Post by mocofan on Jan 13, 2024 0:27:30 GMT -2
Looking at MoCo Boys Basketball through January 12th, and it is obvious that there is a level of parity that is rarely seen in the county. The depth of quality teams is impressive, although it doesn't appear as if there are any bona fide state title contenders.
Division Standings
In case anyone is interested in the division standings, MCPS has five divisions of five teams this season, with every school playing its divisional opponents twice. At the halfway point, here are the division standings (divisional games only):
Central
Whitman leads the division at 3-1.
B-CC, Churchill and Wootton are all 2-2.
WJ is 1-3.
West
Gaithersburg, Northwest and QO are all 3-1.
Clarksburg is 1-3 and SV is 0-4.
East
RM is 3-1.
Sherwood, Blake and PB are 2-2.
Springbrook is 1-3.
South
Kennedy is 4-0.
Blair, Einstein and Northwood are all 2-2.
Wheaton is 0-4.
North
Magruder is 4-0.
Poolesville is 3-1.
Damascus is 2-2.
Rockville is 1-3.
Watkins Mill is 0-4.
Regions - Overall regular season record will determine seeding (holiday tournament results do not count).
4A West I
Overall, a relatively weak region, particularly among the MoCo teams. Unless Northwest can beat Frederick or TJ, best guess is that it will be a FredCo team to make it to States.
Frederick 7-4
TJ 6-4
Northwest 5-4
Urbana 4-5
Clarksburg 1-8
SV 1-9
4A West II
Whitman is the slight favorite, with close wins over B-CC, Churchill and WJ already on its resume. But every team in this region is at least competitive and most are capable of beating anyone on any given night.
Whitman 8-2
B-CC 7-3
Churchill 6-4
QO 5-4
WJ 5-5
Gaithersburg 4-6
4A North II
A very top heavy region, with PB, RM and Kennedy all among the upper half of the county. Springbrook has shown flashes of being able to compete as well.
PB 8-2
RM 7-2
Kennedy 7-2
Springbrook 4-6
Einstein 3-6
Wheaton 1-8
4A South I
This is arguably the least competitive region in 4A, but one of the teams will advance to states. Northwood and Blair are among the bottom third of MoCo, but anything is possibly when playing out of county competition - particularly against teams that are not highly regarded traditionally in their own counties.
Laurel 4-4
Northwestern 3-5
Northwood 4-7
Blair 2-8
Reservoir 1-10
High Point 0-6
3A West II
The top four teams in this region are as deep as any region in the state. The region semifinals and finals will be very competitive and any of the four teams could advance. Magruder's only loss this season is a one point opening night loss to Wootton. Blake has lost to both Sherwood and Magruder. Magruder/Sherwood and Blake/Wootton are both regular season finales and will be great barometers for the playoffs.
Magruder 8-1
Sherwood 8-2
Wootton 8-2
Blake 7-3
Damascus 4-6
Rockville 2-7
Watkins Mill 0-10
2A West II
Mixed regions with teams from four different counties can sometimes provide wild results. Poolesville may not be able to hang with the top half of MoCo but has shown the ability to beat the bottom half. Maybe the Falcons can compete with out of county 2As.
Century 6-2
Southern-AA 5-2
Wilde Lake 4-5
Poolesville 4-5
Hammond 3-6
My Top Ten
As of January 12th; note that this is fluid and there is not much separation between the top 10 teams this year.
1. Sherwood (8-2) - Despite losing its most recent game to Paint Branch, the Warriors own wins over Whitman, Churchill and Blake. Only losses are to RM (in OT) and to PB.
2. Wootton (8-2) - The Patriots have wins over Magruder, RM, B-CC and Whitman. A rough week before winter break provided losses to Churchill and WJ.
3. Magruder (8-1) - The Colonels have the best record in MoCo and have an impressive win over Blake. Only loss is a one point opening night defeat to Wootton, but have won eight straight since then. The schedule has not been that difficult though.
4. Whitman (8-2) - The Vikes have played one of the more difficult schedules in MoCo. Wins over Kennedy, Churchill, WJ and B-CC. Losses are to Sherwood and Wootton.
5. Richard Montgomery (7-2) - The Rockets have wins over PB, Sherwood, B-CC and WJ. Lost to Wootton and Blake.
6. Blake (7-3) - The Bengals earned a much needed win over RM after hitting a rough patch with losses to Sherwood and Springbrook in January. The Bengals also have beaten PB and QO and lost to Magruder.
7. Paint Branch (8-2) - The Panthers picked up a big win over Sherwood and have lost to RM and Blake.
8. Kennedy (7-2) - The Cavs own just one win over a team with a winning record (WJ) and lost to Springbrook and Whitman.
9. B-CC (8-3) - The Barons beat Churchill and WJ, but have lost to Whitman, Wootton and RM.
10. Churchill (6-4) - The Dawgs have shown glimpses with wins over Wootton, QO and WJ. But losses to Thomas Stone, Sherwood, Whitman and B-CC are starting to pile up.
Others considered:
QO (5-4)
Northwest (5-4)
WJ (5-5)
Division Standings
In case anyone is interested in the division standings, MCPS has five divisions of five teams this season, with every school playing its divisional opponents twice. At the halfway point, here are the division standings (divisional games only):
Central
Whitman leads the division at 3-1.
B-CC, Churchill and Wootton are all 2-2.
WJ is 1-3.
West
Gaithersburg, Northwest and QO are all 3-1.
Clarksburg is 1-3 and SV is 0-4.
East
RM is 3-1.
Sherwood, Blake and PB are 2-2.
Springbrook is 1-3.
South
Kennedy is 4-0.
Blair, Einstein and Northwood are all 2-2.
Wheaton is 0-4.
North
Magruder is 4-0.
Poolesville is 3-1.
Damascus is 2-2.
Rockville is 1-3.
Watkins Mill is 0-4.
Regions - Overall regular season record will determine seeding (holiday tournament results do not count).
4A West I
Overall, a relatively weak region, particularly among the MoCo teams. Unless Northwest can beat Frederick or TJ, best guess is that it will be a FredCo team to make it to States.
Frederick 7-4
TJ 6-4
Northwest 5-4
Urbana 4-5
Clarksburg 1-8
SV 1-9
4A West II
Whitman is the slight favorite, with close wins over B-CC, Churchill and WJ already on its resume. But every team in this region is at least competitive and most are capable of beating anyone on any given night.
Whitman 8-2
B-CC 7-3
Churchill 6-4
QO 5-4
WJ 5-5
Gaithersburg 4-6
4A North II
A very top heavy region, with PB, RM and Kennedy all among the upper half of the county. Springbrook has shown flashes of being able to compete as well.
PB 8-2
RM 7-2
Kennedy 7-2
Springbrook 4-6
Einstein 3-6
Wheaton 1-8
4A South I
This is arguably the least competitive region in 4A, but one of the teams will advance to states. Northwood and Blair are among the bottom third of MoCo, but anything is possibly when playing out of county competition - particularly against teams that are not highly regarded traditionally in their own counties.
Laurel 4-4
Northwestern 3-5
Northwood 4-7
Blair 2-8
Reservoir 1-10
High Point 0-6
3A West II
The top four teams in this region are as deep as any region in the state. The region semifinals and finals will be very competitive and any of the four teams could advance. Magruder's only loss this season is a one point opening night loss to Wootton. Blake has lost to both Sherwood and Magruder. Magruder/Sherwood and Blake/Wootton are both regular season finales and will be great barometers for the playoffs.
Magruder 8-1
Sherwood 8-2
Wootton 8-2
Blake 7-3
Damascus 4-6
Rockville 2-7
Watkins Mill 0-10
2A West II
Mixed regions with teams from four different counties can sometimes provide wild results. Poolesville may not be able to hang with the top half of MoCo but has shown the ability to beat the bottom half. Maybe the Falcons can compete with out of county 2As.
Century 6-2
Southern-AA 5-2
Wilde Lake 4-5
Poolesville 4-5
Hammond 3-6
My Top Ten
As of January 12th; note that this is fluid and there is not much separation between the top 10 teams this year.
1. Sherwood (8-2) - Despite losing its most recent game to Paint Branch, the Warriors own wins over Whitman, Churchill and Blake. Only losses are to RM (in OT) and to PB.
2. Wootton (8-2) - The Patriots have wins over Magruder, RM, B-CC and Whitman. A rough week before winter break provided losses to Churchill and WJ.
3. Magruder (8-1) - The Colonels have the best record in MoCo and have an impressive win over Blake. Only loss is a one point opening night defeat to Wootton, but have won eight straight since then. The schedule has not been that difficult though.
4. Whitman (8-2) - The Vikes have played one of the more difficult schedules in MoCo. Wins over Kennedy, Churchill, WJ and B-CC. Losses are to Sherwood and Wootton.
5. Richard Montgomery (7-2) - The Rockets have wins over PB, Sherwood, B-CC and WJ. Lost to Wootton and Blake.
6. Blake (7-3) - The Bengals earned a much needed win over RM after hitting a rough patch with losses to Sherwood and Springbrook in January. The Bengals also have beaten PB and QO and lost to Magruder.
7. Paint Branch (8-2) - The Panthers picked up a big win over Sherwood and have lost to RM and Blake.
8. Kennedy (7-2) - The Cavs own just one win over a team with a winning record (WJ) and lost to Springbrook and Whitman.
9. B-CC (8-3) - The Barons beat Churchill and WJ, but have lost to Whitman, Wootton and RM.
10. Churchill (6-4) - The Dawgs have shown glimpses with wins over Wootton, QO and WJ. But losses to Thomas Stone, Sherwood, Whitman and B-CC are starting to pile up.
Others considered:
QO (5-4)
Northwest (5-4)
WJ (5-5)