No area team improved its postseason position as much as the East Union boys and Sierra girls basketball squads, according to the second release of the Sac-Joaquin Section’s power ratings.
Both teams shot up three spots from their original spots.
East Union’s boys (6-4 Valley Oak League, 12-9 overall) escaped Oakdale, also playoff contender, with a victory last Friday to complete a 2-0 week, which moves it from No. 15 in Division III to No. 12.
The Sierra girls (5-5, 13-8) also won both of their games last week, but their big win over Sonora keyed their leap from No. 19 to No. 16.
Sonora, meanwhile, stumbled down to 15 after starting out with the 10th seed in the Jan. 31 ratings. The Wildcats followed their loss to Sierra with another one at the hands of VOL-leading and No. 4-rated Manteca (9-1, 18-3). It doesn’t get any easier for them this week with road games at No. 7 Weston Ranch (8-2, 14-7) today and No. 6 East Union (8-2, 16-5) Thursday.
Manteca, East Union and Weston Ranch each moved up one spot.
The power ratings help the section determine the 16 playoff qualifiers in each of the five divisions. Conference records weigh more heavily than non-league contests played before Jan. 8.
Non-league games played after the deadline are not counted. One of those games is Saturday’s marquee matchup between the Weston Ranch and Modesto Christian boys in Salida.
Weston Ranch (10-0, 20-2) gets a boost in prestige by defeating the small-school powerhouse in an 89-84 overtime thriller but remains at No. 4 in the D-III ratings.
Sierra (7-3, 16-6) is now in a fight for a first-round home game after dropping three of its last four contests. The Timberwolves are currently ninth.
Manteca (4-6, 7-14), which went from No. 23 to 25, was upset by first-year varsity Kimball and dropped a close one to Sonora at home last week, making things that much tougher for the Buffaloes to sneak into the playoffs.
In Division IV, Ripon High’s boys (7-1 Trans Valley League, 14-9 overall) leapfrogged Capital Christian for the fifth seed after edging conference rival Escalon, 56-54. The Lady Indians (7-1, 17-4) won their lone game last week but was still knocked down a rung to No. 9.
Nothing changed for both Ripon Christian’s boys and girls.
The boys (10-0, 18-5 overall) are still No. 2 in Division V, and the Lady Knights (9-1, 16-5) stay put at No. 5.
Both teams shot up three spots from their original spots.
East Union’s boys (6-4 Valley Oak League, 12-9 overall) escaped Oakdale, also playoff contender, with a victory last Friday to complete a 2-0 week, which moves it from No. 15 in Division III to No. 12.
The Sierra girls (5-5, 13-8) also won both of their games last week, but their big win over Sonora keyed their leap from No. 19 to No. 16.
Sonora, meanwhile, stumbled down to 15 after starting out with the 10th seed in the Jan. 31 ratings. The Wildcats followed their loss to Sierra with another one at the hands of VOL-leading and No. 4-rated Manteca (9-1, 18-3). It doesn’t get any easier for them this week with road games at No. 7 Weston Ranch (8-2, 14-7) today and No. 6 East Union (8-2, 16-5) Thursday.
Manteca, East Union and Weston Ranch each moved up one spot.
The power ratings help the section determine the 16 playoff qualifiers in each of the five divisions. Conference records weigh more heavily than non-league contests played before Jan. 8.
Non-league games played after the deadline are not counted. One of those games is Saturday’s marquee matchup between the Weston Ranch and Modesto Christian boys in Salida.
Weston Ranch (10-0, 20-2) gets a boost in prestige by defeating the small-school powerhouse in an 89-84 overtime thriller but remains at No. 4 in the D-III ratings.
Sierra (7-3, 16-6) is now in a fight for a first-round home game after dropping three of its last four contests. The Timberwolves are currently ninth.
Manteca (4-6, 7-14), which went from No. 23 to 25, was upset by first-year varsity Kimball and dropped a close one to Sonora at home last week, making things that much tougher for the Buffaloes to sneak into the playoffs.
In Division IV, Ripon High’s boys (7-1 Trans Valley League, 14-9 overall) leapfrogged Capital Christian for the fifth seed after edging conference rival Escalon, 56-54. The Lady Indians (7-1, 17-4) won their lone game last week but was still knocked down a rung to No. 9.
Nothing changed for both Ripon Christian’s boys and girls.
The boys (10-0, 18-5 overall) are still No. 2 in Division V, and the Lady Knights (9-1, 16-5) stay put at No. 5.
