) (12-6) – 52
15. The Villages (4A) (14-6) – 38
16. Ribault (Jacksonville) (5A) (14-5) – 35
17. Forest (Ocala) (6A) (14-6) – 26
18. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (5A) (11-7) – 14
19. Santa Fe (Alachua) (4A) (10-6) – 12
20T. Central (Brooksville) (4A) (17-3) – 9
20T. Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (7A) (13-6) – 9
Also receiving votes: Creekside (St. Johns) (7A) (11-5) – 8; Columbia (Lake City) (6A) (11-9) – 8; Bishop Snyder (Jacksonville) (3A) (9-8) – 6; Lecanto (5A) (15-4) – 3; P.K. Yonge (Gainesville) (3A) (12-7) – 3; Lake Weir (Ocala) (5A) (14-3) – 3.