South Dakota Sportswriters Basketball Poll February 16

The regular season for high school basketball comes to an end within a week. Here's the latest rankings from the South Dakota Sportswriters as we head towards the finish line.

Heading into the last week of the regular season, Class AA boys has found a consistent top four. Only one change took place this week with Watertown re-entering the top five following a one week hiatus. O'Gorman, Washington, Huron, and Aberdeen Central all had a great week last week with no losses between them. Seven teams in Class AA have 10 or more wins.

Class AA Boys
(Rank, School, First Place Votes, Record, Points, Previous Ranking)

1. Sioux Falls O’Gorman (7) 13-4, 35, 1
2. Sioux Falls Washington 14-4, 28, 2
3. Huron 14-3, 21, 3
4. Aberdeen Central 13-4, 12, 4
5. Watertown 12-5, 6, NR
Receiving Votes: Sioux Falls Roosevelt

Sioux Falls Washington is now the unanimous top team in girls Class AA after picking up wins over Lincoln, Stevens, and Central last week. Also helping with that was Brandon Valley handing Aberdeen Central their first loss of the year. That has moved Brandon Valley into 5th. O'Gorman and Lincoln continue to battle for 3rd-4th and will play this upcoming Saturday. Eight teams in Class AA are at .500 or better on the year (unfortunately with the set up one team that has double digit wins in District 2 will not make it to State while another team with a less than .500 record will).

Class AA Girls
(Rank, School, First Place Votes, Record, Points, Previous Ranking)

1. Sioux Falls Washington (7) 16-1, 35, 1
2. Aberdeen Central 16-1, 26, 2
3. Sioux Falls O'Gorman 14-3, 19, 4
4. Sioux Falls Lincoln 13-4, 18, 3
5. Brandon Valley 11-6, 4, NR
Receiving Votes: Harrisburg

Not a lot of changes in this week's Class A boys rankings. Dell Rapids received a first place vote from each sportswriter. Sioux Falls Christian, who plays one of the toughest schedules in South Dakota, received an improbable win over Western Christian last week. The Chargers had another impressive win over 4th ranked St. Thomas More. Clark-Willow Lake made the biggest jump this week after winning three games.

Class A Boys
(Rank, School, First Place Votes, Record, Points, Previous Ranking)

1. Dell Rapids (7) 16-1, 16, 1
2. Sioux Falls Christian 15-3, 28, 2
3. Clark-Willow Lake 16-2, 15, 5
4. St. Thomas More 15-3, 8, 4
5. Sioux Valley 14-4, 8, 3
Receiving Votes: Madison, Red Cloud

No changes in this week's Class A girls rankings. As crazy as it is, the Sportswriters even still have McCook Central-Montrose and Sioux Valley tied for 3rd with the exact same points given each way. St. Thomas More continues to dominate Class A girls.

Class A Girls
(Rank, School, First Place Votes, Record, Points, Previous Ranking)

1. St. Thomas More (7) 17-2, 35, 1
2. Mt. Vernon-Plankinton 15-1, 27, 2
T3. McCook Central-Montrose 16-2, 17, T3
T3. Sioux Valley 17-1, 17, T3
5. Webster Area 16-2, 8, 5
Receiving Votes: Lennox

Three more wins for undefeated Warner has moved them to 18-0 and led to no change in the top spot this week. Only one shift took place this week with White River and Canistota switching positions. The reason? Canistota defeated White River 61-51 on February 13. Langford Area and Wolsey-Wessington remain in 4th and 5th respectively.

Class B Boys
(Rank, School, First Place Votes, Record, Points, Previous Ranking)

1. Warner (7) 18-0, 35, 1
2. Canistota 14-2, 25, 3
3. White River 14-3, 15, 2
4. Langford Area 15-2, 10, 4
5. Wolsey-Wessington 15-2, 6, 5
Receiving Votes: Sanborn Central-Woonsocket, Chester Area, Harding County, Potter County, Herreid-Selby Area

Sully Buttes remains undefeated, while Hanson picked up a couple of wins to keep them second ranked. Sanborn Central-Woonsocket is currently on a seven game winning streak heading into this week. Viborg-Hurley and Ethan both suffered one loss this week, and both moved down the rankings to be tied for 4th.

Class B Girls
(Rank, School, First Place Votes, Record, Points, Previous Ranking)

1. Sully Buttes (7) 18-0, 35, 1
2. Hanson 16-3, 28, 2
3. Sanborn Central-Woonsocket 14-4, 11, 5
T4. Viborg-Hurley 14-3, 10, 3
T4. Ethan 13-4, 10, 4
Receiving Votes: Freeman 5, Castlewood 2, Warner 1.

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