
In a high school boys basketball season that has flown by, one team has been atop The Prep Zone Power Poll for the entire season.
And as the regular season wraps up this week and FHSAA district tournaments start on Monday, Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville) continues to be the unanimous No. 1 team in the all-classification regional rankings.Â
The Tigers (21-2) have wins over No. 3 Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine), No. 4 Ribault (Jacksonville), No. 6 Impact Christian Academy (Jacksonville), No. 7 Ponte Vedra, No. 9 Fleming Island (Orange Park), No. 10 Williston, No. 11 Gainesville, No. 13 University Christian (Jacksonville) and No. 16 Creekside (St. Johns).
Jackson’s only losses were by one point to Fleming Island and six points to Ribault. The Tigers received all 10 first-place votes again this week.
The Villages remain at No. 2. The Buffalo (17-5) have wins over Williston, Impact Christian, St. Mary’s (MI), and Windermere. Among their five losses were setbacks against state-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale), Gibbs (St. Petersburg) and University Christian.
Tocoi Creek stays at No. 3. The Toros head into the final week of the regular season at 19-3, with the only losses to Jackson, Creekside and RV (receiving votes) St. Augustine.
Ribault moves up one spot to No. 4. The Trojans (16-6) avenged an earlier-season loss to Jackson by defeating the Tigers, 57-51, last Friday.
Undefeated Newberry (19-0) rounds out the top five. The Panthers move up five spots this week after knocking off two-time defending state champion Williston for the second time this season, beating the Red Devils 47-45 on a shot at the buzzer last Friday. Newberry also has a win over 14th-ranked Hawthorne.
Impact Christian Academy (Jacksonville) also moves up five spots to start the second five. The Lions (18-4) have won 11 games in a row and have beaten Creekside, Ponte Vedra, No. 15 Providence (Jacksonville) and RV Columbia (Lake City). Two of the four losses for Impact Christian were against the top two teams in the poll, Jackson and The Villages.
Ponte Vedra is No. 7 this week, followed by Oakleaf (Orange Park) at No. 8. Fleming Island at No. 9 and Williston rounds out the top 10.
Other Mainstreet Daily News area teams in the second ten include Gainesville, just out of the top 10 at 11th, and 14th-ranked Hawthorne. The Hornets (13-2) are new to the poll this week.
Columbia is receiving votes.
Also new to the poll are No. 13 University Christian, No. 16 Creekside, and 19th-ranked Lecanto.
Falling out from the previous poll are Hilliard, North Marion (Citra), New Smyrna Beach and Columbia.
The Prep Zone Power Poll ranks the top 20 high school football, 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 by sportswriters and sportscasters and it is powered by Anytime Fitness of Gainesville.
THE PREP ZONE POWER POLL – 2024-25 BOYS BASKETBALL POLL #4
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, current 2024-25 record through 1/27, and total voting points)
Teams in the Mainstreet Daily News coverage area are in bold
1. Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville) (3A) (10) (21-2) – 200
2. The Villages (3A) (17-5) – 188
3. Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine) (6A) (19-3) – 175
4. Ribault (Jacksonville) (4A) (16-6) – 165
5. Newberry (3A) (19-0) – 151
6. Impact Christian Academy (Jacksonville) (1A) (18-4) – 144
7. Ponte Vedra (5A) (15-8) – 123
8. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (6A) (16-5) – 115
9. Fleming Island (Orange Park) (5A) (17-5) – 105
10. Williston (Rural) (13-9) – 92
11. Gainesville (5A) (17-6) – 87
12. Forest (Ocala) (6A) (18-4) – 81
13. University Christian (Jacksonville) (2A) (15-8) – 67
14. Hawthorne (Rural) (13-2) – 66
15. Providence (Jacksonville) (2A) (13-10) – 64
16. Creekside (St. Johns) (7A) (14-7) – 63
17. Eustis (4A) (15-7) – 58
18. Mandarin (Jacksonville) (6A) (17-5) – 31
19. Lecanto (5A) (20-2) – 25
20. Atlantic (Port Orange) (4A) (17-5) – 23
Also receiving votes: Hilliard (Rural) (12-4) – 17; North Marion (Citra) (4A) (15-6) – 16; Columbia (Lake City) (5A) (15-9) – 9; Leesburg (5A) (11-7) – 9; Fletcher (Neptune Beach) (6A) (16-5) – 8; New Smyrna Beach (5A) (15-6) – 4; Paxon (Jacksonville) (4A) (12-8) – 4; St. Augustine (5A) (15-5) – 3; Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (7A) (15-8) – 2.