Nebraska high school boys basketball Top 25 rankings (2/6/2024)

Several teams had mixed results last week but a win for Kearney over top-10 Bryan plus a close loss to top-10 Pius moved the Bearcats up three spots. Papillion-La Vista also vaulted several positions thanks to a 2-1 week that included a win over previous No. 18 Millard West. The top two remain the same, Gretna joins the top five, and Auburn at No. 20 becomes the highest-rated Class C-1 team. 

1. Bellevue West (16-1, Last Week #1)

Bellevue West hangs on to No. 1 for the fifth straight week and has run its winning streak to 14 in a row since a loss in the conference tournament. The T-Birds were in action just once last week and took down No. 9 Southeast at home. Bell West jumped out to a 12-point first-quarter lead but struggled to maintain that hot start the rest of the way. Still, shooting 51% was enough to overcome 20% from three.

This Week: Friday at #5 Central, Saturday vs. Sunrise Christian (Kansas) at Grand Island

2. Millard North (16-2, Last Week #2)

Just like Bellevue West, Millard North remains entrenched in its current position and keeps winning. The Mustangs have rattled off five straight and won twice last week over Millard South and Millard West. Millard North forced 14 turnovers against Millard South and had 32 points from Derek Rollins. The Mustangs never delivered a knockout punch to the Wildcats but kept pulling away. Rollins had 21 in that one and made it a double-double on 10 rebounds.

This Week: Friday at Bellevue East

3. Omaha Westside (13-4, Last Week #4)

Westside rises one spot thanks to a win over Creighton Prep. The Warriors trailed late in regulation until Kevin Stubblefield tied it on a three-pointer with seven seconds remaining. Those late heroics were needed despite Westside leading by 14 at the half. Senior Ricky Loftin sealed in OT to make it a two-possession game with only seconds remaining. Loftin had a career game with 25 points and five threes.

This Week: Friday at Millard South, Saturday vs. Denver East (Colorado) at Grand Island

4. Gretna (14-4, Last Week #6)

Gretna is up two spots after earning its eighth win of the year over a team in the top 25. Last week it was a victory over Omaha Central that extended the winning streak to five. Gretna also defeated Omaha Northwest earlier in the week. The Dragons took down the Eagles thanks to late fourth-quarter back-to-back and-ones by Landon Pokorski and Alex Wilcoxon. Central had surged ahead on a 6-0 run until that response by the Gretna senior duo.

This Week: Tuesday at #8 Bryan, Saturday vs. Pembroke Hill (Missouri) at Grand Island

5. Omaha Central (14-4)

The Eagles slip back two spots due to a road loss at Gretna then a win at Fremont. Central trailed most of the way at Gretna before taking a 6-0 lead late in the game. Unfortunately, the Dragons held Eagle senior Daleron Thomas scoreless over the final eight minutes after he had 16 through the first three quarters. The road doesn’t get any easier over the next few weeks. Central closes with four games against teams all inside the top seven.

This Week: Friday vs. #1 Bellevue West, Saturday vs. #7 Omaha North

6. Creighton Prep (12-5, Last Week #5)

Prep lost back-to-back games against Westside for the first time in four years when a second-half road comeback fell short. The Junior Jays struggled to 18 points at halftime and trailed by 14 but had a lead in the closing seconds when Westside forced overtime on a three. It was the third loss in a row, all three of which have come to opponents in the top 10. Prep finally bounced back against Millard South when the Junior Jays shot 53% and hit 10 threes.

This Week: Friday vs. #22 Millard West, Saturday at Rockhurst (Missouri)

7. Omaha North (14-2, Last Week #7)

North has one of the longest win streaks in Class A next to Bellevue West. The Vikings have rattled off nine in a row and have defeated three other top-25 teams during the streak. Last week included three wins – No. 19 Papillion-La Vista, Benson and Columbus. North is up to sixth in the wildcard standings thanks to wins over four teams above .500 and just two losses, but the Vikings have mostly avoided top 10 teams. That won’t be the case over the final six games – three of which include Central, Westside and Bryan.

This Week: Tuesday at Omaha South, Friday vs. Buena Vista, Saturday at #5 Central

8. Omaha Bryan (13-5, Last Week #8)

Bryan maintains its position at No. 8 even though the Bears went on the road and lost at Kearney. Whether or not they can stay there will be determined over a tough stretch in the next 10 days. Bryan has Gretna, Westview and North in three of the next four. A rough fourth quarter cost Bryan at Kearney. The Bears scored just five points in the final eight minutes and saw a one-point deficit balloon into a 16-point loss.

This Week: Tuesday vs. #4 Gretna, Friday at #15 Westview

9. Lincoln Southeast (15-5, Last Week #9)

Southeast was one win away from tying its season-high seven-game win streak when it went on the road to No. 1 Bellevue West. Taye Moore tried to make it interesting after Southeast fell behind 23-11, but his 26 points weren’t quite enough to get the Knights even and over the hump. Southeast blasted Norfolk by 30 earlier in the week thanks to 10 offensive rebounds and 8 for 17 shooting from the perimeter.

This Week: Friday at #11 Kearney, Saturday vs. #19 Papillion-La Vista

10. Lincoln Pius X (13-5, Last Week #10)

Pius split a pair of games against ranked foes – defeating a higher-rated Kearney team and losing to a lower-rated North Star squad. Results also included a blowout against Omaha Northwest. The Kearney game was a fast-paced back-and-forth affair that came down to senior Kellan Humm hitting a clutch three to give Pius a 66-62 lead with 1:17 remaining and then dumping off a pass to Aiden Brass to restore a three-point lead in the final seconds. Pius trailed by as much as 11 at North Star before closing late. Free throws sealed it for the Navigators. Pius took down Northwest by 47 and had 46 points by Treyson Anderson.

This Week: Tuesday at Lincoln High, Friday at Lincoln East, Saturday vs. Fremont

11. Kearney (12-5, Last Week #14)

Kearney slots in right behind Pius since the Bolts won the head-to-head matchup but passes by Crete and Norris because of that close loss and a win over No. 8 Bryan. The Bearcats had a chance to tie at Pius but had a three-pointer blocked just before the buzzer. Jacob Webber had 31 to beat Bryan and the Bearcats only gave up five points in the final quarter. Webber had 28 the next night in a win at Northeast and hit five threes.

This Week: Monday at #15 Westview, Friday vs. #9 Southeast, Saturday vs. #19 Papio (in Grand Island)

12. Papillion-La Vista South (11-6, Last Week #11)

Papio South drops a spot with the ascension of Kearney. The Titans had just one game last week, at Lincoln East, and survived a Spartans’ upset bid 60-57. Both teams shot the ball well but Papio South had twice as many threes.

This Week: Tuesday vs. Burke, Friday vs. #19 Papio, Saturday vs. #11 Kearney

13. Crete (18-0, Last Week #12)

The Cardinals didn’t do anything to fall a spot but fell victim to a quality win by Kearney. Crete gave up a record-setting 54 points to Wahoo senior Marcus Glock but had a more balanced performance and held the Warriors off 90-81. Crete also smashed Schuyler by 58.

This Week: Thursday at Aurora, Saturday vs. #21 Ogallala

14. Norris (15-1, Last Week #13)

Like Crete, Norris didn’t do anything wrong but drops down one on the list because of Kearney’s top-10 win over Bryan. Norris is unbeaten since a loss to Elkhorn in the fourth game of the season. The Titans added to the win list by shooting 51% with 11 offensive boards in a 71-56 win at Beatrice and also won 92-56 at Lincoln Christian with 23 points from Barret Boesinger, seven threes from the junior and 12 threes overall.

This Week: Tuesday vs. #23 Skutt, Friday at Elkhorn South, Saturday vs. Lincoln Lutheran

15. Omaha Westview (10-7, Last Week #15)

Westview alternated wins with losses throughout January then finally made it two wins when the calendar flipped to February. The Wolverines forced 19 turnovers during a 67-34 home win over Buena Vista then shot 63% with 12 threes during a 77-43 win over Grand Island.

This Week: Monday vs. #11 Kearney, Tuesday at #22 Millard West, Friday vs. #8 Bryan, Saturday vs. Bellevue East

16. Elkhorn (13-2, Last Week #16)

Elkhorn had just one game last week and went on the road for a 67-41 win over Hastings that included four players with double-digit points and a team-high 17 from sophomore Nixon Farmer. The Antlers have two more road games this week before wrapping up with a home game against Roncalli.

This Week: Tuesday at Blair, Friday at #23 Skutt

17. Lincoln Southwest (10-6, Last Week #17)

Wins over Northeast and Gretna East pushed Southwest to three wins in a row and tied its season-high win streak from earlier in January. The Silver Hawks are 6-1 in their last seven and have two more winnable games during the week before hosting North Star on Saturday and traveling to Kearney on the 15th. Braden Frager had 15 against Northeast and 20 against Gretna East.

This Week: Tuesday vs. Columbus, Friday vs. Norfolk, Saturday vs. #18 North Star

18. Lincoln North Star (9-7, Last Week #19)

It looked like North Star was set to take a tumble down the ratings following a one-point loss at home to Fremont but then recovered and earned its best win of the year by defeating Pius 67-63. North Star relied too much on the three against Fremont, shooting 31 and making just seven of those. Freshman guard Jordan Castor had 21 in the win over Pius including 12 in the third quarter when the Navigators stretched their lead to 11 then held on late.

This Week: Tuesday vs. Lincoln East, Thursday at Grand Island, Saturday at #17 Southwest

19. Papillion-La Vista (10-7, Last Week #25)

The Monarchs made their first appearance in the ratings last week and are already climbing into the top 20. Papio lost to Omaha North but won two of three last week. Following the defeat to the Vikings, the Monarchs rebounded by holding Northwest to 38% shooting and grabbing 12 offensive boards. They made it two in a row by catching fire in the second half, scored 45 second-half points and downed Millard West 60-43.

This Week: Tuesday vs. Benson, Friday at #12 Papio South, Saturday at #9 Southeast

20. Auburn (18-0, Last Week #21)

The Bulldogs are still the final Class C-1 team without a loss and remained that way last week thanks to wins over Mead and Freeman. Those two plus a win over Palmyra on Jan. 29 gave Auburn the conference title. The Bulldogs won each conference tournament game by at least 14 points.

This Week: Tuesday vs. Syracuse, Thursday vs. Lincoln Lutheran, Saturday vs. Cross County

21. Ogallala (10-1, Last Week #22)

The Indians came off three easy wins in the Southwest Conference tournament with two more over McCook and Broken Bow. Ogallala has played more close games this year. Four wins are in single digits and one loss was by eight in overtime. Still, Ogallala is winning by an average of more than 21 points.

This Week: Saturday vs. #13 Crete

22. Millard West (9-9, Last Week #18)

The Wildcats were hanging around the top 10 thanks to an above .500 record against a Class A schedule. But that’s in jeopardy now because Millard West has yet to beat a team with a winning record nor beat a team with more than seven wins. Last week started with a win over Burke but ended with a 58-46 loss to No. 2 Millard North and a 60-43 defeat to Papio.

This Week: Tuesday vs. #15 Westview, Friday at #6 Prep

23. Skutt Catholic (9-6, Last Week #20)

The Skyhawks continue to tumble down the list during a stretch of three straight losses. They recovered for a win over Mount Michael but not before a road defeat to Bennington. The loss to the Badgers, notwithstanding a defeat to a team from Kansas, was the first loss to an opponent not in the SB Live Top 25.

This Week: Tuesday at #14 Norris, Friday vs. #16 Elkhorn

24. Sidney (18-2, Last Week #24)

The back-and-forth between Sidney and Scottsbluff went the way of the Red Raiders in the rematch. Sidney defeated Gering on the road then hosted Scottsbluff and earned revenge from the Western Conference championship loss six days earlier. The Red Raider’s ability to force the Bearcats into settling for 21 shots from the perimeter was the difference.

This Week: Friday vs. Chadron

25. Scottsbluff (25-5, Last Week #24)

The Bearcats were Western Conference champs on Jan. 27 when they shot 51% and went 8 of 18 from long range. Scottsbluff couldn’t continue that in a rematch with Sidney six days later, went 7 of 31 from outside and added 15 turnovers in a 58-51 rematch loss to the Red Raiders. The week also included a 64-51 win over Alliance.

This Week: Friday vs. Chadron

--Nathan Charles I @SBLiveNeb