We'll likely never see a scenario like that play out in Kansas, so that's why we have rankings. I don't just make these up off the top of my head. I don't rank teams based solely on their final wins and losses. I factor in strength of schedule, margin of victory, whether the win/loss came on the road or at home and quality of the other team. Let's just say I have a system and this is what it spit out.
Click the jump to view the Top 25 teams in Kansas, according to me.
#1 Blue Valley Northwest (17-0): The Huskies have played the most difficult schedule in the state and remain unbeaten. They're the unquestioned best team in the state and the favorite to win 6A. Northwest is not only beating quality teams, like Miege and BV North, but it is destroying them. Most impressive team in the state.
#2 Shawnee Mission East (15-1): My decision to keep the Lancers a spot ahead of SM South is based on more high-quality wins. I think East has the more impressive body of work, even with the loss, and it added two more quality wins against 6A teams in SM Northwest and Olathe East. These three road trips in five days will be a test.
#3 Shawnee Mission South (17-0): The Raiders passed a major test in invading Lawrence and coming out with a 1-point win. That ranks as their best win on the season. I'm thinking SM East and South both win out to create a monster showdown next week that will be the best game of the regular season.
#4 Topeka Highland Park (17-0): The Scots have been nothing but impressive this season in playing a quality schedule and dismissing just about every opponent with ease. Washburn Rural is not a bad team and Hi Park just handed them a 41-point beatdown recently. The Scots shouldn't have much of an issue completing a perfect 20-0 season.
#5 Wichita North (16-2): Conner Frankamp returned from injury and just in time because the Redskins entered their most difficult week of the season and emerged from it with a perfect 3-0 record. Frankamp averaged over 40 points in those games and he's looking like he's going to become the City League's all-time leading scorer on Friday. North's road wins last week are enough to bump them over Ottawa this week.
#6 Ottawa (17-0): I hope everyone has seen Semi Ojeleye's freak-of-nature alley-oop dunk he had last week. It's not Ottawa's fault that it doesn't play the quality of schedule that the five teams ahead of it plays. But that has to be a factor. The Cyclones continue to sweep up their competition this year, winning by an average of 31.1 points. That shouldn't fluctuate much these next three games.
#7 McPherson (15-2): If it wasn't for that head-scratching loss on the road to Circle, McPherson would probably have the No. 4 spot on lock. That's how good the Bullpups have been and how quality their schedule has been. Although they won't face a stiff test from here on out, they can still build a solid overall body of work.
#8 Lawrence (11-6): I know the 6 losses jump out to you, but you have to look at the schedule Lawrence has played this season. It's insane and probably the second-toughest behind BV Northwest in the state. The Lions have 6 high-quality wins and have played SM East and SM South to the very last second and lost by 2 and 1, respectively. Those losses don't hurt; they validate Lawrence as an elite team.
#9 Goddard Eisenhower (16-1): The Tigers passed their final quality test in Andover and shouldn't have a problem winning out and riding that win streak to 15 games. What is holding Eisenhower back is that it doesn't have a high-quality win like the other teams and the fact AV-CTL Div. I and Div. II being down has dragged down their strength of schedule.
#10 Lansing (16-1): Two more road wins for the Lions, who have quietly been rolling along beating average teams all season. A win on the road at Mill Valley on Friday would probably be enough to bump Lansing into the second spot in Class 5A and higher up these rankings.
#11 Scott City (17-1): Obviously the challenging part of the Beavers' schedule has come and passed. They don't have much left to prove. They're winning by an average of 26.4 points and that is probably going to increase over these next two games.
#12 Mill Valley (15-2): The Jaguars have been sneaky-good this season and have actually played a more difficult schedule than Lansing, but that early-season loss is holding them back. They have a chance for revenge this Friday when it hosts Lansing and that's a game Mill Valley needs to win to prove itself as a serious Class 5A title contender.
#13 Olathe South (12-5): No movement here for the Falcons, but the last two wins (at Free State and SM West at home) were impressive. They were on a little bit of a skid there, so this was what they needed to stabilize themselves. Two more quality tests are ahead and it's going to be a challenge to finish this season with just 5 losses.
#14 Emporia (15-2): The Spartans have feasted on a weak schedule this season and came up empty when it had a chance to prove itself against Highland Park. They can pick up average wins from here on out, but it's not looking like there's much opportunity to move up.
#15 Andover Central (14-4): The four losses are a bit much, but they have all come against high-quality teams. That can be seen two ways: Yes, the Jaguars don't have a bad loss but they also have lost every chance they've had to make a statement. There's not another one of those tests left, so they're in the same situation as Emporia.
#16 Andale (15-2): The Indians are going through another soft part of their schedule that continues this Friday. The strength of schedule is what holds them back and there's not another quality win left on the schedule, although wins over Clearwater and Collegiate would be solid.
#17 Kansas City Piper (14-4): I really like the strength of schedule for the Pirates and how they've fared against it for a Class 4A team. Now they're going to have to play their best ball of the season to pick up that 15th win because they play Basehor and then Lansing next week - two tough games.
#18 Derby (15-3): Another team victimized by its weak schedule, but the Panthers are aware of that. They faced some injuries earlier in the season when they lost their three games, but now they've bounced back and are rolling to a league title it appears. Derby picked up two good wins the last two, but now those kinds of wins are gone from the schedule. The Panthers should finish 17-3.
#19 Kansas City Washington (12-5): The Wildcats are rolling right now, as they stretched their winning streak to 6 games with wins over KC Schlagle and Wyandotte. What I like about this team is that they don't have a bad loss all season and have four quality wins. If they can keep that up, there's nowhere to go but up.
#20 Blue Valley West (9-7): Here's where the strength of the schedule plays in. The Jaguars have seven losses, but they're playing well right now and it's against a ridiculously tough schedule. BV West added two more quality wins in BV Southwest and Aquinas, but now have to face the best team in the state and get to rebound against two more solid teams in Free State and Bishop Miege.
#21 Blue Valley Southwest (12-6): The recent loss to West is the tiebreaker here, as the T-Wolves have a very comparable rating in my system. BV Southwest did respond with a solid win on the road at Miege, which counts as a quality win. They can keep moving up with another swing game this Friday against BV North.
#22 Kapaun Mount Carmel (12-5): The defending Class 5A champions are freefalling a bit, but that's because of the schedule. There just haven't been many quality win opportunities and Kapaun is 2-4 in those games. That doesn't compare well to the KC-area schools and there's not another opportunity left to move up either.
#23 Shawnee Mission Northwest (10-7): The Cougars have gone through an up-and-down season, losing one, winning two, losing two, winning one. But they seem to be playing their best as the end of the season approaches and that's good news. They have two tough road games this week, but if they can win that Olathe South game then they can make a big statement.
#24 Olathe East (10-7): The Hawks are reeling right now and that's not a very good sign in February. They've lost 3 of 4 in this month, including their last two against Olathe Northwest and SM East. Now those aren't bad losses, but it's troubling the margin. It doesn't get any easier here either, as a road trip to Lawrence on Friday is looming.
#25 Blue Valley North (8-9): Yes, the Mustangs have a losing record. No, I do not care. Just kidding, I swear I kept that in consideration but BV North has played one of the toughest schedules in the state and I think any team not ranked would struggle to finish with 8 wins in that schedule. I'm not looking to rank the 25 teams with the best records. I'm looking to rank the 25 best teams in Kansas, period. I say BV North should be included.
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