ORDER GAME PHOTOS

Like most Mondays during the boys basketball season, the schedule of games was fairly light last night.

As such, there wasn't much movement in our Idaho Boys Basketball Top 25 Daily rankings.

In fact, only two teams ranked in the Top 25 even took the floor.  Both lost, but as we'll examine, no two losses are alike.

The first team that fell on Monday night was Wendell.  The 2A Trojans hosted 1AD2 Camas County and fell in overtime 68-64.

With the loss, the Trojans are now 9-4 overall,  2-1 in Canyon Conference play, and ranked fourth among 2A teams in our Top 25 Daily rankings.

Nampa Christian, another 2A team ranked in our Top 25, lost to New Plymouth on Monday 67-41.

These Trojans now find themselves at 12-4 overall, 5-4 in the Western Idaho Conference, and ranked eighth in our Top 25.

On the surface, Nampa Christian's 12-4 record looks more impressive than Wendell's 9-4 mark.  Nampa Christian has now lost to New Plymouth twice, top-ranked Melba by thirty, and to Ambrose by two in overtime.

Wendell's losses have come to 3A foes American Falls and Filer, conference rival Declo, and Camas County.  Unlike Nampa Christian, which has lost three times by ten or more points, Wendell has only suffered one double-digit defeat (a 26-point setback to Filer).

The biggest metric that is used in the IdahoSports.com Power Rankings is total wins.  The more games you play/win, generally, the higher your ranking is.  But Nampa Christian's 12 wins aren't enough to topple Wendell's nine victories, because of those lopsided losses.  

Strength of schedule also plays a factor.  Wendell has twice lost to 3A opponents.  They power ranking number isn't penalized, though, because the Trojans punched up a level.  Had Wendell lost to 1AD2 Camas County by more than the four that they did on Monday, Wendell could have slid down to where Nampa Christian currently resides, since the Mushers are two levels below Wendell's classification.

Overall, though, the goal remains the same for both teams: find a way to get to state.  Nampa Christian has the "easier" path, as their District has been awarded 2.5 bids to state.  If Nampa Christian doesn't finish in the top two at districts, they can still earn their way to state by winning a play-in game.

Wendell, meanwhile, has one shot at getting to state.  The three-team Canyon Conference has been awarded one solitary bid to state this year.  With Wendell's 53-45 loss to Declo earlier this month, the Hornets now have the inside track at winning the regular season league title, despite an overall record of 8-6.

The rematch occurs in Wendell on February 3rd.  Then comes the inevitable rematch at districts.  For Wendell fans, that third matchup at districts is the only matchup that counts.

Here's the rest of the Top 25 Daily Boys Basketball Rankings:  

CLASS 5A

1. Lake City (13-0)

CLASS 4A

1. Pocatello (17-0)
2. Hillcrest (14-1)

CLASS 3A

1. Snake River (12-4)
2. Teton (13-2)
3. Marsh Valley (11-4)

CLASS 2A

1. Melba (14-0)
2. Kellogg (12-3)
3. West Jefferson (10-5)
4. Wendell (9-4)
5. Bear Lake (13-2)
6. Aberdeen (10-4)
7. St. Maries (7-3)
8. Nampa Christian (12-4)
9. Cole Valley Christian (11-4)
10. Ririe (12-2)

CLASS 1AD1

1. Lapwai (15-0)
2. Lighthouse Christian (13-1)
3. Valley (11-2)
4. Victory Charter (12-3)

CLASS 1AD2

1. Rockland (16-1)
2. Watersprings (14-2)
3. Richfield (12-1)
4. Council (11-4)
5. Kendrick (10-1)

IN: None
OUT: None

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