Gameday Boys Power Poll - FINAL
STERLING, VA - Welcome, fans, to the final installment of the Power Poll for the regular season. It's now off to the playoffs, where after this weekend, the best time of the winter comes rolling around. If there was a ever a time to start following just what the heck is going on in Northern Virginia basketball, then this is it. If you love March Madness, then you'll love these next two weeks.
There'll be Cinderella's, heart-breakers, and even disappointed losers invited to this Northern Virginia dance, making it the greatest spectacle there is. Simply put, there is no better dance than the one that's coming up, so get ready.
But before we get to talking about "the dance," we have listed in the Power Poll, what appears, the current favorites who are looking to be crowned king, but we know full-well this list will change. Some will lose, others may follow through, but one thing's for sure and that's this Power Poll won't look the same next weekend. The first round of the dance is on Tuesday (except for the Northwestern, they like to get dancing on Friday) and at Gameday we can't wait. We've all bought our tickets and we hope you have too. Just make sure to dress nice.
1. TC WILLIAMS 19-3
Previous: 1
When we said last week that TC Williams is rolling right on through the Northern Region, we weren't kidding. They demolished a high-quality Lake Braddock team by 25 points in a 62-37 win, and are starting to look scary-good. And in a big match-up against Hayfield, they finished their regular season play with a 5 point victory on the road. Look for the Titans to roll through the Patriot District tournament, and the top seed in the Northern Region dance.
2. WESTFIELD 19-2
Previous: 3
Moving up one spot are the Westfield Bulldogs after their huge 57-49 home win against previous #2 Chantilly. Yet for the Bulldogs, they can't get too complacent. They are sure to meet up with Chantilly again in the district tournament. Take care of business then, and this team could contend with TC Williams in the Northern Regions.
3. CHANTILLY 19-2
Previous: 2
Chantilly drops a spot this week thanks to their eight point loss on the road to #2 Westfield, but we have a funny feeling those two will meet again, down the road, for the Concorde District tournament championship.
4. MILLBROOK 22-1
Previous: 4
Before you get bored and hear about Millbrook again winning easily over a Northwestern District opponent, we have some otherwise exciting news: Millbrook dropped 100 points on an opponent for the first time this year. In high school basketball, where games are 32 minutes long, that's an absolutely incredible accomplishment. The Pioneers came close on two occasions at reaching the century mark, but finally did so against Warren County last Monday. The Pioneers also took care of business in their opening round game of the district tournament, dispatching Warren County, 82-47. This team is favored to win the tournament, as they have home court advantage all throughout.
5. WOODSON 17-5
Previous: 6
The Northern Virginia area's hottest team never fails to impress us here at Gameday. Winners now of their last nine games and 11 of their last 12, it's safe to now declare this team a favorite to reach the Patriot Center. What's been most impressive is that they keep beating top competition. Just this past week they knocked off Langley and South Lakes--two teams that have been consistently ranked in our Power Poll. We advise all teams approaching the Cavaliers at this point in the year to proceed with extreme caution.
6. LANGLEY 18-4
Previous: 5
These past couple of days, we've seen Langley do something they normally don't do, and that is they lost a game--two of them to be exact. That can't be a good sign for the Saxons entering district tournament play this week. With the weapons this team has, we don't expect this team to go away anytime soon, but with Woodson's resurgence, it may be time to do some reevaluating in order to make a playoff run.
7. GAR-FIELD 17-6
Previous: 7
Gar-Field this past week picked up two huge wins over Potomac and Freedom-Woodbridge and now sit as the #2 seed going into Cardinal District tournament play. Whether this team has what it takes to make a deep run into regionals remains to be seen, but they are certainly a legitimate contender.
8. MADISON 17-5
Previous: NR
Welcome back Madison to the Power Poll. Thanks to a big win over #7 Langley, the Warhawks can no longer be said to be in "panic mode" after failing to beat a winning team in three tries and barely beating Stone Bridge.
9. HANDLEY 17-4
Previous: 10
Handley may not have put up 100 on their opponents like their friendly neighbors in Millbrook did, but the Judges were able to rack up three more district victories. This is one team that could give Millbrook fits, but more importantly, this is looking to be quite a formidable basketball team in the area. The potential is there for this team to move up considerably.
10. SOUTH LAKES 17-5
Previous: 8
A loss to Woodson, a team everyone is losing to at this point, forces the Seahawks to drop two spots. South Lakes however does manage to stay in our Power Poll, making this the fourth (yes, fourth) team from the Liberty District to make it into the Poll this week. Keep in mind, too, that this was the last team to beat Woodson, so expect quite the spectacle when the Liberty District tournament kicks off next week.
HONORABLE MENTION:
POTOMAC 13-6: The Panthers, on their own accord, decided to make the Power Poll interesting and surge to 1st place in the Cardinal District. One thing that's certain about the Cardinal is that those teams all have outstanding talent and annually produce a state contender, so we'll pay our respects to this team. They only get the "Honorable Mention" tag, for now, based on their slow start at the beginning, but they could easily jump into the Top 10 after this week, if they run the table in the tournament.
HAYFIELD 14-7: For being such an incredibly young team, it's amazing to see just how well this team has performed of late. Winning two games this past week by one point, and taking the top ranked Titans of TC Williams to "the mat," we can't wait to see this team next year. They now sit as the #3 seed going into their tournament, and could secure a regional berth with a victory in the 1st round. This squad could do some damage in regional play, if they advance.
HERITAGE 13-8: Surprise, surprise, there is a Dulles District team winning consistently! Finally! Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to the favorite in the Dulles District. No, we really mean it this time. This is really the team to beat. We're serious. It might've taken nearly the whole year for a team to step up, but we're happy to see the Pride be the team to do it. Don't let their loss to Loudoun County last Friday detract from the fact that this team is the hot team, right now, in the Dulles.
MOUNT VERNON 14-7: We here at Gameday thought it was time to cut a little slack to the National District. After all, this team is 10-2 in their district and they have won six of seven lately, making it fairly safe to say that they are succinctly equal to, or better than, the rest of their competition. We're still not sold on this team, out-of-district wise, but we'll wait and see how they do come tournament time.
