Despite loss, Washington retains top spot in Southwestern Indiana boys basketball Top Ten

It was a wild week of upsets all across Southwestern Indiana. While top-ranked Washington was upset last week by Princeton, the defending Class 3A State Champions, 61-59, their thirteen other wins stood strong enough to enable the Hatchets (13-1) to retain their No. 1 ranking. On Friday, Washington will battle Boonville, who, despite falling out of the Top Ten, holds the Big Eight's last unbeaten conference record.

Memorial avenged their loss to the Panthers Friday night, while both teams moved up in the Top Ten

photo by Daniel Engler

Harrison (8-4) was involved in a three-way tango last week. The Warriors were upset by Bosse on Tuesday. Then on Friday, the Bulldogs lost to Boonville. Finally, on Saturday, the Pioneers lost to Harrison. The Warriors dropped Boonville out of the Top Ten and moved them up to No. 2.

North Posey (12-0), despite being the area's only undefeated team, fell to No. 3. The Vikings have only beaten one team with an Southwestern Indiana win-loss record above .500, and their opponents' average is .333. They will, however, face some stiff competition over the next three weeks against three teams from the Top Ten, including No. 9 Princeton on Saturday. Viking victories would likely finally earn them the top spot.

Reitz (9-4) moved up two spots to No. 4 despite two losses. After beating Memorial in last Saturday's ONB Classic finals, the Tigers avenged the loss Friday night, 62-51. Reitz then traveled out of the area and lost to New Albany (10-2).

Forest Park (8-3) moved up three spots to No. 5 after defeating Dubois County rival Jasper, 56-52. They'll face PAC rival No. 6 Southridge on Tuesday.

Despite going 3-0 last week, Southridge dropped one spot to No. 6. The Raiders (10-2) will get a chance to make up some lost ground when they battle No. 5 Forest Park tomorrow night.

Memorial moved up three spots to No. 7 after defeating Reitz, 62-51, and avenging their loss to the Panthers in the ONB Classic championship game. The Tigers (7-3) will face No. 9 Princeton on Friday.

Barr-Reeve, the only Top Ten team from the Blue Chip Conference or Class 1A, moved up one spot to No. 9. The Vikings (12-2) will travel out of Southwestern Indiana to Shakamak this Friday.

Look out for the Tigers! Princeton, the defending Class 3A State Champions, gave Washington (13-1) their first loss of the season last week, and they're going to try to repeat history this week when they take on unbeaten No. 3 North Posey on Saturday. However, the Tigers (10-5) will first have to get through No. 7 Memorial on Friday.

Despite two wins this week, Castle dropped seven spots to No. 10. The Knights lost several points when teams that they had beaten fell to lower percentile categories.

Dropped out: #7 Boonville

This week's games featuring Top Ten teams
* - all games and times subject to change

Tuesday, Jan. 26
Owensboro Apollo (Ky.) at #2 Ev. Harrison (8-4), 7:30 p.m.
#6 Forest Park (8-3, 1-1) at #6 Southridge (10-2, 3-1), 7:30 p.m. (PAC)
#10 Castle (8-3, 3-1) at Mater Dei (6-6, 1-1), 8:30 p.m. (SIAC)

Friday, Jan. 29
Boonville (10-3, 4-0) at #1 Washington (13-1, 2-1), 8 p.m. (BIG EIGHT)
#2 Ev. Harrison (8-4) at Vincennes Lincoln (7-4), 6 p.m.
Ev. Central (2-10, 0-2) at #4 Ev. Reitz (9-4, 2-2), 7:30 p.m. (SIAC)
Tecumse (5-7, 1-2) at #6 Forest Park (8-3, 1-1), 8 p.m. (PAC)
#9 Princeton (10-5) at #7 Ev. Memorial (7-3), 7 p.m.
#8 Barr-Reeve (12-2) at Shakamak (10-5), 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 30
Floyd Central (10-4) at #4 Ev. Reitz (9-4), 6:30 p.m.
#2 North Posey (12-0) at #9 Princeton (10-5), 7:30 p.m.
#7 Memorial (7-3, 2-0) at Mater Dei (6-6, 1-1), 7:30 p.m. (SIAC)
#10 Castle (8-3) at Jeffersonville (10-4), 7:30 p.m.

ABOUT THE RANKINGS
Daniel Engler, who covers high school sports in Southwestern Indiana for Examiner.com, uses a mathematical formula to rank local schools, and only games against those 37 teams are used in determining a team's points.

The formula used is similar to the one used by the Southern Indiana Athletic Conference years ago to determine the football champion. Teams only receive points for a win.

• 10 points - defeating a team with a record of .750 or above
• 7 points - defeating a team with a record of .500 to .749
• 5 points - defeating a team with a record of .250 to .499
• 3 points - defeating a team with a record of .000 to .249

Percentages are determined using only games against other Southwestern Indiana teams. Each team's total points are then added up and divided by the number of area games played. If teams are tied, rank is determined by head-to-head. If the tie is still not resolved, then the team with the higher win percentage against local competition gets the nod. If both teams have the same win percentage, then the team that has played more games against local competition is ranked higher. If finally, the tie is still not broken, the teams are tied in the rankings.

The rankings are released weekly and will last until all possible games between area teams have been played.