The holiday season can be stressful at times for most people but also can be relaxing.
But for high school basketball players, the holidays mean wall-to-wall basketball tournaments.
Providence (Jacksonville) compiled a 6-1 record over the holiday break, and that was enough to move the Stallions back to the top of The Prep Zone Power Poll for boys basketball.
Providence (11-5) beat the No. 2 team in 5A in Rockledge, and also went 2-1 at SunBash Tampa with a win over 7A No. 7 Windermere. Their only loss over the span was 50-44 to 5A No. 3 Blake (Tampa).
They are one of four teams to receive first-place votes in the all-classification regional rankings, and they picked up four of the 11 votes to move up from No. 2 in the previous poll.
Two teams who were tied for No. 3 in the preseason poll are now tied for No. 2 in this week’s rankings. Williston, the defending 1A state champion, went 7-1 over the break with a third-place finish at the Kingdom of the Sun Tournament in Ocala. The Red Devils (15-1) knocked off Hawthorne and Vanguard (Ocala) before dropping their first game of the season to 7A No. 3 and No. 5 overall Winter Haven. Williston receives 3 first-place votes this week.
Williston is tied with Paxon (Jacksonville). The Golden Eagles (13-2) were a perfect 5-0 since the preseason poll with wins over Savannah (GA), Tattnall County (GA), and Toombs County, also from Georgia.
Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville) makes a big move this week, up seven spots to No. 4. The Tigers (13-3) were 7-0 over the holidays with wins over then-No 1 Mainland (Daytona Beach), two top 10 teams in Ribault (Jacksonville) and Raines (Jacksonville) at the Northwest Classic Christmas Tournament, and also defeated 4A No. 5 Gibbs (St. Petersburg) as well as a 63-28 romp over Gainesville. Andrew Jackson picks up two first-place votes this week.
Rounding out the top five is Episcopal (Jacksonville). The Eagles (13-2) picked up wins over Bolles (Jacksonville) and Father Lopez (Daytona Beach) and went 2-1 at the Bobcat Invitational at Bluffton, South Carolina with wins over Marietta (GA), South Point (NC), and the only loss over the span coming to Marvin Ridge (NC).
Mainland picks up the final two first-place votes, despite dropping to No. 6 after being No. 1 in the preseason rankings. The Bucs (10-4) were 4-3 over the last few weeks, with losses to Andrew Jackson, 4A No. 6 Lake Highland Prep (Orlando), and Palm Beach Lakes and wins over then-no. 20 Riverside (Jacksonville), Tampa Catholic, and Mount Vernon (GA).
Raines (Jacksonville) and Ribault (Jacksonville) flip spots this week, as the Vikings (14-4) move up from 9th to 7th. and Ribault (11-5) staying No. 8.
Ponte Vedra (10-5) drops four spots from the previous ranking but stays in the top 10 at No. 9.
Oakleaf (Orange Park) rounds out the top 10. The Knights (10-4) drop three spots despite going 4-1 over the holidays with a 2-1 record at the Gus Gibbs Tournament in DeLand, the only loss coming to No. 11 Leesburg.
Leesburg (10-2) also moves up seven spots this week to lead off the second 10. The Yellow Jackets defeated Oakleaf and Buchholz (Gainesville), with their only loss coming to No. 15 Eustis at the Gus Gibbs Tournament.
Other ranked teams in the Mainstreet Daily News area this week are No. 13 Newberry, 14th-ranked Fort White and No. 20 Columbia (Lake City). Hawthorne and Gainesville both fall out of the rankings this week but are receiving votes, as is Buchholz.
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 weekly by sportswriters and sportscasters and it is powered by Anytime Fitness of Gainesville.
THE PREP ZONE POWER POLL – 2023-24 BOYS BASKETBALL POLL #2
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, current record through 1/9, and total voting points)
Teams in bold are inside the Mainstreet Daily News coverage area.
1. Providence (Jacksonville) (3A) (4) (11-5) – 202
2T. Paxon (Jacksonville) (4A) (13-2) – 199
2T. Williston (1A) (3) (15-1) – 199
4. Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville) (4A) (2) (13-3) – 184
5. Episcopal (Jacksonville) (3A) (13-2) – 167
6. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (5A) (2) (10-4) – 160
7. Raines (Jacksonville) (4A) (14-4) – 148
8. Ribault (Jacksonville) (4A) (11-5) – 140
9. Ponte Vedra (6A) (10-5) – 139
10. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (6A) (10-4) – 122
11. Leesburg (5A) (10-2) – 114
12. Forest (Ocala) (6A) (12-4) – 84
13. Newberry (1A) (10-3) – 79
14. Fort White (1A) (11-2) – 50
15. Eustis (4A) (14-3) – 42
16. Hilliard (1A) (12-2) – 40
17. New Smyrna Beach (6A) (11-3) – 38
18. Riverside (Jacksonville) (5A) (8-5) – 35
19. Father Lopez (Daytona Beach) (3A) (10-3) – 21
20. Columbia (Lake City) (5A) (9-5) – 20
Also receiving votes: Hawthorne (1A) (5-4) – 19; Gainesville (6A) (8-7) – 17; Mount Dora Christian Academy (2A) (11-5) – 17; North Florida Educational Institute (Jacksonville) (2A) (5-7) – 16; Buchholz (Gainesville) (6A) (8-5) – 15; Palatka (4A) (12-3) – 11; San Jose Prep (Jacksonville) (3A) (8-6) – 11; Central (Brooksville) (4A) (11-3) – 10; The Villages (4A) (7-9) – 10.