Basketball power rankings put boys first, girls in the playoffs
Feb 12, 2024
Antoine Crosson gets ready to shoot the ball during the game against Bourne. Photo by Leighah Beausoleil
A Wareham player goes up for a basket on a late game drive. Photo by Liam Mayo
Senior Captain Ajay Lopes keeps the ball from an Old Rochester player. Photo by Leighah Beausoleil
A Wareham player readies herself for a free throw. Photo by Liam Mayo
The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association has released its power rankings for the winter season of play, and the Wareham varsity boys basketball team sits atop the standings.
The boys squad has a Rank 1 spot with a 14-3 record and an overall rating of 12.0992. The rating combines the team's margin of victory with the strength of its opponents, showing how they stack up against the competition; the team is a half point higher than its closest competition, with Bourne the number 2 team at 11.5.
The girls varsity basketball team sits at Rank 45 in the standings, with an 11-6 record and an overall rating of -5.6566.
The rankings include the scores from games up to Friday, Feb. 9. The top 32 ranked teams in the division qualify for the playoffs tournament regardless of record. Teams ranked 33 and below qualify for a play-in game with a .500 or better record.
The boys team's division lead has echoes of the team's championship season in 2022-23. That year, the Vikings had a 22-3 record going into the postseason and were ranked first in the division, and they ended the playoffs with a state championship win.
Coming into this season, the team picked a schedule that put them up against tougher teams, to be more ready for its competition in the playoffs, senior co-captain Ajay Lopes said at the start of the season.
"We're a really talented basketball team," head coach Steve Faniel said after a recent close loss to the number 2 ranked Bourne. "We're satisfied with where we're at, but we're working hard daily to figure some stuff out to get where we need to be."
The girls basketball team came into the season without the same pedigree of success, having had a three-win season the previous year.
"I'm hoping we can just come out, play hard, get better [and] allow the girls to hopefully enjoy their season," head coach Mike Fortune said at the start of the season.
The team built itself an 11-6 record across the season, with the players working hard throughout, Fortune said.
"There's times we come out and play really, really well, and there's other times we come out and we don't play well," he said. "We get a little bit of pressure and sometimes we crack, but for the most part it's been a positive experience."
