The last day to play boys basketball regular season games in Vermont is Saturday, Feb. 28, so teams are doing everything they can to gain momentum for the stretch run.
Three of the state’s four divisions have a top playoff seed that is still well up for grabs. Undefeated Hartford looks like the clear favorite to head into the Division II tournament with No. 1 seed, holding a near full-point lead in the average index points, which decides playoff seeding. But you can’t make the same assumption about other divisions.
As of Thursday morning, Rice held a 0.53-point advantage for the top spot in Division I, but still has a gauntlet of a closing stretch left. Randolph held a 0.34-point cushion in Division III, but still has to play the No. 2 team Hazen and has other tough upper-division games. Undefeated West Rutland had the smallest edge of all current No. 1s, up just 0.12 points on Twinfield-Cabot, and has one of its biggest tests looming next week against Twin Valley.
The final two weeks of the regular season should be fun as these teams try to lock up No. 1 seeds in their respective divisions. Let’s jump into this week’s Top 10.
1. Hartford (17-0)
Previous rank: 1
Next game: vs Burr and Burton, Feb. 16, 7 p.m.
Hartford looks well on its way to a perfect regular season. The Hurricanes’ biggest hurdle in achieving perfection has to be their next game against Burr and Burton Academy, but they have already beaten BBA and the Bulldogs haven’t been playing their best as of late. Hartford recently finished off a season sweep of Division I powerhouse Rutland and locked up the Southern Vermont League A Division title in the process.
2. Rice (14-2)
Previous rank: 2
Next game: vs Rutland, 2/16 at 7 p.m.
Division I looks incredibly wide open, but if you’re going to name a favorite, Rice may be that team. The Green Knights lost two of three in the latter stages of January but have taken care of business since against teams they were favored to beat. As mentioned before, Rice’s late-season schedule is no joke and will tell the story of how viable its position as favorite is. Rutland, South Burlington, Burlington and CVU has to be the toughest stretch of any team late in the year.
3. Rutland (12-4)
Previous rank: 4
Next game: at Rice, Feb. 16, 7 p.m.
Rutland bounced back from a loss to Hartford by beating Burr and Burton Academy on Thursday. The win against the Bulldogs gave RHS a season sweep of their rivals. Cooper Sparks returned from missing Rutland’s game against Hartford with injury and shined with 20 points against BBA. Rutland is deep, but having him healthy will make RHS as dangerous as any in the division and a very viable contender to get to a state final.
4. South Burlington (12-4)
Previous rank: 7
Next game: vs St. Johnsbury, Feb. 16, 7 p.m.
South Burlington’s blowout loss to Burr and Burton Academy is a distant memory as the Wolves have won four straight games since that loss. The first one of that run came against the defending Division I state champions Burlington and avenged a defeat from earlier in the season. They have a chance to go for a season sweep of Rice next week, which would really stamp them as top contender.
5. Burlington (10-5)
Previous rank: 3
Next game: vs Essex, Feb. 16, 7 p.m.
Things have been a bit up and down since the last rankings for Burlington, going 3-2 with close losses to CVU and BFA-St. Albans. The Seahorses have a good opportunity to get back on track with three games they should be favored in against Essex, Colchester and Mount Mansfield. But massive tests loom to close the regular season with a return affair with Rice and a non-league showdown with Rutland.
6. BFA-St. Albans (11-5)
Previous rank: 8
Next game: at Mount Mansfield, Feb. 16, 7:30 p.m.
BFA-St. Albans’ win against Burlington on Thursday was its most impressive victory of the season and was another example of just how for real the Bobwhites are. BFA has already surpassed its win total from last year by three with multiple weeks left to go and is having arguably its best season since its 13-win regular season of 2020.
7. CVU (10-6)
Previous rank: 5
Next game: vs Colchester, Feb. 16, 7 p.m.
CVU put a stop to a three-game losing streak on Thursday, edging a St, Johnsbury team that is much better than its three-win record lets on by four points. Keeping on the winning track will be tested as the Redhawks take on a BFA team that beat them earlier in the season on Thursday. A rematch with Rice looms to close the regular season on Feb. 26.
8. Burr and Burton (9-7)
Previous rank: 6
Next game: at Hartford, Feb. 16, 7 p.m.
Burr and Burton was impressive in non-league action earlier in the season but has had some struggles in Southern Vermont League play as of late, losing three of its last four games, all in league play. Two of those losses came to Rutland and the other an upset at the hands of Brattleboro. It doesn’t get any easier with undefeated Hartford coming up on Tuesday.
9. Lamoille (13-2)
Previous rank: 9
Next game: at Peoples Academy. Feb. 17, 7 p.m.
Lamoille had a nine-game winning streak snapped, losing by two points to Division III contender Hazen since the last rankings, but got right back on track by blowing out Lake Region. Their hold on the second seed in Division II is a tenuous one and the schedule to close the regular season is challenging with U-32, Randolph and Thetford all left to play.
10. Fair Haven (13-3)
Previous rank: 10
Next game: at Bellows Falls, Feb. 13, 7 p.m.
Fair Haven gutted out a win against a rival Otter Valley team that is much better than its record lets on since the last rankings. The Slaters are on a seven-game winning streak going into Friday night. Fair Haven will be favored to push its win streak to nine games in its next contests, but will need to be at its best to close the regular season, taking on Rutland and Burr and Burton head of the D-II playoffs.
