The high school basketball regular season is coming to a close in Baltimore, and many of the top programs are now looking forward to their respective postseason tournaments.

Public schools finish their seasons this week and await the announcement of the regional playoff matchups for the MPSSAA state tournament. Privates brace for the MIAA and BCL playoffs.

The past few weeks, no team has been able to step up and take control of the top place in our rankings. Patterson returns to the top spot this week, after beating highly-ranked Lake Clifton and Edmondson in the past week. With the wins, the Clippers virtually clinched a spot in the Baltimore City Championship on Feb. 22 against Dunbar.

Mount St. Joseph’s had a big week as well, clinching titles in the MIAA and Baltimore Catholic League with an overtime win over John Carroll on Friday night.

Arundel remains unbeaten, as they’ve reeled off 20 consecutive wins this season.

As will be the case all season, these rankings reward results, taking into account opponent strength and margin of victory/loss. Teams will not be ranked highly because of the hype or publicity surrounding their teams, but rather the consistency and impressiveness of their play. Additionally, because of the nature of these rankings, readers will notice considerable movement in the rankings each week. Rankings are released every Monday.

See past rankings: Preseason||Week 1 || Week 2 || Week 3 || Week 4  || Week 5 || Week 6 || Week 7 || Week 8 || Week 9

BSR Top 15:

  1. Patterson, 13-6 (Last Week: #4)
  2. Mount St. Joseph’s, 23-5 (LW: #5)
  3. Lake Clifton, 17-3 (LW: #2)
  4. Milford Mill, 17-2 (LW: #3)
  5. Dunbar, 15-3 (LW: #1)
  6. John Carroll, 24-6 (LW: #6)
  7. Arundel, 20-0 (LW: #8)
  8. City, 15-5 (LW: #12)
  9. St. Frances, 18-7 (LW: #9)
  10. Edmondson, 14-4 (LW: #7)
  11. Poly, 12-6 (LW: #10)
  12. Forest Park, 15-2 (LW: #11)
  13. Glen Burnie, 18-2 (LW: #14)
  14. Annapolis, 16-5 (LW: #15)
  15. Centennial, 16-4 (LW: Unranked)

We see as much fluctuation among the top five this week as we have all season. It was a week full of tough tests for the top teams, with Patterson and Mount St. Joe’s coming away unscathed.

It seems crazy to think that a team with six losses could command the top spot in the area, but it is anything but. Patterson’s six losses have come to top opposition, and they’ve scored a slew of big-time wins along the way. The Clippers’ six losses….

  • Lincoln, N.Y. (Arguably the top team in New York City)
  • MATHS, PA (A top five team from Philadelphia)
  • St. Benedict’s, N.J. (Top 25 team, only loss was to undefeated St. Anthony, N.J.)
  • Gonzaga, D.C. (Top 50 team nationally, top five team in D.C. area)
  • Dunbar (Battle of No. 1 vs. No. 2 at the time)
  • Poly (One-point loss in double overtime)
For MIAA schools, the conference playoffs take place this week. The top six teams in the league qualified, and the matchups are as follows:
  • #3 St. Frances vs. #6 Archbishop Spalding, Wednesday Feb. 15th, 7 p.m.
  • #4 Glenelg County  vs. #5 Calvert Hall, Wednesday Feb 15th, 7 p.m.
  • #2 John Carroll vs. St. Frances/Archbishop Spalding, Friday Feb. 17th, 7 p.m.
  • #1 Mount St. Joe’s vs. Glenelg County/Calvert Hall, Friday Feb. 17th, 7 p.m.
  • MIAA Championship, Sunday Feb. 19th, Time TBA (@ UMBC)

Baltimore City still sets the pace in the rankings, with seven of the top 15 teams being participants in the City League. The MIAA/BCL has three teams in the top 15 this week, and Anne Arundel County has a trio as well. Howard County and Baltimore County each have one representative.

Key Games This Week

  • #13 Glen Burnie vs. Broadneck, Wednesday Feb. 15th, 5 p.m.
  • MIAA A Quarterfinals (see above), Wednesday Feb. 15th, 7 p.m.
  • MIAA A Semifinals (see above), Friday Feb. 17th, 7 p.m.
  • #14 Annapolis vs. Broadneck, Friday Feb. 17th, 6:45 p.m.
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Edgar Walker is a staff writer for BSR, focusing on high school sports. He works as a basketball recruiting analyst at MD High, part of the Rivals network. Follow Edgar on Twitter for more local high school and recruiting updates.