Back in mid-December, Park Center and Osseo met in their first of two Northwest Suburban Conference matchups. At the time, Osseo was ranked the #1 team in Class 4A and Park Center #2, and the Pirates’ 73-62 victory moved Park Center into the #1 spot in the 4A Minnesota Basketball News rankings. They haven’t left that spot since, winning all their conference games and losing just one, to 3A #1 DeLaSalle. On Tuesday night, Osseo will get a crack to avenge that December loss as they host the Pirates in a huge matchup. Both teams are well ahead of the Northwest Suburban field and are in line to claim the top two seeds for the Section 5AAAA playoffs; a Park Center victory would all but lock up a conference title and the #1 seed, while an Orioles win would add a lot of drama for the rest of the month. Metro area fans can catch the game on 106.1 BOB-FM; the Minnesota Sports Broadcast Network will have the webcast for fans outstate.
In Class 2A, the Byron Bears face their busiest week of the season with four games, two of which come against fellow ranked teams in 2A. The Bears, who have won 16 straight after dropping their season opener to go from outside the 2A poll to the #2 spot, host #9 Hayfield on Friday night and then turn around to take on #6 Fairmont in the Target Center on Saturday afternoon.
There aren’t a lot of undefeated teams left in the state- only two, to be exact- and one of them will put their perfect record on the line against a ranked team this week. The Upsala Cardinals, 16-0 this season and #4 in Class 1A, will square off against #7 Browerville on Friday night. Browerville’s got just one loss on the year- an 85-59 loss to Upsala in December- and a win would tie them with the Cardinals atop the Prairie Conference.
This week’s schedule for the Minnesota Basketball News Top 10, along with last week’s results:
Class 4A
1. Park Center (17-1; Last week- #1)
Last week: d. Robbinsdale Armstrong 79-65; d. Centennial 66-54
This week: at #4 Osseo, 7pm Tuesday; vs. Coon Rapids, 7pm Friday
2. Apple Valley (17-1; Last week- #2)
Last week: d. Lakeville South 80-70; d. Bloomington Kennedy 83-76; d. Madison Memorial (WI) 81-60
This week: at Eagan, 7pm Tuesday; vs. Eastview, 8pm Friday
3. Hopkins (15-2; Last week- #3)
Last week: d. Wayzata 79-61; d. #6 Eden Prairie 65-64; d. De Pere (WI) 85-70
This week: at Anoka, 7pm Tuesday; at #5 Minnetonka, 7pm Friday; vs. Benilde-St. Margaret’s, 2pm Saturday
4. Osseo (16-2; Last week- #4)
Last week: d. Blaine 66-26; d. Andover 86-65; d. Hudson (WI) 76-45
This week: vs. #1 Park Center, 7pm Tuesday; at Champlin Park, 7pm Friday
5. Minnetonka (15-3; Last week- #6)
Last week: d. #5 Eden Prairie 69-68; l. to Edina 81-73
This week: at Wayzata, 7pm Tuesday; vs. #3 Hopkins, 7pm Friday
6. Eden Prairie (13-5; Last week- #5)
Last week: l. to #6 Minnetonka 69-68; l. to #3 Hopkins 65-64; d. Manitowoc Roncalli (WI) 59-44
This week: vs. Edina, 7pm Tuesday; at Robbinsdale Armstrong, 7pm Friday
7. Tartan (15-3; Last week- #9)
Last week: d. South St. Paul 69-45; d. Mahtomedi 77-64; l. to Waverly-Shell Rock (IA) 66-62
This week: at Hill-Murray, 7pm Tuesday; vs. Richfield, 7pm Friday
8. Woodbury (15-3; Last week- #9)
Last week: d. Cretin-Derham Hall 97-77; d. East Ridge 75-69
This week: vs. Hudson (WI), 7:30pm Tuesday; at Stillwater, 7:15pm Friday
9. Roseville (16-3; Last week- #10)
Last week: d. Forest Lake 73-48; d. Mounds View 78-51
This week: at Cretin-Derham Hall, 7:15pm Friday
10. Lakeville North (14-4; Last week- #7)
Last week: l. to Bloomington Kennedy 71-67; d. Eastview 71-67
This week: vs. Burnsville, 7pm Tuesday; at Eagan, 7pm Friday
Class 3A
1. DeLaSalle (15-1; Last week- #1)
Last week: d. 2A #8 Minnehaha Academy 77-44; d. Appleton West (WI) 65-43
This week: at St. Paul Academy, 7pm Tuesday
2. Austin (18-0; Last week- #2)
Last week: d. Rochester Mayo 64-39
This week: at Mankato West, 7:30pm Friday; vs. Albert Lea, 7:30pm Saturday
3. Blake (12-5; Last week- #3)
Last week: d. Breck 84-64; d. St. Croix Lutheran 71-38; l. to #7 Marshall 68-58
This week: at Concordia Academy-Roseville, 7pm Tuesday; vs. St. Agnes, 7:30pm Friday
4. Delano (16-2; Last week- #4)
Last week: d. Hutchinson 74-52; l. to Litchfield 60-49
This week: vs. Orono, 7:30pm Tuesday; vs. Mound-Westonka, 7:45pm Thursday
5. Holy Angels (14-5; Last week- #5)
Last week: d. Shakopee 77-72; d. Chanhassen 73-53; d. Richfield 87-67
This week: vs. Chaska, 7:30pm Friday
6. Grand Rapids (13-3; Last week- #6)
Last week: d. Hermantown 46-37; d. Forest Lake 74-73
This week: at Deer River, 7:30pm Tuesday; at Hibbing, 7:30pm Thursday; vs. Thief River Falls, 7:30pm Saturday
7. Marshall (17-2; Last week- #8)
Last week: d. Redwood Valley 62-56; d. Luverne 82-63; d. #3 Blake 68-58
This week: at Pipestone, 7:30pm Tuesday; vs. Sioux Falls Roosevelt (SD), 7:30pm Friday
8. Waconia (15-4; Last week- #9)
Last week: d. Holy Family 62-50; d. Annandale 66-60
This week: at Mound-Westonka, 7:30pm Tuesday; vs. Hutchinson, 7:30pm Friday
9. New Prague (11-6; Last week- #10)
Last week: d. Red Wing 61-54; l. to Northfield 59-56
This week: vs. Faribault, 7:30pm Tuesday; at Chanhassen, 7:30pm Friday
10. Hermantown (14-2; Last week- not ranked)
Last week: l. to #6 Grand Rapids 46-37; d. Duluth Denfeld 73-56
This week: vs. Hibbing, 7:15pm Tuesday; at Superior (WI), 7:15pm Thursday; at Chisago Lakes, 3pm Saturday
Class 2A
1. Melrose (17-1; Last week- #2)
Last week: d. Pierz 90-61; d. 1A #1 Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 87-56; d. Yellow Medicine East 96-53
This week: at Montevideo, 6pm Tuesday; vs. Morris/Chokio-Alberta, 5pm Friday; at Lakeview Christian, 1:30pm Saturday
2. Byron (16-1; Last week- #3)
Last week: d. Kasson-Mantorville 48-37
This week: vs. Pine Island, 7:15pm Monday; at La Crescent, 7:15pm Tuesday; vs. #9 Hayfield, 7:15pm Friday; vs. #6 Fairmont, 5pm Saturday @ Target Center
3. Hawley (16-1; Last week- #4)
Last week: d. Barnesville 85-72; d. Crookston 98-83
This week: vs. Perham, 7:30pm Friday
4. St. Cloud Cathedral (15-3; Last week- #5)
Last week: d. Milaca 72-66; d. Foley 79-55
This week: vs. St. Cloud Apollo, 7:30pm Monday
5. Maple River (16-3; Last week- #9)
Last week: d. St. James 84-49; d. Alden-Conger 76-19
This week: vs. Blue Earth, 7:30pm Monday; at Worthington, 7:30pm Friday
6. Fairmont (15-3; Last week- #10)
Last week: d. St. James 70-40; d. Pipestone 64-54
This week: at New Ulm, 7:30pm Friday; vs. #2 Byron, 5pm Saturday @ Target Center
7. St. Peter (15-2; Last week- #1)
Last week: d. Tri-City United 72-52; d. Norwood-Young America 78-64
This week: vs. Waseca, 7:30pm Thursday
8. Minnehaha Academy (12-5; Last week- not ranked)
Last week: d. Concordia Academy-Roseville 74-57; l. to 3A #1 DeLaSalle 77-44
This week: vs. St. Croix Lutheran, 7pm Monday; at St. Paul Academy, 7pm Friday; at Waterville-Elysian-Morristown, 7pm Saturday
9. Hayfield (13-5; Last week- #7)
Last week: l. to Winona Cotter 61-58
This week: at Kasson-Mantorville, 7:15pm Tuesday; at #2 Byron, 7:15pm Friday
10. Rochester Lourdes (13-5; Last week- #8)
Last week: l. to Stewartville 74-42; d. La Crescent 57-54
This week: vs. Winona Cotter, 7:15pm Tuesday; vs. Plainview-Elgin-Millville, 7:15pm Friday; vs. Chatfield, 7:30pm Saturday
Class 1A
1. Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa (17-1; Last week- #1)
Last week: d. Eden Valley-Watkins 63-35; l. to 2A #1 Melrose 87-56
This week: at Maple Lake, 7:30pm Tuesday; vs. Rockford, 7:30pm Friday
2. Maranatha Christian (17-1; Last week- #2)
Last week: d. Bethany Academy 81-39; d. Legacy Christian 78-34
This week: vs. #9 West Lutheran, 7pm Thursday; at Minneapolis Washburn, 1pm Saturday
3. Southwest Minnesota Christian (16-1; Last week- #3)
Last week: d. Ellsworth 74-36; d. Red Rock Central 88-44; d. Sisseton (SD) 63-37
This week: at Fulda, 5pm Thursday; vs. Worthington, 7:30pm Saturday
4. Upsala (16-0; Last week- #4)
Last week: d. Holdingford 53-42; d. Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 90-66
This week: at #7 Browerville, 6pm Friday
5. Russell-Tyler-Ruthton (19-1; Last week- #5)
Last week: d. Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 102-10; d. Minneota 74-52; d. Fulda 77-74
This week: vs. Canby, 7:30pm Tuesday; at Tracy-Milroy-Balaton, 7:30pm Friday
6. Heritage Christian (18-1; Last week- #6)
Last week: d. Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity 86-65; d. PACT Charter 62-48
This week: at #9 West Lutheran, 7pm Tuesday; vs. Legacy Christian, 7:30pm Thursday
7. Browerville (13-1; Last week- #7)
Last week: d. Pillager 73-57
This week: vs. West Central, 6pm Tuesday; vs. #4 Upsala, 6pm Friday
8. Rushford-Peterson (15-3; Last week- #8)
Last week: l. to Chatfield 55-49; d. Wabasha-Kellogg 67-41
This week: at Mabel-Canton, 7:30pm Monday; vs. Dover-Eyota, 7:30pm Tuesday; at Southland, 7:30pm Thursday
9. West Lutheran (16-3; Last week- #9)
Last week: d. Southwest Christian 62-57; d. Providence Academy 63-54
This week: vs. #6 Heritage Christian, 6pm Tuesday; at #2 Maranatha Christian, 7pm Thursday
10. Dawson-Boyd (14-3; Last week- #10)
Last week: d. Minneota 75-44; d. Central MN Christian 86-56
This week: vs. Renville County West, 7:30pm Monday; vs. MACCRAY, 7:30pm Thursday; vs. Montevideo, 7:30pm Friday
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