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South Dakota Prep Media basketball polls for Dec. 19: Four new teams join rankings

zech lambert, the daily republic, mitchell, s.d.
·4 min read

Dec. 19—MITCHELL — Save for the action at the Lakota Nation Invitational, winter weather across the state put much of the basketball scene on hold for the last week.

Still, though, there was a bit of movement in this week's polls.

This week's polls mark the final rankings for the 2022 calendar year, with no polls coming out next week due to the Christmas holiday. The next set of rankings will be released Monday, Jan. 2, 2023.

The South Dakota Prep Media basketball polls for the week of Dec. 19 are listed below, ranking the top-five teams in each class, record, total points and previous ranking. First-place votes received are indicated in parentheses.

1. Sioux Falls Jefferson (14), 1-0, 74; 2. Sioux Falls Lincoln (1), 2-0, 58; 3. Pierre, 2-0, 43; 4. Yankton, 1-0, 22; 5. Sioux Falls Roosevelt, 2-1, 18.

Shakeup at the bottom: While the top four remained the same from the previous poll, Brandon Valley dropped from the No. 5 spot and is now receiving only one vote.

After garnering only two votes last week and sitting as the de facto No. 9 team, Sioux Falls Roosevelt claimed the No. 5 ranking after beating the Lynx 63-59 at home on Saturday, Dec. 17 and topping O'Gorman on Tuesday, Dec. 13. Mitchell, which has only played one game thus far, still sits at the top receiving-votes spot.

Others receiving votes: Mitchell 4, Sioux Falls Washington 3, Harrisburg 2, Brandon Valley 1.

1. Dakota Valley (15), 3-0, 75; 2. Sioux Valley, 1-0, 53; 3. Dell Rapids, 1-0, 36; 4. St. Thomas More, 4-0, 25; 5. Sioux Falls Christian, 4-0, 24.

A lot of games, a little movement: Sioux Valley and Dell Rapids were the only two top-five teams to not play a game last week, while Dakota Valley, St. Thomas More, and Sioux Falls Christian each won a pair of contests. Despite that, there was no movement in the top five, and the top four has remained the same in all three polls.

Outside of the top five, Red Cloud, Hamlin and Winner all received votes last week, but not this week. Rapid City Christian, which hadn't garnered a vote all year, picked up 12 thanks to its four wins at the LNI over Crow Creek, Red Cloud, Class B No. 4 Lower Brule and No. 1 White River.

Others receiving votes: Rapid City Christian, 12.

1. White River (9), 4-1, 68; 2. De Smet (4), 1-0, 58; 3. Aberdeen Christian (1), 1-0, 40; 4. Lower Brule, 4-1, 30; 5. Castlewood (1), 0-0, 23.

Gap between No. 1 and 2 shrinks: Though there was no movement in the top five of Class B, De Smet got closer to White River even in an idle week. Last week the Bulldogs were 20 votes behind the Tigers, but White River's two-point loss to Class A Rapid City Christian dropped it from 11 first-place votes to nine this week.

The gap between the two teams sits at 10 points and is the closest margin between No. 1 and No. 2 across the entire state. Canistota, Wall and Harding County no longer received votes this week after getting some a week ago.

Others receiving votes: Gregory 4, Faith 1, Howard 1.

1. O'Gorman (15), 2-0, 75; 2. Sioux Falls Jefferson, 3-0, 56; 3. Sioux Falls Washington, 1-0, 49; 4. Pierre, 2-0, 26; 5. Harrisburg, 2-0, 14.

Harrisburg gets the nod: With a win on Tuesday, Dec. 13, over Sioux Falls Lincoln, Harrisburg ascended into the top five, while Brandon Valley's loss to No. 2 Sioux Falls Jefferson on the same day slid the Lynx out from the top five.

Otherwise, much stayed the same, with the exception of Sioux Falls Lincoln and Watertown no longer receiving any votes.

Others receiving votes: Brandon Valley 3, Rapid City Stevens 2.

1. St. Thomas More (11), 3-1, 70; 2. Wagner (3), 1-0, 59; 3. Hamlin (1), 2-0, 51; 4. West Central, 1-0, 16; 5. Sioux Falls Christian, 3-0, 9.

Cavaliers tighten their grip: St. Thomas More has yet to play a team from South Dakota, but a 59-34 win over Scottsbluff (Neb.) was enough to get two more first-place votes and pad their cushion of the top spot.

West Central also moved up from No. 4 to No. 5, and Sioux Falls Christian jumped into the top five for the first time this season, with Flandreau dropping from No. 4 after a 58-45 defeat to Hamlin.

Others receiving votes: Flandreau 6, Red Cloud 5, Tea Area 4, Florence-Henry 3, Lakota Tech 2.

1. Viborg-Hurley (15), 2-0, 75; 2. Wolsey-Wessington, 1-0, 56; 3. Castlewood, 1-0, 42; 4. Centerville, 3-0, 32; 5. De Smet, 2-0, 8.

Preseason No. 2 out: A 1-2 start for Corsica-Stickney has seen the Jaguars tumble into the receiving-votes category. De Smet climbed into the top five in place of the Jaguars, while the top four remained unchanged in the class.

Others receiving votes: Corsica-Stickney 6, Sully Buttes 3, Wall 2, Jones County 1.