There’s a new No. 1 in this week’s New Hampshire Top 10 Boys Basketball State Rankings after Keene, last week’s No. 1 team, lost to Trinity (68-67) and Nashua North (70-62) last week.
Division II Merrimack Valley, which was ranked No. 9 last week, is the only team that dropped out of the Top 10. The Pride has lost three games in a row and four of its last five.
This week’s rankings feature seven Division I teams and three from Division II. Each division appears to have at least a handful of teams capable of winning this year’s state championship.
Team records are through games played Feb. 9.
Previous rank: 3
The Clippers return to the No. 1 spot even though they have lost two of their last four games. Portsmouth is the only Division I team with fewer than three losses.
Previous week: 2
Bedford’s six-game winning streak ended with Friday’s 72-67 loss to Alvirne, but the Bulldogs earned an impressive 78-68 victory over Nashua South earlier in the week.
Previous rank: 5
Exeter will enter Tuesday’s home game against Merrimack with a five-game winning streak, and probably doesn’t get enough credit for its defense. The Blue Hawks have held their opponents to less than 59 points in eight of their 10 victories.
Previous rank: 1
Back-to-back losses dropped the Blackbirds from the top perch to No. 4. Next up is a road game against second-ranked Bedford on Tuesday.
Previous rank: 7
No Division I team is playing better than Alvirne, which extended its winning streak to six games by beating Bedford 72-67 Friday. The Broncos also beat Trinity during that six-game stretch.
Previous rank: 6
After losing three of its last four, Trinity picked up a much-needed victory when Collin Charbonneau hit a turnaround 3-pointer at the buzzer in overtime to give the Pioneers a 68-67 over Keene on Tuesday. That was another result that showed how thin the margin is between the top teams in Division I.
Previous rank: 4
South was coming on strong, but Tuesday’s 78-68 loss at Bedford derailed a four-game winning streak. The Panthers will play a road game against city rival Bishop Guertin on Tuesday.
Previous rank: 8
Division II Pelham has won 11 games in a row and is the highest-ranked team outside of Division I. Among Pelham’s wins is an 11-point victory over Pembroke Academy, which is at the top of the Division II standings.
Previous rank: 10
The Spartans had a statement victory when they beat Merrimack Valley 81-40 on Monday. The only blemish on their record is a loss at Pelham.
Previous rank: No ranked
The Blue Knights have won nine in a row since starting the season 1-2. They get the nod over Hanover (10-2) for the No. 10 spot, but those teams will settle things on the court in Hanover on Monday night.
