The ‘6ers have been dominant all season, but they have really been tearing it up as of late. They put up 82 and 92 in back to back games, and also won the IWA tournament in an all-senior division. This team might be all juniors, but they could very well already be the best team in the state.

St. Paschal, coming off a huge win over former #1 St. Greg, has solidified their title aspirations. If they can pull off another big win this Saturday against league-leading St. Albert, the Knights could challenge the 216ers for the volatile #1 spot.

Despite losing back to back games to the top two teams in the loaded State-White division, the Jaguars have not been blown out in any sense of the term. Losing by a combined 8 points in three games, St. Greg should not be worried about these losses. They still are a dangerous team that can compete for, and win, a state championship.

The Bulldogs have shown that they will have no trouble with the weaker portion of their schedule, beating a 2-3 NDCL team by 30. Even though they lost twice to St. Greg, the Bulldogs still are a formidable team in the State-White division.

Despite losing by 20 to the top team in their division this past week, the Vikings are still in contention for a State-Red title. Their game against the #1 216ers on Sunday could make or break their season.

Jared Yant is Jared Yant, but the rest of the ‘Bolts have been pulling their weight as well. After going 3-1 in the Ohio Nets tournament and winning 3 in a row over the past weeks, the Thunderbolts have proven they are not a one trick pony. Expect another unbelievable performance Jared “the Magic Johnson of CYO” Yant and the rest of the ‘Bolts as they look to avenge their only loss in league play on Saturday.

The Lions have found their stride, winning 2 in a row after losing 2 in a row. If St. Mark can keep up their current form, they should be able to contest for the division title.

After winning a close game last Saturday, the Cougars suffered a 20 point setback the following day. This can be attributed to having to play back to back games, which happens to every team once a season. The Cougars face the bottom three of the division in their next three games, which should give them momentum leading into the City Tournament.

After losing in back to back weeks, the Jazz need to find something that will turn their season around. They have the talent to win the rest of their league games, and should they do that, they could still manage to get a good position for the Local Tournament.

After a “loss” that was really a forfeiture, the Mustangs are back in their groove; They beat SVSM 49-45 this past weekend. Despite being at .500, they are only a half game out of first place. Winning the division is still a very real possibility for the ‘Stangs.

The Centurions are coming off of a low scoring 36-27 loss to St. Bridget of Kildare. The season is not lost, however, as St. Bridget is the #3 team in the division. Holy Family is still a talented squad that has a great opportunity to shake up the rankings with a matchup against the top team in the Local-Orange division on Saturday.

After coming off of one of the worst losses in CYO history, the Vikings look to be back to their old ways, winning 57-43 over St. Brendan. If they can manage to beat the top team in their division this weekend, it could spur the ‘Vikes to a division title.

The Bulldogs almost got their first win of the season this past weekend, losing by only two to St. Angela. There is one bright spot, however, for this seemingly bleak season for St. Bernadette: Alex Hornung. In an exclusive interview, he said that he is “some kind of mixture between Spud Webb and Larry Bird. I have insane hops which nobody thinks I should be able to have and I can shoot the lights out.” He is the only player, according to himself, that can hang with Jared Yant in the MVP race. Hopefully he can be a catalyst to start moving the Bulldogs towards .500.

The Jaguars came up clutch with two full-strength wins against Gesu in the St. Ann’s Tournament on the same day. The first game had a score of 59-32, and the second had a scoreline of 64-51. They did lose by 4 to St. Paschal, but the two wins on the same day against Gesu put them at the top of this week’s rankings.

St. Paschal is a legitimate threat in the loaded State-White division that includes St. Greg and Gesu. After two straight 70-point performances, the Knights showed their true stuff in a critical mid-season league win over #1 St. Greg. If they can beat the St. Albert team that defeated both Gesu and St. Greg, I wouldn’t be surprised if they ran all the way to a state title.

Gesu had a bye week in league play this weekend, but two losses against a reborn St. Greg squad moved them down two spots. The Bulldogs are nothing to turn your nose up at though, this is still a very good team that has a very palpable chance of winning a state championship.

This a team that can really play. After a 82-48 thrashing on 1/10, the 6ers look to be running away with the State-Red division. They may be playing against lesser competition, but they could run with any of the teams listed above them.

The offensive juggernaut that is the Vikings has been quiet all season, but a 92 (!) point performance proves that they are a legitimate threat to the 216ers. The game on 1/24 against the 6ers will prove the validity of state championship aspirations for both teams.

The Jazz are a young, talented squad of juniors that has been on and off all season. This is evident in a one-point loss this past weekend, after coming off of two 15 point wins. If captains Nick Neroni and Trey Burke can lead this team to consistent play, they could end up taking the Local-Green division title.

The Cougar’s habit of playing close games finally caught up to them, with a 5 point loss on the 10th. Their next matchup, against fellow Westpark school St. Patrick, could set them on a course to come out on top of the Local-Navy division.

The ‘Bolts are starting to heat up, coming off of a huge 76-25 win over St. Jude. Jared Yant, the self-proclaimed “Magic Johnson of CYO”, has been racking up stats in points, assists, rebounds, blocks, and fouls. In their 51 point triumph, he had 19 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 blocks. The team has been playing well too, sitting at #2 in the Local-Maroon division.

The Centurions are starting to heat up, winning a close game right after the CYO-mandated winter break. If they can hold their current form, Holy Family might just be able to jump up to the top of the division.

After an apparent forfeit in their first game after break, the Mustangs find themselves in a hole in a critical point of their season. Their next two games, against the top two teams in the State-Blue division, could by the spark that turns this season around for the ‘Stangs.

The Lions seem to have found their groove, winning handily in their last contest, 50-35. If this talented team can keep up their momentum from the previous game, they could challenge for a title in the Local-Maroon division.

St. Joseph has been at the mercy of two very good teams in their past two losses, with one team managing to score the most points I have ever seen in a single CYO game, a remarkable 104 by St. Mary (Plas). The upcoming schedule has done no favors for the Vikings, but at least one win should turn their season around.

The Bulldogs have not lived up to the hype so far, losing all their games this season. Their most recent game was a 58-30 defeat to the hands of Sacred Heart of Lorain. Something needs to change, and change quickly, if the Bulldogs want to salvage a season that has been less than ideal so far.

Gesu has had the hardest schedule so far of any team on this list, playing ranked teams St. Paschal and St. Greg, as well as a non-Ignatius but still solid St. Albert squad in 3 of 4 weeks, beating all but St. Albert. Although their scores have been low so far, look for the Bulldogs to start pouring in the points in the latter half of their front-loaded schedule. They have shown they can beat less talented teams with ease in a 66-24 effort over St. John Vianney.

The Jaguars’ only setback of the season was a 3 point loss to #2 Gesu, but other than that they have averaged 53 points per game, winning by a margin of 20 or more twice, with Gesu and Lake Catholic being the only two close games. Like Gesu, they are a team that has the ability to win the rest of their regular season schedule against lesser teams. Be on the lookout for the Jaguars to put up some big scores in the next few weeks.

The 216ers have not had a legitimate challenge all season, scoring more than 45 points and winning by at least 15 points in every game. The sixers are a very talented squad that has 5 former Ignatius basketball players on it. They should be an exciting team to watch in the coming weeks.

After an 8 point loss to Gesu in week one, the Knights put up 70 points in the next two weeks to skyrocket to #4 in the rankings. The game versus St. Greg on January 10th should be telling whether St. Paschal is a legitimate title threat.

The Cougars are undefeated in the 2015-2016 campaign, but have had both of their games been decided by less than 10 points. As the season wears on, it will become more clear whether or not the Cougars have the skill and talent to win a title.

The Jazz got off to a slow start with a loss to NDCL in their first game, but have since heated up and won 2 in a row by 10 or more. The captain play of Nick Neroni and Trey Burke have been a key factor in their recent successes.

The Vikings have not had the hottest of starts, currently sitting at 1-1 with one close win. Expect SJJ to start to heat up with back to back games on the 9th and 10th.

St. Albert is off to decent start, winning one close game and losing another close one. Each of the Mustang’s games have been decided by a total of 5 points. If they can remain as clutch as they appear to be, they could go deep into the postseason.

Holy Family is off to a good start, winning their first game and their third. The only loss on their results came from the top team in the division, who they play again on the 23rd. That game could be what sets the Centurions apart from the crowd.

The Thunderbolts have had a see-saw season so far this year, losing by 20 and then winning by 30.However, one thing has remained constant: MVP candidate Jared Yant has been lighting up the scoreboard. I have heard from multiple sources that Yant has been “balling out of control” and “has already got MVP on lock.” If Yant and the rest of the Thunderbolts can improve upon their recent 65 point performance, they could bring back more than just an MVP trophy to St. Mary.
Fans: bring umbrellas to your game, because he will make it rain all game long.

St. Joe has been a different team each time they stepped out on the court, getting blown out once and blowing another team out the other time. Time will tell whether the Vikings are a legitimate team or not.

The Bulldog’s record doesn’t indicate the type of team they are and could be. They lost to the 216ers by a sizable margin, but have kept every other game within 5 points. Once they hit their stride, the Bulldogs could do some damage.

St. Mark came into this season with a lot of promise. They have a talented team that have played against 2 of the best teams in their division in the first two games. Look out for the Lions to turn it on towards the end of the season.