Three Big Nine Teams in Minnesota Boys Basketball Polls

Three teams from the Big Nine Conference are in the Minnesota Basketball News state rankings to start the 2018-19 season.  Austin is #5 and Mankato East #8 in Class 3A and Rochester John Marshall #10 in Class 4A.  Lakeville North is the defending Section 1 Class 4A titleholder and is ranked #4 in the largest school class.  East Ridge sits atop the 4A poll.  Tops in 3A is DeLaSalle again.  Defending 3A champion Delano is #9. The team they defeated in the championship game 65-61, Columbia Heights, is #10.

You remember the classic finish to last year's Class 4A title game between Cretin-Derham Hall and Apple Valley.  Current Minnesota Gopher Daniel Oturu slammed a dunk in a well designed final play of the game to defeat the Eagles 79-78. Defending Class 2A champion Minnehaha Academy tops the first poll this year.  Minnehaha beat Caledonia in the title tilt last year 73-60.  In Class 1A Russell-Tyler-Ruthton bested North Woods for the championship.  Section 1A representative Rushford-Peterson lost a heartbreaker to Cass Lake-Bena in the first round in double overtime.

The complete rankings in Minnesota boys high school basketball are below.

Class 4A

1. Eat Ridge
2. Hopkins
3. Eden Prairie
4. Lakeville North
5. Park Center
6. Prior Lake
7. Cretin-Derham Hall
8. Wayzata
9. Shakopee
10. Rochester John Marshall

Class 3A

1. DeLaSalle
2. Princeton
3. Robbinsdale Cooper
4. Mahtomedi
5. Austin
6. Waseca
7. Marshall
8. Mankato East
9. Delano
10. Columbia Heights

Class 2A

1. Minnehaha Academy
2. Minneapolis North
3. Perham
4. Lake City
5. Caledonia
6. Breck
7. Melrose Area
8. Rochester Lourdes
9. Hawley
10. Breckenridge

Class 1A

1. Minneota
2. Springfield
3. North Woods
4. Russell-Tyler-Ruthton
5. BOLD
6. Ortonville
7. Minnesota Valley Lutheran
8. Cromwell
9. Mountain Lake Area
10. Mayer Lutheran