Gainesville – Most of the top 10 in the Prep Zone Power Poll remained intact heading into the first round of the FHSAA boys’ state basketball playoffs on Thursday night.
Top-ranked Providence remained a unanimous No. 1. The Stallions (23-4) cruised to the 3A-District 4 title by an average margin of victory of 43 points.
Sandalwood (Jacksonville) remained second. The Saints (24-2), who have won 17 games in a row, won the 8A-1 title by routing First Coast (Jacksonville), 86-58.
It took a jump shot with 0.9 seconds to play, but Bolles (Jacksonville) stayed unbeaten with a 54-52 win over previous No. 17 Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) to win the 4A-3 championship. The third-ranked Bulldogs improved to 26-0, while the Conquerors (18-7) fell out of this week’s poll.
Lake Minneola and Ribault (Jacksonville) also captured district titles as the Hawks (24-3), ranked No. 1 in Class 6A, and Trojans (25-3), rounded at the top five at Nos. four and five, respectively.
The Villages (25-2) rolled to the 4A-6 title with an 80-55 win over Trinity Catholic (Ocala), while Ed White (Jacksonville) (22-4) won the 6A-3 championship with a 74-56 win over RV Forrest (Jacksonville). They remained sixth and seventh in this week’s poll.
Citrus (Inverness) won its 15th game in a row to remain 8th. The Hurricanes (25-5) defeated Dunnellon, 69-63, in the 5A-6 title game.
Fort White remained ninth. The Indians (21-2) defeated Santa Fe (Alachua), 61-53, to win 4A-District 5.
The only change in the top 10 was at No. 10.
Baker County (Glen St. Mary) lost to No. 16 Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville), 62-61 (OT), in the 5A-3 title game. The Wildcats (22-4) dropped four spots to No. 14.
Meanwhile, Bartram Trail (St. Johns) moved up two spots and into the top 10. The Bears (22-5) earned a first-round home playoff game with a 73-45 win over Nease (Ponte Vedra) in the 6A-4 title game.
Ponte Vedra made one of the biggest jumps in this week’s poll following a win over previous No. 11 Palatka, 72-67, in the 5A-4 championship game. The Sharks (21-6) moved up six spots to No. 14.
Eastside (Gainesville) also moved up six spots after winning the 5A-5 title. The Rams (20-6), who have won seven in a row, defeated North Marion (Sparr), 64-58, in overtime.
Only four teams (Baker County, Palatka, Vanguard and Oakleaf) in the top 20 did not win a district title. However, all four teams earned a postseason bid.
The Prep Zone Power Poll ranks the top 20 high school football, basketball, baseball & softball teams (regardless of FHSAA classification) across 26 counties in North Florida (Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Columbia, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Levy, Marion, Nassau, Putnam, Sumter, St. Johns, Suwannee, Taylor, Union & Volusia counties). It is voted on weekly by sportswriters and sportscasters.
PREP ZONE POWER POLL – 2013-14 BASKETBALL POLL #8
(School, followed by first-place votes, classification, current record and total voting points)
1. Providence (Jacksonville) (7) (3A) (23-4) – 140
2. Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (8A) (24-2) – 130
3. Bolles (Jacksonville) (4A) (26-0) – 128
4. Lake Minneola (6A) (24-3) – 119
5. Ribault (Jacksonville) (4A) (25-3) – 110
6. The Villages (4A) (25-2) – 106
7. Ed White (Jacksonville) (6A) (22-4) – 96
8. Citrus (Inverness) (5A) (25-2) – 94
9. Fort White (4A) (21-2) – 80
10. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (6A) (22-5) – 79
11. Gainesville (6A) (20-7) – 64
12. Eastside (Gainesville) (5A) (20-6) – 53
13. Chiefland (1A) (24-1) – 52
14T Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (5A) (22-4) – 39
14T Ponte Vedra (5A) (21-6) – 39
16. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (5A) (19-8) – 37
17. Palatka (5A) (19-7) – 32
18. Vanguard (Ocala) (6A) (18-9) – 25
19T Oakleaf (Orange Park) (6A) (18-7) – 9
19T DeLand (8A) (20-8) – 9
Also receiving votes: Hawthorne (1A) (21-5) – 8; Nature Coast (Brooksville) (5A) (20-7) – 5; Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (8A) (21-8) – 4; Hamilton County (Jasper) (1A) (16-7) – 4; Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (4A) (18-7) – 2; Mainland (Daytona Beach) (6A) (18-8) – 2; Mount Dora Bible (3A) (21-6) – 2; Forrest (Jacksonville) (6A) (17-9) – 1; Deltona (6A) (19-8) – 1.
