BOYS BASKETBALL: RSN Top 10 – 12/5/18

#10.
LOWELL RED DEVILS
3-1

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LAST WEEK: NR

Home court at “The Pit” has been a huge advantage for the Red Devils in the early portion of the season as all three of their wins have been games they’ve hosted, and all of those wins have come by double digits. Lowell has three of their next four at home as well, including a big showdown against Valpo on Friday.

9.
MICHIGAN CITY WOLVES
3-1

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LAST WEEK: NR

The Wolves made a big statement Tuesday night with an impressive win on the road at Andrean, defeating the Niners 57-50. City’s 3-1 record is their best start to a season since the 2010-11 campaign (not counting forfeits), so big things could be in store for the Wolves this year. They host Washington Twp. to close out this week before big games against EC Central and Penn next week.

#8.
CROWN POINT BULLDOGS
2-1

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LAST WEEK: #7

Tuesday night’s win in the home opener against EC Central showed the resiliency of the Bulldogs, as the Cardinals proved tough to put away, but a 20 point loss to Penn last Saturday causes the ‘Dogs to slip one spot in the rankings. We won’t see Crown Point on the court for awhile as they don’t play again until December 14, but it’s a big one, as they’ll head to Munster in a Top 10 battle.

#7.
BOWMAN EAGLES
3-2

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LAST WEEK: #5

The Eagles are looking for consistency after alternating wins and losses over the course of their first five games, with the latest being a seven point win over Lighthouse in an emotional night at the newly christened Marvin Rea Gymnasium. The Illinois portion of Bowman’s schedule is up next as five of their next six opponents are from the Land of Lincoln, with Lake Station being the only remaining Region team the Eagles will play in 2018.

#6.
ANDREAN 59ERS
2-1

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LAST WEEK: #6

An absolutely brutal first quarter doomed the Niners in Tuesday night’s home loss to Michigan City. Andrean just couldn’t overcome the 18-3 deficit and suffered their first loss of the season. It wasn’t a great showing for the 59ers in what was the last home game in 2018 – they don’t play another game at 5959 Broadway until January 12 – a stretch that includes five road games and the Columbus North tournament.

#5.
GRIFFITH PANTHERS
3-0

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LAST WEEK: #9

One thing that’s pretty clear early in this season is that the Panthers will put up points. In each of their three games this year, Griffith has lit up the scoreboard for 70 or more. They’ll give up their fair share as well, with Lake Station scoring 74 on them and 21^st Century putting up 69, so if high scoring ballgames are to your liking, find out where the black and gold are playing each night.

#4.
MERRILLVILLE PIRATES
2-0

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LAST WEEK: #3

In most years, a narrow loss to perennial power South Bend Riley wouldn’t cause the Pirates to drop a spot in the rankings, but this week an undefeated DAC foe swaps spots with the Bucs. The Pirates have a brutal stretch coming up with Andrean on Saturday, followed by Griffith on Tuesday, then trips to FW Snider, McCutcheon, the Huntington North Tournament and Chesterton. We’ll get a chance to see what this team is made of with a schedule that difficult.

#3.
CHESTERTON TROJANS
3-0

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LAST WEEK: #4

The Trojans are off to a 3-0 start for the third team in the Marc Urban era and should be favored in their remaining five games to close out 2018. Each of Chesterton’s victories has come by double digits, thanks in part to a defensive effort that’s allowing just 40.3 points per game – the second best mark in the DAC.

#2.
MUNSTER MUSTANGS
4-0

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LAST WEEK: #2

Munster is off to their best start since the 2013-14 campaign with a 4-0 start where all wins have come in impressive fashion. The ‘Stangs have EC Central and Crown Point coming up on the schedule for their next two games, but they’ve probably already circled the game against Lake Central on the 18^th as they look for revenge from last season’s sectional thriller.

#1. 
VALPARAISO VIKINGS
2-0

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LAST WEEK: #1

We haven’t seen very much of the Vikings this season as they’ve played fewer games than any other team in the Top 10, but they were as good as advertised in each of their two outings, defeating Hobart and 21^st Century by a combined 151-55. That kind of dominance probably won’t continue, but would anybody be surprised if Valpo were undefeated going into the huge December 29 showdown against Warren Central? We wouldn’t.