It was a tough week for two-thirds of the No. 1-ranked teams in WPIAL boys basketball, but they all hung on to their top spot in this week’s rankings.
Upper St. Clair (Class 6A), Moon (5A), Aliquippa (2A) and Imani Christian (1A) all lost games in the past week. But the Post-Gazette kept all four at No. 1 because either they lost to a top team outside their classification, or teams directly behind them in the rankings also lost. Upper St. Clair lost to Baldwin, Moon was defeated by Montour, Aliquippa lost to City League No. 1 Allderdice and Imani Christian lost to Oletangy Liberty (Ohio).
In Class 5A, the top four teams in last week’s rankings were Moon, Gateway, Shaler and Thomas Jefferson. All four lost at least one game in the past week. Number 5 Peters Township was the only ranked team in Class 5A that didn’t lose. Thomas Jefferson plays at Peters Township on Friday in a big game.
In Class 4A, Lincoln Park was the only ranked team that didn’t lose in the past week. Uniontown, Hampton, Avonworth and Knoch all went down to defeat. Knoch dropped out of the rankings and Montour moved into the No. 5 spot.
In Class 3A, Ellwood City moved into the top five for the first time this season.
Here are the complete Post-Gazette rankings for the WPIAL and City League:
WPIAL CLASS 6A
1. Upper St. Clair 11-4
2. Mt. Lebanon 13-3
3. Central Catholic 9-5
4. Butler 13-2
5. Baldwin 12-3
WPIAL CLASS 5A
1. Moon 12-3
2. Shaler 15-2
3. Gateway 11-3
4. Thomas Jefferson 12-3
5. Peters Township 12-4
WPIAL CLASS 4A
1. Lincoln Park 13-3
2. Uniontown 14-1
3. Hampton 13-3
4. Avonworth 11-4
5. Montour 12-2
WPIAL CLASS 3A
1. Deer Lakes 12-2
2. Seton LaSalle 12-3
3. Mohawk 10-6
4. Washington 10-5
5. Ellwood City 10-6
WPIAL CLASS 2A
1. Aliquippa 10-4
2. Greensburg C.C. 15-2
3. Northgate 11-3
4. Fort Cherry 12-4
5. Jeannette 10-4
WPIAL CLASS 1A
1. Imani Christian 6-6
2. Monessen 12-1
3. Neighborhood Academy 12-4
4. Union 8-9
5. Rochester 9-5
CITY LEAGUE
1. Allderdice 12-2
2. Obama 4-8
3. Brashear 5-8
Mike White: mwhite@post-gazette.com and Twitter @mwhiteburgh
First Published: January 24, 2024, 2:13 p.m.
