Nebraska high school boys basketball Top 25 rankings (1/23/2024)

Tough stretch knocks down Papio South a few notches

Bellevue West maintains its grip on No. 1 while Millard North and Central remain just behind the Thunderbirds. Papio South had a chance to make its argument for the top five until the Titans dropped contests to Central and Westside. There are four top-10 matchups this week, starting with No. 2 Millard North at No. 4 Westside on Tuesday.

1. Bellevue West (13-1, Last Week #1) 

Bellevue West extended the winning streak to 11 in a row with wins over Millard West and Bryan. The T-Birds have won six of those by 20 or more and have only been played to single digits once over the past six weeks. Jaden Jackson had 30 in the win over Millard West. Bell West struggled to put Bryan away when the Bears hit 13 threes.

This Week: Thursday vs. #5 Prep, Saturday at #14 Kearney

2. Millard North (12-2, Last Week #2)

Millard North had a busy week that included a road game at Northeast then a trip to Illinois for two more as the visitor. The Mustangs were led by 17 each from Neal Mosser and Derek Rollins while starting up 25-9 over Northeast. Millard North squandered a nine-point halftime lead over Curie then responded by holding Chaminade to eight second-quarter points in the deciding frame.

This Week: Tuesday at #4 Westside, Saturday vs. #9 Papio South

3. Omaha Central (12-3, Last Week #3)

Central sandwiched two easy wins around a Top-10 matchup with Papillion-La Vista South, at least that’s the way it looked on paper. The week started with a lackluster defensive performance and a 65-60 win over 4-10 Elkhorn South. Central won a road game at Papio South thanks to a Devin Holmon go-ahead three then a turnover and bucket all in the final minute. The Storm followed it the very next night by shooting 60% and beating Gretna East by 34.

This Week: Friday vs. #18 Skutt

4. Omaha Westside (11-3, Last Week #5)

Westside faced a three-game slate last week, the toughest of which was a road test at Papio South to close out the week. The Warriors started by opening up a 13-point first-quarter lead over Rockford (Illinois) then continued that momentum with a 39-4 start against Omaha South. Westside played at Papio South the night after the Titans lost to Central. The Warriors handed the Titans another loss by holding them to 31% shooting.

This Week: Tuesday vs. #2 Millard North, Friday vs. #20 Millard West

5. Creighton Prep (11-2, Last Week #7)

Prep is getting hot with wins against ranked foes Bryan and Gretna to go with a blowout of Buena Vista. The Jays took down the Bears thanks to a team-leading 16 points by junior Trinell Parker and 15 total offensive rebounds. Three different players had three or more three-pointers against Gretna and Prep had 12 overall during another top-10 win. The Junior Jays completed a perfect week by holding Buena Vista to single digits in all four quarters.

This Week: Thursday at #1 Bellevue West, Saturday at #11 Pius X

6. Gretna (10-4, Last Week #4)

Gretna slides back two spots following a home loss to Prep that gave the Dragons their first back-to-back losses of the year. The Junior Jay defense held the Dragons well below their season average in large part due to locking it down on the perimeter. Gretna shot 46% overall but was just 4 of 15 from long range. The two-game skid ended two nights later when Landon Pokorski scored 17 and passed the Gretna career scoring mark.

This Week: Tuesday vs. #9 Papio South, Friday at Millard South

7. Omaha North (9-2, Last Week #9)

Snow days meant North hadn’t taken the court for two weeks when it faced off against Millard West last week. The Wildcats, at 7-5, have been an up-and-down group that has, at times been competitive against top-tier opponents, and at other times, been blown off the court. North struggled to put Millard West away until a 22-10 fourth quarter. Mynor Strong had 16, three others scored 12 and the Vikings hit 7 of 13 from deep.

This Week: Friday vs. Elkhorn South, Saturday at Fremont

8. Omaha Bryan (9-4, Last Week #8)

Bryan has a win over North but slips one spot below the Vikings following a 1-2 week that included a close win over Elkhorn South and losses to top-five teams Prep and Bellevue West. Both teams settled for a lot of threes in the game against Prep but the Junior Jays were able to pull down 15 offensive rebounds on misses. Neither side had 20 in a sluggish start against Elkhorn South but the Storm went 0 for 12 from three. A’mare Bynum had 29 against Bellevue West and hit six threes but the Bears were chasing a deficit from the start and never quite got over the hump.

This Week: Friday vs. Omaha Northwest, Saturday at Papio

9. Papillion-La Vista South (9-4, Last Week #6)

Papio South started hot, won its first seven and captured wins over the likes of Prep, North Star and Westview. But since a Metro tournament lost to Gretna, the schedule has included three more top-10 opponents, and the Titans have lost all of those. It’s now four losses in the last five with defeats to Central and Westside last week. Central was a tough one in overtime. Westside earned more trips to the line and had a 22-10 advantage in foul shots in what turned out to be a seven-point game.

This Week: Tuesday at #6 Gretna, Friday at #2 Millard North, Saturday at #23 Northeast

10. Lincoln Southeast (11-4, Last Week #10)

The Knights bounced back from a rematch loss against Pius X with two easy wins over Omaha Northwest and Lincoln High. Southeast overcame 5 of 23 shooting from long range against Northwest and pulled away for good during a 24-7 second quarter. Ten offensive rebounds and 50% shooting powered a 28-point win over the Links.

This Week: Tuesday at East, Friday at Fremont, Saturday vs. #15 Westview

11. Lincoln Pius X (9-4, Last Week #11)

Pius followed the rematch win over Southeast with two more and is now on a season-high five-game winning streak. The Bolts hit 11 threes in a win over Norfolk then doubled up Grand Island in rebound total and shot 56% in a win over the Islanders.

This Week: Tuesday at #18 Skutt, Saturday vs. #5 Prep

12. Crete (13-0, Last Week #12)

Crete has been challenged more often than not since the Doane Holiday Tournament, capturing wins over an 11-win team from Missouri, against #18 Skutt, #25 Scottsbluff and, last week, #17 Elkhorn. Crete was hot early against Elkhorn and put itself in position for the win thanks to a 30-point first quarter.

This Week: Central Conference Tournament

13. Norris (12-1, Last Week #13)

Norris is on a nine-game winning streak and has won those nine by an average of 22 points. However, this past week a little closer in games against Bennington and Bishop Heelan. Norris hit 10 threes and needed them all in a nine-point win over Bennington. It was just a 3 of 15 effort from deep against Heelan but the Titans started with a nine-point first-quarter lead. Norris also blew out York by 46.

This Week: Thursday at Hastings

14. Kearney (9-3, Last Week #16)

The Bearcats move up a few spots thanks to some losses ahead of them and a 2-0 week. Kearney hit 11 threes and held East to 39% shooting in a 16-point win then was even better against Norfolk with 13 threes and a defense that gave up 23% shooting during a 43-point blowout.

This Week: Friday vs. #16 North Star, Saturday vs. #1 Bellevue West

15. Omaha Westview (7-6, Last Week #15)

The Wolverines were away from competition for eight days due to postponements then returned to the court for a home game against top-10 Gretna. That was a difficult challenge considering Gretna had lost two in a row and was desperate to get back into the win column.

This Week: Tuesday vs. #9 Papio South, Friday at Millard South

16. Lincoln North Star (6-4, Last Week #17)

Postponements due to the weather cost North Star 13 days away from competition. The Navigators resumed play against a two-win Columbus team and a Northeast squad that has hung around .500 all year. KG Gatwetch had 22 and shot 10 of 14 in an 80-51 win over Columbus. North Star forced 19 turnovers in a 71-40 win over Northeast.

This Week: Tuesday at Elkhorn South, Friday at Kearney, Saturday vs. Benson

17. Elkhorn (10-2, Last Week #14)

Elkhorn tumbles three spots back after a 22-point loss to No. 12 Crete. Last week included a quality 14-point win over Ashland-Greenwood thanks to 25 from Luke Howard. But the Antlers gave up 45 points in the first half to Crete and were playing catchup the entire game.

This Week: Thursday vs. Bennington, Saturday vs. Lincoln Northwest

18. Skutt Catholic (9-3, Last Week #18)

Skutt is another team that had to wait a long time to resume play because of snow days. The Skyhawks held Gross to less than 10 points in the middle two quarters of a 64-38 win then started both halves with an offensive explosion for leads of nine and 17 against Roncalli.

This Week: Tuesday vs. #11 Pius X, Friday at #3 Omaha Central

19. Lincoln Southwest (6-5, Last Week #19)

Southwest knocked the rust off against Fremont with an efficient effort that included 60% shooting and 12 members of the roster recording at least two points. Unfortunately, the Silver Hawks lost a game against Central during the weather postponements and only have three more games remaining against teams above .500 to build its district seeding.

This Week: Tuesday at Millard West, Friday at East, Saturday at Bellevue East

20. Millard West (7-5, Last Week #20)

The Wildcats can be scrappy but they lack the scoring to keep up with the upper echelon teams of Nebraska. Last week saw Millard West lose to No. 1 Bellevue West by 21, shooting 35% and 24% from three. A tough back-to-back had the team back on the road the next night at North where the Wildcats hung around for three quarters but then went cold in a 22-10 final eight minutes.

This Week: Tuesday vs. Southwest, Friday at #4 Westside, Saturday at Lincoln High

21. Auburn (13-0, Last Week #22)

Auburn is now one of just four unbeaten teams left in Nebraska. The Bulldogs faced a trio of opponents (Falls City Sacred Heart, Nebraska City and Fairbury) that were 15-27 combined and beat each of them by at least 16. Winx over Nebraska City and Fairbury made it six wins on the year of 30 points or more.

This Week: Tuesday vs. Falls City, Thursday at Lourdes CC

22. Ogallala (15-1, Last Week #25)

It took two overtimes to end Ogallala’s regular-season winning streak and drop the Indians from 22 to 25. They’re back up to 22 thanks to a trio of bounce back wins, the first of which included No. 25 Scottsbluff. Ogallala kept extending the lead throughout to the point where it was 13 at the start of the fourth quarter. It was 17 before Scottsbluff trimmed it to four. Despite going 5 for 16 from the line in the fourth, the Indians hung on.

This Week: Southwest Conference Tournament

23. Lincoln Northeast (7-7, Last Week #21)

Northeast trailed by seven at halftime then built an 11-point lead in a home game against East. But the Spartans battled back in the fourth and the Rockets went scoreless over the final four minutes. That sent it to overtime where East senior Carter Mick pushed his team to the win with nine points. Northeast shot 25%, went 4 of 25 from long range against North Star and was drubbed 71-40.

This Week: Tuesday at #10 Southeast, Friday vs #19 Southwest, Saturday at Elkhorn South

24. Sidney (14-1, Last Week #23)

The Red Raiders slip one spot back due to a week that included a win over 10-4 Gothenburg then a close loss to Yuma (Colorado). Sidney struggled with foul troubles at Yuma and saw its unbeaten mark fall by the wayside. The Red Raiders capitalized on the paint the night before and held Gothenburg to 39% shooting in a close two-point victory.

This Week: Western Conference Tournament

25. Scottsbluff (11-4, Last Week #24)

The Bearcats slip one spot back and barely hang onto the final top-25 spot thanks to a season that includes five wins over teams above .500. Scottsbluf is 5-4 overall in such games and lost its most recent above .500 matchup to Ogallala. Although it was a six-point game, the Bearcats were in a 17-point fourth-quarter hole and needed the Indians to go 5 of 16 from the line to get back into it. Nate Kelly had 28 and Scottsbluff generated 21 foul shots the next night in a win over Gering.

This Week: Western Conference Tournament

--Nathan Charles I @SBLiveNeb