Major shakeup in Observer’s Sweet 16 poll ends with Lake Norman atop boys’, girls’ rankings

A major shakeup in The Charlotte Observer’s girls’ Sweet 16 high school basketball poll has sent Lake Norman to the top of the rankings.

That means that the Wildcats’ boys’ and girls’ teams are both No. 1 in the region’s oldest poll.

The Observer began The Sweet 16 in the 1984-85 school year. What separated it from most polls at the time was that the rankings including teams from all classifications, including private schools.

Today, the rankings — which are based on strength of schedule, strength of classification and don’t consider head-to-head competition unless the teams actually meet — are compiled by longtime N.C. basketball experts Alex Bass and Rick Lewis, co-hosts of The Observer’s streaming “Talking Preps” show.

Lake Norman’s boys have been No. 1 all season, but the girls have moved up after Providence Day upset Cannon School, which had been atop the girls’ poll since preseason.

So Lake Norman’s girls moved up from No. 2 to No. 1. Providence Day went from No. 8 to No. 3 behind North Mecklenburg, which moved up a spot after upsetting then No. 3 Mallard Creek on the road Friday.

Mallard Creek fell to No. 8.

This week, South Mecklenburg’s girls also rejoined the rankings. The Sabres (18-3, 8-1) have won three in a row and 10 of their past 11 games. With three conference games to play, South Meck is just ahead of Myers Park (9-11, 7-1) and Ardrey Kell (13-7, 7-1) in league standings.

South Meck is off Tuesday but plays at Ardrey Kell on Friday.

▪ No new teams joined the boys’ rankings, but there were some moves up and down.

Queens Grant (16-7), a 1A state title contender, jumped four spots to No. 11. Hopewell (15-4) jumped three spots to No. 10.

And two teams had bring drops: Chambers (13-7), a preseason NCHSAA 4A state title contender, dropped from No. 5 to 15, and Carmel Christian (15-7) fell from No. 6 to 16.

Chambers, which hosts Hopewell on Tuesday, was upset by Harding (6-14) on Friday. Harding broke through during a stretch where it had been 1-7.

Carmel Christian has lost two in a row, including Friday’s 88-41 loss to Gaston Christian.

Girls’ rankings

Boys’ rankings

Langston Wertz Jr.

The Charlotte Observer

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Langston Wertz Jr. is an award-winning sports journalist who has worked at the Observer since 1988. He’s covered everything from Final Fours and NFL to video games and Britney Spears. Wertz -- a West Charlotte High and UNC grad -- is the rare person who can answer “Charlotte,” when you ask, “What city are you from.” Support my work with a digital subscription