What did we learn from holiday tournaments and the opening weeks across MIAA basketball? For starters, the results reaffirmed that championship races are wide open across the state.
Take it from Beverly coach Matt Karakoudas, whose team beat Andover before falling to Central Catholic in the Commonwealth Motors Christmas Classic. The best teams are beating each other.
“I think you’re going to see a lot of that this year maybe in Division 1 because I do think there’s a bunch of teams that can probably win it,” Karakoudas said.
With the dust settled from the holidays, we now enter a six-week march to the state tournament, and it looks to be unpredictable. One new team entered this week’s rankings, but there was movement after some surprising holiday tournament results, including a new No. 1.
One programming note: We’re expecting the MIAA’s first official power rankings release this Friday, which will give us an initial look at the state tournament picture across all divisions.
Let’s take a look at our new Top 10.
MIAA TOP 10s: Preseason | Dec. 24
1. Central Catholic (4-1)
Previous rank: 4
Next game: at Methuen, Jan. 6, 6:30 p.m.
The Raiders reclaimed their status, in my opinion, as the team to beat in MIAA Division 1 with their convincing championship win over Beverly at the Commonwealth Motors Christmas Classic. Senior captain Javi Lopez and his team made their home-opening loss to Andover look more like a brief blip on the radar than anything to be concerned about.
CMCC TITLE: 10 standouts, takeaways from Central Catholic's championship win
2. Beverly (5-1)
Previous rank: 1
Next game: vs. Salem, Jan. 9, 7 p.m.
After convincingly beating Andover in the semifinals, the Panthers suffered their first loss of the season to Central Catholic in the CMCC championship game. It represented an important learning experience for a veteran group that’s still figuring out what will be required to make a championship run come March.
3. Andover (5-1)
Previous rank: 3
Next game: at Haverhill, Jan. 6, 7 p.m.
The Golden Warriors finished third at the Commonwealth Motors Christmas Classic after responding to their semifinal loss to Beverly with a win over a strong Greater Lawrence team. This group is still young, but the backcourt of junior Josh Roux and sophomore Charlie Tutwiler proved all week at Merrimack that they’re one of the best guard tandems in the state.
4. Masconomet (3-0)
Previous rank: 5
Next game: at North Andover, Jan. 7, 6:30 p.m.
The Chieftains were off during the holidays, and they may have needed to shake off some rust in their return with a 58-55 overtime win over Marblehead on Monday night, which was their first game in more than two weeks. Their schedule is about to heat up, and a big Division 2 matchup at St. Mary's next week looms.
5. Malden Catholic (7-0)
Previous rank: NR
Next game: vs. Xaverian, Jan. 6, 6:30 p.m.
I admittedly wasn’t sure what to expect from the Lancers this season after last season’s Div. 2 runner-up experienced significant turnover, with head coach John Walsh resigning days before the season and seeing several key players graduate or transfer. But under new head coach Mark Garrity, MC seems to be picking up where it left off. The Lancers won MC Tournament last week with strong wins over two of New Hampshire’s best teams, Trinity and Bishop Guertin, and returners Jeremiah Figaro and Aboubakar Nimaka are carrying the torch.
6. St. Mary’s (6-0)
Previous rank: 7
Next game: vs. Bishop Fenwick, Jan. 7, 6:30 p.m.
The Spartans remain spotless after winning the Boverini Tournament convincingly, including a 73-38 victory over Lynn Tech in the final led by Jake Fortier’s 26 points and seven 3-pointers. Coach Josh Keilty’s team boasts an average margin of victory of 23.3 points through six games.
7. Bridgewater-Raynham (5-1)
Previous rank: 2
Next game: at Bishop Hendricken, Jan. 10, 1 p.m.
The Trojans suffered their first hiccup of the season with a 67-64 loss to Bishop Feehan in the championship game of the Larry Fisher Holiday Tournament, but responded with a 25-point road win at Westwood on Saturday. I’m looking forward to seeing how B-R fares in a fun out-of-state test on Saturday at Bishop Hendricken, our No. 1 team in Rhode Island.
8. Attleboro (5-1)
Previous rank: 6
Next game: at Oliver Ames, Jan. 6, 6:30 p.m.
The Blue Bombardiers suffered their first loss of the season with a 66-60 defeat to Cambridge in the final of the Cambridge Legends Classic on Dec. 30. Led by seniors LaDainian Rodrigues and Connor Houle, they responded with a 72-44 win over Milford and remain the favorite in the Hockomock League heading into a big league showdown against Davenport Division rival Oliver Ames on Tuesday night.
9. Winchester (7-0)
Previous rank: 9
Next game: vs. Wakefield, Jan. 6, 6 p.m.
The Red & Black remain undefeated, but it didn’t come easy after a 59-58 victory over Acton Boxborough on Jan. 2. Harrison Burbine won MVP of the Bob Bigelow Holiday Tournament after a 17-point effort in a championship game victory over Franklin.
10. Oliver Ames (6-0)
Previous rank: 10
Next game: vs. Attleboro, Jan. 6, 6:30 p.m.
The Tigers have won each of their last three games by double digits, including a championship at the Muscato Tournament. Senior guard Jacob Lok continues to lead the way as they look to make a statement Tuesday vs. Attleboro.
The next five: Lowell, Holland (Burke), Needham, Lexington, St. John’s (Shrewsbury)
