The Lamoille girls basketball team has made multiple trips to the venerable Barre Auditorium for the Division II state semifinals multiple years in a row, but the Lancer boys haven’t had that same feeling.
The Lamoille boys haven’t made it to the state semifinal stage since the 2001 season, where the Lancers were the Division II runner-up, falling to Vergennes in the state title game.
This year’s Lamoille boys squad is off to a great start and has as much potential as any to snap that 25-year Barre drought.
They're the new team on the block in this week's Top 10 update. Here are the latest rankings.
1. Burlington (6-0)
Previous rank: 1
Next game: vs Archbishop Molloy, Jan. 17 at 5 p.m. at Springfield, Mass.
Defending Division I state champion Burlington has remained undefeated as the halfway mark of the regular season begins to approach. The Seahorses were dealt a ton of adversity Wednesday night, where they were down by eight points at the half against Essex, but they responded very well after the break and outscored the Hornets 42-23 in the second half. Burlington has a cool opportunity to test itself this weekend playing in the Hoophall Invitational in Springfield, the home of the Basketball Hall of Fame.
2. Rice (7-0)
Previous rank: 2
Next game: at Mount Mansfield, Jan. 17 at 1:45 p.m.
Rice has rattled off three more wins since the last rankings, beating Colchester, BFA-St. Albans and Essex. The win against BFA is the most impressive, given how well the Bobwhites have played early in the season. Keeping their perfect mark will be tested in the coming two weeks, playing Mount Mansfield, South Burlington, Burlington and CVU in their next four games. The Burlington game, in particular, always has some extra juice.
3. Hartford (10-0)
Previous rank: 4
Next game: at Windsor, Jan. 16 at 7 p.m.
Hartford continues to establish itself as the top dog in Division II. The Hurricanes picked up their biggest win of the season on Tuesday, beating fellow elite Burr and Burton Academy by 11 points. They should be fairly heavy favorites in their next two games against Windsor and Mount Anthony, but a showdown with perennial Southern Vermont League A Division king Rutland looms in two weeks.
4. CVU (7-2)
Previous rank: 7
Next game: vs BFA-St. Albans, Jan. 20 at 7 p.m.
The year of 2026 has treated CVU well. The Redhawks have won five straight games since the turn of the calendar, including wins against contenders like Mount Mansfield, Burr and Burton and South Burlington. CVU’s last two victories have been dominant, beating solid St. Johnsbury and Colchester teams by 35 and 29 points respectively.
5. South Burlington (5-2)
Previous rank: 3
Next game: vs Rutland, Jan. 17 at 2:30 p.m.
South Burlington picked up its second win in a row on Wednesday and did so in dramatic fashion, beating St. Johnsbury in double overtime. SB’s stars Paul Comba and Oli Abdibegovic were excellent in the game, combining for nearly 50 of those points. A matchup with fellow contender Rutland on Saturday figures to be fun as both teams have serious hopes of getting to Patrick Gymnasium this year.
6. Rutland (6-2)
Previous rank: 5
Next game: at South Burlington, Jan. 17 at 2:30 p.m.
Rutland has been rolling with three straight wins since a blowout loss to New York powerhouse Saratoga Springs. Rutland blew out Brattleboro and Windsor last week, but its win on Tuesday, a 20-point victory against Middlebury, might have been the most impressive of the three. Middlebury is a team that plays a tough schedule and is much better than what its record lets on, so Rutland handling them is a pretty nice feather in their cap. Rutland’s depth has realty shined in this current run, which makes them as dangerous as any contender.
7. BFA-St. Albans (6-2)
Previous rank: 9
Next game: vs. Mount Mansfield, Jan. 15 at 7:30 p.m.
BFA-St. Albans has continued to prove itself as a very viable contender in Division I. It went 2-2 since the last rankings, but those losses came to top-ranked teams Rice and Burlington by six and 10 points respectively. It will be very interesting to see if they can remain in the upper tier of D-I, as their next three games are against Mount Mansfield, CVU and South Burlington.
8. Burr and Burton Academy (5-3)
Previous rank: 6
Next game: vs Glens Falls, Jan. 21 at 7 p.m.
Burr and Burton dealt with its first burst of adversity this past week with losses to CVU and Hartford. The Bulldogs’ most impressive win remains their third one, which came against CVU early in the season in Rutland’s North-South Challenge. BBA has another massive SVL test coming up on Jan. 26, playing at a Rutland team that has had its number over the years. An out of state test, hosting perennial New York power Glens Falls on Wednesday, will be a nice tune-up for that rivalry matchup.
9. Mount Mansfield (5-2)
Previous rank: 10
Next game: at BFA-St. Albans, Jan. 15 at 7:30 p.m.
Mount Mansfield picked up two wins since the last rankings after falling to CVU a few days into the New Year in a really close contest. They'll be tested with BFA-St. Albans and Rice on the schedule this week and a slew of contenders coming up after that. Mount Mansfield’s most recent win, a five-point triumph against St. Johnsbury, is a good one, as the Hilltoppers are a better team than what their record currently lets on.
10. Lamoille (5-1)
Previous rank: NR
Next game: at Lyndon Institute, Jan. 15 at 6:30 p.m.
Hartford has looked like the clear top team in Division II, but Lamoille has been super impressive in its own right. The Lancers had a pair of matchups in the last week or so that had the potential to show where they stand in the Division II pecking order, playing the two teams in last year’s D-II final, Harwood and Montpelier. Lamoille comfortably won both of those games, blowing out Harwood and beating Montpelier by 13. Jackson Hoag, James Wallace, Colby Hall and Griffin Pinault were key in those impressive victories.
