Top Games This Week. Boys and Girls Basketball Top 21.

Written Saturday January 25th at 1:00 AM

Boys Top 21

1. Clarkston (8-1): Wolves are starting to roll again.

2. Troy (8-2): Colts starting to figure things out.

3. West Bloomfield (6-4): Lakers have played a tough schedule but it will get tougher from here.

4. Farmington (5-5): The Falcons have the upper hand in the White right now.

5. Ferndale (4-7): Tough schedule has helped the Eagles.

6. Oak Park (5-5): Knights doing well without Maliq Carr.

7. North Farmington (8-3): Raiders struggling with consistency.

8. Lake Orion (4-5): Dragons have played better lately.

9. Oxford (5-4): It's been a rough week for the Wildcats.

10. Southfield Arts and Tech (9-2): Warriors two losses have been by buzzer beaters.

11. Groves (7-6): Buzzer beaters are starting to become the norm for the Falcons.

12. Bloomfield Hills (4-8): Tough January continues for the Blackhawks.

13. Seaholm (6-2): Maples have won four straight and controls the Blue for now.

14. Adams (3-7): Highlanders picked up a monster win Friday night.

15. Troy Athens (7-3): Red Hawks have won four straight since the loss to Berkley.

16. Stoney Creek (5-6): Cougars have lost five of six which is alarming.

17. Berkley (6-3): 81 points in two games is not a good recipe for success.

18. Pontiac (3-5): Phoenix in thick of league race right now.

19. Royal Oak (3-8): Ravens starting to figure things out a bit.

20. Rochester (1-9): Falcons are winless no more.

21. Avondale (0-8): I don’t know if I see a win on that schedule the rest of the way for the Yellow Jackets.

Girls Top 21

1. Avondale (8-4): Yellow Jackets right now in command of the White.

2. Southfield Arts and Tech (7-5): Warriors saw their three game winning streak snapped on Saturday.

3. Clarkston (8-3): Olivia Toderan has been the key to the Wolves success.

4. West Bloomfield (9-3): Maybe that loss to Royal Oak woke the Lakers up.

5. Adams (7-4): Good Highlanders are showing up but can they sustain it???

6. Troy Athens (10-2): Red Hawks have not been the same since the loss to Adams.

7. Royal Oak (6-5): Sarah Soraghan is the key for the Ravens success.

8. Berkley (8-3): Loss to Groves doesn’t hurt their league chances.

9. Troy (7-4): Things have gone well for the Colts since Kendal Zeiter’s return.

10. Lake Orion (4-6): Dragons got two huge wins last week, can they sustain it???

11. Rochester (6-5): The Blue goes through the Falcons right now.

12. Oxford (5-6): Wildcats really miss Mackenzie Methner.

13. North Farmington (8-5): Raiders have been an inconsistent team as of late.

14. Stoney Creek (4-7): Nine points against Adams in the second half is not good for the Cougars.

15. Groves (4-6): Beating Berkley on Tuesday night is a huge statement.

16. Bloomfield Hills (5-8): It’s hard to describe the Blackhawks right now.

17. Oak Park (7-4): Knights are a darkhorse in the Blue.

18. Seaholm (5-6): It’s hard to describe the Maples right now.

19. Farmington (2-10): Falcons have been struggling lately.

20. Ferndale (2-6): Eagles have been struggling lately.

21. Pontiac (0-10): It’s been a long season for the Phoenix.

Top Games (Boys)- Jan 27th thru Feb 1.

Lake Orion vs Oxford at Oakland (Wednesday): This is a rematch of a 62-54 Dragons win at Oxford on December 19^th. The Wildcats circled this game on their calendar. This is a great coaching matchup between Steve Laidlaw and Joel Schroeder along with a great player matchup between Trey Townsend and Dylan Boedigheimer. Oxford’s supporting cast has played better but do they have an answer for Cameron Sutton???

North Farmington at Clarkston (Monday): This is a game that was postponed because of the weather. The Raiders have an answer for the Big Three of Clarkston in Fletcher Loyer, Keegan Wasilk, and Matt Nicholson??? The matchup between Basheer Jihad and Nicholson is interesting but as mentioned do they have an answer for Loyer and Waslik that will be the question to find out.

West Bloomfield at Clarkston (Friday): The Wolves have been rolling. The Lakers have played a brutal schedule. My question is does West Bloomfield have an answer for Matt Nicholson heading into their matchup with the Wolves. It will be interesting to see what happens.

Lapeer at Oxford (Tuesday): The Lightning have played a murderous schedule which includes Davison, Grand Blanc, Flint Carman Ainsworth, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, and Flint Powers Catholic. The Wildcats have played two tough teams in Farmington and Troy. Lapeer has the bodies to go up against Trey Townsend. If Oxford can find help for Townsend in this matchup then it could help them in this game.

Rochester at Adams (Tuesday): It’s very hard to believe that Adams could be “City Champs” pending if they get by Rochester on Tuesday. Stoney Creek still has to go to Adams later in the season but it’s looking like that could be the case. The Falcons have struggled this season and the interior matchup favors the Highlanders. It will be interesting to say the least.

Oxford at Stoney Creek (Friday): The Cougars have lost four of five which is a concern heading into this game. The Wildcats would had played Lake Orion, Lapeer, Farmington, and Troy to this point. It will be interesting to see where Oxford will be at.

Troy Athens at Pontiac (Thursday): Could this be the Phoenix moment against a very good Red Hawks squad. Pontiac is now a player in the Blue race and if they can beat Troy Athens then they would be in the mix. The Red Hawks are rolling right now winners of four straight games.

Seaholm at Bloomfield Hills (Tuesday): This is a very interesting game between two rivals. The Blackhawks have no answer for the Maples rebounding presence. If this game comes down to a shooting contest then it would favor Bloomfield Hills. I expect this game to be a low scoring affair between these two future district opponents.

North Farmington at Oak Park (Thursday): The Knights and Raiders know each other real well. Oak Park has played well while North Farmington has been inconsistent. This should be an interesting matchup to say the least.

Farmington at Southfield Arts and Tech (Thursday): The Warriors have lost two buzzer beaters. The guard matchup is intriguing between Jaiden Akins and Jailen Lee. The matchup to watch is Jack Dongahue vs Caleb Banks. This will be very interesting to say the least.

Farmington vs Grand Rapids Christian at Grand Rapids Union (Saturday 1:40 PM): This shapes up to be an interesting matchup between Grand Rapids Christian and Farmington. The Falcons feature Tariq Humes and Jaiden Akins and going west has not gone well for Farmington in the past. We’ll see what happens.

Top Games (Girls)- Jan 27 thru Feb 1.

Lake Orion vs Clarkston at Oakland (Wednesday): It could be the start of a rivalry looming between two well-known coaches in John Weyer and Bob Brydges. The Wolves have a ton of experience from last season including Olivia Toderan, Taylor Heaten, and Madison Sikoruski among others. The Dragons are coming off two emotional wins and does feature a couple of Weyer’s AAU team PR1DE players in Meghan Marshall, Maddie Ebbert, and Kylie Heck. We shall see what happens on the black top.

Adams at Lake Orion (Friday): This is a rematch of a December 17^th game which saw the Dragons rally from a 17-3 deficit to tie the Highlanders at one point only to see Adams escape with a 34-30 win. Both of these teams are different squads since that game. It sets up to be a very interesting game.

Lapeer at Oxford (Tuesday): The Lightning have been up and down in the always tough Saginaw Valley League South but they are well coached under Coach Andy Roberts. The Wildcats are without Mackenzie Methner who is out for the season. Oxford has been struggling lately. Lapeer has played a tough schedule and features one of the state’s top players in Hannah Erla. This is a huge game for the Wildcats.

Troy Athens at Rochester (Tuesday): The Red Hawks have lost two straight games. The Falcons have been playing really well lately. If Rochester can pull this one off it will be a huge win for Coach Bill Thurston in his first year coaching this team.

Seaholm at Rochester (Friday): This is a game that many Falcons players and fans want back bad after Seaholm upset Rochester 48-42 on December 17^th. The Falcons are currently tied with Berkley for the Blue. The Maples have been up and down lately. This sets up to be a huge game in the Blue.

Pontiac at Ferndale (Friday): This is an interesting matchup after the Eagles won 35-28 at Sy Green Gym over Pontiac on December 17^th. The Phoenix have not won a game since then.

Troy Athens at North Farmington (Friday): The Red Hawks have been up and down lately losing two straight games but they beat the Raiders 42-39 on a buzzer beater by Izzy Crumm on December 17^th.  North Farmington has been very inconsistent. It will be a very interesting game to see how Troy Athens responds to the small gym of North Farmington.

Seaholm at Groves (Tuesday): Do the Maples have an answer for Ellie Ruprich in this rivalry game. Ruprich has had a strong season thus far for the Falcons. Seaholm has been up and down in the Blue while Groves is in the rugged Red. It will be very interesting between these two rivals.

Royal Oak at Berkley (Tuesday): These are two rivals that know each other well even though one is in the Red while the other is in the Blue. I’m looking forward to the matchup between star players in Sarah Soraghan and Ashley Loon. Both of these ladies will be key in this rivalry game.

Southfield Arts and Tech at Royal Oak (Friday): Royal Oak is a tough gym to play at which both Clarkston and West Bloomfield found out. The Lakers lost 32-31 two weeks ago while the Wolves had to survive 46-42 last week. Southfield Arts and Tech has more talent than the Ravens but never underestimate a coach Brian Sopota team even though the Warriors won 61-25 on December 17^th.

Oak Park at Berkley (Friday): If the Knights want to prove they are a player then they need to win this game. Oak Park lost 53-36 on their home floor to the Bears on December 17^th in Knight Valley.

Flint Carman Ainsworth at Southfield Arts and Tech (Tuesday): The Cavaliers have been dominating the Saginaw Valley South. The Warriors have played a brutal schedule against some of the top teams in the state and that's not mentioning the Red. It should be an interesting matchup for sure. I wonder if ESPN 100.9 FM should make the long trip south to Southfield??? It will be worth it if they did.

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