Myers Park’s boys return to No. 1 in The Sweet 16; Independence girls make big jump
Myers Park’s boys basketball team began the season on top of The Charlotte Observer Sweet 16 poll, and after a run to the Arby’s Christmas Tournament championship last week, the Mustangs are back.
Myers Park jumped six spots to No. 1 this week after their championship run in Tennessee. En route to winning the tournament, the Mustangs beat top 25 nationally ranked Norcross (GA) as well as Westminster Academy, which is a top 15 3A team in Florida. Myers Park, which plays at South Mecklenburg Tuesday, has won six straight games.
▪ Charlotte Country Day returned to the boys poll this week, at No. 15. The Bucs (14-5) have won three straight after dropping back-to-back games to Northside Christian and Weddington last month -- by a combined nine points.
▪ Providence Day was the only team to fall out of the boys poll. The Chargers, who were 22-6 a year ago, are 10-6 and have lost five of their past six games. Providence Day, which lost star Trey Horton to a transfer to Hough over Christmas break, beat a team from Australia 71-30 Wednesday night.
▪ Two new teams joined the girls poll this week -- No. 15 East Rutherford and No. 16 Victory Christan. East Rutherford (12-1) is a 2A team that has only lost to Independence by a 47-39 score last week. The Patriots (13-2) jumped five spots to No .3 in this week’s poll.
Victory Christian (12-1) has won nine straight games since losing 41-39 to No. 9 Providence Day in November.
▪ Two teams dropped out of the girls poll: Hickory Ridge and Newton-Conover. Hickory Ridge has dropped two straight to Charlotte Catholic (71-37) and Lake Norman (90-45). Newton-Conover has also lost two in a row, falling to Alexander Central (49-43) and East Burke (55-50, OT).
▪ NOTE: Records are through games played Thursday, Jan. 4
▪ HOW THE POLL IS COMPILED: The Sweet 16 considers the strength of a team, the strength of its schedule and its classification. While it doesn’t consider what might happen if teams played head-to-head, it takes into account real-world results and awards teams for facing strong competition outside of designated conference play.
Boys’ Sweet 16
| Rk. | School | Record | Prvs |
| 1 | Myers Park | 10-3 | 7 |
| 2 | Carmel Christian | 17-3 | 1 |
| 3 | Central Cabarrus | 14-0 | 2 |
| 4 | North Mecklenburg | 12-1 | 3 |
| 5 | Cannon | 17-4 | 4 |
| 6 | Concord Academy | 18-3 | 5 |
| 7 | United Faith | 16-2 | 6 |
| 8 | Olympic | 14-0 | 8 |
| 9 | J.L. Chambers | 10-3 | 9 |
| 10 | Charlotte Catholic | 11-3 | 11 |
| 11 | Robinson | 7-4 | 12 |
| 12 | East Mecklenburg | 12-1 | 14 |
| 13 | Hickory | 10-1 | 15 |
| 14 | West Charlotte | 9-4 | 16 |
| 15 | Charlotte Country Day | 13-5 | NR |
| 16 | Gaston Day | 9-4 | 13 |
Dropped out: Providence Day (IND, 10-6). Also receiving consideration: Gaston Christian (IND, 11-6); Richmond Senior (4A, 8-2)
Girls’ Sweet 16
| Rk. | Team | Class | Rec. | Prvs. |
| 1. | Lake Norman | 4A | 15-0 | 1 |
| 2. | North Mecklenburg | 4A | 14-1 | 2 |
| 3. | Independence | 4A | 13-2 | 8 |
| 4. | Mallard Creek | 4A | 11-2 | 3 |
| 5. | Charlotte Catholic | 4A | 9-3 | 7 |
| 6. | East Lincoln | 3A | 13-0 | 11 |
| 7. | Shelby | 2A | 8-1 | 6 |
| 8. | Salisbury | 2A | 10-2 | 4 |
| 9. | Providence Day | IND | 10-3 | 5 |
| 10. | Alexander Central | 4A | 12-0 | 14 |
| 11. | Watauga | 4A | 10-4 | 9 |
| 12. | Cannon School | IND | 10-5 | 10 |
| 13. | Myers Park | 4A | 11-3 | 12 |
| 14. | South Mecklenburg | 4A | 11-4 | 13 |
| 15. | East Rutherford | 2A | 12-1 | NR |
| 16. | Victory Christian | IND | 12-1 | NR |
Dropped Out: Hickory Ridge (4A, 9-3); Newton-Conover (2A, 10-3). Also receiving consideration: Hibriten (3A, 13-1); East Burke (2A, 9-1); West Rowan (3A, 10-0); Marvin Ridge (4A, 10-4); Stuart Cramer (3A, 11-2).
This story was originally published January 6, 2023 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Myers Park’s boys return to No. 1 in The Sweet 16; Independence girls make big jump."