Girls battling in toughest conference in the state
With nearly half of the Top 10 girls teams in the state basketball poll being from the Lady Hawks’ 4A-1 District, many have assumed that the northwest corner of the state has the best girls basketball in the state.
I ran the numbers over the weekend using the MaxPreps/CBS poll numbers to get an average value of each conference, and sure enough, the 4A-1 is significantly stronger than any other.
With a score of 4.50 being considered a perfect score, the 4A-1 has a power rating of 18.11, well ahead of the 4A-3 District which is second with a 21.25 ranking. The 4A-3 includes the state’s top ranked team in Batesville as well as No. 6 Batesville Southside.
The third strongest conference is the 4A-4 with a 22.57 rating, with the best team in the group being No. 10 ranked Pottsville. The fourth ranked conference was the 4A-5 with a distant 26.77 rating, led by the state’s No. 2 ranked team in Little Rock Pulaski.
The two weakest leagues in the state are the leagues in the southern parts of the state, the 4A-7 and 4A-8. The 4A-8 has a 25.42 rating with their top team being the No. 3 ranked Star City team. The 4A-7 is the bottom district (27.85) with No. 9 DeQueen being their leader.
The boys’ 4A-1 is the second strongest overall conference, with a 21.22 power rating. Six of its teams are in the Top 25 (No. 13 Pea Ridge, No. 15 Berryville, No. 16 Farmington, No. 17 Huntsville, No. 22 Harrison and No. 24 Gentry). The top ranked league is the 4A-3 with three teams in the Top 10, No. 1 Blytheville, No. 5 Valley View and No. 8 Jonesboro Westside.
The third best league at this point in the season is the 4A-5 with a 22.66 rating. They boast four of the Top 10 teams in No. 3 Mills, No. 4 Pulaski, No. 7 eStem and No. 9 Robinson but they also have three teams ranked in the bottom 10.
The 4A-8 is fourth with a 25.46 rating (No. 2 Magnolia), the 4A-7 is fifth with a 27.00 mark (No. 6 Arkadelphia) with the 4A-4, the other half of the North Region with the 4A-1, being the weakest league with a 32.00 mark, having but two teams in the Top 20 in No. 11 Dardanelle and No. 12 Morrilton.
Standings and polls as of Jan. 17, are:
Girls state poll static, boys poll shaken up
The Top 10 girls teams in the state 4A basketball poll was exactly the same last week as the previous week, with Pea Ridge still holding down the seventh slot. Four of the Top 10 teams hail from the 4A-1 with Harrison, Farmington, Pea Ridge and Berryville among that select group.
On the boys’ side of things, change was the name of the game with only top-ranked Batesville and seventh-ranked eStem maintaining their same rank. Pea Ridge moved up three spots to claim the 13th position.
Editor’s note: John McGee, an award-winning columnist, sports writer and art teacher at Pea Ridge elementary schools, writes a regular sports column for The Times. The opinions expressed are those of the writer. He can be contacted through The Times at prtnews@nwadg.com.