Nebraska high school boys basketball Top 25 rankings (2/20/2024)

Regular season closes with Bellevue West still on top

The regular season has ended and few changes follow in the last Top 25 before the postseason. 

The top six teams remain the same while the next four shuffle around a bit but are made up of the same four. 

The final regular-season rankings also include some new entries by Elkhorn South and Douglas County West.

1. Bellevue West (22-1, Last Week #1) 

The T-Birds closed the regular season with 20 wins in a row and three last week against a slate that included two rated opponents. The most significant of those wins was over No. 4 Gretna. Bellevue West trailed by eight in the second quarter, shot poorly from distance in the second half but fought back for a three-point lead in the final minute. The Thunderbirds eventually finished it off from the line. Gretna had a deep three at the buzzer but an unbalanced attempt missed.

This Week: vs. Omaha South/Columbus winner, vs. North Star/Westview winner

2. Millard North (19-2, Last Week #2)

Bellevue West had a longer winning streak to end the year, but Millard North might have had a better last two weeks of the schedule. This past week, the Mustangs destroyed Prep and North Star, adding to wins against three other ranked foes over the final month. Millard North held Prep to 32% shooting, forced 14 turnovers and hit 10 threes during a 22-point road win. Derek Rollins had 29, Millard North held North Star to fewer than 10 points in three quarters and stomped the Navigators by 39.

This Week: vs. Omaha Northwest/Lincoln High winner, vs. Southwest vs. Millard South winner

3. Omaha Westside (18-4, Last Week #3)

Westside finished out the year with three straight road games and won them all by at least double digits. Two of those three were against foes in the top 10, and despite that quality, the Warriors took care of business. Westside started the week by ending Omaha North’s 12-game winning streak in a 24-point blowout. Three nights later, Westside couldn’t quite keep the momentum rolling early, fell into an eight-point hole at Central but then put it together in the second quarter. Kevin Stubblefield had 26 points.

This Week: vs. Bellevue East/Benson winner, vs. Bryan/Millard West winner

4. Gretna (18-5, Last Week #4)

Gretna remains at the same spot as a week ago although the Dragons suffered a loss during a 2-1 week. Wins over Lincoln East and Bellevue East were followed by a loss against top-rated Bellevue West. The Dragons had their chances, they started the second quarter on a 16-6 run and led by eight. But even though Gretna held Bellevue West to 1 for 10 shooting in the middle two quarters, the T-Birds had it tied in the fourth and took the lead for good behind five straight points. Six free throws in a row from Bellevue West denied Gretna the upset.

This Week: vs. Northeast, vs. Kearney/Grand Island winner

5. Omaha North (19-3, Last Week #5)

North was one of the hottest teams in Nebraska and had won 12 in a row until dropping a home game against Westside. The Vikings jumped on the Warriors early and led 11-4 and 20-12. Eventually, a 12-0 Westside run made it a battle the rest of the way. Westside took over midway through the fourth on a three, North was within five points but the Warriors sank another shot from the perimeter and made the lead eight with under two minutes to play. North bounced back with a top-10 win over Bryan by jumping out to a 24-8 start.

This Week: vs. Burke/Norfolk winner, vs. Papio South/Elkhorn South winner

6. Creighton Prep (16-6, Last Week #6)

Prep closed with a 2-1-week, sandwiching wins over Omaha South and Central around a loss to Millard North. Prep poured in 31 points in the first quarter and made 15 threes overall in the win over South. A combination of poor shooting and turnovers was too much to overcome against No. 2 Millard North. Prep found its touch against Central, hit 55% and made 10 of 22 from beyond the arc.

This Week: vs. Buena Vista, Fremont winner, vs. Southeast/Papio winner

7. Lincoln Pius X (17-5, Last Week #8)

It seems eons ago that Pius started 1-3 and sat 4-4 at the end of 2023. But following the HAC tournament loss to Southeast, the Bolts avenged that loss 11 days later and went 13-1 to close the schedule. Pius is up to its highest rating of the year and played just once last week – a 69-41 win over Northeast. Southeast, Skutt, Prep and Kearney all went down to Pius over the past six weeks.

This Week: vs. North Platte, vs. Central/East winner

8. Kearney (16-6, Last Week # 10)

This week’s rankings have few changes. One of the teams making a modest rise is Kearney. The Bearcats won at Fremont and home against No. 14 Southwest. Two more victories made it six of seven in the month of February. The win over Southwest earned Kearney its sixth win over a team in the Top 25. Jacob Webber had 32 points and Ben Johnson 24 – just enough to overcome 39 by Southwest senor Braden Frager.

This Week: vs. Grand Island, vs. Gretna/Northeast winner

9. Omaha Central (14-8, Last Week #7)

Central climbed into the top five a few weeks ago and looked on its way to hosting a district. Instead, the Eagles head to the postseason as one of the most desperate teams in the state. Central closed the schedule with four straight losses and defeats in five of six. Granted, all five losses were against the top six, but all five were by a total of just 23 points. Win just one of those five and Central likely would have grabbed the final hosting position for the district round.

This Week: vs. East, vs. Pius X/North Platte winner

10. Omaha Bryan (14-9, Last Week #9)

Bryan, like the team just above it in the rankings, had a rough finish to the regular season and will have to travel for the district playoffs. The Bears were 12-4 when February started then went 2-5 and lost four straight games to teams with a winning record. Bryan started last week with an easy win over Gretna East, shooting 62% with 13 three-pointers. But the Bears fell behind 24-8 against North then suffered a damaging loss to 10-11 Millard South.

This Week: vs. Millard West, vs. Westside or Benson/Bellevue East winner

11. Lincoln Southeast (17-7, Last Week #11)

Southeast closes the schedule with losses in three of five following a 1-2 week. The Knights more than doubled up Columbus 64-31 on the road but came back home for a tough loss against North Star. Southeast led 41-23 early in the second half but went down by a buzzer-beater.

This Week: vs. Papio, vs. Prep or Buena Vista/Fremont winner

12. Papillion-La Vista South (14-8, Last Week #12)

Papio South stays at No. 12 and gave Bellevue West its closest game between the two in eight years. Bryson Bahl scored 40 and Reece Kircher had 22 but it wasn’t enough to snap a six-game losing skid against Bellevue West. Papio South managed to hold off Millard West a few days later even though the Titans shot just 37%.

This Week: vs. Elkhorn South, vs. Omaha North or Burke/Norfolk winner

13. Crete (23-0, Last Week #13)

Not all records are available online, but it appears Crete just finished off its first unbeaten regular season since maybe the ‘70s. There wasn’t much of a challenge to make that happen in the final three games. Crete won twice by 30 and once by 15. Only two teams have played the Cardinals to within single digits all year long.

This Week: vs. Lincoln Northwest/Seward winner

14. Lincoln Southwest (14-7, Last Week #14)

Southwest was 7-6 on Jan. 26 and had just lost to Lincoln East when the Silver Hawks went on a six-game win streak. There was only one win over a team above .500 during that time, but the alternative, and losing against the bottom half of Class A, could have sent Southwest to the postseason in trouble. The one loss was last week and a road game at Kearney when Braden Frager’s 39 wasn’t enough.

This Week: vs. Millard South, vs. Millard North or Lincoln High/Omaha Northwest winner

15. Omaha Westview (14-9, Last Week #15)

Westview was 8-17 in its first year of existence. A year later, Tayvin Murphy looks like a superstar and the Wolverines have a shot at state thanks to wins over Central, Pius and Bryan. Westview finished the schedule with a 20-point win at Burke and a 22-point blowout at Papio.

This Week: vs. North Star, vs. Bellevue West or Omaha South/Columbus winner

16. Norris (20-2, Last Week #16)

Norris trounced its final three opponents and closed with five wins in a row. The Titans took down Blair by 13, blew out Grand Island on the road by 22 and smashed Lincoln Northwest by 42.

This Week: vs. Beatrice/Nebraska City winner

17. Lincoln North Star (12-9, Last Week #17)

North Star is a hard team to figure. Last week, the Navigators edged out No. 11 Southeast just five days after losing to Southwest by 19. The resume includes that win over Southeast and Pius but also a loss to Fremont.

This Week: vs. Westview, vs. Bellevue West or Omaha South/Columbus winner

18. Skutt Catholic (14-6, Last Week #19)

Three losses in a row must have been the wakeup call Skutt needed. The Skyhawks head to district play with some momentum built on a win over Norris and Elkhorn followed up last week with a victory over two quality opponents - Bishop Heelan (Iowa) and Aurora.

This Week: vs. Ralston, vs. Gross/Roncalli winner

19. Auburn (23-0, Last Week #20)

Auburn completes its third unbeaten regular season in the past five years and has put together a perfect record averaging wins by 27 points. The Bulldogs closed the schedule with wins by 14 and 23.

This Week: vs. Falls City, vs. Fairbury/Wilber-Clatonia winner

20. Ashland-Greenwood (21-2, Last Week #25)

The reigning back-to-back Class C-1 champion won twice last week and extended the streak to 10 as the playoffs begin. A win a Bishop Neumann on Feb. 13 was one of the biggest wins of the season. AG trailed by 12 at halftime, had just 11 points and looked dead in the water. The Bluejays were within two to start the fourth and scored 25 of the final 28 points to pull out the win.

This Week: vs. Louisville, vs. Neumann/Wahoo winner

21. Elkhorn (14-4, Last Week #21)

Elkhorn looks vulnerable after an 0-2 finish. And it’s not just the losses but the opponents in those losses that have quickly removed the Antlers from among the favorites in Class B. One game last week was a 52-49 loss to Roncalli.

This Week: vs. Mount Michael, vs. Gretna East/Elkhorn North winner

22. Elkhorn South (12-11, Last Week Unrated)

Elkhorn South started the year in the Top 25 then went 3-8 through the midpoint of the schedule. There aren’t a lot of great wins since then, but the Storm finished 9-3 and takes a winning record into district play.

This Week: vs. Papio South, vs. Omaha North or Burke/Norfolk winner

23. Sidney (19-2, Last Week #24)

A game at Alliance was canceled due to bad roads. That means Sidney will be off for 11 days before opening district play against…that same Alliance team.

This Week: vs. Alliance, vs. Mitchell/Chadron winner

24. Omaha Concordia (21-2, Last Week #23)

Concordia lost its fourth game of the season and hadn’t lost again until a road game last week at a DC West program that is in the middle of its best season in boys hoops history. Still, it took a bucket with 1.5 seconds remaining to finally put Concordia away. We’ll likely hear more from the Mustangs in the postseason.

This Week: vs. Boys Town/Arlington winner, vs. Fort Calhoun/DC West winner

25. Douglas County West (20-2, Last Week Unrated)

The Falcons are in the midst of the best season the school has ever had since the doors opened in 2005. DC West capped the season with a win over Concordia and has seven total wins over teams above .500. The only losses are to unbeaten Auburn and defending champ Ashland-Greenwood.

This Week: vs. Fort Calhoun, vs. Concordia or Boys Town/Arlington winner

--Nathan Charles I @SBLiveNeb