The latest NDAPSSA polls were released Monday afternoon, just a few hours before Devils Lake girls’ basketball plays Four Winds/Minnewaukan, and a day before the boys’ teams face off. The Firebirds and Indians retained their rankings on the boys’ side, while Devils Lake slipped one spot in the girls’ division.
There were no changes to the boys’ top five. Kindred is still No. 1 with its 16-0 record, while Devils Lake is No. 2 after winning its last 11. The Firebirds received two of the 20 first-place votes, with Kindred receiving the other 18.
Four Winds/Minnewaukan is still No. 3, which is where it’s been ever since losing a barnburner against Kindred. The Indians have won all three of their games since then, with dominant victories over Thompson and Hillsboro/Central Valley and a close win over No. 4 Grafton. They’re also responsible for handing Devils Lake its only loss of the season thus far, all the way back in December.
The Spoilers are still stuck in a tough-luck No. 4. All three of their losses came against the three teams ranked above them. They lost by two to Devils Lake, six to Kindred and four to FW/M. The Spoilers have beaten everybody else, and they’ve proven they can compete with the top teams, but they haven’t gotten over that hump.
Then on the girls’ side, Devils Lake fell from No. 4 to No. 5 after losing to unranked Valley City by 16 points. The Firebirds bounced back with a 27-point victory over Hillsboro/Central Valley. Valley City is still unranked with a 14-5 (8-2) record in Division A, Region 1, though it did receive votes in the latest polls.
Undefeated Thompson once again received all of the first-place votes. Bottineau, South Prairie-Max and Nedrose are the other teams Devils Lake is trailing.
These results are, of course, pending the Firebirds’ matchups with the Indians this week. Those games will be crucial towards next week’s polls.
In Division B, North Star boys’ basketball moved back up to No. 2 after spending a week in the No. 3 slot. The Bearcats briefly slipped down a spot after their undefeated streak was broken, but they won both their games this week and are now 15-1 on the season. They’re still undefeated in region and district play. North Star received two first-place votes, compared to one last week, while Bowman County got the remaining 19.
Westhope/Newburg, which overtook the No. 2 position last week, fell to No. 4 after losing 56-53 to Bishop Ryan. It ended W/N’s undefeated streak at 15-0. It was arguably a harsh decision to drop the Sioux two spots for that, considering Bishop Ryan is ranked No. 3 with a 14-2 overall record and 8-0 district record. But as North Star learned last week, a single result can make a big difference in the polls.
The top three stayed the same on the girls’ side, with May-Port-C-G at No. 1 and Langdon Area/Edmore/Munich at No. 2. The distribution of first-place was closer, though; last week, May-Port-C-G got 13 and LA/E/M got five, while this week it was 10-6.
May-Port-C-G lost its first game of the season last week, falling to Thompson, the No. 1 team in Division A. But the Patriots are still 17-1 overall and 11-0 in region play. Plus, the Tommies haven’t lost a game all season, even against tougher Division A opponents, so it would have been hard to penalize May-Port-C-G too much for that.
Joseph “Mojo” Hill is a reporter covering Lake Region sports for the Devils Lake Journal. Contact him on Twitter @mojohill22 or at jhill@devilslakejournal.com for any tips, questions or story ideas.
