The top two teams in the Post-Gazette WPIAL Class 6A boys basketball rankings are the same for the second consecutive week. But trying to decide what teams should be 3 through 5 isn’t easy.
Penn Hills and Mt. Lebanon are No. 1 and 2, respectively. After that, things get complicated, with Woodland Hills and three teams from Section 1 — Central Catholic, Butler and Pine-Richland. You can make points for putting any of those four teams in the top five, but also points against those teams.
Consider:
• Central Catholic is in first place in Section 1 record with a 5-0 mark (6-5 overall) and the Vikings won at Pine-Richland last Friday. But Pine-Richland played without Phil Jurkovec, who was in Texas for a football all-star game. Central Catholic hasn’t played Butler yet. That game happens Friday night.
• Butler has a nice record at 11-1, but how do you rank Butler ahead of Pine-Richland? Butler lost at home to Pine-Richland by 16 points, and they are tied in section standings at 3-1. Also, Central Catholic has played a tougher non-WPIAL schedule than Butler. Three of Central Catholic’s losses are to Erie McDowell, Philadelphia Constitution and Allderdice. McDowell is very good, Constitution is the No. 1-ranked Class 2A team in the state. Allderdice is the No. 1-ranked City League team.
• Pine-Richland is 8-3, and two of the losses have been in games without Jurkovec. The other was to Lincoln Park, the No. 1-ranked WPIAL 3A team. You can’t forget Pine-Richland’s 16-point win at Butler.
• Woodland Hills is 11-1 and has a couple nice section wins against Fox Chapel and Latrobe. But Woodland Hills lost to Seneca Valley, a Section 1 team. Seneca Valley is only 2-2 in Section 1 (8-3 overall) and lost to Central Catholic. So where should Woodland Hills be ranked?
The bottom line is there might not be a right answer with 3 through 5 in this week’s 6A rankings. The Post-Gazette scholastic sports staff crunched some numbers, shared some thoughts and came up with this: Woodland Hills gets No. 3 this week, Pine-Richland No. 4 and Butler No. 5.
Does this rankings stuff really matter? Not at all this week because two games Friday night should settle some things. Central Catholic plays at Butler while Woodland Hills plays at Penn Hills. Those games should make the 6A rankings much easier to do next week.
Elsewhere in the WPIAL boys rankings, there is a new No. 1 team in Class A. Vincentian went from No. 2 to the top spot after knocking off Union, previously ranked No. 1.
In the WPIAL girls rankings, there are some big changes in Class 5A. Chartiers Valley was No. 1 and Oakland Catholic No. 2. But both are out of the top five. Trinity is the new No. 1 team while West Allegheny and Mars moved into the top five.
Here are this week’s Post-Gazette rankings for the WPIAL and City League:
BOYS
WPIAL CLASS 6A
1. Penn Hills 13-0
2. Mt. Lebanon 11-1
3. Woodland Hills 10-1
4. Pine-Richland 8-3
5. Butler 11-1
WPIAL CLASS 5A
1. Mars 8-2
2. Moon 9-1
3. Franklin Regional 9-2
4. Chartiers Valley 6-4
5. Trinity 8-3
WPIAL CLASS 4A
1. Quaker Valley 9-0
2. Ambridge 9-2
3. New Castle 8-3
4. Belle Vernon 8-3
5. Indiana 8-1
WPIAL CLASS 3A
1. Lincoln Park 5-4
2. Seton-LaSalle 7-3
3. Aliquippa 8-4
4. Washington 7-3
5. Shady Side Academy 7-4
WPIAL CLASS 2A
1. Sewickley Academy 9-1
2. O.L.S.H. 10-1
3. Jeannette 7-1
4. Serra 9-2
5. Chartiers-Houston 8-2
WPIAL CLASS 1A
1. Vincentian 6-5
2. Clairton 8-1
3. Union 6-4
4. Cornell 9-3
5. Eden Christian 9-1
CITY LEAGUE
1. Allderdice 7-2
2. Westinghouse 9-1
3. Carrick 10-2
GIRLS
WPIAL CLASS 6A
1. North Allegheny 10-0
2. Peters Township 10-1
3. Latrobe 8-2
4. Bethel Park 7-3
5. Norwin 5-6
WPIAL CLASS 5A
1. Trinity 10-3
2. Hampton 7-2
3. West Allegheny 7-3
4. Mars 8-3
5. Thomas Jefferson 10-2
WPIAL CLASS 4A
1. C.W. North Catholic 10-0
2. Blackhawk 10-0
3. Central Valley 9-1
4. Keystone Oaks 9-3
5. Beaver 8-3
WPIAL CLASS 3A
1. Bishop Canevin 7-3
2. Neshannock 10-0
3. East Allegheny 11-0
4. Mohawk 7-3
5. Avonworth 8-4
WPIAL CLASS 2A
1. Vincentian 10-1
2. Chartiers-Houston 8-3
3. O.L. Sacred Heart 8-2
4. Leechburg 8-2
5. Brentwood 10-2
WPIAL CLASS 1A
1. West Greene 10-0
2. Winchester Thurston 5-3
3. Quigley Catholic 5-6
4. Sewickley Academy 6-1
5. Rochester 7-3
CITY LEAGUE
1. Obama Academy 7-2
2. Westinghouse 6-1
3. Allderdice 4-7
First Published: January 11, 2018, 6:54 p.m.